Thursday, October 29, 2009
Life is short:
...break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Thankful JOY
Our Daily Bread for today kind of hit right at home with me....
...Prepositions in our language seem like insignificant details, but they can make a big difference. The words "in" and "for" are an example.
The apostle Paul wrote, "In everything give thanks" (1 Thessalonians 5:18). That doesn't mean we have to be thankful for everything. We need not be thankful "for" the bad choices someone makes, but we can be thankful "in" the circumstances because the Lord can use the resulting difficulties for good....
That just reminds me of Romans 8:28, it is a verse that had friend has shared often with me recently as the verse she was standing upon.... another touch of how good God is.
Knowing that God can use all things for good is more than enough reason to give thanks in everything. Giving thanks in difficult circumstances is a small detail that makes a big difference. ~Julie Ackerman Link
I know God has a reason for this difficulty with my pay.... I do know already that through inquiring with CDE I found out that there is another step that needs to be done for my temporary license... so see that is already something good that has come out of this yuck...
Father, thank You that in every trial, challenge, and difficulty, You are behind the scenes working things out for our good. Help us to see Your hand in everything. Amen.
God has not promised to keep us from life's storms, but He will keep us through them. ~ODB
As always, I love when God reaches down and speaks directly through something like Our Daily Bread, right where I am at. I know this was written and put together long before this actual day, but it NEVER ceases to amaze me how it is Perfect for RIGHT NOW.
I've also been reading "Walking With God" by John Eldredge and tonight I read a section titled 'Making Room for Joy' pages 37-41...
..."The battle in your life is against your joy."... How true this has been in my life the past few years... I keep saying I don't feel like me, but the truth is I haven't experienced or felt joy in so long... Oh, I know the things in the past few that have brought a smile to my face and warmed my heart... but, to really feel joy, I don't know.
But of course. Suddenly life made sense. the hassles. The battles. The disappointments. The losses. The resignation. Why hadn't I seen it before? I mean, I face a lot of different skirmishes day to day, but now the plot, the diabolical plot behind them all came into view. I began to see how the enemy was first trying to take away all joy from my life. Wear me down. Then weary and thirsty, I would be quite vulnerable to some counterfeit joy. It would start with mild addictions, then build to something worse. Thus he would destroy all that God has done in and through me. It was so obvious. Of course.
Yes, of course... after reading Eldredge's words the light came on for me to. And so much made sense...why isn't joy a part of my waking in the morning, I've experienced it before and what exactly what it looks like full on. So where did it go? How do I get it back?
He continues after describing an awesome day with his sons:
So, why don't I wake with a joyful heart today? Joy was just here. Where did it go? I feel like I met a stranger on an airplane, and we clicked. We swapped some stories, had a few drinks, laughed together. Then I drove home to an empty house. It's like that. I had an encounter with joy. It touched a longing. Now I begin to realize I haven't even given ten minutes to joy, let alone pursued it as essential to my life.
It has to do with agreements I've made without even knowing it. ...It happens down deep in our souls where our real beliefs about life are formed. Something or someone whispers to us, Life is never going to turn out the way you'd hoped, or Nobody's going to come through, or God has forsaken you. And something in us responds, That's true. We make an agreement with it, and a conviction is formed. It seems reasonable. I think we come to more of our beliefs in this way than maybe any other. Subtle agreements.
...Now, to be fair, joy isn't exactly falling from the sky these days We don't go out to gather it each morning like manna. It's hard to come by. Joy seems more elusive than winning the lottery. We don't like to think about it much, because it hurts to allow ourselves to feel how much we long for joy, and how seldom it drops by. But joy IS the point. I know God says that joy is our strength. "The joy of the LORD is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10)
Just like Elderedge continues to write... I know that when I have felt joy in the past I felt more alive than any other time in my life. Makes you think about some of those times....
Playing in the back of a pick up truck with some of the bestest kids ever, slow dancing in the living room with an amazing man of God, jumping on the trampoline with awesome kids while 'adult' friends looked down upon us the day before going to Korea, watching my students in Korea pray for baby Noah and raise their arms declaring "Praise Jesus" and reciting Psalm 106:1, reading something in an email you waited your whole life to hear, opening the door in Winter Park to be greet by someone you longed to see, encountering GOD in ways just like this....
As Elderedge ends with: Joy is such a tender thing... We avoid it, because it feels too vulnerable to allow ourselves to admit the joy we long for but do not have.
Oh heavens.... "God Calling" is even titled YOU ARE MY JOY for today reading....
Remember, that just as you thank God for Me, so I thank God for His Gift to Me of you. In that hour of My agony on Earth, one note of Joy thrilled through the pain. The thought of the souls, given Me by My Father who had kept My Word....
