So... I have problems with caring too much what other people think. I hate it when people think bad of me, especially for something I didn't even do. It's never enough for me to just know that I'm doing right... I want others to know that too. It's dumb... I know... It's actually a pride thing. And I also have problems with wanting other's to do things right. It bothers me when other people don't have the same standards as me or when they don't care about the rules or when they don't have the right attitude (even though I am like that sometimes myself). It gets me all frustrated and mad when other people won't do the right thing when I'm trying to.
So I read Psalms 37 today and it was so perfect. It just talks about how we need to not worry what the wicked are doing... just keep doing right. God will take care of them in His own time. He promises so. It was so amazing because not only did this chapter address that issue but also my other one. Later in the chapter it says not to worry when others judge you wrongfully. Who cares what they think. Then it says :"The Lord...will not condemn him when he is judged." What I took from that was, don't worry about what others think. Know that you are right with God and that He is okay with who you are and don't worry about how others judge you. Yes, be careful of being a stumbling block but if you know you are right with the Lord (and always take time to consider if you are) then DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT! I'm really trying to focus on that. I have some more to post about so I'm gonna try to make it to the library tomorrow. Check back with me. :)
Friday, January 30, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
It's all good!
Psalms 34:9-10---"O Fear the LORD, ye His saints, for there is no want to them that fear Him. The young lions do lack and suffer hunger, but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing."
When I first read this verse, I must have been having a dense moment cuz I was thinking..."they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing... why would they want bad things?"
lol Then I realized that "want" in this verse means to lack. They that seek the Lord will not lack any good thing. Have you ever known that something was right to do but did not really want to do it because you were worried about how it might turn out? Like you knew the Lord wanted you to give your money to a missionary who came to speak or that He wanted you to give your time to the bus ministry or some other area but you were worried about finances and losing too much personal time. Maybe you knew it was right for you to talk to a certain person and befriend them but you were afraid of what others would think of you. Maybe you knew it was the right thing to do to say stand up and say something when all your friends or co-workers were talking bad about someone or using the wrong kind of language but you didn't want them to think you were too much of a weird, goody-goody. Have you ever known it was the right thing to do to talk to a friend about some choices they were making but were too afraid of them getting mad at you? That has all been me at some point in time, some even recently.
God says in these verses that we should be more concerned with pleasing Him than what others think. We should fear God enough to know that He holds our very lives in His hand and He is all powerful and mighty. This realization should push any fears of not having money or friends or personal time out of the way. Our fear of the Lord should outweigh any other fear we may have.
God says that if we do fear Him the way we should so that it motivates us to live for Him no matter what, He will take care of us. It's a promise! We will have no "want" or "lack". When we are seeking the Lord and are concerned with what He wants for us, He will always make provision. He will make sure that we have friends (even if He is the only friend we have, He is enough, right?), provision, protection, and even some rest time. He promises. Is He trustworthy or not?
I think it's interesting that he says you shall not want any GOOD thing. This reassures me that He only wants my best. If I ever do lack something, then that probably means it wouldn't be good for me, at least at that time. For instance... right now, I lack a man! lol.... But obviously it wouldn't be good for me to have one right now because He said I would not lack any GOOD thing. He knows what He is doing. I love how he is constantly reminding me of that.
When I first read this verse, I must have been having a dense moment cuz I was thinking..."they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing... why would they want bad things?"
lol Then I realized that "want" in this verse means to lack. They that seek the Lord will not lack any good thing. Have you ever known that something was right to do but did not really want to do it because you were worried about how it might turn out? Like you knew the Lord wanted you to give your money to a missionary who came to speak or that He wanted you to give your time to the bus ministry or some other area but you were worried about finances and losing too much personal time. Maybe you knew it was right for you to talk to a certain person and befriend them but you were afraid of what others would think of you. Maybe you knew it was the right thing to do to say stand up and say something when all your friends or co-workers were talking bad about someone or using the wrong kind of language but you didn't want them to think you were too much of a weird, goody-goody. Have you ever known it was the right thing to do to talk to a friend about some choices they were making but were too afraid of them getting mad at you? That has all been me at some point in time, some even recently.
