5 Steps to Stop Resting on Your Laurels

This Spiritual Growth UPGRADE by Dawn Wilson considers the importance of continuing to grow in every area of life and not be content with victories in the past.

The old expression "resting on your laurels" refers to relying entirely on successes in the past for continuing recognition. It means we're too satisfied with past achievements to move forward into growth and new success. No real, consistent effort is made to improve our own life or the lives of others.

Laurel leaves were woven into a ring for contest winners in ancient sporting events. The laurel ring—a Victor's crown—was placed on the winner's head for all to see. It brought great praise and honor to the one who wore the crown.

But imagine if that victor just "rested on his laurels" and never did anything else that mattered. How foolish.

Victors would be counseled, "look to your laurels." Be careful not to lose the rank you achieved in future competitions.

I cannot help but compare this to the Christian life. 

Too many Christians—having fought the good fight of faith in their youth—sit back and reminisce about past answers to prayer, past Kingdom work and past victories. Past blessings are wonderful, but they're never meant to be the "end all" of the Christian life. And . . . 

Resting on your laurels is the opposite of UPGRADING your life!

So how do we stop resting on our laurels and move forward into new victories?

1. Take a Moment to Remember

We're not to live in the past, but that doesn't mean we don't reflect on what God has done and what it took to get to a place of victory... a place of rest ... a place of peace ... a place of fruitfulness, etc. "Remember the wondrous works He has done..." (Psalm 105:5). See also Psalm 103:2; Deuteronomy 8:2.

2. Take Stock of What You Have

What is in your hands?  What has the Lord given you NOW to work with? New resources? New skills? New vision? New people to help? New opportunities open with new supply! "Whatever your hand finds to do, do with your might...." (Ecclesiastes 9:10a).

3. Take Hold of Faith

Remember that you can do nothing without the Lord (John 15:5; Jesus' example—5:30), and without faith (in Him), it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6).

4. Take New Ground

Like the Children of Israel, moving forward into the Promised Land (Joshua 21:43), you can always take new ground when the Lord directs your steps.

• You can take new ground physically. (Lose weight? Get stronger? Get healthier?)
• You can take new ground mentally and emotionally, learning new things and biblical ways to cope with the circumstances of life.
• You can take new ground socially, reaching out to others with selflessness and a servant's heart.
• And you can always take new ground spiritually. What book of the Bible will you study? What scriptures will you memorize? What will you pray for? Who will you mentor? What can you do to make some corner of the world a better place to the glory of God?

Jesus grew in all of these areas (Luke 2:40, 52) and so can you! There's no reason to stop growing.

And don't forget, in these ungodly days:

• You can take new ground against the enemy (Satan). As long as we have breath, we must fight the good fight of faith. We can't leave it to others. The Captain of our Soul has work for us to do.

 5. Take Every Opportunity to Praise

We forget that God is God and we are not—and all we ever hope to achieve is because of His good grace. So we must take every opportunity to praise Him, honor Him, bring Him glory.

As my friend Pam Farrel reminds me, "Those who honor God, God honors" (see 1 Samuel 2:30). If you want to move forward in victory, be sure you are honoring God. 

Don't miss this. We can't just sit back and rest on our laurels. We've got to reach forth and take new ground. Because we are soldiers of the cross, and as followers of Christ, we are "on mission" until He calls us home to glory.

My friend Nancy Leigh DeMoss helped me remember a hymn that speaks to this truth. Isaac Watts, in his hymn, "Am I a Soldier of the Cross?" wrote:

"Am I a soldier of the cross, A follower of the Lamb,

And shall I fear to own His cause, Or blush to speak His Name?

Must I be carried to the skies On flowery beds of ease,

While others fought to win the prize, And sailed through bloody seas?

Are there no foes for me to face? Must I not stem the flood?

In this vile world a friend to grace, To help me on to God?

Sure I must fight if I would reign; Increase my courage, Lord.

I'll bear the toil, endure the pain, Supported by Thy Word...."

Watts went on to write about the "robes of victory" the saints will wear someday.

Much like a laurel wreath, our victory robes will celebrate what has been achieved, not for us but for the Kingdom. And the glory will all belong to the Lord!

I want to finish well, don't you?

Are you resting on your laurels? How can you move forward to gain new ground? 

Dawn Wilson, founder and President of Heart Choices Ministries, is the creator of three blogs: Heart Choices Today, LOL with God(with Pam Farrel), and Upgrade with Dawn. She is the Director of the San Diego chapter of Network of Evangelical Women in MInistry (NEWIM San Diego). Dawn is the co-author ofLOL with God and contributed "The Blessing Basket" in It's a God Thing. She and her husband Bob have two grown, married sons, three granddaughters and a rascally maltipoo, Roscoe. 

