Friday, June 20, 2014

When did this become more attractive...

Recently, I've noticed a disturbing trend on social media. It's the when did this become more attractive trend. I'm refraining from posting the pictures because, honestly, I just don't want them associated with my blog, but they're disturbing.

It started with pictures of some of today's super thin models set in stark contrast to older, pin-up type pictures in which the models are curvier. As someone who has ALWAYS had more curves (even when I was younger and way thinner), at first, I was comforted.

Yeah! Curvy is totally beautiful.

But then I saw my daughter's reaction to those pictures, as well as the ones that talked about someone preferring to cuddle with curves than bones. 

They hurt her so deeply.

She and I have very different body image issues. Whereas I'm always looking to tone down the curve, she wants more of them!

*sigh* We're never quite content are we?

The initial when did this become more attractive pictures were replaced with other juxtapositions, some pitting beautiful models against very overweight women in bathing suits and some noting that pin-up curves and severely overweight rolls are not equal (which supposedly was the "unspoken response of men everywhere.")

I actually saw one posted today by a gay guy on facebook that contrasted female models with a dog in a striped, turtleneck sweater. I don't mean to make light of the issue of sin, but given his particular outlook on life, I actually found that one kind of funny. I suppose, thick or thin, he couldn't care less.

Society has always told us what was "pretty." At some points in history being overweight was a sign of opulence and was very attractive. Now, society screams that it's laziness and a lack of self-discipline. 

You know what it is actually? It's a body.

It's a body that will eventually age, no matter what its shape. It's a body that houses a soul and a spirit that is worth far more than the temporal cage that surrounds it. For those of us who believe, it is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19), and for that reason, should be treated with respect, but like the tents of the Hebrews in the wilderness, these temples are all temporary.

Each and every one of us was knit together in our mother's womb, all planned before the earth saw its first day: each person precious, fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139).

Now, our goal is to actually believe all that because, let me tell you, knowing it hasn't stopped me from sobbing in despair because my body isn't what I think it should be...because I'm ashamed. It hasn't stopped my precious, gorgeous daughter from being insecure about her body.

Why? Because we're walking on Satan's territory and he is the author of lies and shame. He speaks through "society" in direct opposition to truth.

The truth is that we are all precious. The truth is that God loves each and every one of us, whether we have come to know Him or not, but He longs for each one of us to seek His presence.

And the truth is that He cares far more about what's inside our bodies than what's outside. When we look at the picture of the capable wife in Proverbs 31, her body type isn't mentioned, but her strength, capability, wisdom, and kindness are. The same is true of Peter's description of a valuable wife.

Strength and honor are her clothing,

and she can laugh at the time to come.
26 
She opens her mouth with wisdom
and loving instruction is on her tongue....
27 30 
Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting,
but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised.
Proverbs 31:25-26,30

Your beauty should not consist of outward things
like elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold ornaments or fine clothes. 
Instead, it should consist of what is inside the heart 
with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit,
which is very valuable in God’s eyes.
1 Peter 3:3-4

Or, if you prefer, we can take a look at what God says about outer beauty when inner is lacking:

A beautiful woman who lacks discretion is like a gold ring in a pig's snout.
Proverbs 11:22

Pretty decoration on an ugly creature...awesome.

I would love to say that these Scriptures always make me feel better. The reality is that I aspire every day to be the picture of the Proverbs 31 wife, but most days I fall pitifully short. The reality is that I still yearn to be beautiful in my husband's eyes in a worldly way as well as a spiritual way, and this is most noticeable on days when I fail at both. 

Nevertheless, the point is this...

Comparing our beauty to others' will never fill the hole, no matter how great or horrible we find ourselves in comparison. The only thing that will fill the hole is a deep relationship with God, clothing ourselves every day in the righteousness of Christ Jesus. 

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Whether big or small, immensely overweight or waifishly thin, we are no more beautiful in the eyes of God than when we are seeking Him. And we will be no more beautiful in the eyes of those who treasure us on earth than when we're seeking to emulate His Son, Christ Jesus.

