06Another Season…
The weather is cooling off significantly, the late lazy nights of summer are long gone, and the holidays are quickly approaching one red Starbucks cup at a time.
I am so thankful for the seasons. They remind us that life is continually changing, each year a little different, no two quite the same. The future is so exciting when you stop to think about all of the possibilities that lie ahead. Who knows where we’ll all be this time next year? Hopefully one step closer to a more complete love for each other, one step closer to the knowledge and appreciation of our creator God, and one step closer to fulfilling the good works He has set out before us to walk in. Maybe we’ll be in a different house, maybe a different job, maybe we’ll have children…..who knows? :)
When I look back upon my life, I am so thankful for the faithfulness of God and for His tender hand that leads me one decision at a time. I am so thankful for the grace He has bestowed upon me when I have been in the wrong, and for the loving way He teaches me and comforts me during the times when I have no answers.
I am overwhelmingly thankful when I stop and think about all I really have. We are so rich. We have so much. Even in the midst of what is considered a world wide economic crisis, the average American’s day to day life is really so full and abundant. The reasons we despair are often not those of true need, like food or shelter, but often a result of unmet expectations….Unmet expectations of becoming rich and acquiring nice things, being “beautiful enough” - whatever that means, or attaining some kind of identity confirming status through our job or our position within our community. We are an entitled nation, myself being the frontrunner. But when we stop and reflect back on all we have been blessed with over the years and the true hope and promise of our future, we have no reason not to smile.
- Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
- Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
- Where there is injury, pardon.
- Where there is doubt, faith.
- Where there is despair, hope.
- Where there is darkness, light.
- Where there is sadness, joy.
- O Divine Master,
- grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
- to be understood, as to understand;
- to be loved, as to love.
- For it is in giving that we receive.
- It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
- and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
- Amen.
- -Francis of Assisi
Busy, Busy, Busy
It’s important to take time to think and reflect. Sometimes we get so busy we don’t feel like we have time, but it’s so easy to forget why were are here, what we are doing, and where we are going if we don’t take time to remember. If our thoughts always consist of just making it from one moment to the next, it’s just a matter of time before we get burnt out and lose our inspiration completely. It’s important to take a step back and focus on the whole painting, rather than stooping forward to concentrate on one single detail. Our purpose is much greater than our day to day tasks, but sometimes it’s easy to get lost in the routine of it all.
Lately I’ve been learning the importance of assuming that God wants to work and that he wants to use you. He doesn’t just have us on this earth to enjoy us, and while we are a great source of joy for him, he also wants to use us. And I am also leaning that there is no greater place to be than in the center of God’s will. He knows you better than anyone. He created you. He knows what you like, what you don’t like, where you need to grow, where you need to heal. He knows what your true desires are…whether they are a desire for comfort, for security, for greatness, for acceptance, for whatever it might be…and he wants to meet those desires through a relationship with himself.
Sometimes I get overwhelmed when I think about true and complete surrender to Christ. I always have this fear that he will take everything I love away from me if I submit fully to him. He might take away my nice things and send me to a remote country to be a missionary, he might take away my husband, he might take away my health, the list goes on… But the truth is, I don’t have control over any of these things anyway, whether I submit or not! None of us have control. We just like to feel like we do.
It is my desire to trust that God is good and that he has good things planned for my life—not just in the future, but for today—right now. These things may involve some suffering, but suffering is often something we can’t control, and who better to walk through suffering than with our creator God. He tells us to cast our cares upon him because he cares for us. And our suffering is not in vain. He wants to teach us important lessons through our trials.
I have known no greater peace than the peace I have found when I purposefully seek Jesus, and I mindfully surrender my life to him. The problem is, I so quickly forget and begin to doubt his goodness. That is why it is so important to stop and reflect. It’s so important to take days to just come before his throne of majesty and beauty and ask him, why am I here? What am I doing? And where am I going?
And the great thing is, he wants to speak!
God wants to work, and I want to be right in the middle of his workforce.
And to not forget, it’s God who actually does the work, we are just his tools for glory :)
I Missed a Month!
Well, my goal was to write at least one post every month, but I missed February! Darn. Oh well.
It has been so dreary around here lately! The seemingly endless rain and gray, cloudy skies are becoming the norm. Although, the promise of spring and new life are just around the corner.
Life is often like the weather. We go through rainy seasons that seem like they will never end, but somehow, someway, things become sunny again. I think that an important thing to learn in life is to just keep going. Don’t give up. When things seem hopeless, if you just keep going, they always seem to get better again one way or another. And sometimes when you stick with things that are difficult, over time they are full of reward and become better than you ever could have imagined! All because you didn’t give up.
In order to learn, we often have to make a few mistakes along the way. Mistakes are part of the learning process and they don’t mean that we are a complete failure. Everyone makes them, it’s just that some people give up when opposition presents itself, and some people learn and keep going. I want to be one of the people who keeps going.
