Tag: #trustingod

Start, even if you are not ready

We have a tendency to analyse and research when we want to start a personal project – Google search, ChatGPT, seeking expert opinion and friends’ advice, do research – all to make sure our little project that we have been dreaming of is fail-safe..!

The problem with all these checking and analysing is that we end up not starting at all – the curse of “analysis paralysis”. Furthermore, all the preparations might not prevent us from failure, as many things are not under our control.

So when do we start? NOW.

How do we start? Whatever first steps we can take. We don’t need to figure out all the steps to start our project. Along the way, we will figure things out, as we get more feedback and can improve on our initial action plans.

God always puts in our heart the desire to dream and make it happen. He will be the one to show us the way, but He will only show us a few steps at a time. Just so we trust Him. He will remove the obstacles in our way, and bring the connections and resources that we need. Sometimes, it is harder or longer than we expected, as we prefer to have things fast and easy. God wants to grow our character and it takes time. Humans and plants do not grow overnight – it takes time and seasons. Caterpillar takes time to turn into a beautiful butterfly.

We don’t see the finish line of a race when we are at the starting line. God sees the finish line and our victory. We journey together on this adventure, but we need to be at the starting line to start the race.

Trust in God’s timing.

Trust in the process of growth.

Just START.

Whether you feel ready or not.

Especially when you don’t feel ready!

How to Nourish a Starved Soul

We nourish our bodies with nutritious food.
So I pondered: how do I nourish my starved soul?

Let me share my ways:
– Gratitude: give thanks for the many blessings in my life
– Kindness: being kind to myself, and not beat myself up when I fail
– Gentleness: be gentle and go easy on myself on hard days
– Forgiveness: forgive myself
– Experience pain and sorrow: to allow the emotions to overwhelm me in a safe space, and not bury them all the time; to cry, scream or shout or any other ways to let my emotions flow out safely
– Reading: to gain insight, learnings, and to enter into the world of the author
– Travel: to explore new places, food, cultures and environment
– Support: to seek support from family and friends who understands me, instead of carrying the burden by myself
– Authenticity: to have the courage to be vulnerable and to reveal my true self, good and bad
– Beauty: to recognize the beauty within my soul and treasure it
– Service: to reach out to serve others in need, to service in a community
– To Love: to love others unconditionally, no strings attached
– To Be Loved: to allow others to love me unconditionally, to allow them to enter into my inner world
– To know that – It’s okay not to be okay sometimes, that I haven’t gotten it all together in some seasons of my life, but it’s okay
– To Wait: to know that I sometimes need to wait for God’s timing for my life, that He is working in my life as I wait patiently for Him
– To Meditate or Practice Mindfulness: to quieten my busy mind and seek my inner strength within
– To Trust in God: for me, this is the most important one; to trust that God is always faithful to walk with me through my joys and sorrows, and that He is always with me through thick and thin

To tell you the truth: I don’t always do all these things above. When our bodies are starved, we can feel the hunger pangs. But when our souls are starved, we are sometimes not even aware of it. Let us always remind ourselves to nourish our souls lovingly.

Feel free to add to my list in the comments. I would love to find out more ways to nourish my soul. Thanks!