Mrs. Almighty

My best friend had her baby on the 23rd!  I'm very happy for her! Her little guy is super cute and her husband is beaming with pride! I look at the picture of her little one and there is a little ache in the back of my heart, because I long for a little one too to call my own and husband that beams with pride.  But instead of this feeling overwhelming me this time and loosing myself in sorrow for a couple days.....Which normally happens..... I weathered it well thanks to God!  

Feeling sad and taking some time to grieve disappointment on my own would be normal and fine.  It is understandable that a woman almost 40 that has not found these things and wanted them since she was old enough to dream it, would be sad and struggle watching all her friends get them.  It's not that I don't struggle.  But my God is lifting me up, and that is becoming more and more outweighing the disappointment of not getting my dreams in this world.  

One time my friend from church texted me. "Aren't you so glad God is your husband"  I very nicely said to her that this was I hard thing to swallow as a single and I didn't know how to answer that question.  She is married with kids and was, I'm sure just trying to be encouraging.  She doesn't really have a concept of the pain that a single woman my age goes through.  I love her dearly and grateful she was trying to help, but I just couldn't swallow that text.

Sometimes the Holiday's can be hard for singles.  At least maybe ones like me that aren't very extroverted.  Mainly because everyone draws close to family an their significant others and belong to someone.  Of course there is parents and brother's and sisters, but this age (almost 40) most people have their own families (husband kids etc)  This can make it feel lonely for those of us that haven't gotten there yet.  

This year has been a little different, for the despite the ache in the back of my heart, I read these verses the very next day.

Isaiah 54:1-5

"“Sing, barren woman,
you who never bore a child;
burst into song, shout for joy,
you who were never in labor;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
than of her who has a husband,”
says the Lord.
 “Enlarge the place of your tent,
stretch your tent curtains wide,
do not hold back;
lengthen your cords,
strengthen your stakes.
 For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
your descendants will dispossess nations
and settle in their desolate cities.
 “Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame.
Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth
and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.
 For your Maker is your husband —
the Lord Almighty is his name—
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
he is called the God of all the earth."  NIV

My heart was so moved....... And for once I realized for the first time that I could truly say with my whole heart "Amen" to the fact my Maker was my husband.  I have begun to realize through this journey with God, over the last 2 years, that God blesses me with many kids around me and not just literal kids (nieces and nephews) but other kids of faith to shower love on.  

So OF COURSE enlarge my tent and lengthen the cords and strengthen my stakes!  Multiply community and grow the kids of God in faith!  

I'm sure there are many ways these verses could speak to this and many other things, but for me this day, it gave me comfort and spoke directly to my heart.   

So I texted my friend that had less than a year ago texted me about God being my husband and told her that I finally could say "Amen".   My dear sweet friend texted me back "Then according to Isaiah you are Mrs. Almighty!" Tears streamed down my face and my heart filled with the warmth of love from My Husband, savior, and redeemer.  How right she is.  How special it is!

I hope in some way that this encourages those of you out there that can relate to these feelings.  We may be barren, according to the world, left with nothing of our own as per this earth standards.  The reality is we can be more fruitful and have more kids than we could ever give birth to, and have a husband so proud of us we get to be Mrs. Almighty!  Almighty in Him! Our Redeemer the God of All the Earth!.  

So hang in there my sisters and look to Him! Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. He will make you His pride and joy and multiple your gifts and kids over and over!  So Sing, Burst into Song, Shout for Joy, and do not hold back!  The Lord will bless!  

Love to you!

Kori

Every Good Gift is for You!

This season is soooooooo busy, and for me,  this year is even more so because I'm driving farther to work than usual.  So this is  why I haven't blogged for a week or so.  But along with that, I have had a big storm in my life as well. 

Those of you that have read my blog from the beginning, know that there is a big rift in my family.  Two sides that, over something small, have been at odds for almost 2 years.  This makes the Holiday's harder for me being in the middle trying to be family to both sides.  This combined with a huge communication problem at work has consumed my thinking over the last week and a half.  

Sometimes when I get my head wrapped around some things, it is so hard to let go of them.  I'm a problem solver by nature and long for harmony, so I get trapped sometimes in circular thinking of conversations and words that could be said or things to do to bring back balance.  Sometimes they are good ideas and sometimes they are not because they come out of a place of anger and frustration. 

