Graduation, Future plans, and our hearts.

Invitations. Senior Pictures. Invitations. Cap and Gown ordering. College applications. Future planning. Taking the SAT's. Where are you going to go to college, and what are you going to do to make a living? Who will you be? How on earth are you going to get this right, you don't want to make a mistake and then screw everything up... Will I pass Algebra? If you do, will you pass government.. Will you be walking across the stage in your cap and gown? How will you be remembered your Senior year? You only get one life.. how are you going to spend it?

These were the thoughts that have been passing though my mind the past few weeks. We've ordered gaps and gowns. Invites. Hoodies. Memory books. Things to "preserve high school in my memory and share my accomplishments with loved ones.".. or at least, that's what they told me. My mind is set.. I'm going to graduate.. I'm going to become someone.. I'm not going to be a nobody... or will I be? Will I be the girl who serves coffee to you every morning? How about the girl who checks you out at Walmart? Who knows. I want to say I have an idea what's going to happen in my future. Truth is, I know what I want to have happen... but what if that's not what happens? What if something totally different happens?

Then I realized, It doesn't matter. God knows what he's doing. He knows what he wants to do in our lives, and he will do it if we grant him access to grow and work in our hearts. It's just my job to seek Him. Jeremiah 29:11-14 NIV says, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile." Psalm 14:2 -3 says, "The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one." -- Okay, so we're all evil, and yet, God has a plan for us -- a plan to prosper, not to harm, and to give us a future. Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Okay -- so God loves us so much He sent His Son, whom is still GOD, and died for us, so that we might have eternal life. John 17:3 says, "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." -- So, now we need to know God... learn from him, and grow. In Jeremiah 29, as previously stated, it says "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." So, our job is to seek God. Seek first the kingdom.. [Matthew 6:33].

So instead of worrying [Matt. 6:25, do not worry..] about all of this.. future stuff, no matter what it is. Let us concern ourselves instead with spiritual things!

"Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the LORD your God." - 1st Chronicles 22:19

Hurting People

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose." Philippians 2:1-2

Look at the people around you.. Do you know every single aspect of their lives? Most likely, the answer is no. It's has been brought to my attention that you never know when someone is hurting.. You never know what some one is going through. Remember to encourage one another. Don't argue for the sake of arguing, and don't complain. Instead, love one another. Be kind to one another and encourage one another. Don't worry about what other people think about you. Be responsible for yourself, and care for other people. The person across from you, or in the other room, or the people you go to school with, or the people who teach you, in most cases are going though something. An English teacher just the other day told me that one of her reltives died.. I had no idea.. and then I started to look around.. there are people crying, people being hurt or hurting all around us. This world NEEDS Jesus Christ.. just think how miserable it would be without the One who saves us! Without the one is with us always, always helping us, and always loving us.. we would be nothing. Jesus loves everyone around us just as much as he loves us. He loves the person we brushed off this morning, and the math teacher we got upset at because he was late. God loves the person that gives us the most trouble, and He wants them to come to Him, so that he might help them, so that he might save them. Who are we to stand in the way of this? Be encouraging to everyone, and let Christ work though you. If you have learned anything from being a Christian, let it be this: Be, " like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Don't be negative. Be positive." Phil. 2:2

Suffering, Obedience, and Grace

How many of us cringe when we hear the word "suffering".. how about "obedience"? If we don't cringe at the word, most of us will cringe when we think about someone getting on to us for doing something wrong, like our mothers, using our full names when we were little, right after we ruined our clothes, or smashed some family heirloom... But what if this "suffering" was for the glory of God? [See 1 Peter 4:19 and Romans 8:28] Have you ever wondered... why on earth did God put me in the situation I am today? -- He did it BECAUSE you can glorify Him most where you are right now. There is a story about a man...

One day God took one of His servants, named Servant, to a high mountain and said to Servant, “See this huge rock?”

Servant said, “Yes!”

God said, “I want you to push it until I return. Will you do that?”

“Yes, I will,” replied Servant. So he undertook the task.

Years and years went by and the servant did not see God. But, because he had promised, he continued to push the huge rock.

After many more years of pushing, Servant became discouraged. He began to think, “I don’t see any reason why I should push this huge rock. It makes no sense and I see no reason for doing it. This is worthless.”

Soon after that, God appeared before Him and said, “Are you faithfully pushing my rock?”

Servant said, “Yes! But this makes no sense to me. I’ve been pushing this huge rock for years and it hasn’t moved an inch. I just want to give up.”

Then God said, “I never told you to move the rock. I only wanted you to push it. Step back and look at yourself.”

Servant stepped back and looked at himself. What he found was not the small, weak skinny servant who began pushing the rock. He saw a big, strong muscular servant who was fit for any task God may have for him.

Servant, don’t stop pushing your rock. Life is full of them, and God often sends us to push them. Don’t pick your own. Let God show you your rock. Then faithfully push it, and wait in faithfulness. He will explain eventually. But the goal isn't simply obedience. It is oneness with the Lord that leads to complete obedience. Oneness with Him, without anything interfering, is the only good thing. Then He can say, "Come, follow me."

Sometimes the most important thing you can do, is to obey. Even when it doesn't make sense. [Proverbs 3:5-6] -- Remember when you were a small child, and adults would tell you not to do something.. like don't touch the stove? They told you not to touch the stove because it was hot.. if you touched it, you would get burnt. If you're like me at all, you may not have wanted to obey them, but it was the best thing... if you didn't, you would get punished.. if you're like me, it wouldn't be just sitting in the corner... sitting in the corner would have sounded good compared to what my parents would do... but God.. has grace, and patience. If we mess up, we try again. Isn't that amazing?