So today, when you're tempted to feel ugly in comparison with others or to bolster your self-esteem by looking down your nose at someone seemingly less attractive, take a moment to just look inside. Assess the situation there and determine to make it a more beautiful place. 

That's the only surefire way to really be more attractive. Not more attractive than the person next to you, but more attractive than the person you were yesterday, and hopefully, less attractive than the person you will be tomorrow.
Photo credit: Amanda Truth Photography

(Note: Using pictures of me doesn't denote that I think I'M these things...I just try to use pictures that actually belong to me as much as possible. LOL)

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Corinthians 3 Thursday: Mission IS Possible

I'm about to be blatantly honest here. Are you ready?

I'm getting tired of writing these Corinthians 3 Thursday posts.

There, I said it.

They're not really fun posts for me to write. There's not even some big revelation about myself or "lesson learned" moment.

We're just plodding along through the coaching process, trying to plan out where we want to go.

And that's precisely why this is important. If I hadn't committed to writing these posts each Thursday, then I probably wouldn't be going through the process at all.

It actually took me a bit to come by that little tidbit of divine revelation. I was thinking to myself yesterday, "I don't even want to write that stupid post. No one reads them or really participates anyway. With The Art of Marriage conference coming up this weekend, I have a lot of other stuff I could be doing. I don't really have the time to waste."

AHA...there's the kicker. I prayed and prayed and prayed about these posts, and while I have to say the public response has been...um...underwhelming, this blog ISN'T Seeking the Symphony yet. It isn't the ministry's blog yet. It's still Alissa's Life Under Construction, and what that means is that He's still working on me. (Obviously, He'll still be working on me after the transition as well, but that won't really be the total point of the blog.)

I need to go through this process because I need to go through it. If not one other person reads this or follows the steps, having a dedicated day to pursue this journey holds me accountable and keeps me on task.

However, if you ARE reading this, then maybe God wants you to take some time to do some assessment, too. Just sayin'....

Now, for the meat of today's post: what is my mission?

Last week we talked about God's vision for our lives. As a refresher, mine was "I want to share God-given words that will change people’s hearts, draw them closer to Him, and give Him glory!"


To know your mission, you must have a vision because the mission is simply how to get there. In other words, the vision is the destination, and the mission is the road map.

There is a chapter in Christian Coaching, by Gary Collins, on "Moving with a Mission," but I'm going to veer a little from that because...um...I don't like the way he wrote it. 

Haha...look at that...Alissa questioning the expert.

Here's the deal, it's a FANTASTIC book, and I highly recommend it, but this one section didn't really do it for me. It was about writing a Mission Statement, and while that's all well and good, it came out really close to the vision statement, and therefore, is kind of redundant.

So, here's what I say...take your vision, and then figure out specifically, using action words, what you need to do to get there.

Make sure you pray first. Always pray first...hard.

Note: these are not goals. Think of the mission statement as an intermediary between your vision and your goals. Does that make sense?I hope so because I don't really know how else to put it. 

Let's take a look at mine so you can see what I mean.

In my vision statement I talk about sharing God-words, but what does that look like practically? What do I need to do to share those words? This is what I've come up with:
I will share the words God puts on my heart by dedicating myself to regularly posting on my blog, becoming a published author, and speaking to groups of people at events or seminars.
Now, please notice, those are not goals. We'll talk about goal-setting next week, but as a preview, goals detail steps that are specific and have a time frame assigned to them. For example, I might set a goal of writing blog posts at least three times per week. But as I said, we'll talk more about that next week.

So, what does your mission look like? Where is God taking you on your journey?

I'll leave you today with some words by Laurie Beth Jones from Jesus, Life Coach (but I'm reading them in Christian Coaching):
People with clearly defined missions have always led those who haven't any. You are either living your mission, or you are living someone else's.
Man...how powerful is that?

It's your turn! Please comment or link below! And feel free to grab my button on the right, too!







Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Dirty Little Secret

I've been avoiding writing this post for a while. I have a whole backlog of other things I want to write on, but for some reason, I felt like God was keeping me from writing them...until I wrote this one.

*sigh* This will not be my favorite.

I have a confession to make - a nasty awful, sincerely gross confession:

I hate to clean bathrooms.