Both work and family things, I brought before God and asked for answers of what I should say or if I should say anything.  I desperately wanted God to write in the sky for me.  Now in saying this, whether I want to admit it or not at the moment, there is another part of me that secretly hopes God doesn't answer so I can do what I want to do.  However, in the past I have made that mistake and had everything blow up severely in my face and destroy relationships.  So I'm learning but the waiting is miserable sometimes and I start feeling that God has forgotten me.

I was feeling so much this way.  I wanted God's answer and to hear Him telling me the best way to go.  The work situation I kind of waited and then took over some. Part way through, I begged God to help.  It worked out but went rough.  And the family one,  God never gave me the green light to speak and I waited in agony feeling awful, trying to not loose faith in His love and desire to speak to me.  

Sometimes in situations like these I am so blinded!  He was speaking to me all along trying to show me He was there.  Someone that I rarely talk to texted me and told me they missed me, one of my pt.'s looked right at me and told me I was so pretty, others at church that I normally don't talk with that often, came to talk with me.  All these things, signs, God mobilizing the world around me to reach me in my pain.  Then last night, I learned the very family member I wanted to talk to was already making an effort to mend fences in the family!  Without any word or effort on my part, God working.

How easily I forget..... but I'm learning..... Every Good and Perfect Gift is from God!

•  James 1:17 - " Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" NIV

Everyone that opens the door for you, everyone that smiles at you, everyone that lets you merge in crazy traffic, every flower, every hug, every warm bed and cup of coffee, heartwarming tune.....ALL of it!  Is God taking a moment to whisper He loves you and has not forgotten you!  

He does not say to us "I love you today..... but don't know about tomorrow"  He does not change in His affection for us!  The devil tries to make us believe those lies, with the struggles on this earth, but God does not change.  And Every Good Thing is a direct message of Love to YOU from Him!  He is Always Faithful! Even when answers don't seem clear, there are signs He is there.

So I hope this Christmas you will look around you and see with your heart how much God loves you and is telling YOU, through Every Good and Perfect Gift He gives you this season and always! 

God Bless :) 

And God Be Forever Praised for all He gives and has given!

Kori

Something Magnificent!

 

Something you may not know about me is that I am a woodworker on the side.  It is a hobby of mine.  I love making furniture. Especially cabinets, shelves, beds, and dressers. I'm not a master at it but I love it! :)  It is so fun to create things and make someone happy!  

Most of you may know I have been thinking a lot lately about wanting to be more fruitful in my walk with God and hear His voice better.  Sometimes.... Okay lets be honest.... most times I'm super impatient.  I long to move forward and get to the next step.  I have a hard time living in the particular phase I am in with God. 

Lately, my mind has been floating onto the idea of sanding.  I know it sounds a little silly.  But as a woodworker, sanding is one of the most important parts of a good project.  It is definitely not the most fun part of a project, but it is necessary for a project to look good. Maybe there is some woodworker out there that could sand all day and be in heaven, but for me, it is the proverbial "pulling teeth" part of the job. :D    

The things that make it so awful is that it kicks up dust, it takes a very long time, and if you don't do your steps right you might have to start over.  Plus I have to wear a mask and glasses to protect my eyes and lungs.   Boooo!  :(    LOL :)   You can tell I just love it can't you?  :D  

Now power tools help and make the job somewhat faster, but it is still a tedious job, and they come with their own set of precautions. 

One thing that has stood out to me about sanding, is that if I go to fast or don't pay attention it is easy to damage or ruin a project.  It takes fineness and time, but if you do it right, the finished product is Magnificent!  Your clear coat or stain or paint goes on so much easier and the project shines!

It's kind of like God working on us.  We want to get to the Magnificent stage like yesterday. :) At least that is me.  But building character and a relationship is a delicate time consuming thing.  When done too fast hearts are broken and spirits damaged.  And like in sanding each stage is important. 

If I have a project and it has some scratches or gouges in the wood, I have to start with a course grain sandpaper and slowly work my way up to a finer sand paper to get the right finish.  The courser sand paper digs away at the imperfections across the whole surface and evenly removes the flaws.  If I try and go at them with a fine sandpaper and just spot sand, I will end up with a divot in the wood and it will take forever.  I will create and even bigger problem.  Because if I leave the divot and go ahead and put my stain or clear coat on, that divot will stand out like a sore thumb.  

I know this analogy might be a little obvious or parochial, and you may have seen it coming around the corner before I got to this point in the post.  But sometimes these simple truths hold more impact than the elaborate dissertation. 

