Goodbye Rest Stop!

I discovered today that I am growing in Christ.  We should everyday in everyway, but I have been going through a season of change in my life, and while I have certainly been leaning on Jesus, I haven't been reading God's word or participating in Bible study like I have in the past.  In fact, I have been feeling like I have been cheating God out of His time.  Something happened today that helped me to see that even at times when we feel like we aren't doing enough or growing enough, if our heart is with God, then we are growing all along.  What happened isn't as important as knowing that I could have reacted with anger or shed tears of disappointment, but I chose instead to focus on what I have gained instead of what I have lost and reacted in love.  I explained to my girls, who were upset by the incident, that people come into and out of our lives for different reasons and seasons.  Some people come into our lives and remain an active part of them for as long as we live.  Some people come into our lives for a season and a specific reason and then are gone leaving footprints on our hearts.  And, unfortunately, there are some people who come into our lives and cause us nothing but pain and grief.  Those are the people that we sometimes have to distance ourselves from because we are seeking peace, not strife.  In the end, the affect that people have on us is entirely up to us.  We can't make them like us or want to spend time with us.  We can't make them change their behavior.  We can't and shouldn't change who we are to become someone we think they would approve of or like better.  We can, however, completely control how we react to other people's treatment of us.  We can choose to focus on Jesus and strive to be the person that He created us to be.  We are human, and we will experience hurt feelings and disappointments, but we can turn those feelings over to Jesus and let Him replace them with abounding love.  That's what I did today.

Thank you Lord for being with me in every moment of every day.  Thank you for continually working on me and molding me into the person that you know I can be even when I have taken a step back from the front lines so to speak.  Thank you for bringing me along the road of life and not leaving me stuck at the rest stop:)

Rollercoaster

This has been a rollercoaster week for me.  Worked hard with Mom to pick and can green beans Monday and Tuesday.  Had my first job interview since closing Curves yesterday.  Learned this morning of the passing of a friend's husband.  This friend was one of the many Godly women that I was blessed to become friends with during my time at Curves.  She and her husband love the Lord and serve Him faithfully and are raising 3 amazing sons to serve Him as well.  It was just a few short months ago that I learned that the friends husband had a brain tumer, all of which couldn't be removed with surgery.  They sought treatment from the best doctors in the country, and they faced this difficult time with a smile and claiming victory in Jesus' name.  If you were to visit her facebook page you would see affirmations of their faith and smiles on his face.  Truly amazing people!  Last night he received ultimate healing and was called home to be with Jesus.  So, I have gone from feeling my age on Monday in the heat to excitement about my job interview to sorrow and grief at the loss of a friend's husband.  Such is life in this world.  My desk calender today says, "Human happiness is dependent upon the experiences and circumstances of life, while joy is dependent upon God alone."  I am sad today, but I am thankful that my joy remains.  I am thankful that while my friend and her sons will miss their husband and dad, we can rejoice in knowing that he left a body that was failing him for a heavenly body to be in the presence of our Lord and Saviour.  I pray that God will give the gift of encouragement and lead me in reaching out to comfort this family in the days and months ahead.  I pray that He will comfort them as only He can in their time of need.  Hug your loved ones today.  Forgive someone that has hurt you today.  Show kindness to a stranger because you never really know what that person is going through in that moment.  We are not promised tomorrow so make good use of today.

Redemption

So, my goal was to write one blog a week during the summer.  This week wouldn't have been an issue except for the fact that I want my blogs to be encouraging and motivating......I have been online and at the employment office job searching this week....I keep seeing that blip of President Obama saying that the private sector is doing fine....and all I wanted to blog about was the fact that the private sector that I live in is not doing fine!!  That would have been venting, in my opinion, so I decided to wait until I had something better, again in my opinion, and here it is. 

My daily desk calender devotions have been about redemption.  ( It has only taken me 6 months to realize that there is a new theme each week!)  The last sentence for today says, "He(God) has redeemed you because He loves you, cares about you, treasures you, and has a plan and purpose for your life."  Wow!  I could probably write a whole article on this one sentence, but, in the spirit of the blog, I'll try to keep it short. Think about those words.  Loves you.  Cares about you.  Treasures you.  Has a plan and a purpose for your life.  When was the last time that you felt treasured?  If you're like me and busy with a family and blessed to have one you probably know that someone loves you and cares for you.  But really, when was the last time that you felt treasured?  How does it feel to know that you are.  You are treasured by the God of the universe.  The creator of all things wild and wonderful treasures you just as you are. 

