What is it That Makes a Person Successful?

T ruely Successful?

Success is a hard thing to define, because each person usually feels that success for them is the fulfilling of their dreams, which definitely does play a huge part in their success. For if we didn't have dreams, what would our success be? Success of what?

I am going to focus on two different kinds of success. One is success in the eyes of the world, and one is success in the eyes of God. Each one says that the other is loss.

Lets look at these two different aspects.

"Chrissy, don't waste your life." Were the words that my grandmother spoke to me shortly before she passed away. Sadly, she was not a Christian and her view of success differed from mine. In fact, as I am sure you know, the majority holds this view.

"Chrissy, don't waste your life being a babymaker, staying home and not doing anything great! You should be a nurse, you know, I really think you would make a wonderful one! Marry a doctor. Doctors need good wives to help them in their field, you know!"

Don't get me wrong, I believe we need doctors and nurses badly. But is that what God is calling me to do? If both my future husband and I were to pursue such careers, neither of us would have time for God, eachother, or let alone raising a family. In the eyes of my grandmother that was success. Becoming a well-known nurse married to a famous doctor husband. Getting lots of money.... What more could one ask for?
Well, I don't believe the Lord is calling me to that field in life.

As I sat there contemplating an answer to give; my dear grandmother once again urged me:
"Chrissy, don't waste your life, you only go through once, make the most of it!"
I turned to her and said, "Don't worry Nana, whatever I do, I won't waste my life!" That was a solemn resolve and a promise that I made to her. She died knowing that I would not waste my life. And I intend to keep that resolve, God helping me.

Well, so what more could I ask for?

What more? Ahh, to me success does not lie in material things. If I were to be famous and rich in this world's goods, would I be successful? Maybe in the eyes of men. But have not love? No, in the eyes of God it would not be success, it would be a wasted life.

To me I find success and fulfillment in following God. One step at a time as He leads me onward and upward. Success lies, for me, in true riches, which is the things that are laid up in heaven, that which is eternal.

My goal and success is found in this:
"If I can soothe one aching soul, If I can wipe away the tears from one cheek, if I can keep one heart from breaking, then I shall not have lived in vain." - Author Unknown

To me this is where I find success. In whatever that field may be, if I can do but this, and live in the will of my Maker; I will have found success.

Success in following in His footsteps each step of the way. Placing my hand into His Hand and letting Him lead me into the unknown. And it is so very adventurous! So very interesting, I wonder what each new day holds for me! What new adventures will there be to take?

To me this is success. It is living in the will of God and serving Him and others whole-heartedly with love! It is my heartfelt prayer that I will in my life lead at least one person to Him, stop at least one heart from breaking, ease at least one person's pain. If I can do this, I will not have lived in vain. If I can't, I will have wasted my life.

The Conclusion:

Follow God each step of the way where He is leading you. If you allow Him to be the Pilot of your life. If you allow Him to live out His life within you. You will not have wasted your life. You will have found success...

True success...in God.

Written 06/11/06. (d/m/y)

My Heart in Poetry

T o my readers,

This poem is a poem that I never thought I would write. I never was able to rhyme two sentences together. I never was able to make my thoughts make sense either vocally or written, and maybe I still can't. What you read here is all spontaneous and inspirational. When it comes to mind I have to drop whatever I am doing and write it out or I forget it.

This poem came to me today as I was washing dishes. When I finished in the kitchen I went to my room and grabbed my pencil and notebook and started writing... this is the results. The poetry is not the greatest, ...remember it is my first real poem.

It is a condensed version of a long article I wrote out about my conversion experience (no, I never posted it here). This is the cry of my heart. It is nearing a year since then, and I praise the Lord for the mighty work and change that He has done in my life. He receives all the honor and glory for this poem and all of my life.

I want to be wholly His forever. Moulded by the Master Potter, gold tried in the fire. I don't know what the future holds, but I know Who holds the future.

And...I want to make each day of my life count!

I am going to start by quoting some of Psalm 18, which is a psalm that means alot to me.

The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.

The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.

In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears. He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me.

For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness. For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.

As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him. For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?

It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect. He maketh my feet like
hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places. Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great.

For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: ...

The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted. Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name.

In the midst of sin and misery was I,
I thought that life was but for to live and die.
But there arose with time from within,
The cry of a heart-longing for somethin'.

I sought, but found not.
Why me? I cried. Silence was but.
On my way I went, but knew, that but my way,
There was another taught.

Another way, I knew there was -
But hidden to me 'twas.
How to find I longed to know,
But I sought it not with my all.

Until one day when my heart was pierced within;
To know the way to which walk in.
My eyes with tears were flowin'.
And then from the depths of my heart I cried unto Thee:
My God! My God! Is there no place for me?