Now there is some more cause for some THANKFUL JOY!!!!
So longing for more of you Lord and that Joy that is complete in You.... I long to experience not only moments of Joy, but a life of Joy with You.
...Prepositions in our language seem like insignificant details, but they can make a big difference. The words "in" and "for" are an example.
The apostle Paul wrote, "In everything give thanks" (1 Thessalonians 5:18). That doesn't mean we have to be thankful for everything. We need not be thankful "for" the bad choices someone makes, but we can be thankful "in" the circumstances because the Lord can use the resulting difficulties for good....
That just reminds me of Romans 8:28, it is a verse that had friend has shared often with me recently as the verse she was standing upon.... another touch of how good God is.
Knowing that God can use all things for good is more than enough reason to give thanks in everything. Giving thanks in difficult circumstances is a small detail that makes a big difference. ~Julie Ackerman Link
I know God has a reason for this difficulty with my pay.... I do know already that through inquiring with CDE I found out that there is another step that needs to be done for my temporary license... so see that is already something good that has come out of this yuck...
Father, thank You that in every trial, challenge, and difficulty, You are behind the scenes working things out for our good. Help us to see Your hand in everything. Amen.
God has not promised to keep us from life's storms, but He will keep us through them. ~ODB
As always, I love when God reaches down and speaks directly through something like Our Daily Bread, right where I am at. I know this was written and put together long before this actual day, but it NEVER ceases to amaze me how it is Perfect for RIGHT NOW.
I've also been reading "Walking With God" by John Eldredge and tonight I read a section titled 'Making Room for Joy' pages 37-41...
..."The battle in your life is against your joy."... How true this has been in my life the past few years... I keep saying I don't feel like me, but the truth is I haven't experienced or felt joy in so long... Oh, I know the things in the past few that have brought a smile to my face and warmed my heart... but, to really feel joy, I don't know.
But of course. Suddenly life made sense. the hassles. The battles. The disappointments. The losses. The resignation. Why hadn't I seen it before? I mean, I face a lot of different skirmishes day to day, but now the plot, the diabolical plot behind them all came into view. I began to see how the enemy was first trying to take away all joy from my life. Wear me down. Then weary and thirsty, I would be quite vulnerable to some counterfeit joy. It would start with mild addictions, then build to something worse. Thus he would destroy all that God has done in and through me. It was so obvious. Of course.
Yes, of course... after reading Eldredge's words the light came on for me to. And so much made sense...why isn't joy a part of my waking in the morning, I've experienced it before and what exactly what it looks like full on. So where did it go? How do I get it back?
He continues after describing an awesome day with his sons:
So, why don't I wake with a joyful heart today? Joy was just here. Where did it go? I feel like I met a stranger on an airplane, and we clicked. We swapped some stories, had a few drinks, laughed together. Then I drove home to an empty house. It's like that. I had an encounter with joy. It touched a longing. Now I begin to realize I haven't even given ten minutes to joy, let alone pursued it as essential to my life.
It has to do with agreements I've made without even knowing it. ...It happens down deep in our souls where our real beliefs about life are formed. Something or someone whispers to us, Life is never going to turn out the way you'd hoped, or Nobody's going to come through, or God has forsaken you. And something in us responds, That's true. We make an agreement with it, and a conviction is formed. It seems reasonable. I think we come to more of our beliefs in this way than maybe any other. Subtle agreements.
...Now, to be fair, joy isn't exactly falling from the sky these days We don't go out to gather it each morning like manna. It's hard to come by. Joy seems more elusive than winning the lottery. We don't like to think about it much, because it hurts to allow ourselves to feel how much we long for joy, and how seldom it drops by. But joy IS the point. I know God says that joy is our strength. "The joy of the LORD is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10)
Just like Elderedge continues to write... I know that when I have felt joy in the past I felt more alive than any other time in my life. Makes you think about some of those times....
Playing in the back of a pick up truck with some of the bestest kids ever, slow dancing in the living room with an amazing man of God, jumping on the trampoline with awesome kids while 'adult' friends looked down upon us the day before going to Korea, watching my students in Korea pray for baby Noah and raise their arms declaring "Praise Jesus" and reciting Psalm 106:1, reading something in an email you waited your whole life to hear, opening the door in Winter Park to be greet by someone you longed to see, encountering GOD in ways just like this....
As Elderedge ends with: Joy is such a tender thing... We avoid it, because it feels too vulnerable to allow ourselves to admit the joy we long for but do not have.
Oh heavens.... "God Calling" is even titled YOU ARE MY JOY for today reading....
