March 24, 2025
Set Your Eyes
When life is throwing distractions at you, how do you set your heart on what truly matters?
Today, our host for the week, Gaby Alessi, is taking us into her "venting machine" and sharing some personal struggles. As she prepares for her wedding day, Gaby shares how's she's trying on focus on heavenly goals and not just the ones she can see.
Join us for this heartfelt devotional, as we come together in prayer and devotion, supporting each other in our mission to focus on what pleases God above all else.
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Transcript
WEBVTT
00:00:00.080 --> 00:01:05.697
You're listening to the My Morning Devotional podcast, episode 1231. Today's Devo is called Set yout Eyes. Hey there. We're the Alessies, a ministry family working together in our church in Miami, Florida. And if you're like us, when days get busy and to do lists get longer, it can be hard to find devotional time. That's why we've partnered with our friend Allison to produce a five minute daily dose of heaven. This is the My Morning Devotional Podcast. Well, hello everybody, and welcome back to the My Morning Devotional Podcast. This is Gabby Lessi, your host for the week, and I'm excited to be back on. Can I just say that my sisters have done a phenomenal job the last couple of weeks. And if you did not go back and listen to their episodes and their devos, please, please, please take a minute, go back today and listen to them because they have been incredible. And then you guys heard from my brother. You heard from my brother Chris when Chris and Rochelle were on. So that was really, really sweet. And so I just, I loved.
00:01:07.066 --> 00:01:10.769
Was absolutely amazing. And so go back and listen to them.
00:01:10.890 --> 00:01:25.585
But today we want to jump in to the first devo of the week. And this one is called Set yout Eyes. And we are reading from Colossians 3, verse 1. And. And it says this. Since then, you have been raised with Christ.
00:01:25.737 --> 00:02:09.246
Set your hearts on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Can I just. Can I vent for a minute? On this morning or whenever you're listening to this, feel free to enter into my venting session. Just so you guys know, my sisters and I have a thing that we call the venting machine. You get to open it once. You only get one token. You can't keep venting about something. You can open the venting machine. You can let out whatever's on your heart, your mind, or your hormones, but once the venting machine is closed, you cannot bring it up again.
00:02:09.397 --> 00:04:26.350
If you want to bring up that same topic again, you actually have to go and confront the topic. That's what we have. Those are the rules of the venting machine. So I'm going to use my token today, and I'm opening the venting machine because I'm going to be real. Getting engaged has been the most exciting season. But wow, the pressure and expectation that you put on yourself and that you find from social media can be so overwhelming. So I got my dress about three weeks ago now, maybe two weeks ago, I was really excited to get my dress. But also you can find yourself going back to, like, those insecure feelings and thoughts that you had when you were 12 years old and you're like, I'm 25 years old. I thought I overcame this, but then all of a sudden you're at a bridal shop and you're like, why do I feel like a 12 year old again? And so I found myself, you know, feeling these insecurities and this doubt and, and am I going to reach this expectation and I'm only going to do this once and this is the dress. And, and it can be a lot because this is the moment as a girl that you've been waiting for, really, since you were a little girl, you've been hoping and praying and planning this moment so the expectations can be so great that you feel like the reality isn't going to meet them. On top of that, you feel like, this is the season that I have to look and feel my best. I swear, guys, I have to get off Instagram. I have to unfollow all of the workout and diet videos because it, it's becoming all consuming. All I can think about is what's in front of me. And what I'm finding is I am getting worked up, stressed out, and I am focusing on earthly things. I'm focusing on how I'm gonna look on my wedding day. I'm focusing on the best workout plan and consuming 100 and whatever protein grams a day. Like, I am becoming consumed with earthly things that at the end of the day, it really doesn't honor God. It just honors myself. And it's not that those things aren't important at all, but those things can't consume me. Those things can't be my main focus. And I love it what it says here in Colossians that it says fix your heart, fix your mind on things above. I've heard it said this way what you focus on will grow.
