#DailyProverbs 16:3 "Ask the Lord to bless your plans, and you will be successful in carrying them out."
I have never been one to shy away from a little bit of hard work. I was raised with a strong work ethic. Plus, it probably didn't hurt that in my family, if you wanted privileges, allowances, and freedoms - you had to earn them.
NOTE: The Proverbs I've chosen for today doesn't say, ask God to make your dreams come true. It doesn't tell you to beg God for help. It doesn't tell you to ask God to create a plan for you, to carry it out for you, or to do the work for you. It says that YOU should ask God to bless YOUR plan, so that YOU can carry it out.
I know, I know... that's a foreign concept in this day and age. Everyone seems to think that you are born with the right to "things" instead of being born with the right to "opportunity". I am a staunch believer that if you want to earn "things" you must make the most of your "opportunities". And growing up, that meant chores - yard work, helping out around the house, the yard, the farm, our grandparent's house... There was PLENTY to do. In return for the work, the helping, and the duty to family and solidarity, we were rewarded not only with a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs and food in our bellies... we actually were given some spending money, some freedom of choice in how to spend our time and money, and some respect. I liked the respect part best. My father, grandfather and Mamaw all treated you a little more like a grown up, and actually paid attention to what you had to say IF you ACTED like a grown up and helped the grown ups get things their grown up things accomplished. Sometimes, that would mean you had to get up before school to help in the garden. Sometimes that would mean you had to work with the animals and taking care of the yard so the adults could maintain the income-based gardens or animals. On top of all of that, there was still school, homework, extra-curricular activities AND church and social activities... That was pretty normal growing up for me. That was pretty normal with my friends and school mates and work colleagues. We all had school, we all had homework, and growing up in the country, we all had chores and work to accomplish. This ALL took careful planning, because NONE of it could fall by the wayside.
That's the key point, planning. So much of the necessary things took planning. Maintaining work, gardens, animals, school, grade point averages, and a life outside of even all of that was excellent preparation!
Why? Because today, so much of my work and projects now take planning, multi-tasking, and juggling priorities and life. One of my favorite quotes that I use relentlessly is "Plan the work, work the plan." That simply means to take time to prepare and think through the steps of what you need to accomplish, then don't deviate from the plan!!! ツ
What do YOU need to plan? What do you need to follow through on, carry out, and "work the plan" on? Ask God to give you good sense, give you patience, give you wisdom, and help you have the strength and fortitude to carry those wise, strong, plans you created out. Good luck, and God Bless!
Cheers, #JustBeingMichael ツ
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