I find it fascinating all the parallels God puts in our world to point us back to Him, and to help us understand how He works on us to produce the beautiful creation and relationship He intended.  This sandpaper in our lives, trials, frustrations, waiting, grow us, refine us, and make us stronger.  Sanding is long and tedious and yes ... painful.... but we don't have to be afraid of it.  We can rest knowing that God is working in us and making us into something Magnificent!  

This next verse is one of my favorites and I have probably quoted it before, but the message rings true always.

•      James 1:2-4 - "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything"NIV

So this whole analogy helps remind me that when I start getting frustrated that things are not moving fast enough in my walk with God, that I need to remember every good thing takes time.  God gives me just what I need for right now.  Whatever, I'm going through right now, however painful, is shaping me slowly but surely into what God intended me to be.

So I can be joyful in the pain...... Yes.... you heard me right.  That is what the verse says.  How would we handle our trails and frustrations differently if we really believed that God was shaping us into something Magnificent?  We would be excited right? Or at least WAY easier to endure. If we could see the end result we would fall over in Awe and Utter Amazement!

I repeat this again because it is sooooo important to remember in the Christian  walk.... It is not what is happening outside us that matters..... It is what is happening inside our hearts that matters.  So through the "sanding" we can still have joy and rest in God working out His good for our lives.

So I'm going to try to lay down my frustration today and remember to rest in Him knowing this time is going to turn me into something and someone God intended all along. Something Shining and Magnificent!  What about you?   Lets do it together!  With Joy! :)

 

Counterfeit or the Real Thing?

So I have been thinking a lot lately about how we as Christians can see and hear God better.  Mainly because I struggle to know I hear God sometimes especially when it relates to others.  An example would be knowing when to ask someone about their walk with God or if they know Jesus. It is easier for me to think I hear God when it relates to Him encouraging me.  

This world is so distracting.  Our environment is flooded with noise everywhere.  There is constant vying for our attention from someone.  The radio, TV, movies, advertizements, news.... a never ending stream of entertainment and information thrown at us.  

Over time my longing to be used by God goes up.  However, I feel this tension in me where the desire is there but because I don't really know when God is speaking sometimes. I feel at a loss.  I feel I miss opportunities to share Jesus.  I don't want to fall back into old habits and patterns.  I want to get more and more in tune so when God says move, I move, and when He says speak, I speak, and when He says Go, I go without hesitation because I know his voice.  I don't want to stay stuck in this land of doing what I think is right and comfortable for me. 

How do we hear Him better?  How do we know when it is someone else or our own sinful nature taking over telling us what we should do?

Well, driving to work the other day I started thinking about my cousin and how she used to work for a bank.  If I remember correctly, my aunt was saying that part of her training was to learn how to recognize counterfeit money.  I was intrigued so I asked more of how she learns this.  My aunt said she thought it was interesting because they never had her focus on the possible examples of counterfeit bills, they only had her focus on the real thing.  By spending time focused on the real bills after a while when a fake one came through she could tell just by the feel of the bill because she was so in tune with the real thing. 

Then the verse  in Philippians came to to mind. 

• Philippians 4:8 - "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things" NIV

These things spoke to me.  What I focus on helps me to know when it is God and when it is something else. In this world it is hard to do this and I struggle quite a bit to break free of things that are not part of the above list in Philippians.  If I fill my mind with things not good like the list of entertainment full of stories and songs of death, betrayal, and all other things, how do I hear God?  Of course I get confused and don't know whether i hear God.

By considering this, there are probably some hard decisions and sacrifices I have to make to really do this.  If I do only what is comfortable in my walk with God, is it really walking with God? God is saying "Lets clear the path between us so we can communicate better"  "I have so much to tell you and show you" " Let me help to remove this clutter so you can hear me"

Honestly..... I'm afraid of letting  go of some of these things.  I lean on them to feel comfortable.  But I see how they eat away at my relationship with God and keep me from really hearing Him in the crucial moments sometimes.  But I don't want to get stuck.... I want to keep moving forward with God.

Now is the time to really trust and let go and focus on the Real Thing so I know what is counterfeit.  I need to get serious.... This is not a game.... this is about God saving lives working through me.

Are we ready.... are we focused on the Real and Only True God? Are we filling our minds and spirits with Good, Noble , Lovely, Admirable things or do we let our desires run free to gobble up whatever feels good at the moment?  All those things will eventually destroy us!  Do you hear me?  Destroy us from the inside out to the point we can no longer hear our loving Savior.

