Yesterday was a big day for me as I submitted the manuscript for my first book to the publisher!
Honestly, it’s a day that I doubted would actually happen.
I set the goal to write a book over a year ago with great excitement and anticipation.
But as the weeks and months went by I started to wonder if I could truly do it.

Life started pouring a little water on the fire of excitement I had.
The day to day responsibilities started to crowd out the time I had devoted to working on the book.
As each day and week went by, I found less and less time to focus on achieving this goal.
I had set a timeline for myself to get it done and that timeline was slipping away.
Would I truly be able to get this done?

So what changed for me that allowed me to get to the joy of yesterday?
I can point to 2 specific changes I made that allowed it to happen.

First, I moved away from my timeline and focused on God’s timeline.
While setting a timeline can be a good thing to keep you on track, you still must remember that in the end it’s God’s timing.
I was so focused on meeting my deadlines that I forgot He was in control.
I took the stress off myself of meeting my timelines and it relaxed me enough to continue writing.

Second, I remembered the reason why I was writing the book.
As I struggled through the doubts of being able to write the book, I realized I had forgotten my purpose for writing the book.
I lost the joy I had in just sharing my life and my thoughts with others to help them in their daily walks.
I let the stress of completing the book move me away from the reason God had placed it on my heart to do this.

I’m sure many of you can relate to these struggles as you push to reach your goals and dreams.
If you find yourself at a breaking point, take a moment to step back and remember why you are doing it.
Don’t let fear and discouragement move you away from your purpose.
Find your joy again and take that next step in your journey!

Truth In Love! ~ Chuck