He treasures you so much that He sent His only son to redeem you.  I think redeem is probably defined a little differently by each of us who know that we are redeemed and that Christ is our Redeemer, but I got to thinking about what that word really means.  Dictionary.com gives 5 short and sweet definitions and you can check them out there.  I am thankful that I have been redeemed.  I am even more thankful that redemption didn't start and stop on the day that I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Saviour.  Every day in all sorts of ways Jesus is still redeeming me.  Today for the first time I thought about redemption in a different light.  If we as Christians are striving to be more like Christ, and He has told us in God's word that we would do even greater things than He, are we then capable of redeeming someone?  Of course I know that we can't save their soul, but we could pay the price for them.  We could "buy them back" so to speak.  A kind word and a listening ear can go a long way in helping someone who thinks he/she has made so many mistakes that nobody can love them.  Think about the people in your life that you love, care about and even treasure.  Start there.  Who do you know that is carrying the weight of the world on his/her shoulders?  Who do you know that thinks there is nobody who can "afford" to buy him/her back?  Who do you know that needs redeemption?  Remember, you might be the only Jesus that some people see.  Don't miss the opportunity to show them what redemption feels like 'cause it feels amazing!

Letting go and hanging on

Now that school is out, and I don't have a job for the summer, I find that I have plenty of time to ponder things.  I know, scary!  I commented to a friend today how one small thing can really derail us when we have alot of other things going on in our lives.  Since I said that, I've been thinking that sometimes small things are big things and that sometimes letting go is a way of holding on.  Let me see if I can explain.  Sometimes that one small thing, when added to a pile of other things, is all the push you need to move in a new direction.  Maybe the direction that God has been trying to get you to move in for some time now.  I also realized that as hard as it is for people like me to let go, sometimes you have to let go of something to make room for something else that God has planned for your life.  Maybe His plan involves a gift for you.  Maybe His plan involves you being a gift for someone else.  Either way, his plan is always the best plan.  Sometimes the things we have to let go of are things or people that we love.  Sometimes businesses have to close.  Friends and family members have to move away or, even worse, they may pass away.  Sometimes the things that we have to let go of are not things that we love, but they are equally hard to let go of for some crazy reason that I don't quite understand.  I'm talking about things like bitterness, anger and unforgiveness.  We hold onto these things even when we know they are no good for us.  We hold onto them and allow them to take up space in our heart that should be filled with fruits of the spirit.  Things like kindness, love and patience.  We hold onto them and allow them to come between us and the ones that we love.  A brother.  A sister.  A mom.  A dad. A friend.  The list could go on and on, but you get the picture.  Life is too short.  Spend some time with God today.  Ask Him what you are holding onto that you need to let go of.  Letting go of whatever it is will allow you to hang on to something that will mean much more to you when your life, or the life of someone you love, comes to an end.  Until next time....letting go and hanging on with both hands!  

Soul Exercises

Today I read a great article by Catherine Martin entitled "How Do You Keep Your Soul in Shape".  She was addressing the issue of what I call soul exercises.  It is easy for most of us to understand, whether we do anything about it or not, that our muscles are stronger and serve us better when we exercise them on a regular basis.  It is sometimes harder for us to understand that our soul, or spiritual muscles, need exercise on a regular basis too.  She began by saying that self-examination is critical.  How quick are we to point out sin in a brother or sister's life while ignoring the sin in our own?  Yes, self-examination is critical!  She went on to suggest some soul exercises.  All of them were great, but the one that stuck out to me today was this one:  "Do I readily confess and abandon sins, habits, and distractions which quench the Spirit?"  I would like to say that I got this one, but, upon closer examination, I would have to say that I have alot of work to do.  I do readily confess my sins.  I know that I'm not perfect.  It's the habits and distractions that I really need to work on.  Habits like spending more time watching tv or checking facebook than I do reading my Bible.  Habits like eating food that isn't great for my body which is the temple of the Holy Spirit.  Distractions like worry and regret.  Distractions like gossip and fear of rejection.  I don't know about you, but I could go on  if I really took time to think about it and most of this is just in one day!  I know because I am a child of God that these habits and distractions need to be replaced with more Bible reading, more praying and more serving.  I know that I need to be more concerned with meeting the needs of others and less concerned about whether or not they are worthy.  Afterall, are any of us really worthy?  Ok.  So now I have confessed some habits and distractions.  Confessing is so much easier than abandoning, but abandoning is what allows God to use you to reach others, and I want to be used by God.  Please pray that God will enable me to abandon them!