Facebook Status: Humbled.

If I told you that I was the most humble person I'd ever met would you believe me? No. I hope not. You'd laugh at me. I'd laugh at me. It seems that I have forgot something very important in the past few months. The importance of being humble.
When I forget humility I forget that I am not really that important. That God is concerned for me, but His world does not revolve around meeting all my desires.
Ouch.
Now, let me follow up by saying that I serve a very loving God who cares deeply for me and I truly believe His greatest desires for me are for He and I to be as close as we possibly can be.
His desire is for me to know Him.
There is so much for me to know about Him, the list is endless because He is endless.
He wants me to humbly gaze a the beauty of the sky and comment on His majesty, and glory. It's not that HE wants me to be a groveling servant eating dust, but He does want me to think of Him and His power on a moment by moment basis.
His glory affects my daily living. His abilities affect my life's wonder. He is all I should revel in, glory in and praise.
It seems however that I get that mixed up once and while. I start to think about other things, ya know? Things like, "I wonder what God will bless me with today..." Or, "Is God forgetting about me, because my day stinks."
This is not reveling in God. This is not humility. The described attitude above states that I think I am the most important thing. And I am not.
This thinking is so contrary to what comes natural to me. In world where Face book constantly asks me "how I'm doing, and please share it with the world.." Why? Because the world cares? No. The world does not care. I however THINK the world should care...because lets face it, I'm important. What I have to say is important.
NO.
The only time what I say is important, is when I say the words God has given me. "Speak as if you are speaking the very words of God."  1 Peter 4:11

This is a post on humility because I feel as though I have not come before God and man in humility and said, "Lord, your will be done in my life." Ouch.
Even Jesus prayed this. "Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done." Luke 22:24
Jesus was humble, is humble, He describes humble. Washes feet. Sits with the sinners. Sacrifices His life for mine. And He is my example.
I am humbled Jesus.
*tears*
"So now what Lord?" I pray? I ask Him this because I recognize how far I fell in my humility. I recognize that I have been walking, living, praying as if I am a BIG deal.
I am not a big deal. He IN me, that is when my life is something.
That is when my life has purpose.
Purpose is something that is hard to define as well. Purpose can be unseen. Jesus states unwritten hidden purpose in Matthew 10:42 when "you offer a little one a cup in His name.." this is seen as great in His eyes. Do you think the world really cares if you give a child a drink of water?
How many "likes" do you think you'd get on Face Book if you said, "offered child a drink," as your status. My guess is few.
My life has worth when I am wrapped up in Christ.
It's not about what worldly accomplishments I may have stacked behind my name.
" For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me, will save it." Luke 9:24
Much of my writing lately has had do with my (frustrations?) (struggles?) (Focus on?) (dissatisfaction with) what God has been doing in MY life..My life????
It's not my life. It's HIS.
I forget that soooooo easily.
"Forgive me Lord."
When I struggle, and I run, and chase after what I want with so much vigor, and I wear myself out to meet my own desires, I come up dry, empty and spent.
He who wants to save His life will lose it.
So how does one go about saying, "I'm done with this life attitude.."
I guess it's moment by moment.
It's done prayerfully. It's done with humility. It's done with the understanding that this life is not about making myself happy. God will take care of me. He dresses the lilies of the valley in all their glory. He will take care of me. He makes the sun shine, He makes the rain fall. He will meet my needs.
I would much rather have THIS be said of me, "I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do." John 17:4
My flesh made note that this doesn't sound like fun. And my Spirit responded that HE is my joy, my satisfaction and in Him I am filled to the fullest measure as I do what He has had planned for me to do since before the foundations of the earth were laid.
That is where I will find joy...peace and satisfaction.
And in humility, I hit the floor and from me knees I say, "Jesus, it's ALL about you."
I can testify that never have I been more joy filled, elated, and satisfied then when I know I am exactly where He wants me, doing exactly what HE wants me to do. This is worship my friends. It's saying, my life is about doing your will. Why? Because you Lord created me. You made me. And it's my greatest joy to do as you will.
And in humility I recognize that He saved me, He made me, He chose me, and He named me. All I have of worth is wrapped up in Him.
"So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ' we are your unworthy servants, we have only done our duty." Luke 17:10
And He says, " I no longer call you servants because a servant does not know his masters business, instead I call you friends, for everything I have learned from my Father I have made known to you." John 15:15
Humble thyself in the sight of the Lord, and HE will lift you up.

