A few thoughts

The past few weeks, during my devotions, I keep coming back to a passage in Proverbs 3:4-12. I like the way The Message puts it.

Earn a reputation for living well in God's eyes and the eyes of the people. Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track.Don't assume that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil! Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life! Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the best.Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over. But don't,dear friend, resent God's discipline; don't sulk under his loving correction. It's the child he loves that God corrects; a father's delight is behind all this.

The part that jumped out at me the most was this. "Earn a reputation for living well in God's eyes and the eyes of the people. Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on tack. Don't assume that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil!"

How awesome!!! My biggest problem has always been that I try to figure out everything on my own. I want to know the who, what, when, where and how of everything! And while I'm trying to figure all of this out and solve my own problems, I forget to listen for God's direction. But God's voice is in everything I do and everywhere I go. How amazing is that!!! He is the only one who can keep me going in the right direction. If I try to do it on my own, I end up in a mess.

Don't assume that you know it all. I have an awful time with that. I'm 20 years old, that's twenty years of learning things, but I still don't know it all. I will never know all that there is to know! For now I know just what God thinks I need to know, and that's good enough.

Run to God! Run from evil! I love how it first says to run to God and then it makes it clear that running to God and running from evil is one and the same. It's not running in two different directions, it's running in one direction with two purposes; getting closer to God and farther from evil.

These verses have encouraged me in the past few weeks. Now the fact that I have know idea what I'm going to do tomorrow let alone in the next year or two doesn't seem to bother me as much as it used to. Instead, it's almost a relief. I was always one to plan out my whole entire life. I had something that I was going to have accomplished by each year. 19 years old; graduate from GBS; 23 years old; graduate from Hillsdale College, 24 years old; get married, 25 years old; start a family, etc. But my ways are not God's ways. I can't plan out my entire life! I don't have any control over any of that! I don't know it all!!! That used to bother me. I wanted control, I really did. But these verses just seemed to remind me that God is in control and the only thing that I need to worry about is weather my life is pleasing to God. As long as I live my life to please Him, then I don't have to worry. I'll let Him be the one to direct my ways, He's the One who will keep on track.

Trust

It's been awhile since I last posted! Too long, in fact. I'll try to make it up! A lot has happened in the past few months. I miss blogging!! It was always my way of jotting down my thoughts, an outlet of sorts.

The last month has been hard. I've had a lot of disappoints. Things that I don't understand why they happen, but they do. Lately a song has been going through my mind, Let the Waters Rise by Mikeschair. The first verse says: "Don't know where to begin It's like my world's caving in and I tried but I can't control my fear. Where do I go from here? Sometimes it's so hard to pray, you feel so far away. I am willing to go where you want me to. God I trust you." That last phrase has been so hard for me to say. God I trust you. Trust. Such a small word but so hard to do. People will let you down. Friends will disappoint you. Family will disappoint. People you trust will betray you, they will turn their back on you and walk away at the times where you need them the most. But God...He won't. But our human minds don't seem to be able to grasp that. We have a hard time understanding that God is not human, therefore He does not have humans attributes. He has godly attributes. He can be totally and completely trusted. Even when you things happen that make you think, "God, what are doing? This isn't supposed to happen!!!" Trust Him! I'm preaching to the choir here! This is a big issue for me! I've had so many disappoints that its become hard for me to trust anyone, even God.

The chorus of the song says, "There's a raging sea right in front of me. Want to pull me in Bring me to my knees. So let the waters rise if you want them to, I will follow you..." Then it goes on to say, "I will swim in the deep cuz your next to me. You're the eye of the storm and the calm of the sea. You're never out of reach. God you know where I've been You were there with me then You were faithful before, You'll be faithful again. I'm holding Your hand...God Your love is enough! You will pull me through. I'm holding on to You. God your love is enough! I will follow You!"

In the past few months I have felt like I'm in that raging sea; a sea of disappoints, sorrows, forgotten dreams, unattained goals, lost ambitions, unwise decisions. And it feels like all of those things are swelling up doing their best to pull me under. But to be able to stand there and say, "Let the waters rise if you want them to, I will follow you." That takes faith, trust. I want to be able to stand and say, "God whatever comes my way, even if it doesn't make sense, even if I don't understand why You want the sea to rise, I will still follow you. I will trust You! You were faithful before, You'll be faithful again." It doesn't matter how deep my sea may seem, it doesn't even matter how long I have to swim in it. As long as God is next to me! He is the eye of the storm and the calm of sea! I will trust in Him!!!

