so this sabbath, i decided to stay home from church and do some introspection. realizing there are a loooot of things going on in my life, and i've not yet been able to grasp one very well.. as a christian, i realize that true success with anything comes as a result of being in tuned with God. understanding who He is, who He's made you to be and what path he wants you to take with the gifts He's given you.. on top of that, you've got to accept it all, and make every effort to succeed with it all, in spite of the fact that we are born in bodies, with minds and tendencies that are bent exactly in the opposite direction of who God is, and what He wants us to do. success, and in the christian realm, perfection, can be attained, God said it in his Word, and showed it THROUGH his Word. i've recently heard a number of songs and quotes speaking to the topic of faith, leaving it in God's hands, understanding when we can't do it ourselves, but along with all that, God has required us to DO a number of things, LIVE OUT a number of qualities and PUT ON a lot of traits, character traits that are a reflection of who He is... and that isn't as easy as waking up and breathing (with the help of God) you've actually got to put work into the cultivation of your christian life.
i've recently heard a concept stated in a number of different ways, nothing great is attained without first putting in work, effort, and having to deny yourself of something. and that rings true, clearly in the spiritual realm, but particularly for me in my photography business. i've not put as much work as i need to into my business. just within the last 7-10 day's i've been following a few posts, video and text, of a few of my FAVORITE photographers, Jasmine Star and Chase Jarvis, and something that has really stuck out to me with what they're doing is, they put there ALL into their work. it's not something that they happened to be good at, and are relying on that gift/talent to springboard them into awesome success... they're puttin in hours to make this passion of theirs a reality, doing all they can to get better, and then help others get there as well. they also are doing it all as the real authentic jasmine and chase, and who they are is bursting through in all their work! their lives are what make their business so successful. they are authentically themselves in every way and that is a HUGE key in what makes them such a success!
i've realized over the past few weeks also, as i read a book i bought on my iPhone, Living on the Edge, by Chip Ingram, which is a study of how to live a Romans 12 life, that each and every, if not more of the things pointed out by chase and jasmine can and should be applied to our Christian lives! Authenticity! Dedication! Self Denying! Passion! Reliance on more than self!
i just really thank God for giving me these gifts, desires, and dreams.. i just hope and pray i can become man enough, to do what I do, in His name, heartily to Him, and let His glory be known to the world.
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