Events that have transpired this week:
1. My stepdad, Bill's father was hospitalized - and we learned he would never come home
2. PRAYED HARD....multiple times!!! God sustained a great man while family from hundreds of miles came to see him.
3. We discovered water had saturated our living room carpet for the second time in less than a year
4. Prayed that I wouldn't lose it; I managed not to!
5. Met with our apartment manager after the water remained on our floor, virtually untouched for over 24 hours
6. Prayed that my mouth wouldn't get us thrown out of our usually wonderful apartment complex...it didn't; I was calm
7. "Jose" (some of you know who I am talking about!) ;)
8. Prayed that God will reveal everything in His time; I know that He will!
9. Jared's car broke down in a not so safe area
10. Prayed that this would be the last straw for Jared...it was!
11. Haggled with car dealers for 3 1/2 hours...to no avail
12. Prayed for patience...haha...I know...even so, we managed to maintain our clarity of mind.
13. Wised up and went to a better car dealership the next night...then another...finally, after 4 hours found a car
14. Prayed a prayer of THANKSGIVING! We have a new car!
15. Got lost going back to the dealership the next day to pick up the car, almost wrecked my car because of the rainstorm on the way...finally got there and signed on the dotted line.
16. Prayed Jared would drive our new car safely home; made it safe and sound!
17. Got a call at 1:00 A.M. this morning that Bill's father had passed away... :(
18. Prayed for my family; thanked God for Dee's amazing life -- God has been and will be glorified by the legacy he leaves.
19. Decided to take a half day off today...came home and discovered that maintenance had broken a lamp in our living room...and had not cleaned it up
20. Prayed I wouldn't cut myself cleaning up the mess; I didn't!
21. Cried as I watched "Birth Day" and scared myself by watching "Mystery Diagnosis" this afternoon
22. Prayed that I will be a great mother some day; prayed that I wouldn't contract an undiagnosable disease --Regardless...my steps will be guided by the Lord.
And it's only Fridayafternoon...those are just some of the events...and that's just a small list of the prayers. I can't imagine not having God to turn to when life is chaotic. God - on those weeks that I turn to You multiple times a day - and on those days where I go about practically failing to pay attention to You...THANK YOU for caring and for ALWAYS being there!!!!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Live for Today
When I moved to Blacksburg over 4 years ago, I remember sulking because I missed my friends and family so much. In fact, I sulked so much that I believe I missed out on developing some really great friendships. When we moved to Charlotte, I missed my job a lot! I realized today that I actually have been yearning for that part of my life back and am missing out on what I do have - albeit a job that I'm not particularly fond of all of the time. Lately I've been worried about the economy and what we would do if Jared or I lost our jobs, worried about friends and family and have agonized over a delayed dream. It seems that there is always something to miss in the past and something to worry about in the future. That's not how we're supposed to live! Matthew 6: 34 says, "Therefore do now worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." That's not a very encouraging verse - unless you like thinking about how today has a lot of troubles - unless you read the verse before it, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." Instead of thinking about the past, or worrying about the future, we should be focusing on seeking God and becoming more like Him now. So I challenge you to look around and ask God to show you how to live today to the fullest. While it's nice to have memories and important to plan for the future, it's even better to live in the moment with your steps being directed by God.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Been awhile....
I didn't realize it had been so long since I last blogged...guess life is a bit crazy these days!
Things here are great, though I must say that tonight I'm a bit frustrated. Since I only know of 2 semi-faithful readers, I feel that I can go ahead and step right up onto my soap box.
Sometimes I DETEST ignorance. Granted, I know that I have had my fair share of times of making ignorant comments...and can only pray if my comments hurt anyone, that they have since been able to get past it and forgive (and hopefully forget!) about it.
Today I read a comment on Facebook that infuriated me. It shouldn't have. It wasn't a comment directed towards me, though it wouldn't surprise me if there wasn't an underlying hint for me to take from it, but I digress. Anyway, the comment hurt deeply. Poor Jared has listened to me complain about it and held me while I cried about it. The thing that bothered me so much about this comment was that it suggested if someone isn't in a certain phase of life, they haven't reached the pinacle of greatness that other people in this certain phase have. I'm sorry, but that's just stupid. To suggest this is to basically say that God doesn't seem to care as much for those who aren't in this phase of life. Well...you know what, God did not design robots! Who is to say that we're all supposed to graduate from college at 22, get a job in the career field of our dreams, get married, buy a house, have children, buy a larger house, become empty-nesters, become grandparents, retire and vacation for the rest of our lives (all in that order)? What about the people who gave up the American dream to become missionaries? What about the people who are having a tough time finding that special someone? What about the people who were in a certain field of work and then lost their job and had to go into another field? I believe each of us have a certain area (or areas) of life that things have not gone exactly as planned...some of us can make changes in those areas right away, others of us cannot. Regardless, God does not esteem the people who are in one phase of life higher than those who are not.
At least this comment made me realize again the complete importance of thinking of how my haphazard statements may make other people feel.
OK...I'm stepping down from my soapbox.
Hope everyone has a great week (all two of you!) ;)
Things here are great, though I must say that tonight I'm a bit frustrated. Since I only know of 2 semi-faithful readers, I feel that I can go ahead and step right up onto my soap box.
Sometimes I DETEST ignorance. Granted, I know that I have had my fair share of times of making ignorant comments...and can only pray if my comments hurt anyone, that they have since been able to get past it and forgive (and hopefully forget!) about it.
