Be All In

 "It's all or nothing." Have you heard of that saying before? Maybe you heard someone say it or you have said it yourself. It definitely has truth to it! All means everything and leaving nothing out. When we are completing a task or in a relationship, we should give our all to it. When we make a commitment to do something, we should give our all to it. Only being involved in a relationship or doing something half-heartedly won't go too far! It also becomes noticeable after while. The Bible speaks of giving our all in verses, such as Matthew 22:37 and Colossians 3:23. Giving our all is important to God and should be important to us. Therefore, we can ask God daily to help us be all in what we do and He will help us. Yes, I know it gets tiring and there are days we don't feel like it, but God will help us and we have to do the best we can. Now it's one thing to say you're all in, but your actions can show something different. You see, being all in something shows up not just in words, but in actions. Our actions always speak louder than our words! Our body language and facial expressions says a lot. Our calls, texts and face to face interaction says a lot. The quality and frequency of those also says a lot. The effort we put in will show in the end result. When you're not all in, there may be frowning, little excitement or sitting or standing in a slouched position. When we're all in though, there is smiling, excitement and genuine effort. Being all in a task means you start what you finish. You may take breaks (which is healthy and I encourage you to do so!) and may have to go a different way to complete the goal, but you finish. You complete it and that's what matters. So many times I have started working towards a goal, but stopped and didn't complete it. I'm working on doing better with that and accepting the fact that an alternate route is okay. I take breaks, but can't quit and neither can you. Being all in a relationship means you make genuine effort to check in and see how someone is doing. You make time for that individual. When you care about someone, you will be intentional about making time. Here's a reminder to the single ladies: when a guy is truly interested in you, he will make an effort to talk to you. We don't have to chase him down and stress ourselves out. It's not worth it at all! If you have to force them to want to talk to you, that's your sign to move on. It doesn't just apply in romantic relationships, but we should give our all in all of our relationships. The people in our lives need to know we care and see that reflected in our words and actions. Being all in is really summed up in one word. Are you ready for it? Consistency. Consistency causes you to keep working towards that goal and showing love to those in your life because you know eventually you will see a good result. Relying on God will have you praying for those who are not treating you right and praying for future relationships that may seem out of our reach at the moment. But I'm here to encourage you to keep going and don't give up! When doubt tries to come in, you stop it in its tracks and tell it is not welcome to reside in your mind. Tell yourself what can happen and what God says about the situation. Tell yourself there is hope and that it's not over until God says so. Let's be determined to be all in. Be all in at work, school, college, home, church, your game, in your community, in your relationships. Make sure to honor God in everything. And wherever life has placed you at this very moment, remember to be all in!