God says in these verses that we should be more concerned with pleasing Him than what others think. We should fear God enough to know that He holds our very lives in His hand and He is all powerful and mighty. This realization should push any fears of not having money or friends or personal time out of the way. Our fear of the Lord should outweigh any other fear we may have.
God says that if we do fear Him the way we should so that it motivates us to live for Him no matter what, He will take care of us. It's a promise! We will have no "want" or "lack". When we are seeking the Lord and are concerned with what He wants for us, He will always make provision. He will make sure that we have friends (even if He is the only friend we have, He is enough, right?), provision, protection, and even some rest time. He promises. Is He trustworthy or not?
I think it's interesting that he says you shall not want any GOOD thing. This reassures me that He only wants my best. If I ever do lack something, then that probably means it wouldn't be good for me, at least at that time. For instance... right now, I lack a man! lol.... But obviously it wouldn't be good for me to have one right now because He said I would not lack any GOOD thing. He knows what He is doing. I love how he is constantly reminding me of that.
Monday, January 19, 2009
A new theme
Every semester the Lord seems to give me a new theme. Some verse in the Bible or some character trait or some truth of Himself to meditate and work on throughout that semester. My freshman year it seemed that He wanted me to know that He was the best friend that I could ever have and that he could provide. This was probably because I knew no one when I first came and I was always broke. Sophomore year, He taught me that His love and His strength were always enough. It was during this time that I lost many friends, including one guy that I was considering for marriage. God proved to me that it didn't matter if every single one of them left, He was always enough. He also taught me a lot last year about surrendering my will for His perfect plan.
Last semester, It seemed that every message and devo had to do with love. Loving others the way Christ loved them and doing so without dissimulation or hypocrisy.
This semester, Many messages have zeroed in on a specific topic that God has shown me in my personal Bible reading as well. Focusing and living a more godly life. I love Psalm 27 and Galatians 5 and 6. That is where I was in my Bible reading but I haven't really moved any further since I found them a couple of weeks ago. I just keep reading them again every morning. Psalm 27 is teaching me 3 things...
There is a verse in there that says "One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD and to enquire in His temple." This verse says to me: "FOCUS!" What one thing have I desired of the Lord? In my heart of hearts, I want to marry a godly guy and serve with him in the ministry and someday be a godly mother. That is the one thing in life that I pray he will let me do. If I could keep this desire in the front of my mind at all times, it would probably change the way I live. It would change who I hang out with, and who I give my heart to, and what kind of music I listen to, and what I fill my mind with through movies, and what comes out of my mouth, and how I handle difficult situations and people... It would affect a lot if before I make any decision at all I would remember.... I want to marry a godly guy and be in the ministry.... think about that. What do you want most from the Lord? For all of us, it should be to hear "Well done thou good and faithful servant." That desire would change a lot too!
Later in the chapter, it says "When thou saidst, Seek ye my face, my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek." How often do I really, whole heartedly seek the Lord? Not nearly as often as I should. Seeking the Lord must be about more than just saying a quick prayer in the morning or before bed. I want to try this semester to truly know what it means to SEEK the Lord.
The last verse in the chapter says "Wait on the Lord: Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart; Wait I say on the Lord." Wow, what a hard thing to do! I have posted about this several times so I won't go into much right now but this is something that I need to learn to do better. I need to patiently wait for the Lord to provide... provide finances, a husband, the next step in my life... everything. I just have to wait and be of good courage. I have every reason to face this waiting with courage... God is in control and He knows and only wants what is best for me. Plus! He promises that if I do wait patiently and with courage (trust) then he will strengthen my heart. I'm not gonna die!
Galatians 5 and 6 simply talk about walking in the Spirit and not fulfilling the lusts of the flesh and also the fruit of the spirit. I'm trying to take time to focus on each one... so far I haven't gotten past love... it seems I need a lot of work in this area.
Well, I will get back to the "Walls" at a later time. In the meantime, hope this was a help to someone. This is just what I feel the Lord is working on me about this semester. I will keep you posted!
Last semester, It seemed that every message and devo had to do with love. Loving others the way Christ loved them and doing so without dissimulation or hypocrisy.
