How do you make decisions?

Decisions. Life is full of them. It's only 9:30a.m. and already I have made over 10 decisions this morning. What running shorts I should wear, what strength do I want my coffee, what color headband should I choose, to floss or not to floss?, get gas before my run or after, Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks coffee?, call mom now or later, dinner with a friend tonight?..... Our choices matter but they don't define us. Our choices have consequences but if we are believers, we know that God "works all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose". We can rest in that truth. But decisions are hard sometimes. With my husband's impending deployment this fall, I've had to decide whether to go down to Boynton Beach near my parents or stay in Columbus. Either choice seems positive. After making a t-chart (suggested by my type-A hubby) and laying out pros/cons, it seemed I wasn't any closer to making a decision. We also met with our pastor to get his advice. Which was, to make a decision, stick with it and if after a few months you decide it was the wrong choice, change locations. I think D.R. & I have approached decision-making in a "pray until you feel a peace about one way or the other" then move forward. Which has been a decent way to approach things. But after talking about this process with a few close friends, I got some great Biblical advice. Feeling "peace" isn't always a great indicator of what's right. Waiting on a feeling is dangerous and never an elusive way to go. While I do believe that God gives us peace about trusting in Him, I think waiting on the peace isn't a pre-requisite to proceeding forward. One friend shared that when he and his wife were praying about whether to go to seminary or medical school, he didn't ever "feel a peace" about either path. Rather, an older mentor told him, "look for a parade of providence". Meaning, God will open and close doors along the way and this is a great way to know where He's leading you. This was such helpful advice. After my friend made the decision to proceed towards medical school, he still didn't "feel" peace (shoot, he starts tomorrow and he's scared as crap!) but he took a step in that direction and is trusting that God has opened this door and will guide him from there. That's what faith is! I think I needed a reminder of what it means to step out and have faith. To relinquish control and say, "God, I'm walking down this path trusting that You have ordained it. Turn me around if I'm going the wrong way." So this is my new approach to making big life decisions. And awesomely enough, the Lord has opened a door here in Columbus, GA work-wise. I have the opportunity to work for/with a Christian fitness professional who is opening her own studio/gym in a few months! I will be part of her brand new staff! At first teaching Zumba, and eventually personal training. I feel so blessed to be able to work with a fellow believer (a few actually) and be involved in the fitness industry; something I've been passionate about for so long. So I feel this is an open door that God has put in front of me... so I'm walking through, trusting that He will guide me. "Faith: being SURE of what we hope for and CERTAIN of what we cannot see. Without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." Hebrews 11:1,6

Faith is a funny thing. It's hard to sit still and ask yourself, "do I have faith?" because you don't realize you have faith until you exercise it. As A.W. Tozer says in "The Pursuit of God", "Faith is the least self-regarding of all the virtues. It is by its very nature scarcely conscious of its own existence. Like the eye which sees everything in front of it and never sees itself, faith is occupied with the Object upon which it rests and pays no attention to itself at all. While we are looking at God we do not see ourselves- blessed riddance. The person who has struggled to purify him/herself and has had nothing but repeated failures will experience real relief when she stops tinkering with her soul and looks away to the perfect One. While she looks to Christ, the very thing she has so long been trying to do, will be getting done within her. It will be God working in her to will and to do." What are you struggling to have faith about in your life?