It is not easy to let go of these things but guess what?..... If we call on Him, He can pull us out and help us focus on Him.  He is our strength.  Look to Him! Choose Him! Ask Him to free you!

God Bless and Free us all to hear Him more in our lives Amen!



 

Awesomeness!

Psalms 107:14-16

"He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness,
and broke away their chains.
 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
 for he breaks down gates of bronze
and cuts through bars of iron" NIV

Sounds Like Super Hero Awesomeness to me!!!!! :)

Definitely Something To Be Thankful for!

Go God!

Look, Ask, Believe!

Do you believe in the mighty power of God? I'm not talking about just the little things in the day like all the lights turn green on your way to work.  Although... those things are awesome! :)  I'm talking about the big stuff like healing the sick, stopping the sun, or a small pot of soup that feeds a thousand people.

This idea of God's power has been rolling around in my head lately.  I have been asking myself..."Do you really believe in the power of God?"  "Like part the waters, power of God?"  There is also this song on the radio that has been grabbing my attention lately.... Greater by Mercy Me.  There is one line that jumps out at me every time.

"And greater is the One living inside of me
Than he who is living in the world"

Now the song mainly talks about the battle to believe that God loves us and is bigger than our sin that tries to pull us down. It is a great message!  It stirred up more in me the question of something greater than just our sin.  I think it is easier for us as Christians to believe the message that God is greater in our internal world than our external world.  I know I fall into this thinking.  However, the Bible is full of story after story of how God showed His mighty power and intervened in real tangible external ways. 

I think as much as it is important to remember how God works in  our hearts, it is just as important to remember that God performs REAL LIFE miracles too.  It is easy to think to ourselves "That was in Bible times" " Or that happens only out in the mission field".  

There is so much pain in the world.  Sometimes things don't seem to work out for even the truly righteous God fearing people.   We start to lose faith in the mighty God we serve forgetting that He see's a bigger picture.  David talks about this in Psalms when he was struggling to believe.

•   Psalms 77:11-15 - " I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
  yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
   I will consider all your works
  and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”
   Your ways, God, are holy.
  What god is as great as our God?
   You are the God who performs miracles;
  you display your power among the peoples.
   With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,
  the descendants of Jacob and Joseph" NIV

 This whole chapter in Psalms is a beautiful reminder of what to do when we struggle to believe that God is more powerful than anything we are facing and can Literally move mountains, part waters, and heal anyone of His choosing. 

I wonder sometimes why we don't see God's power more in our lives or in others lives? Maybe the real question is are we looking for it? Or have we become apathetic.  I know I am guilty of this a thousand times over.  

Now I know God isn't just some Jennie in a bottle to make all our wishes come true and we live in a sinful world. But I do believe that we miss out a lot more on God's power in our lives and all around us because we aren't looking.  We forget how truly and literally powerful our God is.  And some of us have given up all together asking God to do anything of real tangible nature because we struggle to believe. 

What would our lives and churches look like if we really asked and believed in the greatest power ever revealed to man and the universe?  What awesomeness would we see if we really with every fiber of our being believed in God's unsurpassed, supreme, matchless power?  Those words also apply to His love as well.  

Okay... So do you hear me?  Are you listening?  Do you understand the gravity of what this means?  

We have the greatest Hero of the Universe who is not only on our side, but loves us with a unfathomable unfailing love, AND has the power to extinguish or bring to life a solar system with one breath!!!!  He ALWAYS works for our good NO MATTER WHAT!!!! 

Are we looking, asking, or believing? Lets do what David did and remember what mighty amazing things God has done AND is DOING!  Lets see what looking, asking, and believing in our God can really do!

Out of the Mud, Onto the Rock, Given a New Song!

Psalms 40:1-3

"I waited patiently for the Lord;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
 He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
and put their trust in him" NIV

Is this picture in Psalms not unbelievably beautiful! 

May your day be Blessed with a song in your mouth for the Amazing Loving Father who saved you! 

Amen!

Instructs Even the Sinner

God never waits for us to be perfect

to lead us.

Such a beautiful verse!

Psalms 25:8-9 

"Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
 He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them his way" NIV

Trees, Dirt, and Eternal Glory

The great outdoors.... Ah yes I love the woods and going camping.  So Fun!  This has been the reason I haven't blogged for over a week. I signed up to go camping with the church school's Senior Survival.  It is where the school takes the senior class out into the woods for 5 days and teaches them survival skills as well as ties them to life skills and spiritual skills to reach the world for God.  