Need to Upgrade Your Disposition?

A woman's disposition plays a big part in the atmosphere of her home. In this Relationship UPGRADE by Dawn Wilson, we'll look at how this is true.

Yes, a husband and children have parts to play too, but if you are a woman in a home full of people, your attitudes figure in as a big part in the nurturing atmosphere of your home.

Your attitudes can either resemble a dreary, gray day  –putting a damper on everything that goes on – or a sunny, cheerful day. Attitudes permeate all the relationships in the home and office. A disposition can have great influence for good or harm.

Parents will soon discover good attitudes are "caught" long before they are taught. And attitudes can sow seeds of destruction or strength in marriages too.

Years ago, I read this story* in the book Your Marriage–Duel or Duet? by Louis H. Evans:

A young man asked a Dr. Edwards for the hand of his daughter in marriage. Dr. Edwards refused–quite a setback for a young suitor. He said, "Why can I not marry your daughter? I love her."

Dr. Edwards replied, "I think you do."

"I can support her."

He replied, "I suppose you can."

"Then why can't I marry her?"

To this, Dr. Edwards answered, "My daughter has a miserable disposition--nobody could live with her and be happy."

To this the suitor replied with great gallantry, "But you know, Dr. Edwards, there is always the grace of God."

Dr. Edwards smiled and replied, "When you are as old as I am, young man, you will realize that the grace of God can live with some people that you can't live with!"

Evans commented, "... I wonder if the grace of God lives with anyone who cannot live with other people. Paul said, 'Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him' (Romans 8:9)."

What kind of disposition enhances the home and does not tear down relationships? The disposition that reflects the Spirit of Christ. We're instructed to pattern our lives after Him (Philippians 2:5-8). Jesus had a humble spirit. A loving and unselfish spirit. We observe His strength in scripture, but also His  peaceable, forgiving spirit. He lived according to the Word of God and the will of the Father (Matthew 4:4; John 4:34; 6:38).

God wants us to have a spirit that lives according to the truth of scripture rather than being driven by feelings.

Evans made this important observation:

"Why is it that some of us are so difficult to live with? Why are some women so short-tempered, so mean in disposition? Many times it lies in the fact that we are simply God-hungry."

It's easy for women to get God-hungry. Women today have so many roles. Sometimes inner resources dwindle as we try to nurture and encourage others or just keep up with all our responsibilities. In our busyness, we forget to nourish ourselves so we will have inner strength for the demands of life. 

We feed our souls with snacks–little spoonsful–when what we really need is large scoops of God's Word.

Does God need to change your disposition? When was the last time you lingered in the presence of God for strength and sustainance?

Dawn Wilson, founder and President of Heart Choices Ministries, is the creator of three blogs: Heart Choices Today, LOL with God(with Pam Farrel), and Upgrade with Dawn. She is the Director of the San Diego chapter of Network of Evangelical Women in MInistry (NEWIM San Diego). Dawn is the co-author ofLOL with God and contributed "The Blessing Basket" in It's a God Thing. She and her husband Bob have two grown, married sons, three granddaughters and a rascally maltipoo, Roscoe.

* Louis H. Evans, Your Marriage–Duel or Duet? (Spire Books, Fleming H. Revell, 1972), pp. 47, 49.

Got Hindrances? Hand 'em Over

In this Spiritual Growth UPGRADE, Dawn Wilson invites us to deal with "weights" and hindrances biblically.

I was in a real tug-of-war at the AT & T store. I loved the quirks in my old phone, even though I kept running into problems.

So I asked the store clerk, "Can't we just add some bells and whistles to this one?"

"No, ma'am," the clerk said with a grin. "You have to stop using the old phone to get a new one."

I glanced down at my phone, still thinking. My husband rolled his eyes.

The clerk prompted, "Come on, hand it over."

I did get a new phone, and love it now. Why did I struggle with the change?

Same thing happened at the hair salon. With my 1980s hairstyle.

"Can't we just tweak it a little?" I asked my patient hairdresser.

"No, Girlfriend," she said. "This style's not doing you any good. We need to start over!"

Unfortunately, this pattern continues into my spiritual life.

Sometimes I try to bargain with the Lord. "Is this really so bad?" "Maybe I can hang on to this little bit?" "Can't you just add some spiritual growth to this other part of my life?"

And I hear a quiet invitation: "Come on ... hand it over."