This semester, Many messages have zeroed in on a specific topic that God has shown me in my personal Bible reading as well. Focusing and living a more godly life. I love Psalm 27 and Galatians 5 and 6. That is where I was in my Bible reading but I haven't really moved any further since I found them a couple of weeks ago. I just keep reading them again every morning. Psalm 27 is teaching me 3 things...
There is a verse in there that says "One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD and to enquire in His temple." This verse says to me: "FOCUS!" What one thing have I desired of the Lord? In my heart of hearts, I want to marry a godly guy and serve with him in the ministry and someday be a godly mother. That is the one thing in life that I pray he will let me do. If I could keep this desire in the front of my mind at all times, it would probably change the way I live. It would change who I hang out with, and who I give my heart to, and what kind of music I listen to, and what I fill my mind with through movies, and what comes out of my mouth, and how I handle difficult situations and people... It would affect a lot if before I make any decision at all I would remember.... I want to marry a godly guy and be in the ministry.... think about that. What do you want most from the Lord? For all of us, it should be to hear "Well done thou good and faithful servant." That desire would change a lot too!
Later in the chapter, it says "When thou saidst, Seek ye my face, my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek." How often do I really, whole heartedly seek the Lord? Not nearly as often as I should. Seeking the Lord must be about more than just saying a quick prayer in the morning or before bed. I want to try this semester to truly know what it means to SEEK the Lord.
The last verse in the chapter says "Wait on the Lord: Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart; Wait I say on the Lord." Wow, what a hard thing to do! I have posted about this several times so I won't go into much right now but this is something that I need to learn to do better. I need to patiently wait for the Lord to provide... provide finances, a husband, the next step in my life... everything. I just have to wait and be of good courage. I have every reason to face this waiting with courage... God is in control and He knows and only wants what is best for me. Plus! He promises that if I do wait patiently and with courage (trust) then he will strengthen my heart. I'm not gonna die!
Galatians 5 and 6 simply talk about walking in the Spirit and not fulfilling the lusts of the flesh and also the fruit of the spirit. I'm trying to take time to focus on each one... so far I haven't gotten past love... it seems I need a lot of work in this area.
Well, I will get back to the "Walls" at a later time. In the meantime, hope this was a help to someone. This is just what I feel the Lord is working on me about this semester. I will keep you posted!
Monday, January 12, 2009
Waiting.....
Brother Ted Inman preached a message the other day about Joshua and the walls of Jericho. He talked about how strange it must have sounded for God to tell them to march around the city a certain amount of times and then blow trumpets and yell and the walls were just gonna fall down at their feet. Bro. Ted pointed out that the only reason the walls fell was because Joshua obeyed and believed. He did what God told him to do, even though he didn't understand, and believed that God would do what was best.
Then he talked about some of the walls we face in our lives. Today I just want to talk about one wall. I will post about the rest at separate times.
The wall of Waiting-
We all have times in our lives when we are waiting for God to work. Some are waiting for healing, some are waiting on financial provision, some are waiting for lost loved ones to come to know Christ. Personally, I'm waiting on the Lord to show me who I'm supposed to marry. Sometimes it can feel like it is NEVER going to happen. I get discouraged about that sometimes. It seems so far away. But I must just trust God. I have to just do what he tells me to do right now, which is go to Heartland, major in elementary ed., learn to love others better, get to know Him better, do my devotions, pray etc.... I just have to obey and BELIEVE that God has a plan and will do what is best for me. This exact same concept can apply in any of the above-listed situations.
"It's hard to rest within His will, It's hard to trust and just be still, It's hard to simply wait until it's all made plain.... But He who holds us in His hands has no problems... only plans. He works in all things.... for His own glory and our best good."
Hope this was a help to someone. Thanks for reading!
Then he talked about some of the walls we face in our lives. Today I just want to talk about one wall. I will post about the rest at separate times.