Life is so rich! God has given us so much to enjoy. His presence alone and offer of eternal salvation are sources of unfathomable joy.
When the devil tempts you to despair, remember who you are in Christ, and take joy in the loving security He provides.
Learning to be at Peace with the Mess
Chipped nail polish. A growing pile of dishes. Down to the last pair of socks. Dentist appointment that’s way overdue. A to-do list at work that never seems to get done. The car that desperately needs to be washed. Dust. The clothes that need to be dry cleaned/altered/fixed. The sunflower seeds that are all over the floor of the car (and have been there for a while).
These are just a few things in my life that make me feel behind, overwhelmed, and so not the perfect person I want to be. It seems that life sometimes just gets busy! I hate it—I wish I could feel like everything is done and like I’m on top of everything in my life. All the items on my to-do list neatly checked off. Viola.
But that’s so not the case! I think I’m realizing that it’s okay to be in the middle of a mess. Sometimes life just gets busy and that’s okay. I seem to have a tendency to place unrealistic demands on myself and in the process I continually feel like a failure. I definitely think working hard is important, but resting is also important and sometimes you just need to rest and not worry about that pile of dishes or those un-groomed eyebrows!
I think there is a false belief that once your life is in order, your emotions will also be in order. While cleaning the house definitely feels great, it doesn’t guarantee happiness. Once again, happiness is a state of being—not something to be attained or chased after and found.
Rest in the Lord, and he is always with us.
Matthew 11:28-30
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” -Jesus
Perfection
One of the things I love about God is his perfection.
He is the one thing that I can cling to without fail.
The embodiment of complete purity, beauty, and unity.
The depth of his love knows no bounds.
He is eternally perfect and I yearn to be fully in his presence.
This world is so broken, but there are glimpses of his beauty all around us.
Remnants of glory…
“I want it like it was back then, I want to be in Eden.” —Phil Wickham
The Sweetness of a New Year
Don’t you just love new years? It’s such a great time to reflect back on all that has happened in the last year and think about all that might happen in the upcoming year. I am so grateful for where God has brought me and am so excited for what remains ahead. I was thinking about the following verse today:
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. -Jeremiah 29:11
Sometimes I get so anxious! I start to think about all of the possible things that might go wrong. I get antsy and begin to worry like crazy.
This verse is so comforting when thinking about the future. God’s plans for us are GOOD! He may lead us through some valleys before we get to the other side, but it’s because he sees the bigger picture and knows that whatever suffering we may endure is worth the ultimate good it may bring about.
I’m working on completely trusting God with my life. The other day my pastor was going over Psalm 37:4
“Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
He said something that got me thinking. He said “Love God and do whatever you want.” At first this seemed a bit bold, but then I realized that the fully surrendered Christian life really is a beautifully freeing thing.
If you love God and delight in him, then HE WILL TRANSFORM your desires to be in line with his will and YOU WILL WANT to do what is pleasing to him!
Now of course we have a tendency to LOVE OURSELVES and this is something that we have to guard against. But we always have the opportunity to REPENT and “love God and do whatever you want.”
So it’s really that simple. Love God. Let him do the rest.
I’m so thankful that God saved me and that I didn’t have to save myself. I feel so feeble sometimes, but that’s okay. He is such a big God and can give me strength when I need it. He wants to give me good things, to teach me good lessons, and to bless me abundantly. Now that’s a God I can trust to lead me through the new year!
Christmas
“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
—Words spoken by Jesus Christ who came to save sinners
(can be found in John 14:27 & John 16:33 in the Holy Bible)
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Peace be with you all as we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ who has made it possible for us sinners to be reunited with our loving and perfect God!
“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.”
—Isaiah 53:5
The Pursuit of Happiness.
Well, I seem to be stuck on the topic of happiness lately. My last post felt somewhat forced (I was trying to get at least one post in during the month of November) and a bit incomplete, so I’ve decided to continue on the topic of happiness.
“Know what you love in life, and work to fulfill a life you love.”
This is something that I wrote way back in high school. I thought I was pretty clever at the time but now am revisiting the idea of what it really means to find happiness.
Why do I always feel like I am chasing after happiness? The pursuit of happiness. It seems like that’s just it. When looking for happiness it can never be found. Happiness is a state of being, not a lost item to be retrieved. It’s something you catch yourself caught up in. Like an unsuspecting wave that overtakes you during a walk along the ocean’s shore. Happiness cannot be found, but only received. Then what are we to search for? God knows we will search for something.
I know that the times in my life when I have felt the most happy, the most content with life, have been the times when I have spent ample time with God. Peace that enters in like a flood, hope that bursts at the seams, love that wells up like a spring of unbridled life. Why is it then that it seems like it’s so much easier to look for satisfaction in every other place?
