I am second...and liking it.
It's so easy to have God as #1 on a Sunday, but Monday comes and guess who takes over that position? I jump in and say my life is numero uno.
We all have things going on in our life. Family, health, and job issues plague us every single day. If we let those take over our thought process, God gets pushed out of the way.
God loves each and every one of us with a fierce love. He wants the best for us, and He is able to do anything for us. His only request is for us to put Him as the first thing in our lives.
Psalm 136:26 Give thanks to the God of Heaven. His love endures forever.
Do you know how hard that is?
I don't know about you, but I have control issues. I want to keep my hands in everything. My head knows the phrase "let go and let God", but my heart doesn't always follow. My kids, my husband, my finances, my job...all these things I try to control by my actions. One way I have been convicted of this in the past few months has been with this blog. A year and a half ago my husband left a great paying job to become a full time pastor at our church. Scary? Yes. Exciting? Yes. Fearful? Yes. Challenged? Yes. In my heart I knew I could turn my hobby blog into something more substantial to help out with our finances. So over the past 1 and a ½ years I have put my heart and soul into this "job". And I absolutely love it!!!!
There have been so many awesome opportunities, and God has blessed our family in so many ways.
Philippians 4:19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
The problem...
I have slowly pushed God into that second place. Somedays He was even in fifth place.
Oh, it didn't start out that way. I mean to take a step of faith like leaving a good paying job to go into ministry requires a lot of faith and trust in our God. A faith in our loving God that He will provide.
I didn't ever doubt that! But...slowly in a year's time I started to rely on myself to earn and get those job opportunities. And those jobs did keep coming. But I wasn't happy.
One thing I realized is that I needed to take a step back in blog areas.
One of my biggest traffic days as a blogger is Sunday. I have always tried to capitalize on that by posting a new recipe Sunday mornings. My goal was to have this post written by Saturday night, but that goal slowly evaporated. I am perpetually late to everything, so come Sunday morning I was still trying to finish writing a blog post and trying to get ready for church.
Talk about a conflict of interest!!!!
My heart attitude was wrong, and the focus had become all about me and what I could do. I wasn't focused on worship or listening to the Word those days. All my mind was consumed with was making sure things were shared, so I could see a good page view day.
It was a very good day when I realized I needed to put God back on that throne of #1. I knew God was speaking to my heart about NOT posting on Sundays. So, I changed up my posting schedule. For the past few months Saturday has been my new recipe day. No, it isn't as good as posting on a Sunday, but I know that I obeyed the tug in my heart to change things. I believe that God will honor that. It might not be how I would choose, but you know what, I'm ok with that.
If you get my email newsletter, it does come out a day late, so hopefully everyone looks at the date and realizes it isn't a Sunday post. I know it isn't something that anyone probably even noticed, but for some reason I felt that familiar tug to share my thought process with you.
Giving God back control has been a game changer for me. I feel happier! I know God is able to fulfill my heart desires to provide for my family. So traffic, shmaffic!!! I can honestly say I don't care if it tanks over a Sunday because there is no new recipe. I Am Second!!!! And putting God as #1 in my heart and life is how I want to live.
Matthew 22:37 And He said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind."
Allowing God to work in our lives can be scary. But He is able, and He won't fail. Sometimes it isn't how we would do it or how we think it should look, but when we let go, God can do amazing things with us. Serving God with your whole heart, mind, and soul will bring peace and joy. Just remember to lean on Him during those times of weakness and ask for His guidance and forgiveness when we mess up.
Matthew 6:33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Philippians 2:13 For it is God who is producing in you both the desire and the ability to do what pleases Him.
Jamie
Jocelyn, I can't even begin to tell you how much I loved reading this post! I'm guilty of trying to control everything instead of handing everything over to God. This is something I struggle with everyday and it's nice to know I'm not the only one who struggles with this. Thank you so much for sharing!!!
Jocelyn (Grandbaby cakes)
Jocelyn this is so beautifully written and so true on all levels. I think I need to have this chat with myself. I like you have control issues and I need to be in the midst of everything but letting go of that control and just putting God first will free up all of that. And it is so liberating too. Knowing God is looking out really helps!
Jocelyn Brubaker
Thanks Jocelyn! 🙂
EmJ
Great Post! Enjoyed reading and great reminder. Thanks
Niki
Love this post, so honest as we all lose focus and need to bring it back to God. I too find myself geting consumed with my wants/needs and lose focus. It was great to read this as I start my week.