Hope? Hope in what?

There are times I feel like I sound like a broken record as I write. And so I think, am I missing something? But I distinctively remember praying some time ago, that "Lord, if you are going to teach me something, teach me the lesson good, so I don't have to learn it ever again, teach it so I never forget."
I do believe He is answering that prayer, and it is not easy. Walking the truth out is never as easy as knowing the truth. I KNOW that HE is over all things. Living like I believe that is harder. I KNOW that HE is in total control, living that out in my life in my faith walk can prove to be more challenging. I'm not sure if any of you reading can identify, but every day can in some way or another offer me an opportunity to live out my trust in Jesus. Perhaps it's something as simple as not allowing myself to become disheartened in the face of daily trials, but I always am given chances to give Him my life in faith. It's hard to not be dismayed when the world beneath my feet seems to spin out of control at times and I am tempted to despair.
Do you know what keeps me from despairing though? It's a very real thing that keeps me grounded.
And yes, it is Jesus, but it's keeping in mind that Jesus is a bigger reality than the pain I am going through in this world. The image of my strong hero riding in on his white horse is an actual reality. I know it sounds fairy tale. I know it sounds other-worldly, but His presence, is stronger the presence of the pain I feel in this world. I close my eyes and I picture His face. The reality of being with Him for the rest eternity makes my mundane Monday's being to fade in the understanding of His eternal glory.
At some point, God made the reality of Himself more real to me. It was in this moment that I realized He is bigger than my pain, bigger than any worldly sorrow I may feel or see. He will conquer in the end, and my momentary struggles will fade.
Without Jesus, I'm not really sure how I would exist. Hope in "hoping things get better" feels like sticking a band-aid on a gunshot wound and expecting the bleeding to stop. Jesus has proven Himself to be to me time and time again, the only real source of comfort, healing and hope in this desperate world.
Again, it's like trying to water a camel with an eyedropper. The task is impossible. Hope is impossible if the hope is not grounded, and rooted in Christ Jesus.
I believe the Lord has allowed some cloudy years in my life to help me to pick my face up and stare at Him until the hurt subsides. I never really stared into the face of Christ when life was going well. When my daily life felt so easy, I was confident in myself.
He told me we would have trouble in this world, but to take heart, because He has overcome the world, and although this was always a nice verse, I never realized what a rock it would be to stand on in the face of difficult life circumstances.
My needs are all met, but  human emotions of course can take over even when needs are met. We were made emotional, but I think He made us this way so that in our search for emotions that would be stable, we would dig into His endless well of stable, foundational hope.
"Why would anyone keep trusting in a God who sends this much trial your way?" The enemy has of course sent this question my way, but I did not give into the temptation to listen. Because I realize that if my hope is in good life circumstances, I can bet that my hopes will be dashed, if not today, perhaps tomorrow. But when my hope is rooted in Christ, the one who spoke the earth into existence, the one who calmed the storms, parted the seas, saved an entire adopted race, and moment by moment extends the offer for life to anyone who will respond, I am convinced that this hope is well placed.
Even if our healing never comes.
There were people who died waiting for the promise land. But they are with Him, so their present reality exceeded the promise! He promises us He will be with us now, and He promises us that we will be with Him when we pass from this life.
Maybe you are in a joyful season right now and you feel bad that I have been through trials...or maybe your right here with  me facing a trial, regardless of where you are coming from my friend, realize that hope wrongly placed is deadly.
If we hope in tomorrow, we hope in something that will fade. If we hope in JESUS we are hoping, (resting) in a hope that only gets better when we pass from this life! Our hope becomes our sight, and our hope is sustained in Him until it becomes eternal. He shows me that my hope cannot be placed in good circumstances, although He does bless us with good times and refreshing times...but I realize that if I can be rooted and grounded in Him my hope will last even when the sunshine fades.
I wouldn't trade these trials for anything. They have been the best training camp I've ever attended. And my faithful Father has been with me every step of the way. He is my reality, and this life is the stepping stone to my eternal home. Remembering this reality, helps me when life feels hard right now. I can have joy in all the ways He shows Himself present in my life right now, and I can also have exceeding hope in the joy that awaits where there is no more tears or pain, trials or temptations.
If this life is all you know, then look again. Look at Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And as the things of earth grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace, I promise you, Monday- Sunday will look different no matter where you are. When He is the window that you look through at your life you will see things from a whole different view. Pain is a teaching lesson, trial is test, and joy is a glimpse of what is to come. Oh, I love you Jesus.

