We are around eight hours from a new year. Crazy to think this came so quickly. Sometimes it feels we just started this year as we already begin another.
What a crazy year, but I have learned some important things. So, 2011, here's to:
*A better understanding of how to love God's people and love them well.
*Watching friendships grow distant, but realizing that it's okay.
*Learning the discernment to either fight for those relationships or ultimately to just let them go.
*A better understanding of what it means to have solid, God-centered relationships.
*Learning what it means to have compassion and mercy for those who don't know what it is or what it even means or don't know how to show it.
*Finding strength and courage that I never even knew I had and conquering things I never knew I could do (like low ropes courses).
*Finding and securing deep joy throughout trials and valleys.
*Realizing that in those valley moments, great lessons are learned and wisdom is gleaned.
*Rediscovering the joy of reading and writing.
*Enjoying laughter. Really enjoying laughter.
*Learning to line dance and actually enjoying it.
*Realizing I am terrible at improv, but having a blast trying it.
*Finding peace in any and all situations.
*Being myself.
*Not being afraid to take chances.
*Celebrating the lives of my family and friends.
*Knowing that every breath is a gift from God and to cherish every moment He gives me on this earth.
*Finding true happiness right where I am.
*Discovering God in new ways every single second.
*Realizing that it is worth fighting through the hard stuff to see the amazing stuff on the other side.
*Not being afraid of what the future holds for me, no matter what it looks like or how far away it takes me.
*The joy of building new friendships and strengthening old ones.
*Understanding that feeling and going through great loss produces a gentle determination to never let the sun go down again without those who are important knowing how very much they are loved.
*Understanding and accepting that I may not be as important in your life as you are in mine and knowing that is okay.
*Investing into the lives of those around me even when it is not reciprocated.
*Remembering that it is not about me.
*Realizing it is okay to cry, but knowing when to stand up, dust myself off and continue on.
*Cherishing time with my family, no matter how messed up it made seem sometimes.
*Cherishing my time with God, because without Him I am a mess.
*Being okay with being a mess. Aren't we all?
*Discovering that it is okay to let people into my messy life, but also making sure they know that I am there for them as well so we can walk through this messy life together.
*Trusting God with my future husband and enjoying this season of singleness that sometimes seems never ending.
*Being okay with being me, and knowing that God is constantly molding and shaping me into His.
*Being a child of God and being dearly loved.
Happy New Year, friends!
31 December 2011
29 December 2011
Love the way You hold me.....
I really dig this song. How can you not be happy listening to it? I do love the way that God takes each and every day and makes it special in some way. "I love You more than the words in my brain can express. I can't imagine even loving You less. Lord, I love the way You hold me."
ENJOY!! :)
28 December 2011
Just Thinking Out Loud......
This morning I was on Facebook and ran across a post in that annoying little side news feed. It was a comment a friend made to a status by Chad Ochocinco. The status was:
"I have always been afraid of losing people I love, sometimes I ask myself..what if I had no followers..r they afraid to lose me? I luv y'all."
Now, I don't really know much about this guy, other than that he is a football player, but my first reaction when I read this was, "Jesus loves you, and He misses you." My second reaction was sadness. Sadness that He might not know the love of an Almighty and amazing God. It made my heart hurt for him.
The other part of the comment that struck me was, "what if I had no followers..r they afraid to lose me?" Then I thought what if this were true of our relationship with Jesus? Are we afraid of losing Jesus? In our everyday, go about life lives, do we remember the One that provides all of it? Are we following Him with wild abandon, willing to give everything and willing to toss it all aside for a love that gave everything for us, regardless of what that looks like or the criticism that would most certainly follow? What if we let our complacency and apathy give way to complete ignorance and tolerance of something that sounds like Truth but isn't? What if, in giving in and being tolerant of all of the things that society deems acceptable but the Bible says isn't, are we slowly but surely walking away from Jesus? From His Truth? And what if that in itself doesn't even bother some people?
To me, that is a scary thought. Thinking that I would be so lost in the world that living this life without Jesus wouldn't even bother me. *SHUDDER* I don't know about you, but I need Jesus like a need my next breath. He is my next breath. Even thinking that I could live this life without Him is terrifying.
My mind is just swimming with thoughts on this whole thing. I may have to let this marinade for a few days and come back to it.
Getting back to Mr. Ochocinco. Praying for him is a good idea. I pray that God would overwhelm him with so much love that even if he didn't have "followers" that he would know the love of the Father and that is SO MUCH BETTER.