God is still enthroned

“The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king forever. May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace!”
Psalm 29:10-11

"When the sea rages violently on and the mountains tremble, God is still enthroned. When the tears fall like rain and the grief seems to suffocate, God is still enthroned. And when the regret of what has been and the anxiety of the not yet keeps you awake at night, God is still enthroned." ~ Emily Chapman

What more is there to say? Though at times I'm confused and I don't know which way to go, God is still on the throne. God is in control. The devil will do his best to make me think I have to be in control. But God is still enthroned! Even when I come to a crossroad and I don't know which direction to go. God is enthroned! Even when all my plans fall apart and I can't tell which end is up anymore. God is enthroned! Even when I feel like I'm fumbling around in the dark and I'm afraid to make a move. God is enthroned! Even when I don't know what to do. Even while I sit and wait for an answer, even when it seems like that answer will never come. God is still on the throne, God is in control! What do I have to fear? How great is our God!

Waiting

I've mentioned before how songs are one of the ways that I am ministered to. There's just something about music and words blending together that speaks to my heart. Lately I have had a certain song stuck in my mind and every time I hear it it brings tears to my eyes.
I watched the movie Fireproof the other day, very good movie by the way, but in the movie there was a song that they played called While I'm Waiting by John Waller. The words just touched my heart. Waiting is one of the hardest things for me to do. I'm not the most patient person in the world. I may not plan weekend activities but I'm very good at planning out my future. And when I hit a snag, it throws me off. "What do I do now? What's my next step? If only I knew something. If only I could know the next step, I'm not asking for much, I'm just asking what to do next" These are some things that run through my mind. I can't wait! I can't just sit and do nothing. That's were my first mistake comes in. Just because I'm in a waiting period doesn't mean I have to sit and do nothing. "I will serve You while I'm waiting. I will worship while I'm waiting. While I'm waiting I will not faint. I'll be running the race even while I wait." So many times, when I find myself waiting once again for an answer, I also find myself on the verge of giving up. "Maybe God's not going to answer. Maybe I should just go ahead and make a move. Maybe..."
"I'm waiting on You, Lord, though it is painful but patiently I will wait...I'm waiting on You, Lord, though it's not easy, but faithfully I will wait." It's not easy to wait, and yes sometimes it can be down right painful, but we must choose to be faithful to God and continue to wait. And while we are waiting we can continue to run the race by serving and worshiping God.
I'm waiting on You, Lord!

You Wouldn't Cry

I heard a new song today by Mandisa called "You Wouldn't Cry." It's a beautiful song and it has an awesome story behind it. I posted the video clip, it's kind of long but very good. The words reminded me of when my grandmother died. And as much as I miss her there is no way I could ever wish for her to be returned. You see she is in a much better place and I'm sure if she could she would say, "If you could see me and see the place that I am in, you wouldn't cry." It is truly an amazing song. Hope you enjoy it.

You Wouldnt Cry (Andrew’s Song) - Mandisa

Red Skelton Wisdom

Lately I've been on this kick of watching old television shows, I Love Lucy, Bewitched, Sanford & Son, I Dream of Genie, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, The Red Skelton Show, etc. The Red Skelton Show and I Love Lucy tie for first.
Red Skelton always ended his shows with "Good night and God bless." I was curious so I looked up his biography and found a few quotes of his that astounded me. One I had heard before, his explanation of the Pledge of Allegiance. The other was about his character Freddy the Freeloader.

"I get asked all the time; Where did you get the idea for Freddie the Freeloader, and who is Freddie really?

Well, I guess you might say that Freddie the Freeloader is a little bit of you, and a little bit of me, a little bit of all of us, you know.
He’s found out what love means. He knows the value of time. He knows that time is a glutton. We say we don’t have time to do this or do that. There’s plenty of time. The trick is to apply it. The greatest disease in the world today is procrastination.