Enough

"Your enough, your enough, your enough." One could chant this prayer over and over again hoping that repeating something enough times would make it true. But the only thing that makes the phrase, "He is more than enough....." true in our hearts is Him taking our hearts and making them whole, and then daily, focusing our eyes in confidence on the One who makes us whole.
He is the only healer, provider and hope that always fills, always meets us and always does things at just the right moment. His moment.
Oh yes. That is the thing I keep forgetting. It's not about my timeline, or schedule. It's His. I keep thinking that my effort may speed things along, or make me get what I think I need now.
Life begins to feel like a relentless waiting game if my hope is not wrapped up in the Lord Jesus Christ. If my "savior" is something I can put forth by human effort that I am essentially saying that "God is not enough." I heard it said that anything + Jesus is a false gospel. Jesus is the end, the beginning and the sustenance in the middle. He is the one and only.
It's not say that sick shouldn't seek medical help, or those in financial crisis essential need meeting help. But, what I am saying is that when we are in another one of "life's waiting rooms.." No amount of our striving, searching, planning or prodding will make the process go against His plan for us. In essence, no plan that is not HIS plan for us, will succeed. That is why my friends, for me, Jesus has proven Himself time and time again, to be more than enough.
I can wail, and want, and vent and cry, mourn and scream, and rage, plan and scheme and pick and prod, but if I am not in His will for my life, all these things will end in total and utter fatigue. Not to mention that any of those actions and emotions are very God glorifying. However, what I listed above are usual responses of the flesh, and if I am not prayerful (instead of careful) I will easily fall into the rage of the machine. (my flesh) and the process that I described above with the responses that lead me no-where, will take me down a path of once again feeling that He is not enough.
Any response that is not of the Lord is the wrong one. His responses to "plans" not happening that we as humans have planned are more godly. When things to don't go as we wish with God we have patience. With God we have a joyful spirit, even while we wait. With God our hope does not fade. With God we have peace and yes, contentment even when the answer we wish for has not come. He is still in control, and He is still enough. Sometimes just saying out-loud, "God, you are more than enough for me." Makes us take our eyes off of our circumstances, and once our eyes are off of our circumstances, we can then redirect our focus to the places God wants us to gaze. Where we will find ourselves being the most satisfied, is when we gaze directly, constantly into the face of Jesus. The coolest thing about staring into His face is that you can do it anywhere. You can gaze at Him while driving, you can gaze at Him while in your room, you can gaze at Him as you study His word. Gazing at Him is this, prayerfully asking Him to align your thoughts with His. And this can be done anywhere. Let me encourage you friends that when you pray such a prayer, it is His delight to answer that. His laws should be our delight. His words, all-sustaining. His truth, our guidance. His reality? Our hope.
Yes my friends, He is enough. Now, yesterday, tomorrow. He is enough when I am in my sadness, He is enough when I am in my joys...He is enough always. There is simply nothing I could add that He has not already covered. That is why He is perfect. I pray this truth inspires you, encourages you and uplifts you in the face of your life struggle, waiting room or trial. He is enough.
Lyrics to "More than Enough"

All of You is more than enough for all of me
For every thirst and every need
You satisfy me with Your love
And all I have in You is more than enough

You are my supply
My breath of life
And still more awesome than I know
You are my reward
worth living for
And still more awesome than I know

All of You is more than enough for all of me
For every thirst and every need
You satisfy me with Your love
And all I have in You is more than enough

Youre my sacrifice
Of greatest price
And still more awesome than I know
Youre the coming King
You are everything
And still more awesome than I know

More than all I want
More than all I need
You are more than enough for me
More than all I know
More than all I can say
You are more than enough for me

SEALED IN CHRIST

Jesus died for you. He wore a crown of thorns to show His love for you. He let His body be given in exchange for yours. HE WAS your ransom. "Me for you..." He says. Why? BECAUSE HE LOVES YOU BELOVED. Gut wrenching love. Tear stained love. "Be with me in paradise..." love. The Bible? His love letter to you friend. In Him, we are sealed. Our love secure. Our security locked. Where else will we ever find something more satisfying...? Never will I...LEAVE YOU, NEVER WILL I FORSAKE YOU.