Today I read a comment on Facebook that infuriated me. It shouldn't have. It wasn't a comment directed towards me, though it wouldn't surprise me if there wasn't an underlying hint for me to take from it, but I digress. Anyway, the comment hurt deeply. Poor Jared has listened to me complain about it and held me while I cried about it. The thing that bothered me so much about this comment was that it suggested if someone isn't in a certain phase of life, they haven't reached the pinacle of greatness that other people in this certain phase have. I'm sorry, but that's just stupid. To suggest this is to basically say that God doesn't seem to care as much for those who aren't in this phase of life. Well...you know what, God did not design robots! Who is to say that we're all supposed to graduate from college at 22, get a job in the career field of our dreams, get married, buy a house, have children, buy a larger house, become empty-nesters, become grandparents, retire and vacation for the rest of our lives (all in that order)? What about the people who gave up the American dream to become missionaries? What about the people who are having a tough time finding that special someone? What about the people who were in a certain field of work and then lost their job and had to go into another field? I believe each of us have a certain area (or areas) of life that things have not gone exactly as planned...some of us can make changes in those areas right away, others of us cannot. Regardless, God does not esteem the people who are in one phase of life higher than those who are not.
At least this comment made me realize again the complete importance of thinking of how my haphazard statements may make other people feel.
OK...I'm stepping down from my soapbox.
Hope everyone has a great week (all two of you!) ;)
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Spring is in the air
I LOVE Spring!!! :)
I love the longer, warmer days. I love the way the trees bud and the flowers bloom. I love to hear the birds chirping and the lawn mowers roaring. It's a joy to watch people walking or biking and children running around outside. It's like everything is awakening from a deep sleep and all is well with the world. :)
For the second Spring, we also have a bird who has made her home in a nest outside of our back door. Judging by the hours she is spending sitting on her eggs, it won't be long until her babies are born! :)
Anyway...HAPPY SPRING! Enjoy it!! :)
I love the longer, warmer days. I love the way the trees bud and the flowers bloom. I love to hear the birds chirping and the lawn mowers roaring. It's a joy to watch people walking or biking and children running around outside. It's like everything is awakening from a deep sleep and all is well with the world. :)
For the second Spring, we also have a bird who has made her home in a nest outside of our back door. Judging by the hours she is spending sitting on her eggs, it won't be long until her babies are born! :)
Anyway...HAPPY SPRING! Enjoy it!! :)
Monday, April 13, 2009
Wikipedia Definition of Patience
Patience: is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances, which can mean persevering in the face of delay or provocation without becoming annoyed or upset; or exhibiting forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties
No matter what definition I read for patience, they all say something to elude to not becoming annoyed or upset, but seriously, I'm ready to be done with my lesson on patience!! I know...not a very patient way to put it.
Regardless, God is amazing and as my pastor told the congregation yesterday, we should all be "swimming in great joy" because of what God has done for us. :) I am indeed swimming. :)
No matter what definition I read for patience, they all say something to elude to not becoming annoyed or upset, but seriously, I'm ready to be done with my lesson on patience!! I know...not a very patient way to put it.
Regardless, God is amazing and as my pastor told the congregation yesterday, we should all be "swimming in great joy" because of what God has done for us. :) I am indeed swimming. :)
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Delight in the Lord
A friend of mine had Psalm 37:4 on his Facebook page this week. This verse states, "Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart." This friend then posed the question, "How do you delight yourself in the Lord?"
As I pondered this question, I thought about how odd it is that the majority of Christians know the second part of this verse all too well, "He shall give you the desires of your heart" but how often do we forget the first part of the verse. We must delight ourselves in the Lord. How do we do this? Delight means to experience great pleasure and joy in His presence. When we delight ourselves in the Lord by praising and thanking Him, our attitudes begin to change. Our focus shifts from ourselves to our Creator. When we focus on Him, suddenly our desire is to please Him by doing His will, not ours. We start to focus on the amazing blessings God has given us, not on what we don't have.
Verse 5 of Psalm 37 says, "Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and he shall bring it to pass." When we start to delight in the Lord, we want to commit our ways to Him and to trust Him in every area of our life. To commit and trust in Him, we must entrust Him with everything we have in our lives. When we do this, the things that seemed too hard for us to handle will suddenly not be so difficult. God will take the burden from us and bring it to pass.
For the past few weeks, my prayer has consistently been that my desires will align directly with God's desire. I don't want to long for something that isn't God's will. I'll admit it's not easy coming to grips with the fact that what I want for my life may not be what God wants for my life. But, I am learning to delight in Him, to commit to Him and to trust in Him more each day.
As I pondered this question, I thought about how odd it is that the majority of Christians know the second part of this verse all too well, "He shall give you the desires of your heart" but how often do we forget the first part of the verse. We must delight ourselves in the Lord. How do we do this? Delight means to experience great pleasure and joy in His presence. When we delight ourselves in the Lord by praising and thanking Him, our attitudes begin to change. Our focus shifts from ourselves to our Creator. When we focus on Him, suddenly our desire is to please Him by doing His will, not ours. We start to focus on the amazing blessings God has given us, not on what we don't have.
Verse 5 of Psalm 37 says, "Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and he shall bring it to pass." When we start to delight in the Lord, we want to commit our ways to Him and to trust Him in every area of our life. To commit and trust in Him, we must entrust Him with everything we have in our lives. When we do this, the things that seemed too hard for us to handle will suddenly not be so difficult. God will take the burden from us and bring it to pass.
For the past few weeks, my prayer has consistently been that my desires will align directly with God's desire. I don't want to long for something that isn't God's will. I'll admit it's not easy coming to grips with the fact that what I want for my life may not be what God wants for my life. But, I am learning to delight in Him, to commit to Him and to trust in Him more each day.
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