So I was super stressed before the trip.  Not because of the woods, but because of the teenagers.  :)  I don't know why I volunteered, they caught me on a super good day or something. :)  Because normally I'm terrified of youth work especially teenagers.  For some reason I'm scared they won't like me or will rebel and i won't have the guts to keep them out of trouble.  But this must be the year that God feels like stretching me by getting me to volunteer for things I never would before (thinking of the Triathlon running thing as well) :)

So the whole car ride there my heart was pounding and I was starting to panic a little.  I road with another women I know from church that has been through many a camping trip with these girls and assured me the whole way that things would go fine and I had no need to worry.  That helped some and it was nice to know she was along too in case things got crazy :)

Long story short, 2 days in I started my monthly friend 2 weeks early, my hormones were a little wonky, and I was getting emotional about reading a simple Bible verse.  The girls were starting to complain about everything and I was feeling way inadequate.  After a good talk with the other woman on the trip and few shed tears, God showed me that He was with me and I needed to focus on what He thought of me and not what the girls thought. 

By the last day, I finally realized that God had a plan for not only the girls but for me too.  We were all physically and emotionally spent, but most everyone was glad they made it through and overall had a good time.  

The last morning I got up the courage to do a worship a short worship with the girls, sharing a verse close to my heart. So I shared that my best friend in junior high was terminally ill with leukemia. One night before she died she wanted her mom to read her a verse.  Her mom opened the Bible to this verse, but couldn't bear to read it so she searched for other verses till my friend begged her to read the first one she opened to. 

•  1 Corinthians 4:16-18 - "   Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" NIV

I compared this to our experience of the days in the woods and life.  And as I said these words to the girls I was realizing myself how true they are.  We cannot control life.  It will give us whatever it gives us.  The difference between Christians and others in the world is that we have hope in Jesus, that inwardly we can be renewed and we have eternal life.

It's not about what goes on around us that matters it is what goes on within us in our hearts with Jesus that makes all the difference.  I realized that my beautiful friend had realized this before she died and found comfort in these verses.  And I realized at that moment that God had worked in my heart as well as these girls.

Whether these verses had impact on them I don't know, but I hope in a small way one day it will come back in their memory and give them strength when they face some of the hard times of growing up and what life will throw at them.  Fixing our eyes is the key to peace and change within. Focusing on Jesus and what is unseen is what gives us life from within despite what goes on around us externally that we see.

The girls decided I was okay at the end, and I decided it was a good thing for me to go despite my fear.   So the woods was fun, hard, and wonderful all at the same time. This momentary trouble a step closer to the eternal glory God has in store for us. Trees, Dirt, and Eternal Glory AMEN!

Bird House & A Plan

 

What do you do when your week doesn't look like its going to work out like you planned?  Do you panic? Do you get depressed and feel defeated? Do you make a bunch of calls or talk to bunch of people to try and turn the things back around to what  you think it should be?

I'm going to be completely honest..... that is usually exactly what I do most times probably in that order :)

I'm a melancholy perfectionist with at touch of OCD and ADD and probably a few other conditions thrown in there I don't know about yet. :) hehe

I can be a crazy control freak sometimes.  Lets face it a lot of us can be sometimes, when we feel like life is spinning out in a direction we did not plan.  As women, we get good at multi-tasking and predicting cause and effect to work the situation to our benefit.

This week has not turned out at all the way I planned. I am doing contract work now. So I am the person that goes all over the city to work wherever I'm needed.  This means that sometimes places don't need help and I don't have work.  Now this next to never happens, because my job is pretty high demand.  However,  this week my work schedule totally tanked. At the beginning of the week I had no jobs and I had only gotten a few hours here and there so far.

On Monday I was like "Well, maybe its a fluke day".  By the end of the day and no news from my staffing manager, I was starting to feel the panic set in. By Tuesday morning I was starting to sweat....... Then it dawned on me...... God has got my back.  This is what I'm saying all the time.

I realized there is no way I can control this situation and God may have other plans for me this week than the regular work schedule plan I'm used to. So I decided to let go and enjoy the free time I was given this week and trust that God will work things out.  By Tuesday evening my staffing manager emailed me that November is nearly full for work for me again.

So yesterday I only had 4 hour job in the morning and had the afternoon free.  Gorgeous day in low 70's the trees are turning colors, just awesome!  I get home and start cleaning out my garage, listening to some great music getting things done.  By 3:30pm my nephew comes by and wants to hang out with me as I'm cleaning up and by 4:30pm the neighbor kid comes over and we are in full woodworking swing, the three of us.