This is just your daily reminder of your gratifying, satisfying, devoted Savior. 

It does matter who you are, what you have done and how bad you think you are or are not. He died for you all the same. 

Enjoy this gift, live in this promise and accept both gift and promise today. 

In A Different Life

Today I was thinking and was struck by the reality of how many different ways of life there are, how one person does something one way, calling that "normal" and then how in stark contrast is another soul doing something different on the other end of the spectrum, calling that "normal." And the craziest part is that each person if asked would most likely say their way is "best."
I hate how routine I can make life, I do create norms for myself and I get all wacky if that normal gets out of wack! I really actually dislike this about myself. So it is interesting to me that in Christ, we become "new" when we first accept Him into our lives, and secondly He makes us new each and every time we sin and ask Him to wash us clean and make us whole again. He doesn't just make us whole, He gives us a new, fresh start. I love that. From a chronic, do-it-the-samer, this is good news.
" Therefore, if anyone is in Christ He is a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come!" 2 Corinthians 5:17

"See, I am doing a new thing, now it springs up, do you not perceive it..." Isaiah 43:19

See? Scripture speaks of it, and my heart soars from it, my mind cannot fathom it all on its own, and this confirms to me that Christ is in this newness, not my flesh.
I recognize that I have the tendency to want to stay in the same place for long periods of time, because lets face it, it's comfortable. But change is good, especially change inspired the author of newness.
Anyone want something "new" in their life?
Many people try to create a sense of newness in their marriages, parenting and work life, it usually involves extreme amounts of effort put forth and in the end, we seem to usually go back to the way it used to be over time.
The only times in my life where newness or change has really sunk in, is when it is God-inspired. God propelled, God initiated. Change is good. But change for the sake of change is pointless. Change for the sake of Christ is meaningful. Why is Christ propelled change meaningful? Because it's God inspired. And whenever God does something inspired, it's bound to be good. And I would argue, everything He does is inspiring!
I can see all throughout scripture examples of when God made things change, peoples lives were changed for the course of history and generations to come benefited from this change.
Perhaps God has told you there is something in your life that needs to change, maybe it's something you learned from your parents and you have now passed it down and infiltrated it into your life and perhaps your parenting, but God knows it's not best for you and plants a seed of desire in you that whispers, "Change."
What do we do in these moments friends? We listen!

Think of Joseph in the Bible, do you think that at first when his life changed for what seemed to be the worst, Joseph was jumping up and down? My guess is no. But here is the truth my friends, even if the "new" doesn't feel good at first, it does not mean that the new is bad. Change does not always feel good, but it flows. Know what I mean by that? Joseph did not have to DO a lot as he sat in slavery. But God sent the winds of change into His life and Joseph was blown with the winds of the Spirit.
The same is true in my life today. Whenever I feel God say, "Ok, time to change darling..."  I stop and listen, and examine my life and heart. I see what it is that He wants to do with me, in order to make the new. Usually it requires me to examine, and spend some time with Him taking a good hard look at the patterns I've created in my life. Even though I perceive myself as someone who chasing hard after God and His will, this does not mean that I don't ever get caught up in my own human-centered patterns.
If you want the every-day grind to change, and you sense Him tapping you on the shoulder, and you sense that perhaps the "stir-crazy" feeling you are experiencing is not just the "winter blues" then pray. Ask the Lord to guide you into the new direction He may want to take you. It might be the smallest change, so much so that the common eye might not even notice the change, but you will know. You will know because of the peace you feel.
That leads me to the other point I wanted to make, when it's God inspired "newness" there is peace. Peace will flood in like a gentle flowing stream.
The living water that flows inside of me will not let me sit in peace if I am sitting in a place that is not beneficial for me or my family. He has given me His Holy Spirit to guide me, and gently help me determine the places in my life and heart that may need a little spring cleaning.
It may be an old bag of past regret that I shoved in the corner some time ago, but just because it's out of sight does not mean it's out of mind. And things shoved under the bed and in the corner do begin to grate on you over time. Trust me, I have learned from experience. If there is something that springs to mind as I say these words, don't get scared, nervous or annoyed. Rather, rest in the one who abides with you, in you and through you and lean on in Him for all you need to know. He will take care of the details, you just need to be obedient!
The Lord has made it known to me that I need to make shifts in the attitudes of my heart...He told me gently and He told me as only He can, but day by day as I give Him the attitudes of my heart, He creates in me a clean heart, that is pleasing to God my Savior. That is the kind of newness He creates, gentle, loving, perfect newness. Newness that at first may seem difficult but it's such a gentle correction I cannot help but listen to Him. I serve, we serve, a God who gentle. Loving. And takes the time to give us all we need for this life.
I could and can go on and on about Him, but friend I want to focus on the fact that Jesus Christ who never changes, (Heb 13:6-8) never forsakes us, and always does what is best for us, (Jer. 29:11) wants to create newness in us so that we can be like a tree with roots planted in a stream. (Jer. 17)  Isn't that an amazing picture? A tree with roots planted in a stream. Talk about refreshment. And talk about things never being the same. When is a river ever the same?!
Jesus the author and PERFECTER  of my faith has new things for me. If that doesn't give me goose-bumps I don't know what will.