Have you ever thought how many times you and I have messed up??.. Do you know how many times God wants to forgive us? We just need to ask, and truly mean it.. There is no hiding anything from God. We need to learn to build our relationship with the father, to the point that we say, "I'll do anything for You, Lord, because you are my Father, and my God, and You are worthy.".. so much to the degree of being willing to sit on a shelf and not do anything, if God tells us too... or to hold a grocery bag.. or clean the litter box. It doesn't matter too much what you are doing for God.. it's what's in your heart that counts. God's calling you.. are you talking to Him? spending time with Him? If you have trouble.. ask for help... Our life's with God should be so dependent on Him, that we should be like two year old's.. looking up to their Father for all their needs, and confident that they will receive what they need

No matter what the circumstances, we should ALWAYS seek first the kingdom. [Matthew 6:33]

Isn't God amazing? He forgives us of everything, puts US in His glorious will [if we let Him], AND is patient with us, no matter what. The Bible says God is love [1 John 4:8] He loves us more than all the stars in the sky.. I encourage you to get in touch with Him today.. He's waiting and longing for our return. [Luke 15:11-32]

God Bless.

Obedience, Trust, and Faith

In the past few weeks, I've been learning about obedience. Throughout the gospels, Jesus had one main goal - To obey the Father. Jesus was always seeking the will of the Father (John 5:30)-- Not what Jesus himself wanted to do, but what God the Father wanted Him to do.

As Christians, we constantly say we believe the Bible is the complete truth.. but how many of us have read the whole thing? If we have, how many of us study it every day without flaw? Even if we do that, how many of us put what we read into action? What if every one of us gave our life's completely over to Christ? How wonderful would that be? It would be better than we ever imagined.

As Christians, we're going to have troubles. -- But Jesus said, in John 16:33 - "For in this World you will have troubles, but take heart, for I have conquered the world." We say we're afraid, God says He didn't give us a spirit of fear. (2 Timothy 1:7) We say we're frustrated. God said cast your cares on ME. (1 Peter 5:7) We say we can't manage. God says He will supply all our needs. (Philippians 4:19)... I sometimes wonder how sad Jesus gets when we forget to talk to Him. We say we will.. and then we don't.. or we say we'll trust Him.. and then we don't. I wonder how that makes Him feel.. probably not too good. Praise be to God! For He has patience and understanding, and waits and loves us, even when we do not deserve it.

Remember: Keep your eyes on Jesus, and do not get discouraged when you see no hope, for we can not see what is right in front of us! Jesus is always with us (Hebrews 13:5) - but sometimes we can't see Him.. almost like the moon. We can see the moon very clearly sometimes.. but other times the moon is covered by clouds. Clouds - or our troubles, seem to block God.. seem to make Him seem unreal, but it is the CLOUDS that is "the Spirit of God teaching us how to walk by faith." [Chambers] Don't concern yourself with what is going to happen in the future. Instead, focus on Jesus, and Obeying the Father. Everything will fall in place. Trust Him...

[[Ideas credited first and foremost to God, and then to "My Utmost for His Highest" - Oswald Chambers]]

Bring the Rain

"And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." ~ Romans 5:2b-4

How many of us have, at one point or another, struggled with something? Maybe you've had a rough family life, or maybe you've had a fight with a friend, or there's health issues going on, or someone is in jail, and you're parents aren't perfect, or maybe, you told a little fib, or you struggle in your faith.. or maybe, you're like me and you struggle with everything. Remember, everybody struggles. You're not the only one. Even Jesus struggled.. and He is the Son of God. He allowed Himself to suffer so that Glory would be given to God. He also did this out of obedience. Jesus said "If you love me, you will obey what I command" [John 14:15] Jesus obeyed the Father, by coming down to Earth, and giving His life for us. Imagine what it would be like, to know what it's like to be in Heaven, and then, come down to Earth, for 33 years, and then die on a tree. We focus so much on what Jesus did for us - He died on the cross. However, the 33 years he spent here, we're so precious. Satan tempted Him.. Jesus resisted, but he still struggled, however, unlike us, He obeyed the father at all times, even when it came to death. Jesus struggled a lot when it came time for Him to die. He asked the Father to take his cup away from him, if it was HIS will. We always tend to think that Jesus didn't suffer as much as we do.. He took on everything. Since, we as Christians do not belong to the World, and we are evil, in the flesh alone, We're going to struggle. Jesus said, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." Think of it this way: We are like purified gold. Beautiful, in the beholders eyes, but to make it without flaw, it must go through the flames. What if, our troubles, and hardships were put there to help you grow and glorify God? Jesus died on the cross, and took on our battles for us. Let Him guide you. Ask Him to help you. Compared to what Jesus, the SON OF GOD, did for you, what's a little rain?

Coffee

"God wasn't attracted to you and didn't choose you because you were big and important—the fact is, there was almost nothing to you. He did it out of sheer love... Know this: God, your God, is God indeed, a God you can depend upon." ~ Deuteronomy 7:7-10


The fact is: God loves you very much. He set each and every one of you apart, through sanctification. Don't say, oh, He doesn't love me, because he loves everyone. Yeah, yeah, I know if you're reading this page, you've probably heard that a zillion times, but it's true. If he didn't love you, why did He send His son? Why did He create such a beautiful Earth for us to dwell on? He created each and every blade of grass.. each dragonfly. Did you know that dragonflies can fly backwards? Did you know that God provides for them to keep living? He can do the same for us, helping us in every way, if only we let Him. We all struggle. Don't let that discourage you. Instead, be encouraged. All you have to do is give God permission. "Jesus does not ask me to die for Him, but to lay down my life for Him." [Oswald Chambers] Meaning, to give your all in all for Him.. Will you do that?