Recently I was having a conversation with a married friend who has kids and she was expressing to me that she wanted to be doing more than what she was doing, she wanted to focus more on career but is currently unable to... Then I talked to another friend who said that although she was in the best place she has ever been in her career her, life doesn’t look how she thought it would, she thought she would at least be dating someone by now but she is single single lol… then I thought about what I shared with both these ladies when I had this conversation with each of them… “I was starting to feel some dissatisfaction with my job.” I was ready to do something else but I didn’t know what… I was driving one day and realized that we were all discontent but for different reasons. Nobody was happy in the space that they’re currently in…so how do we fix that? What can we do? Because it feels like this is a continual thing…

I feel like we all struggle with it… In 1 Corinthians 7:17 Paul had this to say about it, “Don’t be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else. Where you are right now is Gods place for you. Live, obey, and believe right there. God not your marital status defines your life.” I think Paul knew that wishing you were with someone else or somewhere else was the beginning of discontentment and that the real key to contentment is being able to see where you are as the gift.  

Sooo how do we do that?

1.     Redefine happiness so that you can find contentment. What does happiness look like to you right now? Our definition tends to be our benchmark (how we measure it) for happiness. So if happiness only looks like being married, (ex. I’ll be so much happier when I’m married) then you will never be happy as long as you’re single “ we must be on guard so that we never get caught up in wanting our own way.”

2.     Rediscover new ways to live inside your life. Maybe you’re a mom, so maybe you can’t pick up and travel like your girlfriends who are single without children or who maybe have more money- but you can have a girls night out, or a local trip, or a spa day/morning. What things CAN you do that make you feel alive? Perhaps there’s a hobby or a passion project that  you enjoy that you could pick back up for just a hours a week…

3.     Remember that God is sovereign, his plan is perfect and his timing is always right. So if you’re like me and you feel like you’re ready for a change in your job or life in general trust that God knows what you need and won’t keep you there any longer than necessary for your development. It’s easy to obey someone that you know makes no mistakes.

Discontentment is a character trait that is personal to you. You’re not discontent because of the situation you’re in. You’re discontent because that’s in your character. The Israelites had nothing to compare as it related to each other. They all had the same food and drink everyday in the wilderness, yet they were still unhappy because they lacked contentment. And then when they couldn’t compare the stuff they had they compared their old life as a slave to their new life in freedom (read 1 Corinthians 10:1-10 for reference). Discontentment makes you delusional. You can’t see your blessings because you only see your burdens. You can’t see what you have, only what you lack.  It is definitely not easy but we have to be diligent about contentment. We have to make it a way of life. Hopefully this post gives you a starting point. Feel free to leave a comment or share with me on Instagram if you can relate!

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A little over two weeks ago I had my first event, It was something that had been in my heart to do for a while but I never got around to doing it. Maybe it was fear. Who would come? Would people want to listen to me? And every time some one else had an event I was questioning why I hadn’t yet had one. Then one day Marranda (the event planner of this fabulous event) called me and wanted to partner with me to create The Set Apart Soiree- God Talk and Girl Time (Her Instagram is @msscelebrations, if you want to stalk her lol ). We wanted to create a space for women to come together with other like minded women to be encouraged and informed about how to live this set apart life that God has called us to.

This was my first event but not Marranda’s No detail was spared and she did a phenomenal job.

I spoke to the women about identity. The importance of knowing who you are and the problems you encounter when you don't. I talked to them about how the choices you make reveal what you really think about God and who he has called you to be. When our identity is rooted in the wrong thing it causes us to make bad decisions and live beneath God’s best.

This event exceeded my every expectation. Honestly, I couldn't have imagined it any better and I am so thankful that God sent Marranda to push me out of my comfort zone. It is absolutely true that when God calls you to do something he always provides the resources. I had so many people that reached out to me and wanted to purchase tickets for me to give away. This was truly a labor of love, not of mine but of God's love toward me. I believe that he loves me so much that he allowed me to see the dreams and desires that he put in my heart come to fruition and this is only the beginning.  Only God knows where it goes from here but I am so thankful to be walking this journey with him. I’m so grateful for the people I met through this luncheon and if and when I do it again I hope to meet more of you!

I won’t bore you with anymore of my thoughts but I will say that if there is a dream that God has put in your heart follow it and trust that he will send you what you need to fulfill it. You just have to be willing to try!

So recently my job has made some unfavorable and uncomfortable changes that have affected employee morale. People are disgruntled and are beginning to push back. They are deciding not to be helpful and have every excuse for why they can’t do their job. The new rules and mandates sent half of us straight to indeed.com to look for new ones.  After many conversations with my coworkers that involved lots of complaining (that I myself participated in) I realized that although I understand how my coworkers feel, our attitudes are not going to help us get where were going.

 I think the new rules for many of us (at my job) have served as an indication that we’ve been here too long. It’s not as comfortable as it was before and many of us are beginning to feel dissatisfied. Oftentimes it’s your dissatisfaction that reveals to you that it is time to go. That is very normal. However, we have to be careful not to let our dissatisfaction cause us to sin.

 Are you in a place and wondering God what’s next? Maybe you feel like there is no room for growth where you are. Or you’re just uninspired. Either way when you feel that it is time to go, having to stay can sometimes be very difficult. It is in those moments when we must be steadfast and resolute in following God. We have to remember 1) If God gave us the job, we have to be released from it- we can’t just get up and walk away 2) For the time that we remain there we can’t allow our frustration to keep us from continuing to be a good steward in the place that God has called us to.

 Grumbling and complaining Is what the Israelites did in the wilderness. And guess what? It got them nowhere (literally- they wondered for 40 years, read more in Numbers 11). I believe that like me, they knew the place they were in was temporary. It was simply a bridge to what was next, an assignment, and a journey but they let their flesh get the best of them. Sadly, their response to God and what was happening cancelled the long awaited reward.  If we mishandle the now- how can we get to the next?

 I believe that the stirring in my heart is placed there by God. I am entering a place of transition and I believe that God has used recent events to reveal that to me. He wants to prepare me for my next. But there are a few loose ends to wrap up in my now… A few more lessons to learn, which is why the door to my next hasn’t yet opened to me (I am currently unsure about what God would have me do after this job). You may feel the same but your response to what is going on at your job, and in your life will determine if, and when you get there. When we know that where we are is temporary, there is no need to make it permanent by our poor choices. We don’t know what blessings God has for us  that we are canceling with our mouth. Don’t let changing and difficult circumstances  in the now make you forgo the promise of the next.