When You Want to Be Something

Ever find yourself sitting in a quiet, or not so quiet place, and suddenly your gone. (in your mind that is) Your thoughts have drifted and you are far-away in "the land where my life became something bigger than it is..." Oh I know we have all had those moments, at 13 I had myself engaged to Brad Pitt. I'm so very glad THAT dream didn't pan out. (thank you Lord) But regardless, we all dream big things for ourselves.
Thinking these thoughts today made me think, "I wonder what the Lord dreamed up for me when He thought me up...before I was...before I became." Have I walked the places He wanted me to walk? Much of my early adult life I did not. I went to and fro like a scared bunny. But as the years progressed and God got ahold of my heart, I began to see a different way a life, a life spent with Him. HE is with me wherever I go. And He knows what is best for me. He has my best interests at heart, and He is the ultimate tour guide.
I sometimes feel like I need a little more direction, a little more instruction on what my days should look like, because most days if I'm totally honest, it feels like I'm barely getting there. (wherever it is that I'm supposed to be.) This is why I take those ever-so-precious moments and sit with the Lord. I actually get kind of teary eyed when I think of those sweet moments I get to spend all alone with Jesus. I have to fight to get them some days, with kids up early and to bed late, and non-existent nap times... I have to pray for the Lord to help me find, and carve out, or really grab a hold of the moments He has for me.
But it's in these moments that I gain insight, understanding and grow in my wisdom of how to see the finger of  God tracing His lines in my life. It's a nudge, a feeling I can't shake, a thought that I know is not from my own  mind, or a prayer that comes springing out of my lips. A name remembered of a person I long forgot and an opportunity that only could be because He made it possible. These are the "moments of God" that I long for, strain with my eyes to see and wait with eager expectation.
When I know it's Him, I eagerly walk forward, not without prayer, and discernment, but when you know His voice, you trust it. He is the Shepherd. He is the gate, and He knows what it's like to be human. He was tempted. He gets it, and He knows human emotion. And He never plays with my heart. His ways are always good, and He is trustworthy. The great unchangeable I AM.
So living my best life, what does this really look like? I know to the world it probably does not look like what my life looks like. :) My life is so simple! It's so normal. It's nothing special. But, wait friend, before you agree and resign in your heart that therefore you are nothing special, remember whom it is we take our marching orders from?! The Lord of Heaven and earth. Our lives are anything but normal, or mundane. God is using us in His plan, not because He has to, but because He wants to and He loves to involve His children in His plans.
It's the father who could very easily fix the lawn-mower all by himself, but instead He calls his son to his side, and asks the son for some "help." God uses us because He loves to. He uses us because He made us with different interests, abilities and gifts, and He wants us to use those gifts to further His kingdom, and bring Him glory.
So I really must ask myself, "Is what I am striving to do, going to bring Him glory. Am I feeling worn out by my striving? Or does it feel 'fueled' by a stronger source? " If I am running on nothing in a human sense but have all the energy in the world, I would say thing fingerprints of God are all over what ever it is I'm doing. In other words, in that sort of a situation I would say that I was in the center of His will for me.
"Lord, show me your will!" How many times have I prayed this? Probably more times that I can possibly dare to count. I want to know His will more than I want anything else in this world (except to be with Him) And it's in the seeking that I find. It's in the longing, that I learn.
There are times where I feel like He is actually being quiet on purpose. But in these times I know He is not "hiding" from me but rather He is encouraging me to dig deeper into Him, and His word. I learn so much when I seek Him like this, but in this seeking I get to know Him. That is what I have found. If all were so easy, and I had every answer I ever wanted to know right away, I most likely would quit seeking Him so hard, and start relying upon myself. It's not that He is silent so that  I'm lost, rather He can be quiet at times so I learn first of all how to be patient...( a lesson all people should learn at some point) and so that I learn to patiently trust Him. He is faithful, and I can honestly say, all my NEEDS are met. He meets me when I need to be met. He takes the time to instruct me and it's often at the moments I'm thinking I need something totally different that He shows up with what I really need.
That is why I always marvel at Him. Many times I begin to think I know what is really going on with me, and if only God would listen and answer my prayers... this is not the thinking that He desires. Before the creation of the world HE WAS. And HE IS...and IS TO COME. That is pretty all encompassing, leaving little room for me to question if He really knows what is going on. (even if my prayer is never answered the way I thought He should answer it...) you know what though friends? I don't care anymore. I don't want what I want anymore. I want to want what He wants for me. Because I can honestly say for the first time in my life I want Him more. Because all His ways are good and perfect...and therefore my faith is increased that if I am not getting whatever it is in my life that I thought I should have to make me feel complete, then I fully (with all my heart) trust that what HE has is better.
To God be the Glory. Great things He has done. The Great High Priest who's name is love, He is my Savior and my God.

