Posted on by Angela

Stop Striving

I just checked my posting stats. I was shocked to find it has been ten days since I last posted. I have never gone for so long without a post. At least I don’t think I have. I am working on three posts and planning more. So, I guess the days just slipped by without my noticing.  

I was getting ready to write this morning and realized I needed to straighten my desk. While I was at it, I needed to dust. Then I noticed I had broken a nail, of course I had to take care of that. Time again slipping by in my distraction, or is it procrastination? 

Funny that. Time. We seem to have so much then suddenly not enough at all. We all have the same twenty-four hours of spinning around. In our spinning, somehow, we lose track of how much we lose and how much we waste. We hurry here and there with our list of things to do. Work, kids, family, hobbies, maybe we need to just stop and remember the most important part of time. It waits for no one.  

I opened www.biblegateway.com to check the verse in my head. I wanted to make sure I had the quote correct, and it turned out to be the verse of the day. Maybe we needed to hear it…ok maybe I needed to hear it today. 

Psalm 46:10a NASB 

Stop striving and know I am God… 

Those of you who like me grew up with the King James Version know it as “Be still and know that I am God.” But I like that word striving. Both are true. Be still and stop striving. Striving though has a different connotation. Stop trying to make something happen. Stop struggling. Stop for a while and rest. Think. Renew your energy. Time is passing by. You are missing what is happening right here, right now.  

So, I will be back and I will get myself on track. I feel a responsibility to whoever reads my words to be here. To be consistent. I can’t say I won’t go off the rails again. I am a dreamer chasing rainbows deep down. For today I hope we all can take a little time to stop striving, to be still and remember that He is God. Time is in His hands. Everything will be here when we get back.  

All for One  

Angela 

Posted on by Angela

Celebrating One Year

All for One has hit a year. It is hard to believe I have managed to keep writing here for one whole year. Other blogs I have started fizzled out after a few months. I have been determined to keep this one alive. Sure, I have missed a few days and there have been a few weeks that there hasn’t been something published, but overall, there has been at least one post per week since I started, sometimes more. So, where do I go from here? Good question.  

I believe it is good and healthy to take time for reflection and renewal. Time to evaluate what works and what does not work.  There are things I want to add to All for One. There are things I want to improve. I am not going to mention them right now as I am still contemplating and working through them, but I hope you will stay with me through the changes whatever they look like. More than anything I hope you will see the encouragement to grow closer in your walk with Jesus or to begin your walk with Jesus, whatever your stage of life.  

All for One at its heart is a discipleship/ lifestyle blog intended to help you on your journey with Jesus. Beyond that it could cover anything from Bible study to books to anything else. At one time I had five different blog ideas that I loved and couldn’t decide what I wanted to pursue. So, in a way, I have combined them all here and have only touched the tip of the iceberg of interests and ideas. Yet everything is filtered through my Christian worldview.  

I hope by now you have realized my words are my own and not the product of AI. I do not use AI to plan content or write content. My words and ideas are my own, good or bad.  For me, using AI to write this blog, or any future book or story is unethical and not true writing. There may be those who disagree, and that is fine. The place of AI is the source of debate right now, and people come down on both sides. It is unfortunate that a tool created by man is feared by some as to take the place of man and that we have such a hard time differentiating between what is real and what is AI. The words you read are real. My thoughts are real. Fortunately, they have been filtered and edited, but real just the same.  

I have set up All for One with three sections each with different functions. Third Verse Devotions looks at the old hymns, especially the third verse that often gets overlooked. So far, I have only looked at hymns with which I am familiar. It isn’t all that fair to the wealth of hymns which have been published in the past couple of centuries which are still sung in some churches and still hummed in homes. So, I hope to include hymns I don’t recognize as well. Times Like These is another section of All for One and is set us as Bible study and general posts. It is where this post will go. It is also intended to contain doctrinal studies, cultural thoughts, and things of like matter. We are living in strange and wonderful times. Times Like These is intended to help you on your way and maybe give you some food for thought. The final section is Angela’s Bookshelf. When I started blogging, I had thought that I would lean more toward the book and publishing market. Yet as soon as my fingers hit the keyboard, it became All for One. And what surprised me even more was that Angela’s Bookshelf is my least published page. It isn’t that I am not reading, I am. It is more that I spend more time on the other two pages, but I leave the page because we never know what the future holds, and any of these pages could wax or wane at any time.  