The wall of Waiting-
We all have times in our lives when we are waiting for God to work. Some are waiting for healing, some are waiting on financial provision, some are waiting for lost loved ones to come to know Christ. Personally, I'm waiting on the Lord to show me who I'm supposed to marry. Sometimes it can feel like it is NEVER going to happen. I get discouraged about that sometimes. It seems so far away. But I must just trust God. I have to just do what he tells me to do right now, which is go to Heartland, major in elementary ed., learn to love others better, get to know Him better, do my devotions, pray etc.... I just have to obey and BELIEVE that God has a plan and will do what is best for me. This exact same concept can apply in any of the above-listed situations.
"It's hard to rest within His will, It's hard to trust and just be still, It's hard to simply wait until it's all made plain.... But He who holds us in His hands has no problems... only plans. He works in all things.... for His own glory and our best good."
Hope this was a help to someone. Thanks for reading!
Saturday, December 27, 2008
What do you expect?
Dad preached a great sermon Wednesday night. He preached about making room for Jesus. Something he merely mentioned really was a revelation to me. He said we can't expect the world to act like Christians... they are without Christ. We can't expect much more out of them than what we are seeing. Especially when most Christians don't even act like Christians.
I get so frustrated with the way people are sometimes and I think it affects my compassion. But what else do I expect from people without Christ? The only good that is in me is of Him and they don't have Him. If I don't like the way they are, instead of getting angry with them and frustrated, maybe I should be giving them the gospel to try to help them.
Just a short thought today. Meditate on that. I'm gonna try to.
I get so frustrated with the way people are sometimes and I think it affects my compassion. But what else do I expect from people without Christ? The only good that is in me is of Him and they don't have Him. If I don't like the way they are, instead of getting angry with them and frustrated, maybe I should be giving them the gospel to try to help them.
Just a short thought today. Meditate on that. I'm gonna try to.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
An ending of bitterness
“Forgiving does not erase the bitter past. A healed memory is not a deleted memory. Instead, forgiving what we cannot forget creates a new way to remember. We change the memory of our past into a hope for our future.” Lewis B. Smedes
Forgiving may be simple enough for some but for me the hard part is forgetting. Have you really forgiven someone if thinking of them or what they did still makes you angry? That's a scary question.
I have a really good memory and I can remember details very well. It's a blessing in many ways...my room mate gets aggravated because all I have to do is read over something a little bit the night before (or in some cases- the morning of) a test and I make an 'A'. I tell her over and over though that it has nothing to do with intelligence. I just have a good memory.
But... In some instances it is a curse to have such a good memory. I can remember specific things very vividly that I so wish to forget. I sometimes remember specific mistakes that I made and those detailed memories pop into my head at the strangest times. But more haunting I think is the fact that I have a hard time forgetting how other people have hurt me.
There have been several instances this year that have caused me to come to grips with this reality.
1. I "fell in love" and got hurt. He wasn't what I thought he was.
2. I came to realize that several of my "friends" were not what I thought they were and believe it or not it does hurt to realize that.
3. I had one specific "friend" stab me in the back and do things that she knew would hurt me.
4. It hurts to watch people that you care (or cared) so much about turn from God and go down a different road. And, at least in my case, it does make me angry to think that they knew better.
5. Then there are things that didn't even happen to me. My best friend had a major heartbreak last year. Just the thought of who did it makes me angry. How someone could be so heartless is beyond me.
6. Certain people have lied to or about my family and other families who are close to mine.
There are many things that I could stay hurt about. I have said before that I forgive them but...here's my confession... When I think of them it still makes me angry sometimes and to be totally honest I just wanna.... I dunno, Hit them in the face or something.... just being honest. All of those situations and more have turned me into quite the skeptic of people and their motives and intentions. I don't want to live in bitterness or be angry at them forever. So the best thing to do is forget about it, right? So... how do I do that?
Well, I think maybe it comes simply through prayer. Asking God to take away those hateful feelings of anger and bitterness. Asking Him to give you love for those people who have hurt or wronged you. Asking Him to help you forget about those things.
It will probably also require a certain amount of self discipline. You have to train yourself to not dwell on those things. You have to make yourself pray for them which despitefully use you.
It will go a long way in helping your self discipline to remember how much you have been forgiven. The Lord has forgiven me for so many things. How can we dare to hold a grudge.
These are all things that I am telling myself.