Sometimes I hear words of grace: "You're forgiven. Now let's start over."

You would think I'd learn by now.

When the Holy Spirit asks for something, it's because He wants something better for us. He wants us to be more like Jesus.

There are so many hindrances that can take us away from God's best.

Maybe it's overt sin. Maybe it's something we love more than the Lord. (It's called an idol.) Perhaps it's a good thing - even something others might praise - but we know deep in our hearts it's not what God desires ... for us.

In recent days, the Lord has asked me to "hand over" some entertainment that didn't honor Him ... willful eating habits ... prideful thought patterns. He wants me to move on toward holiness, discipline and humility.

But I have to be honest. Sometimes I just get plumb tired of my struggles with sin; and on a day when I was especially frustrated after willfully choosing something after He gave me a surrendered "way out," God's words gave me direction.

"... let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith ... Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted" (Hebrews 12:1-3).

I saw both commands and encouragement to Christ-followers:

1. Lay aside every "weight" - every hindrance.

We lay them aside by handing them over to the Lord. We must stop justifying or rationalizing these hindrances and see them for what they are. They are enemies to following Christ. They are enemies to becoming all that God intends us to be.

Weights might be little things that get in the way of our spiritual growth, something from our past that hasn't been dealt with biblically, or even leglistic baggage (not living in grace) (Colossians 2:8, 13-14).  

2. Cast off those "clingy" sins.

Those sins we are most comfortable with are the sins we tend to coddle. They seem to fit us like tailored clothing. They cling to us like fog on a dark night. God calls us to step outside our shadowy "comfort zones" of sin and into the light of righteousness. Paul says, "do not let sin reign ... sin shall no longer be your master" (Romans 6:12, 14). Got hindering sins? Hand them over!

3. Run with endurance.

Sometimes we forget we're in a race of faith and faithfulness. When we trust Christ, we signed up to follow Him forever. Paul described this in Philippians 3:13 and 2 Timothy 4:7.  

The race is part of the deal. We can't sit on the sidelines. And we're not to run aimlessly; we're to run to win!

4. Look to Jesus.

He's our model. We can "gaze on His glory and be transformed into His image (2 Corinthians 3:18). As Jesus trusted His Father, He chose righteousness over sin and obeyed, even to the point of embracing the cross to be our Savior. In His resurrection, we are free from the power of sin and death.

By faith, we also can obey the Word and Spirit of God. We can please the Father and live holy lives. Jesus is both the author and sustainer of our spiritual transformation.

5. Stay strong and faithful!

Our strength and endurance are not something we can drum up at will. Even if we start out with our own will power, we can't sustain it for long. God is our Source, and we need to recognized that. The Psalmist prayed, "Keep your servant also from willful sins ... Direct my footsteps according to your word" (Psalm 19:13; 119:133).

We cannot live a holy life apart from the Lord. But in Him and through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can live the resurrection life. The glorious truth is, we will win the race. We will triumph in Christ (2 Corinthians 2:14).

Do you want to UPGRADE your spiritual growth? Confess and lay aside ANYthing that hinders your walk with Jesus!

What hinders or encumbers you in the race of faith?

Dawn Wilson, founder and President of Heart Choices Ministries, is the creator of three blogs: Heart Choices Today, LOL with God (with Pam Farrel), and Upgrade with Dawn. She is the Director of the San Diego chapter of Network of Evangelical Women in Ministry (NEWIM San Diego). She and her husband Bob have two grown, married sons, three granddaughters and a rascally maltipoo, Roscoe.

Parenting Wisdom from the Garden

Sue Badeau (and her husband Hector) share a powerful story about adopting and raising 22 children. Sue has a lot of experience and wisdom to share, as she does in this positive Parenting UPGRADE.

"I do not have a green thumb," Sue says. "I can’t even keep a cactus alive and cactuses barely require any attention! If I can’t nurture plants to bloom and flourish, how can I do it for children, especially those with special needs? Have you ever felt this way?"

Yes, Sue. Every parent faces challenges, and there were times I (Dawn) wished I had a special button to push to make my children immediately blossom into godly, productive human beings. Though Sue doesn't have a "fix-it-quick" solution for all your parenting issues, but she does offer wise counsel.

Sue continues . . .

When I was a child, my Papa had a huge garden. I loved spending time watching him there.  Being a pesky little kid, I peppered him with questions:

“Papa, why is this one in the shade?”

“Papa, why do those need stakes to hold them up, but the others don’t?”

“Papa, how can you tell the weeds from the good plants?” 

And on . . . and on . . . and on!

He always patiently answered me.