I would challenge you all to pray for those who live their lives in a very public arena. Pray for God's will to be done and for salvation for those who don't know Him. For those who do know Him, pray for strength and guidance and a resolve to live and walk this Christian life unashamed and out loud no matter what the critics and cynics say.
Pray that for everyone you know. That we are the fellowship of the unashamed and that we may walk it out boldly in confidence without fear and in Truth. That we may show grace and mercy to those who come against us. That we would have hearts open to Him and compassion for our family, friends and neighbors. That we would live in such a way that God would be glorified and honored above anything we may say or do. That His Gospel of love would spill from our lips in every circumstance and that people may see Him in the midst of their own doubts and struggles.
That our lives would be lived in such a way that we are pointing to Him and Him alone.
Ok, I think that is all I have for now. For now.
Desert Song- Hillsong
Verse 1:
This is my prayer in the desert
And all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in the hunger in me
My God is a God who provides
Verse 2:
And this is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved
Of more worth than gold
So refine me Lord through the flames
Chorus:
And I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon forged against me shall remain
I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here
Verse 3:
And this is my prayer in the battle
And triumph is still on it's way
I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ
So firm on His promise I'll stand
Bridge:
All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship
Verse 4:
This is my prayer in the harvest
When favor and providence flow
I know I'm filled to be empited again
The seed I've recieved I will sow
This is my prayer in the desert
And all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in the hunger in me
My God is a God who provides
Verse 2:
And this is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved
Of more worth than gold
So refine me Lord through the flames
Chorus:
And I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon forged against me shall remain
I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here
Verse 3:
And this is my prayer in the battle
And triumph is still on it's way
I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ
So firm on His promise I'll stand
Bridge:
All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship
Verse 4:
This is my prayer in the harvest
When favor and providence flow
I know I'm filled to be empited again
The seed I've recieved I will sow
27 December 2011
God...Life....2012
Boy, has it been a while since I blogged anything. I tend to forget that I have a blog when life gets busy. I guess that happens, right?
We are swiftly approaching a new year. 2012. Wow. When I was a kid I could not imagine it being 2000 let alone 2012. Being born in 1978, 2012 seemed a world away. But here we are, sitting on its doorstep just about ready to ring the bell and begin a new journey into a new year.
So, how was your 2011? Mine was good. And bad. Trials and learning. Joy and sorrow. Laughter and tears. Would I do it all over again? Yes. Because of the things I learned through those trying moments, I am stepping closer and closer to God's intended purpose for my life.
How is your walk? Are you running towards Him or away from Him? Do the decisions and choices you make daily, hourly, minutely, secondly bring you to the Throne or away from it? How is your heart? Where is your heart?
Too many questions?
Possibly. But important questions nonetheless. These are questions we, as believers, are faced with every moment of every day. Some days they are easy to answer. When life is going right and things are falling into place. When your relationships are good and you have money left over at the end of the month. In those moments it can be easy to say, "yep, everything is good and God is good." Or it is easy to forget that God was even in the picture. When life is comfortable and easy, some people no longer acknowledge that God had any hand in it at all. They give themselves the glory for a job well done instead of giving the glory to God who did the job in the first place. Or they become complacent....in life, in faith, in general. Complacency is the ugly brother of apathy, and the two together are a devastating cocktail that can tear apart faith and usher in complete indifference to God or people around you. Be wary of complacency.
And then something happens. Disaster strikes. You are laid off. There's too much month at the end of the money. Relationships get tough. People walk away. Someone passes away. Life takes a different course than you thought it would, or you thought it should. What do you do then? Do you run into the Father's arms? Or do you blame Him for not being there when He has been there the whole time? Do you get angry and turn away or do you run to Him and admit that you can't do it alone and that you need His help?
He is always there for you. You know that, right? He wants nothing more than you. Not the cleaned up, pristine version of you. Not the "wait till I get my act together" version of you. He wants you. Just the way you are. Right here. Right now. You. He wants to meet you where you are at. He wants you to know of His love for you. He wants you to feel His love coursing through every part of your being as the life-giving ointment that it is. The love that surpasses knowledge and understanding. A love so potent and so real that it took nails, beatings, ridicule and crucifixion so that He could be here, with you, right now.
And He would do it all again.....just for you.
