40 Day Challenge Almost Over...

I can't believe it. I've almost completed this 40-day blog writing challenge that I committed myself to a few short weeks ago. At first, I thought it would be easy - if I just stay focused. However, as the days went by, I knew it was definitely going to be a challenge.

If you recall (or have been keeping up with my blogs throughout this challenge), I initially decided to do this, because I felt God was directing me to do so for some reason or another. I know that the number 40 in the Bible is significant and generally involves a period of 40 something (days, weeks, years, etc.) that almost always ends with a blessing or promise.

I am also a person that has trouble completing "stuff", because the perfectionist tendencies that I struggle with always find a way to make that "stuff" better, thereby causing things to never get finished. So, this challenge was also a way for me to show (to myself if nobody else) that I could FINISH something! I realize that I still have 3 more blog posts to write after this one in order to reach my goal, but I'm convinced that I can do it!

So, have I learned anything? Gotten any life altering revelations? Made any new commitments or life changes? Been blessed by God or been given a promise? What has happened as a result of this challenge? Well, I'm actually still figuring some of those things out, but for starters:

1. God has revealed to me that if I can do this for 40 days then NOTHING should get in the way of me spending quality time with Him each day.
2. He's revealed to me the gifts I need to be using and part of the way these gifts need to be used (I'm still waiting for more of this to become a little clearer).
3. He's given me an opportunity of a lifetime involving a place I hold near and dear to my heart: AFRICA. More on this at a later time too.

Friends, I think I've just scratched the surface of the work that He's doing in my life, but I'm convinced that this challenge was a place for me to obey. Obey Him! God BLESSES obedience friends (read Deuteronomy 28)!

I don't know what the blogging days bring yet in 2010, but I'm continuing on. Thanks for continuing the journey with me!

40 Day Challenge - Day 22!

Boy! This 40-day blog writing challenge is really challenging me. Go figure. It's been so much harder than I ever anticipated. I recently chatted with a friend over the fact that this was a really unwise, hair-brained idea that I came up with. What was I thinking? And...at Christmas time to boot! But, my spirit was quickened almost as soon as I thought those thoughts. It's a CHALLENGE silly girl! It's not supposed to be easy. That's why it's called a CHALLENGE!

Ironically, I love challenges. I'm the type that does really well under pressure. I don't like the pressure, but I tend to perform well that way. Anytime someone challenges me to something - I go at it with full gusto as if an Olympic gold medal is awaiting me at the completion. When I began this challenge, I sensed that God would bless my obedience in some huge way - with another challenge actually! I've been praying about some really big things that I deeply desire God to do. They are actually going to be some pretty challenging things. And...and He's hinting to me that He may just very well answer those prayers, but He's watching...He's waiting...He's observing my obedience in this one little area of blog writing. As silly and as unimportant as it may seem - it's pretty huge for me to complete this challenge. It's just one small stepping stone among several stones along a pretty rocky pathway. But, I have to be able to maneuver the small steps before stepping on the larger rocks.

Thanks for meeting with me along this path. The journey is much easier with friends!

Forty Day Challenge - Day 1

I'm a numbers girl. I dig numbers. I love them. I study them. I often find even the silliest of significance in them. OK - I might be a little odd, but I like even numbers too. Ha! Seriously...I especially love how numbers are important to God. He's so purposeful and orderly in everything He does. Several numbers have great significance in the Bible...7, 12, 70 to name just a few, and my personal favorite: FORTY! Forty has long been recognized biblically has a very important number generally signifying a period of trial, probation, and testing. The beauty of the biblical forty is that this period of time generally ends with a promise or blessing. The tribe of Israel experienced the blessing of the promised land after 40 years of wandering in the desert. Forty days of flooding eventually brought God's covenant symbolized by the rainbow. Jesus was tempted by the Devil while experiencing a forty day fast in the desert. Christ appeared after His resurrection for a period of forty days on the earth. I could go on and on, but the point is the number forty is very significant.

So, what's a numbers girl like me supposed to do with this knowledge? Use it! I prayed that God would use that number in my life in some significant way. What would 40 days or 40 weeks or perhaps 40 years reveal for me? What discipline do I need to be obedient in for the Lord do a mighty work in me? I thought about another time of fasting, but I don't think that's it just yet. I thought about refraining from something (i.e. TV, Facebook, Twitter), but I don't think He's calling me to do that YET. It actually hit me this past week. There's one thing that I'm struggling to keep doing, but I feel like it's something that I'm supposed to be doing...blogging! That might sound so insignificant to some of you, but it's huge to me! First of all, I'm notorious for having all kinds of "great" ideas. I start many of them and finish few of them. Completion is very difficult for me...partly due to my perfectionistic personality where I'm constantly trying to make something better than it already is, creating many incomplete projects. I've seen that carry over into my blog writing quite often. But...this is something that I'm determined to keep doing. It's a place of release for me. I love being able to remove some of those crazy thoughts from head and put them in written form. I've been told by some of you that this blog is something you count on reading for encouragement or laughter or even conviction. While I'm very humbled to know that...I also feel a huge burden to keep it up.

So, that leads me to today...Day 1 of 40 days of continuous blogging. I haven't pre-written any, so I'm relying completely on God to help me do this. I just feel it's something that I have to do. I'm not sure if I'm trying to prove something to myself or to simply watch God work through me. He certainly knows that this season in my life is usually quite chaotic, so maybe that's exactly why He wants me to do it now. Who knows? But, I know this...I'd love to have you on this 40-day journey with me. I love reading your comments, emails, Facebook and Twitter entries. Keep 'em comin'. They certainly keep me motivated. And...just maybe...somewhere within the words that I write...just maybe...someone will be blessed. So, here we go...until tomorrow...be blessed dear friends!

List #12

Happy Friday friends...

Time again for another List of Ten. This week, I simply wanted to share a list of other blogs that I follow. Friends, there are some wonderful blog writers out there, and I am sure these bloggers will bless you as much as they have blessed me. Now, I've only chosen ten (again in random order), and there are more on my "profile page" if you'd like to check them out. I simply chose the blogs that I've been following the longest or know the blogger the best. Have a most blessed weekend!

Ten Blogs I Follow:
1. The LPM Blog http://livingproofministries.blogspot.com/
2. The Journey of My Heart reneeswope.blogspot.com/
3. cantcookalick http://cantcookalick.blogspot.com/
4. Bella Mella http://bellamella-melanie.blogspot.com/
5. Prints 2 Prince http://prints2prince.blogspot.com/
6. Lysa TerKeurst http://lysaterkeurst.blogspot.com/
7. Frugal Fine Living http://frugalfineliving.blogspot.com/
8. Balancing Beauty and Bedlam http://inpassionatepursuit.blogspot.com/
9. Operation Shrink Charlie's Big Butt http://oscbb.blogspot.com/
10. Lorie Newman http://lorienewmanblog.typepad.com/perfumedpresent/