I’m Hungry

I’m so hungry for His Word right now!  It’s a feeling that I cannot explain.  I picked up where the group of ladies are in reading the Bible through in a year….Ezekiel.  Oh how I’ve missed getting into His Book daily!  Even when I’m reading the Old Testament, He jumps out at me and shows me more of who He is.  Because He never changes, He’s the same today as He was yesterday, and He will forever be! 

My question for you is this:  For what/whom are you hungry?  Is it fame? Fortune? Literal food? Lust? Or is it the neverending fountain of Living Water of Christ? His Word? I pray that His name and His renown is my desire, that His name be glorified in all areas of my life, that He will get the glory and honor and praise He deserves!

Surroundings

Have you noticed that as a human race we change with our surroundings??  For instance, for me, when I go to work (as bad as this is gonna sound) I become one of the guys because I’m the only female working in the kitchen.  When you/I hang around certain people, we become like them.  The popular crowd at school.  The loners.  The jocks.  The “successful”.  The rich.  The poor.  You get the point.  I’m not saying that these stereotypes are wrong.  Why do we become like a cameleon and change with our surroundings?  Doesn’t that go against what the Bible teaches us? 

This is exactly why I absolutely love to hang out with other godly women…or those who strive everyday to become more like Christ.  I want to be LIKE them…I don’t want to be them because God made me who I am.  I love to be surrounded by Christian music.  It lifts my soul.  I love to be surrounded by kids because sometimes I just don’t want to grow up!  The fact is, whether we want to or not, we do change with our surroundings.  We’re human.  We mess up.  God calls us to rise up and be different.  Unfortunately, I see many Christians (I myself sometimes) who aren’t any different than those who are lost.  The time is coming for our Lord Jesus Christ to come back for His bride!  Rise up, O Christian!  Rise up and be different!  James tells us that when we face trials to consider it JOY!  You will be blessed if you are cursed because of His name.  Why do we even care what other people will think of us?  I’m guilty of that!  In the end, it shouldn’t matter what others think.  We are to be like Jesus; and Jesus didn’t care what others thought of Him…only what His Father thought!  There’s an old worship song that we used to sing in FCA.  The chorus says, “Be bold! Be strong! For the Lord your God is with you!”  Be encouraged and strengthened today!

Haiti

So today I signed up to go to Haiti in November.  I’m still in shock that I did it! Ever since the Crazy Love campaign started a little over a year ago, it’s been on my heart to go.  Seeing those kids in the videos broke my heart.  If it broke my heart, how much more so God’s!  He calls us to make His glory known to the world. This means to live outside of yourself daily and outside your comfort zone…daily.  I know it’s easier said than done, but that’s what He commands.  We are to be different from the world.  We are IN the world, not OF it.  Anyway.  Sorry, followed a bunny. lol  Ever since 2007, my heart has been set on missions.  In 2008, God called me to serve Him in American Samoa.  Now He’s calling me to my next adventure…a short-term mission trip to Haiti.  I’m not sure off all the details of the trip yet, but we’re going in November, and it’s an all-ladies trip.  That’s all I know right now.  The price that’s quoted on Long Hollow’s website is somewhere around $1700.  God is going to do a miracle in this aspect of the trip! lol  If you feel led, or even just want to, you can make any size donation for my trip.  Send cash or write a check to Long Hollow Baptist and put my name and Haiti in the memo. Just make sure my name is with it. It’s tax-deductible if you write it to Long Hollow and not to me.  But either way is fine.  I’m REALLY excited to see what God is going to do on this trip!  He’s been so faithful to me, even when I wasn’t faithful to Him.  He is a good and loving God who cares about people.  That’s what my heart’s desire is…to care about people.  Hope you have a blessed day!

Radical

So I started reading the book Radical by David Platt on Friday.  I’m already almost halfway through it!  I can’t put it down, yet sometimes I want to due to its conviction.  I strongly encourage everyone to read it.  It will most definitely change your way of thinking. 

Anyway.  For about 6 months I have been living my life how I’ve kinda wanted to…not according to the Word.  I hadn’t been to church since I think about March sometime.  I stopped going because I saw how fake a lot of people are.  Looking back, it was selfish of me to stop going.  I wanted everyone to notice me and talk to me.  I wanted to move away and start all over again.  I dabbled in things that I knew were wrong.  Honestly, I had fun…in the worldly sense.  But there was something missing that I kept trying to find in other things.  Last Sunday I finally decided to get up and go to church.  It was good and all, but my heart still wasn’t right.  I was still searching.  Then I went with my friend to her church.  She’s Pentecostal.  The preacher spoke on 2 Kings 2, where Elijah was taken into heaven.  Elisha wouldn’t leave his side, so Elijah asked him what he wanted.  He said he wanted a double portion of his spirit.  The Spirit showed up that night in that little church.  Though I outwardly didn’t show it, I wanted that double portion of the Spirit that Elisha asked for.  On the way home, I prayed and asked God to forgive me for the life I had been living.  I can tell you that He did forgive me.  That feeling of forgiveness is something that I will never forget!  Having God back in my life as the priority, I started reading His Word again and worshipping Him on my guitar.  That peace and that joy that only He can give….O how I missed it!  The joy of the Lord is truly my strength! 