I think, or I hope, that today marks the beginning of "Letting it go" for me. Do any of these things really matter? In a couple years I will look back and think "how silly was I?" And as for those things that cut a little deeper, I will just pray and ask the Lord to help me to truly forgive... and FORGET, or as my quote says - remember it in a different light.
"Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward."-- Author Unknown
"Hanging onto resentment is letting someone you despise live rent-free in your head."-- Ann Landers
"Let go. Why do you cling to pain? There is nothing you can do about the wrongs of yesterday. It is not yours to judge."Leo Buscaglia
“There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love.”
"By forgetting the past and by throwing myself into other interests, I forget to worry.”
Forgiving may be simple enough for some but for me the hard part is forgetting. Have you really forgiven someone if thinking of them or what they did still makes you angry? That's a scary question.
I have a really good memory and I can remember details very well. It's a blessing in many ways...my room mate gets aggravated because all I have to do is read over something a little bit the night before (or in some cases- the morning of) a test and I make an 'A'. I tell her over and over though that it has nothing to do with intelligence. I just have a good memory.
But... In some instances it is a curse to have such a good memory. I can remember specific things very vividly that I so wish to forget. I sometimes remember specific mistakes that I made and those detailed memories pop into my head at the strangest times. But more haunting I think is the fact that I have a hard time forgetting how other people have hurt me.
There have been several instances this year that have caused me to come to grips with this reality.
1. I "fell in love" and got hurt. He wasn't what I thought he was.
2. I came to realize that several of my "friends" were not what I thought they were and believe it or not it does hurt to realize that.
3. I had one specific "friend" stab me in the back and do things that she knew would hurt me.
4. It hurts to watch people that you care (or cared) so much about turn from God and go down a different road. And, at least in my case, it does make me angry to think that they knew better.
5. Then there are things that didn't even happen to me. My best friend had a major heartbreak last year. Just the thought of who did it makes me angry. How someone could be so heartless is beyond me.
6. Certain people have lied to or about my family and other families who are close to mine.
There are many things that I could stay hurt about. I have said before that I forgive them but...here's my confession... When I think of them it still makes me angry sometimes and to be totally honest I just wanna.... I dunno, Hit them in the face or something.... just being honest. All of those situations and more have turned me into quite the skeptic of people and their motives and intentions. I don't want to live in bitterness or be angry at them forever. So the best thing to do is forget about it, right? So... how do I do that?
Well, I think maybe it comes simply through prayer. Asking God to take away those hateful feelings of anger and bitterness. Asking Him to give you love for those people who have hurt or wronged you. Asking Him to help you forget about those things.
It will probably also require a certain amount of self discipline. You have to train yourself to not dwell on those things. You have to make yourself pray for them which despitefully use you.
It will go a long way in helping your self discipline to remember how much you have been forgiven. The Lord has forgiven me for so many things. How can we dare to hold a grudge.
These are all things that I am telling myself.
I think, or I hope, that today marks the beginning of "Letting it go" for me. Do any of these things really matter? In a couple years I will look back and think "how silly was I?" And as for those things that cut a little deeper, I will just pray and ask the Lord to help me to truly forgive... and FORGET, or as my quote says - remember it in a different light.
"Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward."-- Author Unknown
"Hanging onto resentment is letting someone you despise live rent-free in your head."-- Ann Landers
"Let go. Why do you cling to pain? There is nothing you can do about the wrongs of yesterday. It is not yours to judge."Leo Buscaglia
“There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love.”
"By forgetting the past and by throwing myself into other interests, I forget to worry.”
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
A good God deserves thanks!
"Lately I've been looking back
Along this winding road
To the old familiar markers
Of the mercies I have known
I know it may sound simple
But it's more than a cliche
No other words to tell you
Than to say...
God's been good
In my life
I feel blessed beyond my wildest dreams
When I go to sleep each night
And though I've had my share of hard times
By my side He's always stood
Through it all...
God's been good
Times replay and I can see
I've cried some bitter tears
But I've felt His arms around me
As I faced my darkest fears
I've had more gains than losses
And I've known more joy than hurt
As His grace flows down upon me
Undeserved...
