A Grace and Strength Lifestyle perspective

There will be storms and sacrifices...Matthew 7:24. It was supposed to be the best of times. A luxury cruise through the Bahamas. The sun, the sea, the romance. It started with all the excitement, thrills and anticipation one could imagine. The ship set sail on time, the food the music the ocean all flowing together in harmony.

For two days we wined and dined. We went on shore to exotic islands and practiced our haggling skills on shrewd natives whose skills far outshone our on. Life seemed idyllic and perfect.

Then the skies darkened. Winds changed direction and picked up a bit. Speculation ran through the hearts and minds of all on the ship...HURRICANE!

Some of us laughed. Some of us hunkered down in prayer, others just seemed oblivious. The bottom line, our paradise was being interrupted by a fast growing, metamorphosing storm. What do you do? it came out of nowhere.

Jesus knew storms. He could tell physical storms were coming by the signs. Red sky at night sailors delight, red sky at morn, sailors be warned. Now that's not scriptural, but the old adage has been used for centuries to predict weather for seafaring men. Experienced men of the sea know what to do because they have trained, planned, and lived through storms.

What about you? Are you ready for storms in life? As a Grace and Strength Lifestyle Coach, I have learned that more storms come when you are trying to achieve a goal that you are meant to reach. One of my clients knows this all too well. He started out at 392 lbs. He set a goal of 220 and we set sail for success. As the inches and lbs began to melt away, he began to laugh a little more, smile a lot and talk about how it had energized him.* Our calls were fun, sometimes quick because he started a new project around the house or was spending time with the family. Life was good. His Doctor had even taken him off two medications for diabetes and his blood sugar was perfect.

Then one week he missed is call. I emailed him a reminder and he shot back a reply. Then he called. Family problem had come up. He'd talk to me next week. That week came and he missed again. More family problems, but his weight was good.

He called early the next week. Health issues, hospitalization, surgery, recovery weight going up. I could feel the discouragement oozing from the phone. We prayed. Long story short, it took a couple of weeks to recoup from the surgery, and he was up in weight but I noticed a change in his tone. It was a little more upbeat. An occasional Chuckle and he was glad to be back at work. Family problems were still raging, but hey, we all have problems, he said. What dreams are waiting for you on the other side of your storm? Are they big enough to help you push through? If not, Ask God for a Bigger DREAM!

I could here road noise and wind on our last call. He was driving. When I asked where to, he said "School". He had enrolled in a local college and on Mondays he was taking classes towards his bachelors degree in Business Management. He not only made it through SEVERAL storms, PERFECT STORMS, but he had set his sights on conquering a fear, going back to college. His weight was down physically, but more importantly, the emotional and spiritual weight had dropped off completely.

All of us will have storms we have to go through. When my client started the Grace and Strength Lifestyle, he didn't know what to expect, but he had a strong Faith in Jesus Christ. It was that Faith that not only brought him through the storms, but once on the other side, It has awakened within him dreams that God put in him LONG ago and given him Grace and Strength to live his life fully and without fear.

Now THAT'S living The Grace and Strength Lifestyle!

Pray Seek Believe Receive

David Michael Rose

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* Individual results may vary.