00:04:26.810 --> 00:04:51.725
So if our main focus is on eating right, if our main focus is on working out and being healthy and getting a six pack of abs, then that's going to be the thing that grows in our life. Whether it's going to be a healthy thing that grows or an unhealthy obsession that grows, or when we focus on, okay, what is God calling me to do? How can I please God today? How can I honor God today? That is going to grow.
00:04:51.877 --> 00:05:10.461
That's going to be our main focus. So I'm not saying don't be healthy, but I am saying let's fix our eyes and fix our mind on the things above, on what pleases God, but also set up healthy discipline of being active, of. Of growing yourself, of bettering yourself.
00:05:10.605 --> 00:05:43.076
But we can't focus so much on earthly things that we disregard heavenly things. So let that be your challenge today. That's my challenge. I'm fixing my eyes on heavenly things. God, what are you calling me to, God? How do I make this wedding and engagement season the most honoring season of my life? How do I honor those next to me? How do I honor you in this season? Because it's true. This is the only time I'm going to do this. This is it. So how do I honor you, God, in this season? And the same is true for you.
00:05:43.148 --> 00:06:20.093
Whatever season you're in. Don't let the expectations and the earthly things weigh you down. Set your minds on things above. Set your heart on things above and not earthly things. Father, we thank you. We thank you for this verse. We thank you for this encouragement. I thank you, Lord, for a community of listeners that we have here that we all can just open the venting machine and process, God, that we have this. This outlet where we can come together and we can share each other's burdens. Because truthfully, Lord, all of us are going through similar things. They're not the same thing. But God, God, they're similar.
00:06:20.262 --> 00:07:11.939
And I just believe that you use this podcast and you use this community to help build each other up. And so I pray all of us today would set our minds on things above, on heavenly things, on what you're calling us to, on what pleases you, and not on earthly things. I pray that we don't disregard them. I pray that we challenge ourselves and we discipline ourselves. But God, let our focus, let the main thing always be on you. And we thank you for it. In Jesus name, amen. So there you have it. Your 5 minute daily dose of heaven. Thank you so much for tuning in today. We pray these devotionals empower you to take on your day. If you found value in this devotional, share it with a friend. Leave a comment or review for us on the app you're using right now. Until tomorrow. We pray that your latte is strong, but your love for Jesus is stronger.
00:00:00.080 --> 00:01:05.697
You're listening to the My Morning Devotional podcast, episode 1231. Today's Devo is called Set yout Eyes. Hey there. We're the Alessies, a ministry family working together in our church in Miami, Florida. And if you're like us, when days get busy and to do lists get longer, it can be hard to find devotional time. That's why we've partnered with our friend Allison to produce a five minute daily dose of heaven. This is the My Morning Devotional Podcast. Well, hello everybody, and welcome back to the My Morning Devotional Podcast. This is Gabby Lessi, your host for the week, and I'm excited to be back on. Can I just say that my sisters have done a phenomenal job the last couple of weeks. And if you did not go back and listen to their episodes and their devos, please, please, please take a minute, go back today and listen to them because they have been incredible. And then you guys heard from my brother. You heard from my brother Chris when Chris and Rochelle were on. So that was really, really sweet. And so I just, I loved.
00:01:07.066 --> 00:01:10.769
Was absolutely amazing. And so go back and listen to them.
00:01:10.890 --> 00:01:25.585
But today we want to jump in to the first devo of the week. And this one is called Set yout Eyes. And we are reading from Colossians 3, verse 1. And. And it says this. Since then, you have been raised with Christ.
00:01:25.737 --> 00:02:09.246
Set your hearts on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Can I just. Can I vent for a minute? On this morning or whenever you're listening to this, feel free to enter into my venting session. Just so you guys know, my sisters and I have a thing that we call the venting machine. You get to open it once. You only get one token. You can't keep venting about something. You can open the venting machine. You can let out whatever's on your heart, your mind, or your hormones, but once the venting machine is closed, you cannot bring it up again.