God's been good
In my life
I feel blessed beyond my wildest dreams
When I go to sleep each night
And though I've had my share of hard times
By my side He's always stood
Through it all...
God's been good
God has been my Father
My Savior and my Friend
His love was my beginning
His love will be my end
I could spend forever trying
To tell you everything He is
But the best way I can say it
Is this...
God's been good
In my life
I feel blessed beyond my wildest dreams
When I go to sleep each night
And though I've had my share of hard times
By my side He's always stood
Through it all...
God's been good"
I thought this was an appropriate song for the season. I'm home for thanksgiving and I can say that I am SOOOO thankful for the ability to come home for a few days. It's been a crazy semester for different reasons and I desperately needed a break.
God is so good to me... all the time! I am so undeserving and yet he blesses and blesses. He has given me good, godly parents and an awesome little brother. He allowed me to go to school and learn more about Him. He gave me some good friends and has saved me from bad relationships. He has always provided just what I needed and then some! He is such a good God to such an undeserving person. Nobody knows how undeserving I am better than me. I just love Him.
Now, the fact that he keeps blessing me even when I mess up and don't deserve it does not give me licence to sin! It should drive me to better live for Him! The Bible teaches that, while God is long suffering and patient, he is not eternally suffering and patient. There may come a time when God says..."That's enough". He did it in Bible times and I believe He could do it today. America, as a nation, is in terrible danger of God's judgment in this way. It is so important for us to remember how good God has been to us and not to take His mercy and grace for granted. I'm so guilty of it. The Bible says that we mess up the most when we forget God and how good he has been to us. Keep that in mind over these holiday weeks.
Thanks for reading! :)
P.S- A shout out to my aunt Sheri! Thanks for praying for me. I miss you and pray for you and the twins! Give them a hug and kiss for me! See you soon. Love you!
Along this winding road
To the old familiar markers
Of the mercies I have known
I know it may sound simple
But it's more than a cliche
No other words to tell you
Than to say...
God's been good
In my life
I feel blessed beyond my wildest dreams
When I go to sleep each night
And though I've had my share of hard times
By my side He's always stood
Through it all...
God's been good
Times replay and I can see
I've cried some bitter tears
But I've felt His arms around me
As I faced my darkest fears
I've had more gains than losses
And I've known more joy than hurt
As His grace flows down upon me
Undeserved...
God's been good
In my life
I feel blessed beyond my wildest dreams
When I go to sleep each night
And though I've had my share of hard times
By my side He's always stood
Through it all...
God's been good
God has been my Father
My Savior and my Friend
His love was my beginning
His love will be my end
I could spend forever trying
To tell you everything He is
But the best way I can say it
Is this...
God's been good
In my life
I feel blessed beyond my wildest dreams
When I go to sleep each night
And though I've had my share of hard times
By my side He's always stood
Through it all...
God's been good"
I thought this was an appropriate song for the season. I'm home for thanksgiving and I can say that I am SOOOO thankful for the ability to come home for a few days. It's been a crazy semester for different reasons and I desperately needed a break.
God is so good to me... all the time! I am so undeserving and yet he blesses and blesses. He has given me good, godly parents and an awesome little brother. He allowed me to go to school and learn more about Him. He gave me some good friends and has saved me from bad relationships. He has always provided just what I needed and then some! He is such a good God to such an undeserving person. Nobody knows how undeserving I am better than me. I just love Him.
Now, the fact that he keeps blessing me even when I mess up and don't deserve it does not give me licence to sin! It should drive me to better live for Him! The Bible teaches that, while God is long suffering and patient, he is not eternally suffering and patient. There may come a time when God says..."That's enough". He did it in Bible times and I believe He could do it today. America, as a nation, is in terrible danger of God's judgment in this way. It is so important for us to remember how good God has been to us and not to take His mercy and grace for granted. I'm so guilty of it. The Bible says that we mess up the most when we forget God and how good he has been to us. Keep that in mind over these holiday weeks.
Thanks for reading! :)
P.S- A shout out to my aunt Sheri! Thanks for praying for me. I miss you and pray for you and the twins! Give them a hug and kiss for me! See you soon. Love you!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
