I've often found myself bouncing back out of a deep thought where I've completely lost track of time and everything around me.  I can look back and remember a time when these kind of moments were predominately ugly and horrifying in nature and typically left me upset, cranky, irritable and ready to snap at anyone who was near me.  Not that those incidents were or are the slightest bit funny, but today I find myself smiling and kinda snickering at the challenges I've faced and the changes I've made over time.  No, I'm not perfect and am quite honest when I say I am far from it! However, I will also say that I've put forth the effort to make the changes I sought. None of these changes happened over night and I still have a long way to go. So where am I going with all of this? Good question… I'm glad you asked!

I've read the book Made To Crave, and have recently been going over the short  videos broken down into smaller lessons in our weekly group coaching calls with The Grace and Strength Lifestyle. I absolutely loved the book but, the videos have completely captured my attention on a different level. Maybe I wasn't quite ready for what I was reading, or, maybe I'm now in a season in my life where I am better able to process.

So this week there was  a topic of discussion where the author, Lysa TerKeurst, spoke about being pre-determined. I've pondered this for several days now.  This week, I purposely made myself be more aware of the areas of my life where I was lacking (and slacking) and needed to be more pre-determined.  Regardless of  how many challenges, road blocks and/or pitfalls I could potentially face, I wanted to be ready for them and set a positive course of action should they arise.

First, I prayed. Some might say, of course you did. But no, I seriously prayed that God would give me the wisdom to recognize, protection with knowledge, courage to with-stand, strength to endure, kindness in my words, and the ability to grab ahold of that which is strong should I need to brace myself if I felt weary.

Notorious for using index cards, I wrote down those 6 words; Wisdom, Protection, Courage, Strength, Kindness, Tenacity. No one knew what those words on that silly little index card meant…but I did! All they knew is Anna was carrying around this list of words on a index card that was really beginning to look pretty rough after being in and out of her pocket throughout the week!

When I felt a cloud over my head, saw a boulder coming my way, or felt that dagger probing at my heart, I reached in my pocket, closed my eyes and took a deep breath remembering my agenda for the week… "Pre-determined Anna, you're pre-determined!". Let me just say, this was a week of MANY boulders and roadblocks! But here I am, standing tall and successful after one whole week of being pre-determined. The one thing I want to point out more than anything else…Did you notice I didn't pray "help me back up should I fall"? I was pre-determined NOT to fall this time! And guess what? I DIDN'T!

I want to challenge YOU to be pre-determined over the next week. Find that one thing that you have been trying relentlessly to conquer and come up with a plan of action. Determine that you are going to be pre-determined in the day ahead. I encourage you to seek God and believe in Him to help you. Bring God into your situation and allow Him to help you work through your circumstances… Just let God be God and refuse to tie His hands in your battles, and see what breakthroughs await you.

I look forward to hearing about your victories in the days to come!

Believing the best for you!

Picture courtesy of Andrew Kerr

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* Individual results may vary.