Blech. I don't like to clean my own dirt. Add someone else's dirt (or multiple people's) on top of that, and let me tell you...it makes me cringe.

I don't mean this is something I just don't like doing. It's almost a phobia. I dread it deep within my soul. Do you hear me? Dread.

Or at least I used to.

It was my dirty little secret. Well, probably not so secret if you ever dropped by my house unexpectedly and saw my heart drop through the floor and my eyes widen to anime proportions.

I was ashamed...but apparently not enough to fix the problem. I just swept it under the proverbial rug.

I would clean or straighten ever other area of the house, but that one area...I just couldn't seem to get around to it. Or I would make excuses about it. 

I told myself over and over and over that it would be done the next day...but guess what...didn't happen.

And you know what? It got GROSS. The kids' bathroom is the one most people use when they come over, and I would try to make sure they kept that somewhat straight and clean, but I had a hard time with that, too. It felt so hypocritical to enforce strict bathroom cleaning rules on them when my own was a wreck. 

The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing,
while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.
Proverbs 13:4

I was totally being a sluggard.

And then...God started to work on my heart. I wish I could tell you exactly when the revelation hit me or when I had my breakthrough moment, but I just can't. Slowly, bit by bit, God convicted my heart until I understood very clearly what He was trying to say to me.

"Alissa, sweet girl, you keep telling me to let you go and do big things for Me. You keep begging to let you loose to speak truth for my kingdom, and I want to let you do it! But how can I set you free to do the big things when you're not being obedient in the little things? It's time, Alissa. Obey me in this, and then we'll work from there."

Here that? That's God speaking conviction to my soul...not shame, but conviction that leads to repentance. However, I wish I could say that it led to repentance sooner.

I still lollygagged a bit.

I printed out a cleaning schedule from Clean Mama, and she has bathroom cleaning first thing on Mondays. I put the cleaning schedule on the fridge, and it sat there for about a week. 

Then my dad popped by for a surprise visit on Memorial Day weekend. 

It was a fantastic surprise, and I was so happy to see him. As always, he was super helpful in and around the house. He chose not to go with us to dinner on Sunday evening over at Josiah's parents and surprised us by mowing and weed eating the yard instead, which was a HUGE blessing because Josiah's been working so hard elsewhere that he hasn't had time to get to it (and even pregnant I wouldn't mind mowing, but I have a hard time getting the darn thing started). 

On Monday, he decided to replace the kitchen faucet for us (that we'd already bought, but didn't really know how to put in), and to replace the shower head in the kids' bathroom because they had NO water pressure in there. But because of that, before we went to Lowe's, he wanted to shower in my bathroom.

NOOOOOOOO!!!

I, of course, said that was fine, but I needed to clean it first. He just laughed a little and shook his head and said, "Nevermind. I'll take one in the other bathroom."

"No, no, no!" I said. "Today is Monday, and we're supposed to clean bathrooms on Mondays!"

He laughed at me and called me a liar, at which point I pulled the calendar off the fridge and said, "Nuh-uh! See? I've been meaning to start instituting this cleaning schedule and it says I clean bathrooms on Mondays! I'll be done in just a bit."

So that's what I did. It was Monday, and I cleaned the bathroom...and I felt fantastic. It was like cleansing out my soul...but let me tell ya, that was a nasty soul cleansing.

Since then, I've cleaned my bathroom without fail, almost obsessively. I'm so proud of it. The rest of the house might get messy with the kids all over the place, but my bathroom is clean, and it feels so good.

I almost look forward to it.

Obviously, that's not because I look forward to the task itself...because it's still nasty. But I look very forward to the peace and calm that comes with knowing you're I'm being obedient to God...even in the little things.

"And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.'" Matthew 25:20-21 (emphasis added)

This has served as a great lesson, for both me AND the kids. Self-discipline isn't about doing things that are easy or that come naturally to us. Self-discipline means teaching yourself to do things we don't want to do or feel we're not naturally inclined toward.

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant,
but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness
to those who have been trained by it. 
Hebrews 12:11

It's not easy folks. If it was easy, we wouldn't need Jesus...but we do. Oh we do. We can do all things through him.