Don't Look Back.

"My life was so much better back then..." Have you ever thought that or even said that? I have. But there is danger in this type of thinking.
The past is the past for reason. We can't go back to it by rules in the boundaries of existence, but we all dream of those days "when things were good." Maybe you are someone who has never wished for the past, and if that is, this is good. You are blessed. But for most people, memories get sweeter as the time goes by and so the reality of the past begins to get foggy.
If we saw things as they really were, we probably would not wish for the past, because in reality the past was probably just as bad, if not worse as the mess you are in right now that has you wishing for the past! I've found this to be true in my own life. I glance back at the rosy image I see in pictures frames and I think, "wow life was simpler back then," or " boy I wish I could only have that gift or freedom back"...or the worst one, " I know to much now to live with the kind of joy I had back then..." Wrong. wrong and wrong. Those statements are all wrong. This thinking is all wrong.
I was struck by this as I was "interrupted" earlier than I wished this morning by the cry of a small child. I put down what I was doing and slumped down in the chair to feed her. And my mind began to wander...wasn't it nice back when...
And as soon as the thought entered my mind, I nearly shouted, "NO!" Startling my tired child in my arms, and even startling myself, but it seems the Lord's truth has begun to sink in and I am glad.
In Genesis 19:26, Lot's wife looked back, and anyone who had read this story has struggled with what happened next I'm sure. She turned into a pillar of salt. God told Lot and his wife NOT to look back at the desolate past they we forced to leave. I say forced but really there was no other way if Lot and his family wanted their lives to continue. The place they were living was not longer inhabitable  and God, knowing what was best for them, moved them forward. Isn't that way things are for us as well? God see's that we need to grow. He knows it's time to move us forward, but this of course requires leaving something behind us. Leaving is not usually easy. It takes getting out of what's comfortable, and until we leave, we don't even realize what else is out there. Isn't the key of changing position or direction though? If you never change, how will you know? And if God is prompting, prodding or pushing you to change, you really ought to listen. He sees what we cannot and He moves us when He knows it's time. And as we step forward and trust Him later perhaps we may get to see why He did what He did in our lives. Sometimes we don't see it till much, much later, but trust me, if we stay in the same "comfortable" spot for all time, we will most likely miss much of what He had in store for us. God is sovereign but we can be rebellious, and we will face consequences for our rebellion. Lot's wife did. Her rebellion tasted salty. (sorry, bad joke)
We are told in Hebrews 11:14-16  of a people who were "looking for a country of their own, ones who were longing for a better country, - a heavenly one."
And of course, "God had prepared a city for them." vs 16b
When we long for eternity, the changes of today seem less difficult when we keep two things in mind: #1 being that God is always working for the good of those who love Him, and He has prepared for us a life that will not end in eternity. I find GREAT comfort from those two principles.
BUT, what about right now? When my Monday feels like death, and my Tuesday feels like sorrow, and my Wednesday feel's like "barely surviving.." And so on. Those types of seasons in our lives do come, even for the most devout believer. Everyone has a day where they look to heaven and say, "why this Lord...?"
Everyone has a day where we are tempted to say, "yesterday looked better...."  But those are the days we fix our eyes on Jesus, and THANK Him for the day He made for us, and rest in the fact that He is working for our good TODAY. Yesterday may have felt better, (or at least it does now that is't today) but in reality, even if yesterday looked better, we shouldn't be tempted to take too long of a look, or really look at it at all. Instead, to find our true contentment in Christ, and what Christ is doing in our lives TODAY, if we wake up on any given day and feel like, "this stinks..." We should hit the floor on our knees and pray for joy for this day.
