“Take your everyday ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going to work and walking around life and place it as an offering before God.”

So, I was here today… Making a surrender inventory. I read about  in a book i was reading and here are all the categories, below.

Completing my own surrender inventory was pretty tough. I had to be pretty truthful with myself. I am learning the more transparency we allow in our lives, helps us to grow and change and be OPEN to change. The less transparency we allow, the more we are stagnant.

To “Surrender” means: one who’s will and affections are yielded to the power,control or possession of another’s influence – on demand. I really didn’t like the demand part, but then I thought about it, and reasoned that maybe, just maybe doing something because there is a demand for it, makes it all the more valuable to surrender to. (For instance, without supply – demand doesn’t exist, right?) One cannot give freely what is not REQUIRED. Selah.

I was able to utilize this AWESOME assessment of my life purpose by reading the book: “Conversations on Purpose”,  By Katie Brazelton

So here were the categories and I will choose to write ‘something’ about each one here on my blog:

* Social /Relational *Mental
*Physical *Emotional
* Family *Spiritual Growth & Faith
*Church Involvement *Sins /Character Faults
*Vocation/Avocation * Entrepreneurial
* Mission field *Life Purpose/Calling
*Multiple Areas of Life

So here are mine:
I. Social /Relational:( Surrendering to God’s ability to give me acceptable partners;Vulnerability, Lack of Authenticity, Passive Aggressiveness)
Okay, I have spoken about vulnerability on several occasions and I can say this: the fact of surrender gets magnified ten times and looks all the more scary, when we are afraid of being vulnerable, yet the rewards are AWESOME. Your life is enriched, its more full and alive, and you experience much more sincerity and can offer it as well.

II. Mental: (Abilities , Control/Manipulation, Failures, Hope, Dreams, Longings, &Perspective.) Surrendering to perspective takes a WILLINGNESS. I cannot surrender to anything outside of my own perspective unless I am at first willing.

III. Physical : My Body, My Energy Level Safety, Pain, Image.
MY energy level has been a MAJOR challenge for me, especially when I leave from work, and have an entire evening to continue with. If I am exhausted, sometimes I have to MAKE my second wind blow!

IV. Family ( Miscarriage, Motherhood, Intimacy, Spouse, Empty Nest.) Surrendering to my spouse looks like: Yielding. I have found that yielding to anyone, helps them know you are not their enemy, so why waste the energy, anyway?

V. Emotional: All feelings Regret, Self hate, Shame, Joy, Fear.
Surrendering to fear really shows where your strength is. I have had to do this several times, but what was really on the other side was: COURAGE.

VI. Spiritual Growth and Faith : Spiritual Journalism, Forgiveness, Spiritual Disciplines & Practice – Spiritual Disciplines are VERY HARD to do. Yet so rewarding and bring so much RESOLVE when we relent. i tend to spend a lot of discipline here  ad n my soul it just shines, as a result.

VII. Church Involvement:( I know, right, yes we have to submit even unto that! ) I just chose 2 , but Fellowship and A Servant heart – can be challenges to surrender to… * Fellowship – because I am an introvert, being around people sometimes has to be forced. But i have so much fun, I wonder why I ever avoided it!

VIII. Sins and character Faults: Bitterness, Rage and Laziness:( had to get that one in!)
Bitterness – (used to have it, used to have it!) And boy did it eat me up! I was so bitter, I spewed out venom! Naw, I really was mean though, at one point in my life. But it stole my peace so much, I decided it took MUCH MORE ENERGY to hold onto it, than it did to LET IT GO.

IX. Vocation/Avocation: (Boss, Office Politics)

X. Entrepreneurial/Business Detail: Health Care, Contracts, Fees. Contracts – we often feel like we don’t charge enough, nor do we put it all in there. Surrendering to this process looks like allowing God to establish your worth, first.

XI. Addictions, Compulsions and Obsessions: Food, Drugs, T.V. Sex, Nicotine. Food – oh so weak! But I manage by daily asking God to help me, and not surrendering to what My body wants.

XII. Mission Field: Personal Comfort, Willingness to Serve. Personal comfort – it LOOKS like COMPLACENCY, and I heard tonight that wherever complacency dwells, we are idle in every way.

XIII. Life Purpose & Calling : effort, Preconceived Notions. And preconceived notions can trap you up every time, because you ASSUME you know, but you cause yourself to enter into a bad place; by sabotaging the experience, and sacrificing those things in life that have meaning.