We are so in need of God’s grace and mercy upon our lives.
“We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” —C.S. Lewis
” Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him!
How I’ve proved him o’er and o’er!
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust him more!”
—Louisa Stead
Melancholy & Boredom
I feel like I am at a time in my life where I am beginning to feel settled. I’m settling into my marriage, I’m settling into my job, I’m settling into our location here in Sacramento…. I am beginning to feel well-adjusted to the responsibilities of being an adult, and along with that I’m beginning to feel, well, a little bored.
It seems that for so much of our lives we are working toward something. We go to school so that we can learn and go to college to pursue a career that we love and eventually get a job that fulfills our every need. And then, we look forward to getting married. We try out different partners until we find the one that seems to “fit” and then we get married and live happily every after. Right? Well, not really in my case. While there is definitely joy found in these things, they haven’t completely filled me up with the happiness and excitement I was hoping for.
There are so many illusions in this life. Blame it on the media, blame it on our own self-centered & sinful nature, blame it on whoever you want to…it’s so easy to slip into the “if only” mentality. If only I were married, if only I had the perfect job, if only I lived here, if only I had a baby, if only, if only, if only. Well, I feel like I have attained enough “if onlys” to know that being on other side of the fence really isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. The truth is that our circumstances do not guarantee our happiness. We could have everything that we want and can still be as miserable as ever. Happiness has to come from somewhere else.
So, as a believer in Christ Jesus, I look to the Bible to see what God has to say about the matter. I did a quick study using biblegateway.com searching the keyword “joy.”
Starting with the OT, here are some verses that stood out to me…
Nehemiah 8:10
Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
Psalm 5:11
But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.
Psalm 16:11
You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Psalm 45:7
You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.
Psalm 52:12
Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Psalm 65:8
The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy.
Psalm 66:1
For the director of music. A song. A psalm. Shout for joy to God, all the earth!
Psalm 92:4
For you make me glad by your deeds, LORD; I sing for joy at what your hands have done.
Proverbs 12:20
Deceit is in the hearts of those who plot evil, but those who promote peace have joy.
Proverbs 15:23
A person finds joy in giving an apt reply— and how good is a timely word!
Proverbs 23:25
May your father and mother rejoice; may she who gave you birth be joyful!
Proverbs 27:9
Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of a friend springs from their heartfelt advice.
Ecclesiastes 8:15
So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 9:7
Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do.
Isaiah 12:3
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
Isaiah 49:13
Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice, you earth; burst into song, you mountains! For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.
Jeremiah 15:6
When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, LORD God Almighty.
Jeremiah 31:12
They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will rejoice in the bounty of the LORD— the grain, the new wine and the olive oil, the young of the flocks and herds. They will be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more.
Habakkuk 3:18
yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.
Wow, I’m tired. And that was only a select few from the OLD TESTAMENT! Didn’t even get to the new yet. The Bible is truly packed with great information about how we are to live our lives. Basically, to grossly sum it up, it seems that we are to find our happiness in God himself and our relationship with him, in what he has done for us and given to us, our salvation, our friendships and speaking into others’ lives, giving birth ;), promoting peace, loving righteousness, and because God commands it. And it also seems like joy is often associated with eating and drinking, which I’m totally cool with. It also speaks a lot about nature rejoicing and also about making joyful music to the Lord. So much to learn…
Thank God for his Grace! Even when we are discontent and disapointed with life, he is patient with us and teaches us to find strength and happiness in all the right places.
Sick Day
Sometimes I’ve noticed that when I start to get too busy and stressed out, God allows me to get sick to get me to sit still and think for a bit. Now I know that getting sick is often the result of not taking care of one’s self and that’s probably all in the way that God designed it. So here I am on this delightfully dreary October day, recovering from a cold—or whatever the heck it is.
It’s so easy to get lost in this life. It’s so easy to lose focus and forget what really matters. It’s so easy to get swept up in advancing, succeeding, self-pleasing, and unnecessary grieving. Sometimes I feel like I am so hopeless. Like God has so much to teach me, but I go on just running around with my ears all plugged up not wanting to listen. It’s so easy to blame others for our problems, isn’t it? I’ve always liked to think that I was perfect, and anytime a situation arose when my perfection was in question, I would be the first one to point fingers. I’d point fingers at situations, at people, and circumstances…anything but my lovely self.
I want God to use me and I know that I need to be humble before him. I need to own up to my mistakes and my own selfishness before he can really work through me. Letting go of the reins is somewhat unsettling for me, but one thing I have been reminded of over and over this past week is that God will be with me through every trial, and that he loves me. He won’t allow anything to come into my life that he won’t walk me through. Even if he walks me into glory, he’ll always be with me.
