Back to those Excuses...!

(Wondering if folks are taking a blog-reading break, and if my blogging will be for naught...? No matter -- this will be good for me to write it out!)

Returning to those excuses ... the ones that may be keeping us from living the Abundant Life that God has for us. I think I'll group several together, for I'm eager to get on to the counter-thoughts that we can "try on"... just to see if they perhaps fit better than do the excuses that are oh-so-familiar...

As you read, take a mental inventory, see if any are in your own arsenal. Be particularly wary of any immediate "no way" that comes to mind... could well be the ego seeking to keep you from finding freedom...! Sneaky lil' sucker!

"I've always been this way -- it's my nature -- I can't change (or achieve my goals)."
(a handy-dandy excuse guaranteed to keep us stuck in whatever isn't working, but which feels comfy-familiar -- plus, it gets us off the responsibility-hook!)

"No one will be there to help me change (or achieve my goals)."
(Oh? Isn't the world filled with people? Can you know for certain that none of them could, or would, show up to help? What if your thought that they won't is what's keeping them from doing so..?)

"I've never been able to change (or achieve my goals) before."
(This is a close cousin to "we've never done it that way before." Are we slaves to our past? Are we doomed?)

"I'm not strong enough to change (or achieve my goals)."
(If I see myself as a weak person, then I'm assigning the victim role to myself. Has not God given us all we need to live the life we've come to live?)

"I'm not smart enough to change (or achieve my goals)."
(I figure that if I'm smart enough to conceive of a thing, then I'm smart enough to achieve that thing. This, I believe, is where passion and perseverance come in to play. If I think of a thing differently, I'm creating new pathways in my brain chemistry ... that allow for new ways of considering, and then new ways of acting. I figure I have access to Divine Intelligence ...!)

"I'm too old (or too young) to change (or achieve my goals)."
(So, the number of trips I've made around the sun determines what I can do...?)

"The Rules won't let me change (or achieve my goals)."
(Ahhhh, this one is insidious, no? Especially if we've been duped into thinking that a successful life is the life that adheres best to the rules. I've even used the rules to drown out the Voice of God! I've been nearly strangled by the shoulds.)

"That which I would like to do/be/experience (the goals I want to achieve), is too big."
(But the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step...!)

"I'm too tired (to change or achieve my goals)!"
(What if this is just a learned response ... what if our thoughts dictate directions to our bodies, and our bodies just obey? What if low energy is a result of habitual thinking, more than body chemistry? What if there's fear of failing behind this excuse?)

"I've inherited my family's history (so I can't change or achieve my goals)."
(Oh yeah? So, because those who came before me made certain choices, I must make the same ones? What if this excuse is based on the fear of exploring the lies I believe? What if my old perspective can be replaced with a new one? What if Truth can replace lies? My life is a testimony to that.)

"I'm just too busy (to change or achieve my goals)."
(What if we're all overextended because we've *chosen* to be? What if we try to stay so busy that we can't get quiet, can't be still and know the Voice of God within ... what if we so believe in a scary-God that we're terrified of being "alone" with Him ... horrified at what we might hear?)

"I'm too scared to change (or achieve my goals)."
(Well, at least now we're getting real! Fear is THE biggie in the catalog of excuses. When all the fluff is blown away, all choices come down to either love or fear. Yeah, I know there's much resistance to that thought. But give it some time, dig deep, and get very, very honest. At the root of everything, you'll find one or the other. One is the calling cart of God, and the other of the ego. Being aware of it is the first step to no longer being enslaved to it...)

"Fear knocked on the door. Love answered, and no one was there."

Next, I'll repeat all of these excuses, and offer a positive option to consider instead ... AND share some scripture verses that came to my mind as I read them. It was enlightening to me ... very powerful.

Shalom, Dena