Remember, that just as you thank God for Me, so I thank God for His Gift to Me of you. In that hour of My agony on Earth, one note of Joy thrilled through the pain. The thought of the souls, given Me by My Father who had kept My Word....
Now there is some more cause for some THANKFUL JOY!!!!
So longing for more of you Lord and that Joy that is complete in You.... I long to experience not only moments of Joy, but a life of Joy with You.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Extra Light...
I always feel so alive when I hear GOD speaking.... and at times it feels like it has been way to long since I have felt HIM so closely.
I can't believe I just had two paragraphs written and then they were gone on here... I didn't even touch anything, so not for sure what happened... other than as I'm feeling so close and the power of GOD at this moment and wanting to share, the enemy is still attacking... Wow, doesn't he ever give up? Doesn't he know I won't walk away from the Lord?
Anyways, back to trying to rewrite what was already flowing in my head and heart through my hand onto this page.... I know I'm not gonna be able to recreate it, but I'll try to at least share after the interruption of losing what I wrote.
I got a big blow today and have been seeking GOD all day... even asked others for some extra prayers of strength. I ended up watching "A Walk to Remember" and the flood of tears just kept coming tonight.
And then I came in to spend the final moments of my day spending time with the Lord before going to bed and resting in the arms of GOD. I went to my favorite form (besides the Bible) of words that GOD uses to speak to me and He did. Man, I do love HIM so.
GOD CALLING:
Extra Work
Our Lord and our God. Help us through poverty to plenty. Through unrest to rest, through sorrow to Joy, through weakness to Power. I am your Helper. At the end of your present path lie all these blessings. So trust and know that I am leading you. Step with a firm step of confidence in Me into each unknown day. Take every duty and every interruption as My appointment....
Wow!!!! Then I go on to read the following in "SINGLE-MINDED DEVOTION" by Michelle McKinney Hammond:
The Light Within
"God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light." ~Genesis 1:3
I find it interesting that the first thing God spoke into existence was light. Light is essential to our well-being. We can't move or function well without it. The absence of light can negatively affect our state of mind.... ...We need light, and not just physically. We also need light spiritually. God is that light. All it takes is a word from Him to set captives free, to heal sick bodies, to release minds, to comfort tear-stained souls. If we choose, we can let the sunlight reassure us that God is on the scene and has noticed our predicament. He's given us promises we can stand on. If God can say let there be light and the universe obeys His word, He can also say, "Let there be provision for you" and "Let there be an amazing opportunity, and open door for you." "Let there be joy... let there be peace... let there be deliverance... let there be love." And when He speaks, His will is put into motion. We are God's children.... ...What do you need God to speak over you today?...
HE just gives really big hugs when I need them... HE is always here and HIS eyes are watching me constantly as HE is refining me... I wonder does the silver get refined faster when the heat is turned up? If so, what the enemy thinks he'll use to destroy us is really just allowing GOD to keep HIS eye on me even more closer to see HIS image in the reflection... Ooohh, does that sounds so good!!
Loving life and feeling so blessed at the moment. For I truly know that I am fully Known and fully Loved... not only by GOD, but by many that HE has put into my life. More there, but time to rest in HIS arms for now. HE and I know, and well that is just gonna have to be good enough for now.
I can't believe I just had two paragraphs written and then they were gone on here... I didn't even touch anything, so not for sure what happened... other than as I'm feeling so close and the power of GOD at this moment and wanting to share, the enemy is still attacking... Wow, doesn't he ever give up? Doesn't he know I won't walk away from the Lord?
Anyways, back to trying to rewrite what was already flowing in my head and heart through my hand onto this page.... I know I'm not gonna be able to recreate it, but I'll try to at least share after the interruption of losing what I wrote.
I got a big blow today and have been seeking GOD all day... even asked others for some extra prayers of strength. I ended up watching "A Walk to Remember" and the flood of tears just kept coming tonight.
And then I came in to spend the final moments of my day spending time with the Lord before going to bed and resting in the arms of GOD. I went to my favorite form (besides the Bible) of words that GOD uses to speak to me and He did. Man, I do love HIM so.
GOD CALLING:
Extra Work
Our Lord and our God. Help us through poverty to plenty. Through unrest to rest, through sorrow to Joy, through weakness to Power. I am your Helper. At the end of your present path lie all these blessings. So trust and know that I am leading you. Step with a firm step of confidence in Me into each unknown day. Take every duty and every interruption as My appointment....
