This statement I found on adventure_coach‘s site came to my attention:

“I do believe that a Real Abundant Life is out there to be had, but it seems elusive.”

The reason it seems elusive is because of the eyes through which you are looking at or chasing the dream. I’ve been telling people for years that everything in life is based on perception. It is all in the programming. If you were programmed with defeated thinking…this is the window through which you will perceive everything. Most of us were programmed that way, btw.

How to break free? Well first, you have to take steps towards gaining an open mind. By this I mean that when you open your mind up to God completely…this requires complete surrender…then your mind is able to conceive of the previously perceived impossible. You may not know immediately how it can be manifested, but you can at least start to “see” it. Once that happens, you simply take it back to God with all of your questions. Questions like: How can this be done? Why did you give this idea to me? Are you sure you’ve got the right person?…’Cause this is massive! Maybe you just gave me the idea, but have someone else in place to carry it out?

When God starts opening up the windows of your mind to conceive the perceived impossible…you start asking these sorts of things. Then, if you’re like me, you get so psyched and excited about the idea, that you stress yourself out stupidly trying to figure out how it can be achieved; forgetting that its not really your idea at all, but just a figment that God dropped into your imagination.

See….the minute you put yourself into the equation, in attempting to figure things out…is the minute the stress starts, and things start going wrong…because it’s not about you. Remember this: “Taste and see that the Lord is good!” That taste is what occurs when you start putting your trust in Him. Then you can see the end results of that trust.

I realize that this is a bit by bit situation for most people…and thus you should realize this for your self and situation. It’s never an overnight thing, unless God has a specific purpose for speeding up the time table. With God, most things will appear to be moving in slow motion…at least…at the beginning it will. Once your trust is well established and He starts opening doors…that is when the speed comes in and the time table flips, because He is moving you into place and placing your network around you.

Let me put it this way. Years ago, while I was still working in the post office, fighting the management, and people and was generally dissatisfied and stressed with that life…I made a request to God. I simply asked Him to move me out of that arena, and into a better one…one that would enable me to move forward, and to meet a better class of people.

One of the first things that happened after I made that request? I got injured on the job, harrassed about it, then illegally removed from the job as a result of that harrassment (medical privacy violation), which I could have fought. Instead, after the first angry week, and letters to the congressmen and senators that I had already established a relationship with; I realized I was free! That was the first liberation.

The next thing that happened…and this is the summary version…is that I started going through hell…having a unknown mass…a cluster of unidentifiable cells develop on my liver due to the stress of having to move 3 times in one year, with a two year old in tow after leaving my exhusband.

I say all of this to let you know that just like in various stories in the bible…when God begins to move you into the concept of greatness for His glory…the first thing that will happen is…darkness….of course. Everything that can go wrong…will go wrong, and if you are aware that God is moving you up and out, you will question everything happening, because it will look like you are moving back and down.

This…of course…is your trial of faith…to develop your perserverance for the job He has for you.  Remember the time delay. It will seem like you are in the “dark” for a long time, but remember…the word says to rejoice in adversity…and this is why. God is developing you into a winner…into greatness…into His chosen and choice servant. So if you perceive of the trial as a bad thing….that is what you will experience. If you understand that the darkness you see with your natural eyes is not really darkness, but just a clever facade meant to test your faith…you will walk through it without stumbling and pass the test.

As I said before…the appearance of elusivity is just an illusion. It is the view from your current seat up in the nose bleed section of the arena. Usually, the show starts with a few opening acts, so most people think that because the show has started…their opportunity has passed them by and they give up because the whole arena has gone “dark.” But while the opening acts are going on, God is arranging for your seat in the box section where all the ammenities and priviledges are.

You just have to keep your faith, and appreciate where you are at each and every moment, and be thankful. He may not even put you into those seats until the second act or intermission, but you just maintain your faith, even if you don’t get into those box seats until 3 shows later. It’s all in His plan, and His timing is always just right. The danger is always in our expectations, so hope for much but expect nothing but God’s best according to His will, not yours.

When you grasp this concept…and adapt the word “engage,” as opposed to “elusive,” you will start to see results. Bear in mind…the biggest test of your faith is in your giving. You show God how serious you are by the extent of your service to him in giving first, because when you are willing to part with your hard earned money…that speaks volumes about how committed you are to any person or cause.

On another note…I decorated the apartment for Christmas. I finally got the tree up after many setbacks. The reason for the setbacks? Holy Smokes…my kitten, kept jumping on the tree, which is a 4 ft artificial tree. She kept bending the branches in all directions and flattening them. Apparently, she thought the tree was just for her….just her size etc;. So I had to get creative. I will post pictures just as soon as I figure out how to use my new digital camera. {My present to me. } Peace and blessings all.