I’ve learned that being a mom, particularly to children with special needs, is a lot like being a gardener. You prepare the soil, plant and water. You fertilize, weed and prune. Most of all you pray, watch and wait.

Some flowers need lots of light; others need a cooler, darker place to grow. Water this one every day— that one only once a week. This one needs rich soil. This one does better in a sandy base.  

So much to keep straight.    

You have no control over the elements—sun, rain, wind. Early frost, squirrels, vandals. You pray, watch and wait.  

Some children are like zucchini. They grow and thrive anywhere. Some are like hot-house flowers—all conditions must be "just so" for them to reach their full potential. Some require so much more work than others, it's exhausting! 

When a bud appears, I rejoice and marvel in wonder at its beauty as it unfurls. When one begins to bow or break, I carefully provide extra supports and TLC.  

Sometimes, my best efforts are not enough.

And sometimes resilience, in spite of all my mistakes,  amazes me. 

Here are three top parenting tips I learned in Papa’s garden:

1. Learn as much as possible about each child’s unique needs.

Learn about temperament, learning styles and more so you’ll know how to provide the right amounts of "sun and fertilizer" for each child.

2. Forget about being "fair" if your idea of fairness is to treat each child the same.

Children bloom best when treated as individuals. All children will squawk about fairness; don’t let this tempt you to treat them all alike.

3. Pray, watch and wait.

There is much you can't control as a parent, just as there is for a gardener. Stay faithful in prayer, and wait expectantly for God to do a good work in each child, remembering: His timeline may be different than our own.

My children are not zucchini. 

But each one is a magnificent addition to my garden.

"Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness" (2 Corinthians 9:10).

Which of these parenting "garden" tips speaks to you today? Is there something you need to do to tend your family garden?

Sue Badeau is a nationally known speaker, author, and child welfare and trauma expert. Sue and her husband Hector are lifetime parents of twenty-two children—two by birth and twenty adopted. They wrote the book Are We There Yet: The Ultimate Road Trip Adopting and Raising 22 Kids. Learn more about Sue at suebadeau.com and badeaufamily.com.

God's 'Amen' at Easter

In this Easter UPGRADE, Dawn Wilson encourages us to think about the "Amen" of the Resurrection.

Elyse Fitzpatrick, in her book, Found in Him,* wrote, "... the resurrection is God's 'Amen' to Christ's 'It is finished!'"

What a beautiful thought! Jesus accomplished our great salvation on the cross. Jesus paid it all! He satisfied the wrath of God as the propitiation for our sin (1 John 2:2). 

And then, we might say, at the resurrection God gave His stamp of approval on the finished work of His Son. Jesus finished all the Father asked Him to do, including becoming our sacrifice for sin (John 17:4; 19:30).

Fitzpatrick continued . . .

"But that's not all. The resurrection is also God's 'Amen' to OUR 'It is finished,' for I believe that when he died, I died, and when he rose, I arose; I believe that you have forgiven me and made me righteous and will raise me up on the last day."

Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, we stand in complete righteousness and holiness, no longer dead in our sins, but completely, eternally alive in Christ.

We are to consider ourselves "dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus" (Romans 6:11). In God's eyes, we've already been to the grave. We've already died. And in Christ's resurrection, our loving Father has completely transformed us, our relationship with Him (Ephesians 2:1, 5).

"Rather than simply telling ourselves that we ought to do better, to resist temptation," Fitzpatrick said, "it is by remembering our union with Jesus on the cross that we are transformed: set at liberty to love righteousness and the God who has given it to us."

Paul thus encourages us:

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:1-3).

"We are invited," Fitzpatrick said, "to live our whole life under his benediction, his smile, his love."

Maybe that is why I am smiling so much this Easter.

I know I am living under the blessing of God, resting in His love. I'm so thankful for the cross. But my delight today is in the resurrection of Christ . . . and my new life in Him.

 Do you know the Savior, Jesus? Are you living the resurrected life in Christ?   

 Dawn Wilson, founder and President of Heart Choices Ministries, is the creator of three blogs: Heart Choices Today, LOL with God (with Pam Farrel), and Upgrade with Dawn. She is the Director of the San Diego chapter of Network of Evangelical Women in MInistry (NEWIM San Diego). Dawn is the co-author of LOL with God and contributed "The Blessing Basket" in It's a God Thing. She and her husband Bob have two grown, married sons, three granddaughters and a rascally maltipoo, Roscoe.

* Elyse Fitzpatrick, Found in Him: The Joy of the Incarnation and Our Union with Christ (Crossway, 2013), Chapter 7.