So, is All for One going away? Not a chance. We are just getting started. I always have more to learn, at any age. Technology, in some ways, escapes me, but I keep trying. Isn’t that all any of us can do? We keep pressing forward, forgetting what is behind straining for what is ahead. (Philippians 3: 13-14) 

All for One

Angela

Posted on by Angela

Things on the Desk

The desk where I do my writing is actually a small dining table. I have it pushed against a wall. My house has an open floor plan, so I am central to living, kitchen and dining areas. It got me thinking though about the kinds of things we keep on our desk. If you have a desk, take a moment to look at what your desk holds.  

I don’t mean the normal desk things like staplers, pens and pencils, tape dispenser, and the like. Of course, even those things can disclose personality. What I am thinking of is what could a person gather about you with the things on your desk? My home desk looks different from my work desk, but there are similarities. Both have sticky notes on the monitor; things I don’t want to forget or want to have at hand. My home desk has paperweights, an electric pencil sharpener (I use colored pencils for Bible study, and I even have real pencils), I have a large glass candle holder full of pens and pencils and highlighters. There is a Bible and a hymnal. Several journals. I have a few fidget things and stress toys. Right now, I have a menu planner marked for the coming week. It is incomplete. I also have a spiral binder with tabs which contain projects taken from my notebooks or that need to be typed into various folders in my computer. Recipes, writings, etc. There are a few other things crammed in, but this is basically my home workspace. 

My point in this exercise is that who we are is sometimes identified by what we surround ourselves with. By looking at the contents of our desk we can see where our time and energy is focused. It gives us the opportunity to make adjustments to our priorities. If we look at our desk and see an overflow of bills, maybe we need to consider our spending habits or work on budgeting. Sometimes our desk reveals what we enjoy.  An abundance of cards, stamps and pens could reveal you send cards to those you are thinking of or those who are sick or struggling. A desk covered with everything, but desk related items could mean you don’t use a desk at all. It is only a piece of furniture that is now a catch -all for all the clutter you don’t know what to do with.  

What are you surrounding yourself with? When you look at your workspace, home, or work, what stands out as a priority? The Bible tells us the from the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks (see Matthew 12:34). I think this is true not only in our speech, which is a big clue to our heart, but also in our workspace. What is important to us is what we keep close. Pictures of family, bible verses, inspirational quotes, things that build us up and those which visit our space reveal what is inside, what is important. Obscene pictures, insulting language, divisive posters, etc. also reveal what is inside. We are talking about a heart issue more than an organizational problem.  

I know you are probably thinking it is only a workspace but take a moment to look at your space either at home or at work. See if what I am saying is true. What does that space reveal about you? What does your desk or workspace say about you? Does it reveal your identity in Christ? Or does it reveal a life lived for the flesh? Maybe somewhere in between?  

I am not here to condemn; that is not my job. I only want you to think about what you identify yourself with and how you want to align your life. We want to be individuals who give our all for one. Who give everything we have to God. This means we are a work in progress, and it involves every aspect of our life from the company we keep to the insignificant little things like what we keep on our desk at work or home. Everything we say or do reflects who we are in Jesus. The changes may be gradual, such as replacing one item that may be inappropriate with something that is encouraging and uplifting. Maybe your whole workspace needs an overhaul. You decide.   

Maybe the time has come for you to decide for Christ. It’s time to follow Him. Put the things of the world behind and accept His gift of salvation. He loves you so much He died on a cross for your sins, and he alone can change you from the inside out. His identity in you is the only way the things on the desk make any difference.  

All for One 

Angela