What is your "Just One Thing"?!

A Cup of Tea with Carol
Written By Carol McLeod

What is your “just one thing”?  What is the one thing that you would want to accomplish for the Kingdom of God if time, money, education or age were not a factor?

If you could accomplish simply one memorable exploit for the unshakable Kingdom during your tenure on planet earth, what would it be?

Do you want to win an entire continent for the Lord?  Or perhaps you long for unexplainable miracles and heart-stirring healings to break forth under your ministry.

Is there one singular and significant way in which you long to impact history?  Do you want to write the worship songs that empower a generation?  Or do you deeply desire to write a book that will impact millions for Christ?

Is there a particular contribution that you would like to be known for long after you are gone?  Do you want the Lord to enable you to discover the cure for cancer? You may feel the deep calling to be a voice for righteousness in the political arena.

Perhaps you feel called to salvage the family unit … one precious family at a time.  Does your heart beat with the passion to save marriages that are in trouble or to help parents raise their children with godly principles?

Or perhaps you simply want to serve the Lord without recognition or applause.  Maybe your heart’s desire is to love orphans, to visit those in jail or to fight against sexual slavery.

It could be that your call to greatness will be found in the family that you are nurturing within the walls of your own home. You might dream about raising the next Billy Graham, an up and coming Kari Jobe or a future Ronald Reagan.

Perhaps your dream is to be a man or a woman of integrity in the deceit of the business world or in the corruption of the entertainment industry.

What is your “just one thing”?!

We all have a dream in our hearts that keeps our blood pumping, our lungs expanding and that delivers purpose and drive for every ordinary day.  Each one of us owns a passion that relentlessly leads us into the will and plan of God for our lives.  I can guarantee you that there will be humanly insurmountable and aggressive obstacles to conquer as you pursue your God-given call but there will be no mountain that He is unable to move on your behalf.

There might be impossible and outrageously rapid rivers to ford in your journey of life but you serve a God who can make a way where there seems to be no way.  It’s actually what He does best!

Did you know that your passion to accomplish just one great thing for the Kingdom is eternally and infinitely valuable to God?  God delights in discovering an ordinary man or a humble woman who uncommonly declares, “I am all in!  I will just do it! My life is Yours, Father!”

So … let me ask you again … “What is your last thought at night and your first desire in the morning?”

What is it that drives your heart, your daily choices, your dreams and your prayers?  What is it?  What is your one thing?

I believe that I have been given a word from God for you today … may I share it with you?

NOW!  Today!  Begin!  Don’t delay!

Whatever the dream that God has placed in your human heart, take that intangible and impossible dream off the back burner of distant possibility and give it substance and drive today!

Make a plan.  Come up with a workable, strategic and doable plan.  Don’t stay in a place of frustration over unmet goals and intangible action points but get to work today!

Put feet on your dream. 

Begin small but dream large.

Stay faithful daily but expect extraordinary results.

It is no small thing to be faithful in the little things of life! 

Faithfulness is the petri dish of miracles!

There will always be interruptions, distractions and frustrations but do not allow those ridiculous and momentary disturbances to alter the course of your life.  Your dream should be bigger than any distraction … your calling should be stronger than any circumstances … and your goal in life should trump every mere diversion.

NOW! Today! Begin! Don’t delay!

Perhaps the words of a man by the name of Paul will move you to action today:

“But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” – Acts 20:24

Thank you for listening to my heart this week.  I am so far from perfect but my relentless pursuit of the call and plan for my ordinary life is what consumes me every hour of every day. I am praying for you as you chase after Him!

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Carol McLeod
Carol says, “I am just a girl who is head over heels in love with Jesus ... passionately addicted to His Word ... and find all of the joy that I need in time spent in His presence." Carol is a Christmas-aholic, loves ACC basketball and the beach! Like all menopausal women, she is overly fond of chocolate and enjoys a good read. She doesn't like cleaning her house and is an expert in carry-out dinners. She hates to shop … loves to jog … and somehow finds time in her busy life to hang out with small children. She is the kind of woman that you could laugh with over lunch, cry with over disappointment and shout with over a victory! But … if you need her official bio … read on! Carol is an author and popular speaker at women's conferences and retreats, where she teaches the Word of God with great joy and enthusiasm. She also hosts highly successful Just Joy! outreaches. Carol encourages and empowers women with passionate and practical biblical messages mixed with her own special brand of hope and humor. Carol has written three books, "Holy Estrogen!", "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart" and "Defiant Joy!" which was released by a subsidiary of Thomas Nelson. Her teaching DVD, "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart", won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award, for excellence in religious programming. Carol has also been featured on YouVersion (the smart phone Bible app) with several devotionals, including: "For the Journey Set Before Him", "Jolt of Joy", and "Joy to YOUR world", " Carol has a daily radio program, "Defiant Joy! Radio" which is available in several national markets including Youngsville PA, Warren PA, Buffalo NY, Roanoke VA, Norfolk VA, and Nashville TN.  A 1977 graduate of Oral Roberts University with a degree in Music and English, Carol has the distinction of being both the first Women's Chaplain and the first woman to speak at the university's Vespers.  Carol currently serves on the ORU Alumni Board as chaplain.  She is married to her college sweetheart and love of her life, Craig, who serves as senior pastor of Life Church, a church near Buffalo, NY.  Craig and Carol have been happily married for nearly 37 years and are the parents of five children and three delightful daughters-in-law. Craig and Carol are thrilled with the joy of being grandparents to five precious grandchildren! Carol has written three books, "Holy Estrogen!", "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart" and "Defiant Joy!" which was released by a subsidiary of Thomas Nelson. Her teaching DVD, "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart", won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award, for excellence in religious programming. Carol has also been featured on YouVersion (the smart phone Bible app) with several devotionals, including: "For the Journey Set Before Him", "Jolt of Joy", and "Joy to YOUR world", " Carol has a daily radio program, "Defiant Joy! Radio" which is available in several national markets including Youngsville PA, Warren PA, Buffalo NY, Roanoke VA, Norfolk VA, and Nashville TN.  A 1977 graduate of Oral Roberts University with a degree in Music and English, Carol has the distinction of being both the first Women's Chaplain and the first woman to speak at the university's Vespers.  Carol currently serves on the ORU Alumni Board as chaplain.  She is married to her college sweetheart and love of her life, Craig, who serves as senior pastor of Life Church, a church near Buffalo, NY.  Craig and Carol have been happily married for nearly 37 years and are the parents of five children and three delightful daughters-in-law. Craig and Carol are thrilled with the joy of being grandparents to five precious grandchildren!
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