00:02:09.397 --> 00:04:26.350
If you want to bring up that same topic again, you actually have to go and confront the topic. That's what we have. Those are the rules of the venting machine. So I'm going to use my token today, and I'm opening the venting machine because I'm going to be real. Getting engaged has been the most exciting season. But wow, the pressure and expectation that you put on yourself and that you find from social media can be so overwhelming. So I got my dress about three weeks ago now, maybe two weeks ago, I was really excited to get my dress. But also you can find yourself going back to, like, those insecure feelings and thoughts that you had when you were 12 years old and you're like, I'm 25 years old. I thought I overcame this, but then all of a sudden you're at a bridal shop and you're like, why do I feel like a 12 year old again? And so I found myself, you know, feeling these insecurities and this doubt and, and am I going to reach this expectation and I'm only going to do this once and this is the dress. And, and it can be a lot because this is the moment as a girl that you've been waiting for, really, since you were a little girl, you've been hoping and praying and planning this moment so the expectations can be so great that you feel like the reality isn't going to meet them. On top of that, you feel like, this is the season that I have to look and feel my best. I swear, guys, I have to get off Instagram. I have to unfollow all of the workout and diet videos because it, it's becoming all consuming. All I can think about is what's in front of me. And what I'm finding is I am getting worked up, stressed out, and I am focusing on earthly things. I'm focusing on how I'm gonna look on my wedding day. I'm focusing on the best workout plan and consuming 100 and whatever protein grams a day. Like, I am becoming consumed with earthly things that at the end of the day, it really doesn't honor God. It just honors myself. And it's not that those things aren't important at all, but those things can't consume me. Those things can't be my main focus. And I love it what it says here in Colossians that it says fix your heart, fix your mind on things above. I've heard it said this way what you focus on will grow.
00:04:26.810 --> 00:04:51.725
So if our main focus is on eating right, if our main focus is on working out and being healthy and getting a six pack of abs, then that's going to be the thing that grows in our life. Whether it's going to be a healthy thing that grows or an unhealthy obsession that grows, or when we focus on, okay, what is God calling me to do? How can I please God today? How can I honor God today? That is going to grow.
00:04:51.877 --> 00:05:10.461
That's going to be our main focus. So I'm not saying don't be healthy, but I am saying let's fix our eyes and fix our mind on the things above, on what pleases God, but also set up healthy discipline of being active, of. Of growing yourself, of bettering yourself.
00:05:10.605 --> 00:05:43.076
But we can't focus so much on earthly things that we disregard heavenly things. So let that be your challenge today. That's my challenge. I'm fixing my eyes on heavenly things. God, what are you calling me to, God? How do I make this wedding and engagement season the most honoring season of my life? How do I honor those next to me? How do I honor you in this season? Because it's true. This is the only time I'm going to do this. This is it. So how do I honor you, God, in this season? And the same is true for you.
00:05:43.148 --> 00:06:20.093
Whatever season you're in. Don't let the expectations and the earthly things weigh you down. Set your minds on things above. Set your heart on things above and not earthly things. Father, we thank you. We thank you for this verse. We thank you for this encouragement. I thank you, Lord, for a community of listeners that we have here that we all can just open the venting machine and process, God, that we have this. This outlet where we can come together and we can share each other's burdens. Because truthfully, Lord, all of us are going through similar things. They're not the same thing. But God, God, they're similar.
00:06:20.262 --> 00:07:11.939
And I just believe that you use this podcast and you use this community to help build each other up. And so I pray all of us today would set our minds on things above, on heavenly things, on what you're calling us to, on what pleases you, and not on earthly things. I pray that we don't disregard them. I pray that we challenge ourselves and we discipline ourselves. But God, let our focus, let the main thing always be on you. And we thank you for it. In Jesus name, amen. So there you have it. Your 5 minute daily dose of heaven. Thank you so much for tuning in today. We pray these devotionals empower you to take on your day. If you found value in this devotional, share it with a friend. Leave a comment or review for us on the app you're using right now. Until tomorrow. We pray that your latte is strong, but your love for Jesus is stronger.