I have a brother who doesn't believe in any of this. For whatever reason, he has anger towards God and tries to discredit Him at every turn. He believes the Bible is just some old book that holds no relevance today. He doesn't believe in a God he can't see or touch. He is easily angered with me because I do believe. I know what my God can do. I know because He has done it in my own life. And if my brother is struggling this hard to disprove the existence of God, or to disprove a book that has never been proven false, I believe that God is going to do something pretty awesome and miraculous in his life. I can't wait to see it! God is churning something in him even if he doesn't realize it. For now I watch and pray. I wait to see what God's abounding love is going to do in the life of my brother, in my family. God can do immeasurably more than we can see or comprehend, and He is constantly working in and through situations in our lives for His greater glory.
Very yes.
So as 2012 begins in less than a week, think about this....where is God in your life? Do you know Him? He knows you. He knit you together. He formed you. He knows your thoughts, your actions and where your heart lies. Will you let 2012 be a carbon copy of 2011, or will you finally see that God has so much more for you and surrender to Him? I guarantee it is worth it. You will never be the same.
Happy New Year!
We are swiftly approaching a new year. 2012. Wow. When I was a kid I could not imagine it being 2000 let alone 2012. Being born in 1978, 2012 seemed a world away. But here we are, sitting on its doorstep just about ready to ring the bell and begin a new journey into a new year.
So, how was your 2011? Mine was good. And bad. Trials and learning. Joy and sorrow. Laughter and tears. Would I do it all over again? Yes. Because of the things I learned through those trying moments, I am stepping closer and closer to God's intended purpose for my life.
How is your walk? Are you running towards Him or away from Him? Do the decisions and choices you make daily, hourly, minutely, secondly bring you to the Throne or away from it? How is your heart? Where is your heart?
Too many questions?
Possibly. But important questions nonetheless. These are questions we, as believers, are faced with every moment of every day. Some days they are easy to answer. When life is going right and things are falling into place. When your relationships are good and you have money left over at the end of the month. In those moments it can be easy to say, "yep, everything is good and God is good." Or it is easy to forget that God was even in the picture. When life is comfortable and easy, some people no longer acknowledge that God had any hand in it at all. They give themselves the glory for a job well done instead of giving the glory to God who did the job in the first place. Or they become complacent....in life, in faith, in general. Complacency is the ugly brother of apathy, and the two together are a devastating cocktail that can tear apart faith and usher in complete indifference to God or people around you. Be wary of complacency.
And then something happens. Disaster strikes. You are laid off. There's too much month at the end of the money. Relationships get tough. People walk away. Someone passes away. Life takes a different course than you thought it would, or you thought it should. What do you do then? Do you run into the Father's arms? Or do you blame Him for not being there when He has been there the whole time? Do you get angry and turn away or do you run to Him and admit that you can't do it alone and that you need His help?
He is always there for you. You know that, right? He wants nothing more than you. Not the cleaned up, pristine version of you. Not the "wait till I get my act together" version of you. He wants you. Just the way you are. Right here. Right now. You. He wants to meet you where you are at. He wants you to know of His love for you. He wants you to feel His love coursing through every part of your being as the life-giving ointment that it is. The love that surpasses knowledge and understanding. A love so potent and so real that it took nails, beatings, ridicule and crucifixion so that He could be here, with you, right now.
And He would do it all again.....just for you.
I have a brother who doesn't believe in any of this. For whatever reason, he has anger towards God and tries to discredit Him at every turn. He believes the Bible is just some old book that holds no relevance today. He doesn't believe in a God he can't see or touch. He is easily angered with me because I do believe. I know what my God can do. I know because He has done it in my own life. And if my brother is struggling this hard to disprove the existence of God, or to disprove a book that has never been proven false, I believe that God is going to do something pretty awesome and miraculous in his life. I can't wait to see it! God is churning something in him even if he doesn't realize it. For now I watch and pray. I wait to see what God's abounding love is going to do in the life of my brother, in my family. God can do immeasurably more than we can see or comprehend, and He is constantly working in and through situations in our lives for His greater glory.
Very yes.
So as 2012 begins in less than a week, think about this....where is God in your life? Do you know Him? He knows you. He knit you together. He formed you. He knows your thoughts, your actions and where your heart lies. Will you let 2012 be a carbon copy of 2011, or will you finally see that God has so much more for you and surrender to Him? I guarantee it is worth it. You will never be the same.
Happy New Year!
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