And Freddie knows about all these things. And so do you.
He doesn’t ask anybody to provide for him, because it would be taken away from you. He doesn’t ask for equal rights if it’s going to give up some of yours.
And he knows one thing ... that patriotism is more powerful than guns.

He’s nice to everybody because he was taught that man is made in God’s image. He’s never met God in person and the next fella just might be him.

I would say that Freddie is a little bit of all of us."

I think the world would be a much better place if we all had that outlook on life. It reminded me of Matt. 25:34-40

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Here's him reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.


Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!

Chasing Lions and Setting Fires

I absolutely love this song called "I want to Set the World on Fire by Britt Nichole! My dad and I were talking the other day about how it is so easy to talk the the talk, but when it comes to actually walking the walk you end up backing down. I am so tired of talking. I am so ready to actually do something for the Lord. I want to get out there and "set the world on fire" and watch it burn bright for the Lord. I want to be used.
I am so nervous about this summer, I really don't know what to expect and I have never been away from home for two months without being able to come home for a visit at least once or twice. But I cannot let fear be the only reason for me not to go. I have been reading this amazing book called In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson. It talks about facing your fears and how that your most memorable times are your scariest times. He even says at one point that "when we don't have the guts to step out in faith and chase lions, then God is robbed of the glory that rightfully belongs to Him." I feel this is what God wants me to do right now, and honestly, as scared as I am, I am so ready. I feel so restless right now, I'm just ready to get out there and go. But if I were to not go because I was afraid, then I would be missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime. Life is an adventure, it would be so boring if we knew everything that was going to happen. I want to live a life that is worth telling about. I love to tell stories and make people laugh, but if I don't take chances and overcome my fears, what do I have to tell about? The time I ran away from an opportunity because I was afraid? Yeah, I can hear that one years down the road. "Oh, I remember this time that I almost ran into this very scary situation, but I was able to avoid. Man was that a close call!" No! I want a life that is full of adventure and stories of times that I was afraid but God helped me overcome that fear. I want to set the world of fire! But first I must be set on fire and I feel that I am. I can't wait to do something! I'm not sure what that "something" is yet, but I know I can't wait to do it. I may be scared but our "greatest moments double as our scariest moments". The name of the book comes from a verse in 2 Samuel.

2 Samuel 20:20 "Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a a valiant fighter from Kabzeel, who performed great exploits. He struck down two of Maob's best men. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion."

Benaiah later became a bodyguard for Kind David, and eventually the Commander in Chief of the army. This is one of the things he is known for, chasing a lion into a pit on a snowy day and killing it. If Benaiah would have ran from that lion, we may never have heard of him. But he faced a fear. Our lions, are our fears. I am tired of being afraid. One of my biggest fears, is the fear of looking foolish. But, as Mark Batterson puts it, "faith is the willingness to look foolish", foolish in the eyes of the world. Look at many of our Bible heroes. Noah, Joshua, David, and many more. Noah built an ark for 120 years with no sign of a flood, he was made fun of, but he was willing to look foolish in the eyes of the world. Joshua and the children of Israel marched around Jericho for a week and then blew trumpets and screamed. How foolish do you think they looked? I can just imagine the guards on the walls laughing, saying, "What do you think your doing? There is no way your going to bring these walls down! You fools, just give up and go home." Or what about David, Goliath laughed at him. He said, "What do you think I am, a dog that you come at me with a stick." But look who won that fight. And Benaiah? I'm sure when he told that story people said, "What were you thinking? You're supposed to run away from lions, not chase them." But look where that got him, it landed him a job working in the palace. Who woulda thunk? "The greatest breakthroughs, miracles, and turning points in Scripture can be traced back to someone who was willing to look foolish." I want to be used by God and I don't want fear to hinder that. I have dreams, goals and ambitions, but they can go no where without the help of God. I want to set the world on fire for God, but I can't do that if I am afraid. I want to be a lion chaser, I want to chase my fears instead of running from them. It's not that I will never be afraid, I will probably always be afraid of something, I've just decided that I will not let that fear stop me from doing God's will. I want to chase lions and set fires! Now that's what I call adventure.