So there's my dirty confession...and I didn't want to write it. I feed off of approval from other people (not a good thing), and I just knew this would shame me. I could hear my friends whispering to one another (or even just to themselves, "EW...Alissa's dirty" or "Good moms just don't do that."

I felt ashamed my by confession, even though my heart AND my bathroom are now clean. 

But guess what?

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,
who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Romans 8:8

That's right, Paul!! Preach it brother!

See, there's a larger lesson to be learned here. We all have our secret, dirty places. Maybe yours is a room in your house or maybe it's a corner of your heart. Let's face it, we all probably have more than one. 

Today, I would ask you to consider where your dirty little secrets lie. Where is God trying to clean up your act, but you're resisting, making excuses, and being hard-hearted? 

Give that over to God. Let Him help you clean out the grime, so you can be renewed by His presence and "yield the peaceful fruit of righteousness."

I promise, you won't regret it. 

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Corinthians 3 Thursday: Vision Check-Up

I am so totally late writing the Corinthians 3 Thursday post this week. But...better late than never, I suppose.

In the three weeks previous we talked about where we are right now: values, strengths, weaknesses, spiritual gifts, and passion.

Now it's time to look to the future!

On rare occasions Josiah and I get to go on little drives his family calls "explores." They're awesome little day or weekend trips to somewhere...nowhere. We just go in whatever direction we want and see what fun things we can find.

This is a GREAT way to have fun every now and then...but it's not a great way to live your life.

That's what most of us do though, right? We are so intent on going that we just keep moving, taking no stock of where we are or where we're going?

She does not ponder the path of life;
her ways wander, and she does not know it.
Proverbs 5:6

Now, in all honesty, in context that's talking about avoiding the forbidden or adulterous woman. However, if we're not paying attention to where we're going, who knows where our feet may trod.

At the very least, it's clear here that God wants us to pay attention to where we're going, to keep our ways straight. And that, my friends, is why we're talking about vision today, or more accurately, we're talking about making a vision statement.

Leadership expert and author John C Maxwell says: "Vision leads the leader. It paints the target. It sparks and fuels the fire within. Show me a leader without vision, and I'll show you someone who isn't going anywhere" (from Christian Coaching by Gary Collins).

But maybe you don't consider yourself a leader. Does this apply to you? Absolutely. Whether you like it or not, everyone leads someone. It's far better to do so consciously and intentionally than haphazardly. Whom do you lead? Your children? Youth at church? Your coworkers? Subordinates?

Even if you can't think of one person you lead, you still need to be aware of one person: YOU. You need to know where you're going in order to get there successfully.

So what is a vision exactly?

"A vision is a clear picture of something we want to have exist in the future. It is a target we intend to reach....Vision pulls us forward. Once that vision clearly is in mind, we can deal with the practical strategy steps of getting where we want to go" (Gary Collins, Christian Coaching).

All well and good right? But how the heck do you go about formulating a STATEMENT OF VISION. It just sounds like something intimidating, doesn't it?

It's actually a lot simpler than it sounds...and of course, in Christian Coaching, we're given steps.

First things first, pray. As Christians, there's no point seeking vision for our lives without seeking direction from the Almighty first.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, 
and do not lean on your own understanding. 
In all your ways acknowledge him, 
and he will make straight your paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6


The steps of a man are established by the Lord

when he delights in his way;
Psalm 37:23

Next, take your time. This is actually the hardest step for me. I like to just know. Once I start working on something, I just want to get it done. But you really can't rush this process. 


Now that we're clear on that, take a look inside. Consider values, passions, and gifts we talked about in the previous weeks, all of them will be at the foundation of your vision.


We also need to learn from visionary people, either in person or by reading. Let these people inspire you and serve as an example.

Finally, construct the vision statement and check it with the 4 Cs. Is it clear? Is it concise? Is it consistent with Scripture and who you are? Is it compelling (does it inspire and motivate you)?

To give you an idea of what it might look like, here's my vision statement:

I want to share God-given words that will change people’s hearts, draw them closer to Him, and give Him glory!


That's me. That's my perfect picture of the future. What does your perfect picture of your future look like? Where do you want to be?



