Small Changes, Big Payoff

September 23, 2023 Cathleen Zahradnik

“What is impossible for people is possible with God.” Luke 18:27 NLT

How intentional are you with your rhythms? You have rhythms. Routines, if you prefer. I wanted to avoid using that word. “Routines” carries the context of mundane, repeated, boring. But here’s the thing about intentional routines. They are designed, not haphazard. And they are designed with goals in mind. Intentional routines —rhythms— are strategically designed with an end in mind. These rhythms are put in place as guardrails to keep you on the road toward achieving your goals, discovering YOUR more, and fulfilling your divine potential. There is nothing boring or mundane about these repetitive activities! They are all about forward motion, not mere maintenance. So, how intentional are you with your rhythms?

Intentional rhythms are exciting and productive. They are worth taking the time to design. So, think about those goals you took the time to set and the new habits you want to introduce. Now is the time to design the rhythm where those habits will fit into your life. Start with just one area you want to work on. Taking action on your dreams means having a plan.

Don’t Just Dream It, Do It!

September 16, 2023 Cathleen Zahradnik

“Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.” Philippians 4:8-9 MSG

Why do we often stop at thinking about an idea or a dream and not do it? Who do you dream of becoming? What do you dream of doing? What are you doing about it? Having those dreams is great. But dreaming about those things must translate into action for transformation to happen. Don’t just think the best, do something about it.

Dear Friend, don’t discount your dreams. They are in you for a reason. The difference between dreamers who only dream and dreamers who live out their dreams is simple. The ones who live them out are the ones who do something to achieve them. What steps are you taking to live out the dream that God has put in your heart?

Have given yourself permission to dream? Then you are off to a good start. If you are disciplining yourself to think about what is best, good! Are you beginning to apply the truth of who God says you are to your life? Awesome! You are making progress toward becoming the person you were designed to be. Now it’s time to take a step further. It’s time to do something about achieving those dreams! Think the best and then take steps in the direction of that dream. Here’s how.

Where You Look is Where You’ll Go

September 9, 2023 Cathleen Zahradnik

“We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5 NLT

When I was learning to drive a car I heard this phrase, “The car goes where your eyes go.” Did you ever hear that one? As a new driver, if I was fearfully eyeing the mailbox along the side of the road that I didn’t want to run into, the car would start drifting toward the mailbox along the side of the road. If my gaze shifted anxiously toward oncoming traffic, the car would also shift toward the oncoming traffic. I had to learn to keep my eyes focused straight ahead so that the vehicle would keep a straight-ahead course. Even now, especially when I am passing a large truck in a narrow lane, I say to myself, “Just keep looking straight ahead.” Being aware of what is around you is important, but not being distracted by it requires intentional focus. I have to decide to keep my eyes pointed where I want to go, not on those other things.

It isn’t that different in life, is it? It’s so easy to get distracted by all that is happening around us. We might have a tendency to drift toward that thing on the right or the left, but when we do we find ourselves off track.

Are you off track my friend? Is your life headed where you want to be? You might need to discipline yourself to keep looking where you want to go. You might need to tell yourself, “Just keep looking straight ahead.” Why? Because your life will head toward what you are paying attention to. When you pay attention to things that distract you from your ultimate goal, your life will drift. Are you heading where you want to go? What does straight ahead look like for you? Here’s how to “get your eyes back on the road.”

You Become What You Believe

September 2, 2023 Cathleen Zahradnik

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Romans 12:2 NLT

There’s a phrase that I have heard quite often: You live what you believe. What that means is that you can say that you believe something, but if your actions don’t line up with what you say, then you don’t really believe it. What you do is what you believe.

When it comes to faith, I’ve heard it said that you only believe the parts of the Bible that you actually do. Well, that could be pretty convicting! Am I doing what I know the Bible says? Am I living what I say I believe?

What do you believe about yourself? You may be able to quote Scriptures about being a child of God and more than a conqueror, but are you living out of those things? Think about how you reacted to a recent challenge. Did you behave like a confident child of God? Did you live like you are more than a conqueror?

Don’t be too hard on yourself, friend! None of us live up to what we know 100% of the time. However, if we become more aware of our responses and what they tell us about our beliefs we can begin to shift. We can become the person we want to be.

What do you really believe about yourself? Do you realize that what you believe is what you will become? What beliefs will set you free to become all that you were designed to be?

Paul told his friends in Rome to “let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” (Romans 12:2 NLT) Where do you want to be transformed? What would you like to believe? How can you begin to become that new person and let God change what you think?

Here are some tips to get you started. Read on, friend!

You Are What You Think

August 26, 2023 Cathleen Zahradnik

“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Proverbs 4:23 NLT.

Even into my adult years, I saw myself as a scared little girl. I was terrified of making mistakes. I had a deep fear of failure. My mom told me I would practice saying words in my crib before I ever used them publicly. The desire for excellence was in me from infancy!

But a desire for excellence easily and quickly became a fear of failure and a drive for perfection. Is perfection even possible for humans? Of course not! What does that mean? Failure was part of every effort to achieve perfection instead of excellence. How does one avoid failure and making mistakes? By choosing not to choose. Be deciding not to try. And that is what I often did.

I became a hesitant and shy child. Although my heart longed to soar, I kept my feet on the ground and my wings safely tucked in. No flying, no failure. Or so I thought.