Wow!!!! Then I go on to read the following in "SINGLE-MINDED DEVOTION" by Michelle McKinney Hammond:
The Light Within
"God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light." ~Genesis 1:3
I find it interesting that the first thing God spoke into existence was light. Light is essential to our well-being. We can't move or function well without it. The absence of light can negatively affect our state of mind.... ...We need light, and not just physically. We also need light spiritually. God is that light. All it takes is a word from Him to set captives free, to heal sick bodies, to release minds, to comfort tear-stained souls. If we choose, we can let the sunlight reassure us that God is on the scene and has noticed our predicament. He's given us promises we can stand on. If God can say let there be light and the universe obeys His word, He can also say, "Let there be provision for you" and "Let there be an amazing opportunity, and open door for you." "Let there be joy... let there be peace... let there be deliverance... let there be love." And when He speaks, His will is put into motion. We are God's children.... ...What do you need God to speak over you today?...
HE just gives really big hugs when I need them... HE is always here and HIS eyes are watching me constantly as HE is refining me... I wonder does the silver get refined faster when the heat is turned up? If so, what the enemy thinks he'll use to destroy us is really just allowing GOD to keep HIS eye on me even more closer to see HIS image in the reflection... Ooohh, does that sounds so good!!
Loving life and feeling so blessed at the moment. For I truly know that I am fully Known and fully Loved... not only by GOD, but by many that HE has put into my life. More there, but time to rest in HIS arms for now. HE and I know, and well that is just gonna have to be good enough for now.
Need Strength Prayer...
Keep thinking about the Refiner email I sent out to encourage others the other day.... why is it every time you start to draw closer to the Lord and do some work for Him, the enemy attacks even harder?
I don't have the strength to continue to fight right now.... this is fall break for me. I'm suppose to be relaxing and resting in God's arms and finishing up homework that will get me my initial teaching license.
However, in the process of inquiring about getting paid for my graduate credit hours, I receive a letter today that says since they don't have a valid teaching license on hand, though my TTE is in process, they say I WON'T get paid!
I know that it will all work out, on the phone the other day they said I was fine. I've just killed myself the past two years, ruined a relationship, moved from what I've called home for so long... to only get attacked more and more... I have no strength left.
I know, absolutely know that it is all gonna work out... it always does, but I'd be lying if I didn't be honest and say that I feel more alone than I ever have and need prayers for strength.
Yes!!!! My GOD is good, so very very good and HE loves me so much.... I know HIS heart is breaking as the flood of tears flow down my cheek right now. In the end it will all work out and I'll be fine... I DO KNOW THIS!!!!
I don't have the strength to continue to fight right now.... this is fall break for me. I'm suppose to be relaxing and resting in God's arms and finishing up homework that will get me my initial teaching license.
However, in the process of inquiring about getting paid for my graduate credit hours, I receive a letter today that says since they don't have a valid teaching license on hand, though my TTE is in process, they say I WON'T get paid!
I know that it will all work out, on the phone the other day they said I was fine. I've just killed myself the past two years, ruined a relationship, moved from what I've called home for so long... to only get attacked more and more... I have no strength left.
I know, absolutely know that it is all gonna work out... it always does, but I'd be lying if I didn't be honest and say that I feel more alone than I ever have and need prayers for strength.
Yes!!!! My GOD is good, so very very good and HE loves me so much.... I know HIS heart is breaking as the flood of tears flow down my cheek right now. In the end it will all work out and I'll be fine... I DO KNOW THIS!!!!
Friday, October 02, 2009
I'm satan, this is god.....
Ok, so I'm leaving the football game tonight and run into two boys. One asks me who I am and I respond back with well who are you. They reply....
I'm satan and he is god... we are discussing our differences. They go on with this little routine for a bit. It was so funny and one of the best things I have heard in a while. (Really wish I could write word for word what Colton and Bradon said).
I then had to go up and compliment them and ask who they really where. They gave me their names and one said he was a freshman and the other an eighth grader.
The best part is they thought I was in high school and were surprised when I said I was old enough to be their mom. I then let them know I taught at the elementary school.
And they needed to take their skit on the road.... just really made me smile and made me realize I can't wait to REALLY know the youth in town and get working with Young Life...
I'm satan and he is god... we are discussing our differences. They go on with this little routine for a bit. It was so funny and one of the best things I have heard in a while. (Really wish I could write word for word what Colton and Bradon said).
I then had to go up and compliment them and ask who they really where. They gave me their names and one said he was a freshman and the other an eighth grader.
The best part is they thought I was in high school and were surprised when I said I was old enough to be their mom. I then let them know I taught at the elementary school.
And they needed to take their skit on the road.... just really made me smile and made me realize I can't wait to REALLY know the youth in town and get working with Young Life...
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