I heard someone say once that even on the crummiest of days, she thanks God first thing, and tells Him that she is grateful for the day, because just the fact that she has breath in her lungs, and day before her, she knows He is watching out for her. She recognizes that GOD made that day, and she will rejoice and be glad in it. I've tried to adopt that prayer and thinking because that's the kind of stuff that breaths and speaks life into your day, heart and mind.
It goes like this, think not, feel not, say not. If you abolish wrong thinking through the power of the Lord, you never let the thoughts take root in your heart, mind and attitude. Stop the wrong thinking before it manifests into a root, or seed of bitterness. Those seeds of bitterness are harder to dig up and get rid of after they have festered and grown for a few days.
I don't a giant tree of bitterness growing in my heart. Folks my start to notice and black leaves begin to grow out of my nose, ears and eyes. I give you this word picture for what actually happens in our hearts when we let the past steal our joy for today.
There are two phrases I repeat daily. 1) There is JOY to be had in today. And 2) Don't look back.
It's like Jesus says to me, " Eyes one me darling. Don't look others lives and see if their happier then you. And don't look at your past to see if that seemed better to you. Don't judge things by what you think you see. Rather, fix your eyes on me. I will not steer you wrong."
Do you believe this my friends?
I pray these words of life speak hope into your hearts, not matter what the weather looks like in your life, there is joy to be had. Ask Him, He is the great supplier.

Jesus Thank you.

He saved me from my own demise. He pulled me from the pit of myself. He took me off the path I was running on, full speed ahead and He placed my feet on solid ground. And as I ponder how deep and wide is the love of Christ, I think, " I dare to ask for more...."Today Jesus with a thankful heart to my gracious Savior, I kneel before the Lord and say, "Thank you." I will not focus on what I can get from you but on the pure simple joy I have to walk with You. To have someone greater to trust in. To have One who never fails to meet me right where I am at. Thank you Jesus. Let me live out the desires Your heart had for me. To live out and speak the purposes your heart has had for me since you created me. I love you Lord and I lift my voice to worship you. Let this be a sweet, sweet song, in Your ears.

Joyful Hope

You know that feeling you get once and while, that little pull or nagging feeling in the depths of your heart that says, "that longing for something has not yet been filled??" I have been thinking about such things since the new year has begun and I know this is something every human being can relate to. Sometimes that longing has a name, and other times, it's something you can't quite put your finger on.
But God has been teaching me about this. First of all why it's there, how to live with it, and how He fits in with all of it. Why it's there? My longing is there because of many reasons really, longings are just desires not yet met. They are a dream, and promise, and a future hope.. This in and of itself is not wrong! We need distant things to hope for, but things turn south when the longings fill our every thought. That is when a longing not filled, can become an idol. Of course, I as always learned this the hard way.
Now that I realize I have the potential to very easily turn my future hope, my longing not yet fulfilled into an idol, I now know better how to live with it. Living with an unmet desire can feel absolutely excruciating at first. You can go through many fazes of acceptance, to grief, to anger. I feel as though I have been through all of these. You want something so bad, at first you fixate on it, plan on how you will get it, only to turn up more dissatisfied, and now exasperated because you have spent all YOUR energy trying to achieve something that really only God can do. And the sooner we realize this battle we fight each day against our unmet longing is not our battle to fight- the better.
I drew a caption like this is my prayer journal the other day. Two stick people. One of them is me, one of them is God. I am handing God a bag. A bag of my longings and desires. And God, (who's arm is not to short to save) is reaching out to take my bag of burdens so I can walk freely without lugging around my big bag of burdens.
"Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest..." - Jesus