So today, church was different.  God spoke to me about how I’ve judged people, especially the ones at work.  When I got home, I started to read chapter 4 in Radical.  I honestly can’t tell you what it said, but I CAN tell you that the Spirit stirred inside me a passion that I hadn’t had in a little over 2 years.  The question came up…What if there’s a reason that I haven’t finished school yet?  Do I really need an education to share the Gospel to those around me…not just around me…around the world?  Look at Paul and Silas.  As they were tried and sent to prison in Acts, men around them thought to themselves, “Aren’t these just ordinary, uneducated men?”  That they were, but they had a power in them that spurred them toward higher things!  Then Mr. Platt started talking about the poor in the book.  As a church, we’re raising funds to build orphanages in Haiti.  Ever since the campaign started, my heart has been set on going on a short-term trip down there.  I’m praying about going in November. 

God has stirred something up inside me!  I’m loving it!  I know I can do nothing in my own power; it is through Christ that I can do anything (Phil 4:13).  I am not worthy of such a calling, but I accept it.  I accept that I am His daughter, a daughter of the King of Kings, and that His love for me will never end.

One Question

In our Small Groups today, we discussed the first lesson that goes along with our series “All In”.  One thing stood out to me out of all that we went over…one question:  “How would life change if Jesus had His way in every word, thought, decision, or activity?”

How different would our lives be if we let Christ penetrate us, “even to the marrow”?  We wouldn’t be the same!  We would be COMPLETELY different people!  We would probably be like Moses when he came down the mountain after meeting with God…our faces and entire being radiant with His glory.  Oh what a sight!

What are some areas you (and I) need to let Him saturate?  Our “thought closet”, what we say to ourselves?  Our dialogue and the contents of it?  Our attitude and actions when things go wrong?  What our eyes see?  What do you struggle with?  Give it to God; let go of it.  It’s going to be a daily thing…maybe even hour-to-hour or minute-by-minute; but what freedom you will experience!  I encourage you to search your hearts, your minds, your souls, to see where you need Jesus to permeate…and let Him.  You won’t regret it!

Wonder Wall

I took this idea from Carrie.

I wonder how I will react to my upcoming birthday this year.
I wonder why bad things happen to the most impoverished people.
I wonder why we can’t send more help to those in need…more food, more water, more able bodies, etc.
I wonder why God chose me and loves me the way He does.
I wonder why we park in driveways and drive on parkways.
I wonder what my future husband is doing right now.
I wonder if the people in Haiti will survive and get through this tragedy.
I wonder if all my friends will ever understand how much I really appreciate them.
I wonder why we constantly bash ourselves in our thinking.
I wonder how our parents and grandparents lived so long with the lard and all the fatty foods, and we have the “healthy” choices and have a shorter life span.
I wonder what would happen if all the technology failed and we’re left with no cell phones, internet, etc.
I wonder how good of a parent I’ll be…had great examples to go by.
I wonder how long it’ll take me to finish my meteorology degree.
I wonder why girls think they’re “sexy” by wearing revealing clothing.
I wonder why guys only look on the outside and not on the inside.
I wonder what ever happened to the old school Saturday morning cartoons and Saved by the Bell.
I wonder that in order to eat healthy, it costs SO much more than not eating healthy.
I wonder why people take their anger, bad day, etc. out on other people…sometimes strangers.
I wonder if people ever realize how annoying and how much it angers people working in drive-thru windows when they’re on their cell.
I wonder if Facebook will ever flop.
I wonder why bicycles have, for the most part, gone out of style.
I wonder if the youth today can jump rope while jumping on a pogo ball. ;O)
I wonder if that last “wonder” really shows my age!

I’d like to hear your wonders! :O)

Eternity

“Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stans firm in the heavens.”  Psalm 119:89

The Hebrew word for eternal in this passage is ‘owlam, meaning long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world; ancient time, long time (of past); (of future) for ever, always; continuous existence, perpetual; everlasting, indefinite or unending future, eternity. ( http://www.studylight.org/desk/view.cgi?number=05769 )

Forever; everlasting; continuous existence; unending….these are all used to describe God’s Word, the Bible.  It’s really hard to wrap our little 3 lb brains around the concept of eternity.  There’s no way!  The Bible has withstood the test of time….from when it was only a spoken word passed down from generation to generation to the written copy.  Of course some words have lost meaning in translation, but all in all, the Bible is still pure and “living and active” today as it was back then.  Not only has it withstood the test of time past, it will also remain in the future – eternally!  I have heard that the only things that will never die are the Word of God and our souls.  It’s hard to think about death, but it’s going to happen to everyone.  This is the one thing we ALL have in common!  God’s Word will NEVER die, nor will it lose its power.  Kind of cool to think about, huh?  The words that are in the pages of this Book have the power to change lives. If we are bold enough, it has the power to alter the future! 