Despair came over me like a wave,
Threatening to swallow me to its grave.
I thought that to hell I was meant to go,
Until Christ came to me and I saw, - it was not so.

With time the answer came
My child, "Have faith." There is no
other way to remove the stain.
The stain of which I had brought about
By a life for the devil all out.

To the cross I did cling,
Longing on Him my burdens to fling.
In His love He came to me,
He held out His arms and said, "Come!"
To His bosem I fled, and found that what He had said.

I cried, "Oh Lord, why did I wait?"
And, "Why did you wait? ...
For one like me? I am not worthy
Your grace nor to see your face,
But instead you bought me and
Brought me back unto your ways.

Unto you will I cling while life shall last,
The joy that I find satisfies my soul
So much, ...that I am overwhelmed by what Thou hast!
I know You care for each one on the way,
And you long to gather them to your side each day.

I weep that I fought, when I did not
know for what I had want.
You suffered on the tree of Calvary,
You shed your blood to save men from what they had wrought.

And now as I look unto You,
I see what I had wanted and why.
For with You is a joy that no man can ply.
I found rest for my weary, aching heart,
When for you I feebly did start.

I would have fallen, had you not reached and taken my hand.
And now You lead me to that other land.
I cannot find words with which to express - my gratitude,
For relieving me from the press.

But my life, and heart, and soul unto You I give,
For that is all I had for which to live.
But I have You, and You have me,
And I pray that for You my life will be,
That nothing will tear me from Your grasp,
That with me Thou hast.

To Your Word comes life,
That I joy to seek it for gems and light.
I thank You and praise You with only a slight
of what is rightfully Yours in which to delight.
And I pray that forever You will hold me tight!

by C.D.B; November 2006; copyright


God Bless You!

Lift Up Thine Eyes!

I will lift up my eyes unto the hills - from whence cometh my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Ps. 121:1

At times when we are low done (at least, I for one), struggling, to find our way out of problems, we are there because we have not casted our cares upon the Lord as He asks us to do in Psalm 55:22 - Cast your burden updon the Lord, and He will sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.

We need to lift up our eyes to Him; who our help comes from. He is ever ready to help us if we only will look up to Him. He stands there holding out to us the golden treasure of eternal life, waiting with patient love, ...waiting for us to look up and behold the gift that He offers us.

Why is it that we so often refuse to look up to Him? Why do we concentrate so much on our cares at hand that we forget to care for the eternal?

Ah, the sinfulness of mankind, how our dear Lord must suffer to see us in the state we are when He knows what is laid up for us if we only persevere, - if we only look to Him, cast our cares on Him, and allow Him to lead us on to much better things. Much...by far better things than we could ever imagine. Yet, we so often are so engrossed in earthly things that we forget the most imprtant in our lives. The things that are but for a moment we focus on instead of putting our focus on the eternal things, - the things that are lasting. Why?

Oh, how the devil must laugh when He sees what we are missing out on. He so wants our souls, but friends, we must not let that happen, ...we must resist the devil, and lift up our eyes unto the hills and cry unto Him, for from above comes our help. Help, true help, lasting help, the God of love will reach down and lift you up if you only will "lift up thine eyes."

Written 03/11/06. (d/m/y)

Is Your All on the Alter?

Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. Mark 10:21

P lacing my all on the alter of sacrifice has been very difficult for me, and still is. I still struggle with surrendering everything I have ever held dear, have ever wanted, - to God.

Why do I have to give it all up? There is nothing wrong with wanting to do a short mission trip before I marry, is there? There is nothing wrong with wanting to babysit or help a needy family, is there? No, all these things are good things; all these things are for the glory of God. Why then must I give them all up? Why?

Dreams

Why must I give up every hope and dream that I have ever had? Why does it have to be all my hopes and dreams that lie shattered in the dust? Why does the Lord take away "everything" I have ever hoped for? Why? Or does He?

When He takes away everything we hold on to. When He takes away our every earthly stability and "pulls the rug out from under my feet" so to speak, it makes me turn to Him and cling to Him as my only hope.

When He takes all my dreams and removes them from me. When He takes everything I have ever held dear. Then when everything else is gone I cling to Him as my only comfort and hope. No one can take Him from me, that is a blessed thought. When I totally depend on Him...that is what He wants in our lives. He wants us to trust Him with every aspect of our lives...with everything.

Must I give up all my "rights?" Yes, everything, ...everything.

Will I have to slave.....serve is a better word, here for the rest of my life? Will I never be able to do what I wanted to do? I don't know. But as hard as it is, I know that to find total rest in Him I must give up everything. Will I receive anything in return? Ah, yes, the joy of knowing that I am in the will of God. That I am carrying out His will for my life! And in the end and eternity with Him! I know Who holds it all and He has proved Himself over and over to me, that He knows best.