I can find many places in scripture where He tells me come to Him and rest my tired self in His arms. And I know that this is the secret to opening to door to my hope filled life. The last question I  mulled over in my heart and head was this: How does God fit into my longings...essentially, is He apart of not having the longing fulfilled yet? Absolutely. That answer was not the one I wanted at first, but after I thought on it and prayed about it for some time, I realized that God is the habit of giving us exactly what we need, when we need it...

"He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" Romans 8:32

God knows exactly what I need, and when I need it. His arm is NOT to short to save, and when I rest in Him, trust in Him and spend all of my God given energy praising Him, the rest of life seems to make more sense.

The one major thing I want you to know is that when we are spending so much of our energy on a longing not yet fulfilled, we lose a lot of our joy. Our hope dwindles and we begin to see life as gray, and really half empty.

(instead of half full) 

I sensed this change in myself and at first I did not recognize how this shift towards the negative even had begun but the shift was undeniable and those who live with me noticed it as well.

I hate that sometimes I can go to this place, and be so blind. But this is why I need a Savior so badly. He knows my heart, He knows my needs and meets there.  

Isn't that a comfort my friends? 

God is not a not God created by human hands. He is a God who moves and breaths and helps us to move and breath and He creates for us what He knows is best for us. And here comes the hard part for us as believers. We have to trust that what He says is true. That He truly is a God who, " And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[a] have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

I really need to be reminded of that. Perhaps you do as well.

You see my friends, as humans, we only see a small slice of the pie in the window to our lives, hopes, dreams and futures.

I always say "thank God for unanswered prayer..." for if He had answered ever whim of a prayer I prayed when I was young my life would look very different than it does now, and that is not necessarily a good thing.

I can have hope right now, right here and it is not because every single desire I have has been met. Every NEED I have, He graciously has met...because He knows what I need and I am not in want. But the aches of my heart, the longings in my soul, remain in some ways, however He has taught me to cling to Him with my unmet desires...He is my hope.

Yesterday and all week really I have been singing and praying for Him to "Be Thou My Vision O Lord of my heart..."  Because I want His eyes to help me SEE the things that He has in front of me. 

"He will lead the blind by ways they have not known, down unfamiliar paths He will guide them...I will turn the darkness into light before them

    and make the rough places smooth.
These are the things I will do;
    I will not forsake them." Isaiah 42:16

Isn't that a comfort? I find that verse to be one I highlight in my heart over and over again. He is leading me where it is best for me to go. And do you know what is written between all those lines and words? TRUST.

I trust Him, therefore I obey Him, ( I go with Him, I let Him lead me) for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey. I sang the lyrics to that song yesterday in church and prayed with all my soul that He would make those words from that song cement in my mind and I would walk forward in that trust all the days of my life. 

I wrote in my prayer journal that "I can rest in that truth."

Rescued from death

E scaped into the arms of JESUS

Secure and safe

Trusting in Him and His plans for me

I can rest in a God and His plans for me that I know has my best interests in mind and at heart. He is my strong tower. My refuge when I am weak. He is my life my breath and everything in between.

When I wait in Jesus, I wait in hope, in joy and in peace.
"Be Joyful in hope.." Romans 12:12  Do you know what joyful hope gives birth too? Thankful hearts.
It makes me thankful. Do you know what thankfulness to God leads to? Worship. Do you know why we were created? To worship Him.
So one could make the argument that I am living out my "best life" for Him as I live in hopeful, joyful worship of my King who will indeed give me what is right and good, when it is right and good.
I love that. Don't you?