I don’t like to be out of my comfort zone. I mean, that’s why it’s called a comfort zone. I know what to expect, I know what is expected of me, I know how to do the job. It’s comfortable and I can do it with reasonable success. This past year, God has called me to move out of my area of comfort and to try new things. Some new things, like attending conferences, I was pretty excited to try. Other new things I was scared out of my wits to do– because I knew if God didn’t help me and show up, I was going to fall on my face and be a complete failure.
This week I stepped out of my comfort zone and spoke at my church on Mother’s Day. Putting my thoughts into coherent sentences does not come easy to me. Preparing for this presentation brought me to my knees. It stretched me but also ignited some new dreams and passions into my spirit. If you are curious, you can listen to my presentation: Not Just Surviving, but Thriving and you can view the PowerPoint Presentation as well: Not Just Surviving but Thriving PowerPoint Presentation.
The benefits of being out of my comfort zone:
1. It was an opportunity to experience new things I never would have tried if I wouldn’t have moved beyond my everyday routine.
2. Allowed me to trust God in a new way; fully relying on Him to help me through this new experience, and seeing areas He was growing me to be more like Him.
3. Sharpened old skills and revealed a couple new talents.
4. Stepping out of my comfort zone gave me the opportunity to discover new passions and hobbies.
5. Gave me the satisfaction of having tried something new.
6. A willingness to be open to try uncomfortable things more often.
7. Allowed me to see life from a different perspective.
8. Growth– spiritual, emotional, intellectual.
9. It pushed me to do something rather than just sit and think about doing it.
10. Made me aware of how many friends I have who were willing to cheer me on, pray for me, and push me to succeed. I felt very blessed!
I love this… so many wonderful reasons to allow God to push us out of our comfort zones and teach us something new and yet it is still so hard to do. Great post!
Thank you Jenilee!
Listening RIGHT now! AWESOME Maureen, AWESOME!!!! I LOVE how you indicated that you had been praying for your girls to get along! That turned on a lightbulb for me! I TELL my kids to get along, but in all honesty, it has not been something that I have prayed about! GREAT advice girlfriend! I don’t want to simply survive as a mom…I want to THRIVE! Motherhood is not a job but a mission! So many great nuggets and I haven’t even finished listening! 😉
Thank you Jenn! God’s been teaching me a lot –this past year especially —about motherhood.
That’s awesome! Way to put yourself out there and allow God to use you. I feel like I’m doing that with my blog. I’ve only been at it for a couple weeks, but I get a little nervous when I hit publish wondering what people will think (or if anyone will read it!)
Thanks for sharing!
MB
I’ve been blogging for awhile and still feel that way with certain posts! Way to step out of your comfort zone— and welcome to the world of blogging. 🙂
Wow! This really spoke to me….I have believed all of those lies (and recently posted on my blog about this very issue). I was completely unprepared for the spiritual warfare that would come knocking at my door when my husband and I chose to raise our kids to know and love God. I thought, “If I____________ then this mothering gig will be easy!” I love how you shared that God even uses our children to grow and shape us….
Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and insight! I always love reading your blog.
Thank you for sharing Sarah! God’s been working on me for awhile. It’s easy to believe the lies and loose vision. I still catch myself doing it at times.
Inspirational!!! Love this – and can’t wait to see what God has in store for you next!
Maggie– thank you for being such a great support! Words cannot express how thankful I am for your friendship.