Jocelyn Brubaker
Thanks Niki! 🙂
Aubrey @ Tackling Life
I really enjoyed reading this! Thanks for sharing.I love being able to hear about what God is teaching other people and also being able to apply it to my life. As a new wife and new blogger, this was really inspiring to me.
Thanks!
Jaren+(Diary+of+a+Recipe+Collector)
What an awesome post! I needed that today! Time to go get ready for church!
Jocelyn Brubaker
Thanks Jaren! 🙂
Chels+R.
Love, love, love this! I love your honesty! I have a rule-I don't get on the computer or start checking things online or do any posting of my blog, etc, until I've had my time with the Lord in the morning-for me, that means a daily bible study 5 days a week. Sometimes that means, I don't get on the computer until 12:30 in the afternoon. The days I cheat-the tug of guilt grabs me and I know, that I made myself first and him second. That feeling that the holy spirit is so convicting-but it also means that the spirit is alive within you. I really enjoyed this post. Thank you for sharing. 🙂
Margo Reding
Jocelyn,
Thanks for sharing your heart. God will bless you as you honor Him.
Great pics with hubby, too !
Margo
Jocelyn Brubaker
Thanks Margo! 🙂
Julie+@+Lovely+Little+Kitchen
Great reminder, and it's crazy how consuming blogs can be. There is no "done for today" or "all caught up here", because there's just always more you could be doing! Thanks for sharing this! But I'm thankful that it is a flexible job and can fit around our real priorities if we just make that choice :0)
Rebecca
Thanks for this post. You and your family are so sweet and so dedicated to the Lord. Love your blog!
Jocelyn Brubaker
Thanks Rebecca! 🙂
Sarah
Great post, thank you so much for sharing this with us. You had a tough decision to make but it sounds like you listened to what God was laying on your heart;that is never an easy task but so rewarding. Love your blog , keep up the good work!
God Bless!
Melissa
Love this post!!
Jocelyn Brubaker
Thanks Melissa! 🙂
Michele+@+Alwayzbakin
What a great post! I really need to listen to that and get my family back to church. I keep thinking that we don't have the time because I work a full-time job and so does my husband. We try to fit in all that needs to get done on the weekends. I know I need to get back. Thank you for the inspiration!
Miss @ Miss in the Kitchen
Love this post. It is so easy with this busy life to lose sight of our priorities.
Jocelyn Brubaker
Thanks Miss! 🙂
Lea
Oh, I'm pretty sure we could all use a "check up" in this area of us being #2 and HIM being #1. A great post on a great subject. Blessings to you and thanks for sharing your heart!
Jenn@eatcakefordinner
Well said 🙂 BTW - You two are so cute and were you taking all those pics at a fast food place???? Ha ha - that is too funny!
Jocelyn Brubaker
Thanks Jenn!! 😉
Heather @ Shards of Lavender
Jocelyn, thank you for sharing with everyone what was so dear to your heart. To be so transparent to such a large audience is courageous and I really admire that. I'm like you and like to be in control of every aspect of my life. The problem is that when I succumb to that mindset, I'm ultimately telling God that I don't trust Him to take care of my life. I'm so guilty of wandering thoughts during the sermon because my focus is off God and on myself and I thank you for the verses to remind me of where I need to set my mind. And I receive your newsletter, but don't ever notice the date, so don't worry about that! The pictures of your husband and you are great; you should print them and have them framed:) Thanks again!
Hilary
So I was looking for a recipe for peanut butter chocolate parfaits, and I resorted to Google, all the while thinking "I should just look on Jocelyn's blog..." Sure enough, the recipe that pops up on Google that I liked the best was yours. 🙂 I made them for my hubby's birthday party tonight.
Jocelyn Brubaker
Yay! That makes me so happy!! 🙂
Kay Little @ Cooking with K
I love this post…inspiring me to keep Sunday the Lord's day! I start posting on Saturday night and schedule my post for Monday morning. It takes all the pressure off on Sundays! Keep up the good work…you look great being second 🙂
Aimee+@+ShugarySweets
I love this post! I hear ya on the Sunday thing. I do occasionally have a new post go up on Sundays, but I try to not get on the blog at all until Monday mornings. This inspired me even more to just stay off social media on Sundays. I'm gonna do it! 🙂
Oh, and you and the hubs are just adorable. That is all.
Jocelyn Brubaker
Hehe, thanks!! 😉