Now, this whole vision thing comes with a warning: just completing a vision statement will not get you where you want to go. You're also going to need to set up goals and strategies for achieving your vision...and then work hard to get 'em done.


The vision won't stay alive on its own. Life gets in the way if we let it. It will take conscious effort to keep to your path, always looking to God for guidance, of course.

Now it's your turn. What's your vision?

Please comment or link below! And feel free to grab my button on the right, too!






If you're just now joining us, Corinthians 3 Thursdays are designed to help us find our pursue our individual callings based upon two Corinthians verses: 1 Corinthians 3:8-11 and  2 Corinthians 3:17-18. As  guide, we're using the book Christian Coaching by Gary Collins. For more information, you can visit this post or any of the earlier Corinthians 3 Thursday posts below:



Thursday, June 5, 2014

Corinthians 3 Thursday: Got Gifts?

Since the creation of Earth there has been a plan. Part of that plan included an individual who was absolutely unique. No other person in the world has ever been or will ever be exactly the same...and that person is YOU.

Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to bstruggle with the laste.
Psalm 139:16

You are fearfully and wonderfully made by the Creator of this universe to do something and be something special! He made you unique, and that's what we're talking about today. How are you unique?

What are your strengths and weaknesses?
What are your talents?
What are your spiritual gifts?

If you're anything like me when I was first presented with this question, then you're probably familiar with the answers to the first couple questions, but at the last your eyes glazed over and you could hear crickets chirping.

I'm a talker...DUH. Communication has always been a strength of mine. I'm a semi-decent leader, too. My weaknesses? I hate confrontation, and will avoid it at all costs...and sometimes those costs are great. I can also take on too much, which means I'm not wise with my energy and I end up not putting forth the effort I should on the important stuff. Talents? I speak, write, act, and sing. 

But that's the easy part. Most of us have known what we were "good at" since we were small. The world is fantastic about telling us exactly where our strengths lie...well, to be more accurate, it's good at telling us where our strengths don't lie. 

Take some time to think about the answers to the first two questions now. List them out...I dare you. Seeing yourself on paper is different. It helps solidify the concept of "you" in your mind.

Okay...now for the third one. You can tackle this one a couple ways. 

First, you could just do what I did and take Elmer Towns' Spiritual Gifts Assessment. It takes about 10-15 minutes, and after seeing some other people's results (including mine) I say it's pretty accurate.

OR, for those of you who are bound and determined not to take an assessment, you can take a look at the list below and see which gifts seem the most "you" (from Appendix G of Christian Coaching by Gary Collins). Once you're done with that, go back and look at the ones you checked and rate them as a 1, 2, or 3. 1=very strong and descriptive of you. 2=somewhat strong and descriptive of you. 3=least descriptive of the items you checked. 


Administration Shepherding Intercession
Craftsmanship Wisdom Leadership
Evangelism Apostleship Prophecy
Giving Creative Communication Teaching
Hospitality Encouragement Healing *
Knowledge Faith Miracles *
Mercy Helps Counseling **
Interpretation * Celibacy ** Serving **
Tongues * Music **
*   These gifts are not included in some lists because they are more easily identified.
** These gifts are not listed in Scripture but are identified by some Christians as spiritual gifts.

The list of 1s may be your spiritual gifts. However, to confirm this, you may want to give the list to someone who knows you well to repeat the process. That may give you a stronger idea of the areas in which God has gifted you.

"The areas in which God has gifted you." That is an awesome phrase!! Our living God has chosen to give each of us gifts to go along with our completely unique personalities so that we may accomplish the plans He set out for us!! 
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 4:10-11
Amen, indeed! 


When I got my spiritual gifts assessment results, I was a little surprised, not by what they were, but by the fact that they were four...and they were dead even. However, that's not really too big of a shocker when you look at the rest of my life. 



I'm a dabbler. I have a tendency to be a "jack of all trades, but master of none." So, when Mr. Towns' assessment tagged me at dead even in Teaching, Exhortation, Mercy Showing, and Shepherding, there may have been initial surprise, but then it made sense. Plus, they kind of just go together in a lot of ways. 



