As I walked through the airports my neck and back were in desperate pain.  I had one bag across my chest and the other bag hanging off the same shoulder.  I stopped.  Shifted the straps, redistributed the weight and it felt better.

I remember learning to walk across the beam and do other death defying tricks when I was a little girl in gymnastics.  There were times that I needed to shift my weight or adjust how I stood or where I put my feet in order to complete the trick I was learning.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.  James 1:17

God does not SHIFT and for this I’m so very thankful.  I thrive on stability and reliability and routine.  Knowing that God does not change with the shifting shadows allows me to trust Him and allows him to ‘shift’ me.

But by shifting our focus from what we do to what God does, don’t we cancel out all our careful keeping of the rules and ways God commanded?  Not at all.  What happens, in fact is that by putting the entire way of life in its proper place, we confirm it.  Romans 3:31 (message)

SHIFT ~ my word for 2014

It’s the first day of the NEW YEAR 2014 and I’ll be going to the chiropractor for an adjustment.  I have some neck issues that creep up on me at certain times of stress.  As my business takes a HUGE SHIFT in its work flow and systems and focus, my stress levels have gone through the roof as I plan and prepare.  I just need a little shift in some of those vertebrae’s to relieve some stress.

A “paradigm” is a framework for understanding the world.  A “Paradigm shift” takes place when we are led to “believe, think and act” in a new way.  It’s like putting on a new pair of glasses that helps us see the world through God’s eyes. 

This SHIFT is not a major, turn and go the other way type of movement, it’s a simple slight adjustment to my current paradigm.  I hear the Lord telling me it will redistribute things and re-align my thoughts and actions to better reflect his Glory.

S   STAND:  I’ll stand a little taller, stand my ground a little longer and stand for God no matter what the cost.  I call this the Daniel effect

H   HIGHER:  God is taking me higher.  No more bottom feeding, we are going to the tops of mountains and seeking higher ground

I    Internal:   Much of this shift will be internal.  Small little movements that no one will know about but they’ll see the effects of the shift

F   Fresh Air:  EVERYDAY I will take a moment to BREATH in deep breaths of fresh air. Health is part of the shift…air is non-negotiable for life.

T   Thoughts:  Possibly the most profound part of the shift will be a shift in the way I think.  Changing your thought life has to be purposeful and consistent. 

It’s not for the faint of heart or the lazy but

the thoughts I have will be God’s thoughts 99.9% of the time by 12/14….praying.

 

THE SHIFT 2014