1 down, 11 to go!

As the first month of 2011 draws to a close, I'm finding myself much more reflective, than in Januarys past, to the work God has been doing in my life.

And reflective on this word - transform - that God has placed on my heart.

On my bulletin board at my desk, I have hanging a drawing with the word "TRANSFORM" in the center and circled.  From the circle are lines branching out with the nuggets God has been revealing to me as I make my way on this transformation journey.

In my last post, I shared the two pieces, "It's going to get ugly before it gets better," and "Rest."

I've taken the first one and made it my sort of mantra to get me through the ugly times.  It kind of reminds me of repeating, "This too shall pass," when I was awake in the early morning hours feeding a little one.  And I took moments to 'rest' and have felt refreshed and rested.  (Hence the lack of new blog posts.)

I feel as if a new nugget is presented to me each week or so, and I use the time that follows to really breathe it in, soak it up and make it part of me.

And to be completely honest, I am really loving this process.  It is totally a God-thing, because I could have never planned it like this! ;)  And God has taken into account the way I learn and remember and is using that to teach me.

Be it a book, a word heard from a friend, written in an email or whatever - I am full of sense and wonder as each nugget is placed upon my heart.  It doesn't just happen in a moment and then fade.  But rather, throughout the following days, it is revealed deeper.  I chose the word nugget because it makes me think of a gold nugget - or from wikipedia: "a piece of gold produced through mining and extraction." 

Mining and Extraction!  Chipping away!  Removing the worthless! Chiseling!  When God chisels the dead weight out of our lives it can be very painful!  But through it comes - Transformation!

My most recent nugget?

"It's not about me."  A powerful truth mentioned in chapter 1 of Rick Warren's "The Purpose Driven Life."  In regards to the purpose of our lives, "It's all about God.  It's not about you."  (you can read the first seven chapters of PDL, here).  I've read through this book twice, and it is an amazing book.  I try to read it every other year - and God continually shows me more and more each time.

Rather than just seeing one side of "my transformation," the selfish side - I'm looking outward and earnestly seeking God's lead to show me where to put my next step to transform not only me, but my family, my friends, my community, and anyone who comes across this blog.

Watch this movie from the Skit Guys for a great visual reminder of God chipping away the dead weight of our lives and how we go through the process of discipline.