Oh, it is hard to give everything up. It is hard when all my hopes have been broken, everytime I have hoped for something....everytime? Ah, no, thank God, not everytime. The time I found God, and He came into me life. That was the biggest thing that I ever wanted or hoped for - and the Lord came to me. If I didn't have Him I wouldn't be able to to stand loosing everthing else. There would be no reason to surrender everything, really. But if I didn't have Him, I would be miserable as I was before. It is so much more worth it to give up everything to God, and have to have His peace and joy! All my other securities may be gone. But true security is found in Him. That is where I find a strong tower for my soul.That is where I can rest in peace. Though the storms rage about me, I know Him Who holds it all in His Hands.

In the end will it be worth it all? Yes, it will be. When I can meet my Saviour face to face,...it will be worth all the heartaches and pain here on earth. It will be worth every bit of it all!

It is not easy, oh no, Satan sees to that. But in the end I know that I will be glad that I gave it all. I thank God that He has done it all in my life. Without Him working in my heart I would not be able to surrender my all to Him. All glory is His, and His alone. I can only thank Him.

God's love is sure and shall still endure, ...and He will see me through.

Written 01/11/06. (d/m/y)

Behold! The Time is At Hand!

Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Rev. 3:11

More and more often it has been hitting me the importance of the fact that the time is short. The need so very pressing.

The need for labourers to go out and share the Gospel with others. I see so many that don't know Christ, each day, every hour. I long to share His love with them. I don't want to ever be found guilty of having turned up a chance to share God's love with others. I know sometimes it is difficult to know what to say. I often wonder, "what would I say? How would I say it?" But then it comes to my mind; let it rest in God's hands and when the time comes He will give me the words to say.

I don't want my neighbor at the end of time, to look at me and say, "You knew, why didn't you tell me?" I weep to think of the many that die each day not knowing Him Who suffered and died to save them from sin. It breaks my heart to think of the lost and suffering everywhere.

"...For the fields are white for harvest...[John 4:35]" It is my desire to do the best of my ability, with the help of my Saviour to reach the dying world with the good news of life eternal, in Christ. To share the amazing love of God. That Christ died on the cross of Calvary to save us from sin and death. He is offering us eternity with Him.

The time is at hand and still there are many that don't know Him. Any one of us could be called at any moment to meet our Maker. Oh, that I will have done my part when my time comes. I must do my part, I cannot be found guilty of not doing it.

God's love is immense and free, He wants as many as will receive Him to spend eternity with Him in glory! He is calling us to share in His love, all who know must pass on the message: "Jesus loves you!" We cannot keep it to ourselves, it must be shared with others. Even those who hate us, God loves them also, He sees them with a pitying eye.

Yes, life is short....! It is time to stop sitting around twiddling our thumbs and not knowing what to do, when there is so much to be done! So many people to reach. Friends in Christ, we need to step up and out and face the challenges, the calling of Christ to His beloved.

And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. Rev. 22:12

Written 01/10/06

In His Hands

Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. Ps. 63:7

I was blessed with being able to attend a wonderful campmeeting recently. I thank the Lord for giving the opportunity, and opening my eyes again to more of my rotten self. It is amazing how the Lord never ceases to work in marvelous ways.

The theme was 'committment,' and was talked about alot, obviously since that was the theme... I realized even more of what I had not fully surrendered to God. I want God to have full sway over every area of my life. I want to be fully committed to Him. To follow Him wherever He may lead me. To rest completely in His hands. That His will would be carried out in every aspect of my life.

It is very important in our lives, that the Lord is the Master, Captain, and Pilot of our lives. That means; He holds everything. He must be the One in control. Any other way will lead to destruction because when we in our ignorance try to take control we end up smashing on some rocks somewhere in the blackness.

The devil does not like to give us up without a struggle, though. Oh, no! He will work very hard to keep us in his grasp. He will assail us with with doubts. He will use every means possible to keep us under his control.

But when we flee to God in prayer, the devil no longer has any control and the Lord commands him to leave, he is no longer welcome. But he will stand outside every door and window trying to entice us to open up to him. But.... we must not linger near to listen to his voice. He is a deceiver and he will try all kinds of smooth words and offers....they are all lies! And we must flee to the safety of our Saviour's sheltering arms. To rest completely in His hands.

When He is in control there is sweet rest and peace. Indeed His grace is sufficient for us, even though we are not worthy of His love.

I rest in His mighty Hands. His grace and love covers us and He cleanses us from all unrighteousness and makes us white as snow.

Written 16/10/06