We have every bit of the Holy Spirit when we accept Christ that we’ll ever need.  The same power that raised Christ from the dead, we have inside us right now!  How much or how often do we tap into that unending (eternal) resource?  I know I don’t do it much.  All we have to do is ask and have faith.  That’s it.  In one of the Gospels it says that if we have faith as small as a mustard seed, we can tell a mountain to move….AND IT WILL!  A mustard seed is as small as the point of a ball point pen.  If we have that much faith, we can do anything in His name.  The sad thing is that the majority of us, we don’t have anywhere near the mustard seed of faith.  How often do we pray and ask God something, and our attitude is that of defeat?  Like we know that God can’t do this or that?  We limit God and put Him inside a box where He doesn’t have room to display His power in our lives.  I know I’m guilty of it!  Today, I challenge you, and myself, to get God out of the box and put Him on display for everyone to see!  Pray with faith that your prayer WILL be answered, no matter how far fetched it seems!  God is in the business of changing lives, as our youth pastor always says.

Accountability

Ok. So today I’m starting to eat healthier and exercise.  I know it’s not cooth for women to admit their weight, but I’m going to for the sake of accountability.  I’m starting at my heaviest (again) at 240.  Some people can’t believe that I weigh that much, but trust me…I do!  My goal is to get back to 190….200 would be great, too.  What I need accountability for is mainly exercising.  I’m going to keep with weight training on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and cardio on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.  Sunday is my “free” day.  So if anyone still reads this, please keep me accountable with this!!  I’ll keep you updated as I go.  Thanks!! :O)

Sacrifice

God has put this word on my heart lately.  He’s beginning to teach me what it is to sacrifice and what it means.  I’m just curious as to what this word means to you, or what does it look like in your eyes?

Broken

Recently, a friend of mine suggested for me to read Luke 7:36-50.  It’s the story of the woman who came in and sat at Jesus’ feet while He was eating with one of the Pharisees.  She had a horrible reputation in that city.  She had heard Jesus speak about God’s love and forgiveness.  So she came into the house where He was eating, bringing “an alabaster flask of fragrant oil”.  With her tears she washed His feet.  With her hair she wiped them.  Then she broke the flask and anointed His feet with the fragrant oil.  The fragrance then filled the whole house!  What happened next just amazes me.  Simon, the Pharisee, says that if Jesus were a Prophet, He’d know that this woman was a sinner.  Jesus says to Simon, “I have something to say to you.”  Uh oh!  Jesus then mentions a parable of forgiveness…which one would love the debtor more.  Simon guesses the one who had the bigger debt.  Jesus says to Simon, “Do you see this woman?  I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she, with her tears, has washed My feet and wiped them with her hair.  You gave Me no kiss, but she hasn’t stopped kissing My feet since I came in.  You didn’t anoint My head with oil, but she has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.  Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; that’s why she loved much.  But the one who is forgiven little, loves little.” (vv 44-48)

First thing God showed me the first time I read this passage was the forgiveness issue.  No matter how “big” my sin was, God will still forgive me and wash me clean.  This woman, whose name was not mentioned, had the reputation of being a harlot…a prostitute.  Her heart was softened by Jesus’ earlier teachings.  So when she found out where He was, she went to Him.  She was broken for her sins, which is why she was crying.  Because she was broken, Jesus forgave her.  She said no words…He could see it in her actions and in her face. 

The second thing I learned was about the alabaster flask (jar).  It was typically made of marble and could only hold one application’s worth of fluid.  The fluid, typically a fragrant oil, usually was expensive.  In the woman’s line of work, she could probably afford it and kind of needed it to tease the men!  The way you would get the oil out of the jar was to break it…hence the “one-time aplication”.  God showed me that we are the alabaster jar.  In order for us to be used by Him, we need to be broken.  When we are broken, we find our ONLY hope, comfort, and rest in Christ alone.  We are completely dependent on Him!

Another piece of the puzzle was told to me by my friend who is a hair stylist…someone who cuts people’s hair! lol  God has been teaching her A TON of stuff about hair, roots, etc. through the Word.  It’s been sweet to hear what He’s teaching her.  A middle-eastern woman’s hair is her pride and joy…and can be her downfall.  In public, her hair was always up; also her face, neck, and hair were always covered.  They do this once they “become a woman” so that the men won’t be attracted to them.  In this passage, the woman humbles herself by letting her hair down to wipe her tears off of Jesus’ feet.  Washing feet was the lowest servant’s job, yet she took it upon herself to wash and anoint His feet!  Amazing! 

Whose feet have we washed lately?  Whose feet can we wash today?  There are many lessons in this passage.  Allow God to show you what He wants you to see!  Forgiveness is a powerful thing!