5 Habits of a Woman Who Doesn’t Quit
Hello friends. I hope you’ve enjoyed the blogs this January on Celebrating Your Accomplishments and Successes. Sometimes celebrating the past means that instead of quitting when we see a failure, we let God help us diagnose where we’ve fallen short so we can move forward. Since change is an essential part of success, I’m excited to have my friend Nicki Koziarz, author and speaker for Proverbs 31, be a guest on my blog this week! This is an excerpt from her super-popular book, 5 Habits of a Woman Who Doesn’t Quit!
I hope you enjoy! -Sharie King
Has anyone ever told you they couldn’t count on you?
It’s definitely not the most awesome sentiment to receive. Especially when it seems to come out of nowhere!
With a trip to Africa just a few weeks away, Kris, my husband, came home from work that Friday night mumbling something about me needing to bake cookies and wash cars the next morning to help raise funds for his trip. I had already planned out my whole Saturday. I simply could not understand why he was unable to see everything I had going on and why participating in this fund-raiser was not my top priority.
Someone has to drive these three girls of ours through six car lines a day, get the nail polish out of the carpet, wash three hundred loads of laundry, chase the dog down the street from the angry UPS man, work part-time, and cook meals no one likes. I do not have the energy for car washes and bake sales.
Did our kids always get picked up from school? Yes. Well, there was that one time…and then that other time. And oh yes, the time I thought the other carpool mom was picking up?
Did he have dinner to eat that night? Yes.
Did he have clean socks on? Yes. And I know they weren’t matching, but they were clean.
Undone from this trying day, I laid my tired head on the pillow. My final thoughts of the day concluded I was as dependable as they came! And if he couldn't see that, it was his issue, not mine.
All was well in my safe, selfish little world until about 5:30 the next morning. There I was. Wide awake. Kris’s words from the night before hovered over my thoughts. He made clear he felt like I was a commitment dropout. I totally disagreed, but why were his words bothering me so much?
My Bible sat on the cushion next to me. So I opened it up and started to find a verse to help me sort through all this emotional exhaustion I was feeling about the situation. Honestly, I was looking for a verse to help justify my feelings. But I opened to this verse that was just rubbing me all wrong,
“Whoever is faithful in very little is also faithful in much.” (Luke 16:10)
My eyes wandered over those words for about ten minutes. And, for the first time in my life, I wondered if I was someone who could be trusted. My spirit could feel God’s disapproval with my decision about not going to the fundraiser. It was as if God were whispering:
"If you can’t be trusted with this, how can you be trusted with that?"
Intentional steps of obedience mean more to God than we might realize. We want God to do great things in and through our lives, but many of us find ourselves wading through daily discouragement. Sometimes discouragement is brought on by our own disobedience.
I’ve discovered lately that this season has been more about God being able to trust and count on me through each and every commitment I make. In God’s eyes the “big” things I want to do for Him mean just as much as the “little” things I’m called to do daily.
So I went upstairs and told my husband I was sorry and I would love to go to the fundraiser. Okay, I didn’t really say I would love to go, but you know, I said I would be there. And I could tell Kris appreciated the gesture.
What commitment have you made that you’re just not sure you can fulfill? It might be something simple or something complicated. But I want you to be a woman God and others can count on. I don’t want you to quit your commitments. Because I know there’s something unbelievable God wants to do through your life and in your circumstances. But will you be faithful “here” so He can get you “there”?
© 2017 by Nicki Koziarz. All rights reserved.
About the Author
Nicki Koziarz is a Proverbs 31 Ministries speaker and best-selling author of the book and Lifeway Bible study 5 Habits of a Woman Who Doesn’t Quit. She is on staff with Proverbs 31 Ministries, where she gets to help lead thousands of women through their online Bible studies. Her family lives just outside Charlotte, NC where they own a farm affectionately called, The Fixer Upper Farm.
Find out more about Nicki on her website: http://nickikoziarz.com
Or follow her on social media today! Twitter & Instagram: @NickiKoziarz
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nickikoziarz.ministry
Ready to Win?
JANUARY GIVEAWAY: Starting a new year can be exciting...or intimidating depending on your personality. So, I hope this month's blog focus on concentrating on our accomplishments and successes from 2016 have encouraged you. This month's giveaway is for women who lead. It contains tools to organize your life so you have time and energy to serve others. You will receive an hour coaching session with one of my heros Lisa Allen, Nicki Koziarz's book 5 Habits of a Woman Who Doesn't Quit, a cute planner and a few more goodies. Here's how to enter:
1. Follow my January guest bloggers on Instagram: @NickiKoziarz & @LJAllen20
2. Subscribe to my blog
3. Answer this question in the comments below:
What is one trick you use to keep yourself committed when you want to give up?
*Winner will be announced Friday!