What about you? How has God made you unique? What are your strengths, talents, and gifts?



This is really important because, combined with what we've done the last two weeks, this will help us construct our visions and missions next week! We're almost done assessing where we are, and then we get to move forward!!



Please comment or link below! And feel free to grab my button on the right, too!






If you're just now joining us, Corinthians 3 Thursdays are designed to help us find our pursue our individual callings based upon two Corinthians verses: 1 Corinthians 3:8-11 and  2 Corinthians 3:17-18. As  guide, we're using the book Christian Coaching by Gary Collins. For more information, you can visit this post or any of the earlier Corinthians 3 Thursday posts below:




Tuesday, June 3, 2014

God's Holy Tether

He stands there alone, eyes fixed forward and chest high. I'm sure he's praying. How could he not be?

Praying for all of us. 
Praying for the people who were touched by the Spirit, but are unwilling to move. 
Praying for those who the sermon should have touched, but didn't because their hearts are hard and their ears clamped shut.

He had just delivered a powerful sermon, the gospel made personal to each of us. I felt sure it would stir many to tears and revive hearts and spirits, convict and cleanse. But now, as he stood there during the public invitation, I watched him: motionless, praying, patiently waiting.

For a moment, I was discouraged for him.

Then, I thought about every other week. Sometimes people respond to the invitation, but more often than not, he stands there the same as this week: motionless, praying, patiently waiting.

How does he do that?!

That's the question that was screaming at me as we drove home that afternoon. 

I get so discouraged sometimes. I've been discouraged because, despite a serious increase in effort lately, my blog readership seems weak and, sometimes, even in decline. I've been discouraged by the underwhelming show of enthusiasm for The Art Of Marriage event coming up, feeling like I'm trying to coax people into making marriage a priority - a cheerleader for a losing team.

Yet, there he stands each week, peace and joy in his countenance.

Of course, I had to send him an email to ask him. I just couldn't let it go. If we're going to go into ministry, I need the voice of experience to give me a little guidance, because I'm drowning in a pool, of hopeless, self-pity already...and we've only just begun.

His response?
Discouragement in ministry is oh so common. We ALL go through discouragement. And sorry to say, it is a shadow that will always follow you. I have to own that emotion and then tie a rope around it and pull it to the side. To deny I have those feelings is, I think unhealthy. But to let discouragement rule the day only creates lethargy. I am reminded that people are fickle and God is trustworthy. We are commanded to sew and it is God bring the harvest.
So relax. Keep both hands on the plow.
Um...a shadow that will follow me? Fantastic. However, I spoke with him a bit later, and he elucidated...and it changed everything.

He said that discouragement and ministry go hand-in-hand, but it has its uses because it keeps us constantly tied to God, relying on Him to be the encouragement we need. 

I could feel the light bulb blink on above my head.

We have to stay connected with Him all the time, keeping our pride out of the way, and relying on Him to do His will through us. Our meager efforts aren't meant to conquer armies and hardened hearts. It's only God working through us that can do those things.

I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:13

If we could do it all by ourselves, then we wouldn't need a Savior, would we? But we do...we really do. 

This extends far beyond those in "ministry," though. God often allows discouragement and despair in our lives so we will seek Him, relying on His strength.  

It can be a hard lesson to learn.

Recently, I had a teensy-weensy emotional breakdown...which translates to I was bawling like a baby and everything seemed hopeless and wrong. I did what I normally do in those moments: pray and then call my sister-in-law, Jamie, to talk me down. As always, it was worth the call.

She suggested that perhaps I was coming to the end of myself...the end of my talents, my strengths. God was pushing me to rely on His strength instead of my own.

And she was absolutely right.

God wants us tethered to His strength, instead of trying to operate on our own.

What are you trying to handle by yourself right now? What has you discouraged and hopeless? What situation or predicament are you trying to handle with your own strength, instead of placing it in the hands of our loving, almighty God?

Today is the day, my friends. Turn it over to Him, and if you're like me, pray about keeping it turned over because I have a tendency to try to take it back. Put your worries where they belong, and have faith that, indeed, all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand,
that he may lift you up in due time. 
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
1 Peter 5:6-8