Those thoughts limited my ability to achieve the excellence I so desired. They kept me from becoming the person I wanted to become. They tied me down and made me a prisoner to my fears. That isn’t what I wanted for myself. And it isn’t what I want for you either.

So, where do we start to overcome the thoughts that hold us down? We start by accepting that you are what you think and to become who you want to be you must change the way you think. So, here’s why.

What you think determines your attitude. Do certain things irritate you, but you aren’t sure where the irritation originates? “Why does this bug me so much?” That is the question to ask yourself. Being willing to ask that question will help to reveal your underlying attitudes. Answering that question will help you unlock what you think about the situation and the people involved.

Take the Time to Make the Time

August 19, 2023 Cathleen Zahradnik

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:15-16 ESV

Time. Is it your enemy or your friend? Do you find yourself struggling to find the time to do the things you want to do? Does time seem to be slipping away, the future becoming now without anything to show for the past? I’ve got you, my friend!

Time. We all have the same amount, but some of us seem to make more of that time. Some of us seem to be accomplishing our goals and dreams. Some of us just seem to have more time.

Well, it isn’t true. No one has more time than you do. They are just using their time in a way that enables them to get done what they want to do. They are discovering their more in the way they use their time. Wouldn’t you like to do that, my friend? Okay, then! Let’s get started!

Where Will Your YES Take You?

August 12, 2023 Cathleen Zahradnik

'Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.”’ Luke 1:38

Do you ever feel stuck? You know what I mean. Your life becomes predictable. Comfortable. Mundane. Routines are a valuable tool when they are designed to help you accomplish what is necessary and important, but if you aren’t careful, they can just suck you into the same-old same-old. Rise, routine, repeat. Right? That’s not what you want!

What do you want? You want a life that zings with meaning, purpose, passion, and potential. You want to know that you are discovering more—all the things that God created you for. You want your life to be a fulfilling adventure, not simply satisfying. Full. Even a little bit exciting. Am I right?

I totally get it and I have been there. What I’ve learned is that every day holds the possibility to discover some of that MORE. The key that unlocks potential is a three-letter word: YES. If you can allow yourself to think in terms of that three-letter word you will find yourself on what I like to call The YES Adventure. Yes by yes you discover the more you were meant for. You discover your MORE when you give God your YES. Are you ready?

Are YOU Brave Enough to Say YES?

August 5, 2023 Cathleen Zahradnik

“God arms me with strength, and he makes my way perfect.” Psalms 18:32 NLT

“You’re so brave!” she said. The thought had never occurred to me that what I was doing was brave. I was just taking the next step on my journey with God. He had opened a door that I knew was mine to walk through. Brave? Was it really?

I had worked for several years to acquire my ministry license. Hours of classes and tests. A qualifying exam. An interview before a committee of respected ministers in my fellowship. Waiting while their recommendation was sent to the national office. Every step along the way was simply moving forward in the direction that I knew God was calling me. I had no idea how it was all going to turn out. I just knew that each new opportunity or challenge required another YES. This new venture was just one more “yes.”

I had been in my current position, a public middle school library aide, for nine years. I loved working in the school library. I had come to love the students and the staff. It was June and another school year was coming to a close. I had already submitted my paperwork to confirm another year of employment. I had no visions of a life change. Then my pastor called me in for an appointment…

The Peace Formula

July 29, 2023 Cathleen Zahradnik

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Luke 22:42 NIV

There are certain memories that become anchors for our souls. I’ll bet you’ve got a few of those. As I look back on a particular time in my life, I remember a key lesson that I learned. One that has anchored me through so much. At that time, my soul was an angry sea, but now, when I apply what I learned then, I don’t experience the same kind of turbulence. I’d love to share my secret with you. It’s a formula for peace. Interested? Here goes!

In 1991, Tom and I, and our two children under 3 years old, moved back to New York after two years in Pensacola, Florida. Because we were just waiting for a call from the FAA for Tom to begin training as an air traffic controller, our plan was to live at my parents’ house until he finished training and then move to wherever he was placed. Simple plan. The only wrinkle in the plan was that the U.S. government put a freeze on all hiring, so no new air traffic controllers were being trained. There was no call coming from the FAA in the foreseeable future. Time for a new plan. Tom found a job and eventually went back to school to finish his degree. I struggled.

We ended up living downstairs at Mom and Dad’s for over three years. That was not the resolution I wanted! My heart yearned for a place of my own and for many months there was no personal space at the end of our tunnel.

Holy Spirit or My Own Heart?

July 22, 2023 Cathleen Zahradnik

“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Proverbs 4:23 NLT

You want to be and do all that God has for you, right? Me too. That means that we want to do what God is saying, right? But how can I tell the difference between what God is saying to me and what I am saying to myself? Sometimes God’s voice is very clear. Like the holy highlighter on the pages of Scripture. But other times…

Learning to recognize the voice of God takes practice, but it really isn’t rocket science. As I learn to pay attention to the ways that God brings things to my awareness through His word, my thoughts, and circumstances I become more in tune with just how active God is in communicating with me on a regular basis. When I notice ideas that I recognize are not part of my normal train of thought I recognize the Holy Spirit at work. How awesome that the God of the universe takes the time to speak to me!

But, if you are like me, you may find yourself trying to rationalize what you are hearing. How can I be sure that is God? What if that is just my own self speaking and masquerading as the Holy Spirit? What if it isn’t God at all and I act on it?