I had found in my garage a woodworking kit for kids, that I had bought 3 years ago, for building a bird house.  by 5:30pm the boys 7 & 9 had successfully made the bird house and were beaming, super proud.  What a joy!

The real thing I realized is that if I had been working, I would have missed the whole thing.  Also, I am beginning to see the neighbor boy underneath his shy exterior longs to be noticed and longs for someone to spend time with him.  His folks are split and busy, so he gets shuffled around sometimes and not as much quality time.

As I step back and look at God's plan for my week.  I am dumbfounded and totally humbled at Gods perfect plan this week.  If I had let the panic set in and worked myself into a frenzy, I would have missed out on such a beautiful thing of hanging out with these boys.  I would have missed out on how God is trying to show His love and reach into the lives of my nephew and his friend.

I know it may sound silly, but as I type this blog, tears run down my face at just the wonderful and perfect love of our God.  I so wish that I could impress on everyone's heart that reads this how truly awesome and loving our God is.

• Isaiah 28:29 -  "All this also comes from the Lord Almighty,
  whose plan is wonderful,
  whose wisdom is magnificent" NIV

So Wonderful & Magnificent Is HE!

Be blessed today and let God be the director of your plans.  It may look like the day or week is falling apart, but don't panic, trust God,  you never know what amazing jewels you will find.  God's plan is Always better than ours.   :)

More Than Enough

So I know I don't talk a ton about being single. Mainly because God fills my life with so many other things worthy of mentioning over the single life.  When it boils down to it my fight with God over being single is what, bent my knee to finally totally surrender to our loving God.  Since then, I started asking myself  "If I don't get married and have kids, what legacy do I leave?"  "What is my life worth on this planet?"

My mission/purpose without God was do what the world is doing.  Get a good job, a husband, and make a family.  Now these are not bad things, but when achieving these things above all else including God, they become idols.  They become life sucking obsessions that drive a person to do unhealthy crazy things, rather than life giving beautiful things.

I never could wrap my mind around God being enough for me until I hit rock bottom in my obsessions over this.
It doesn't change my desire for these things, but changes my perspective on the purpose for my life.  Letting go of these things and giving them to God, made space for God to come in and be enough for me.  My plan and tight grip was killing me from the inside out. God's plan and my open hand brings me joy and peace beyond what I could ever understand or dream of before.

After I surrendered, my focus has turned to God and being fruitful in Him. Showing others the love of God.  I have been reading again this week John 15-16. Jesus lays out so beautifully how to abide and surrender to Him. How we are called to be fruitful by letting Him work in our lives, and how this will bring joy & power in His name.  He doesn't mince words though and is clear that trouble doesn't go away, but that we can have peace in trouble because He has overcome the world.

• John 15:16-17 - " You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit —fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command:Love each other." NIV

• John 16:33 - "“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" NIV

I love these verses! These verses tell me, don't believe what you see.  Know that Jesus has overcome everything we face so we can have peace in our trials of life.  This gives me purpose beyond my own my own life and and my desires.   To have the courage to love and bear fruit with Gods strength!  

By no means am I perfect in loving others.  My sinful nature still gets in the way sometimes.  But I'm getting better because of God's work, and my heart is filled more with joy over God's love.  He is becoming more than enough.  I am getting to see how He works to make my life fruitful when I keep my eyes on Him and let Him work in my life.

I know for some of you this may seem cliche' or hard to grasp.  You may feel like you are terrified of letting go of your dreams in your life for fear you will be left with nothing.  I know your pain and frustration and remember how acutely painful it was and sometimes still is to see your friends all get your dream.  It may seem impossible for you to be happy without it and darkness may seem to be your constant friend.  I am over the hill telling you, Jesus IS enough! I know it to be true! Let Go and see what love He pours out on your heart! 

There may still be husband and kids in the mix for me & even for you, but even if not God IS enough!  And the joy in abiding in Him and watching how He works in our lives to bear fruit is beyond anything we can imagine or dream ourselves! 

Fighting for you!

What is your view of God?   How do you see Him? Is He more like a friend, or a father, a judge and jury? Do you see Him as distant, or personal?

Yesterday in my church group, we talked about God and the Israelites around Samuel's time.  The discussion was on when the Philistines took the Ark of the Covenant in battle against the Israelites.

Long story short, the Philistines took it and their god fell forward and broke off it's head and hands. Then they got tumors and some died.  They sent the Ark back to Israelites and some of them died because they looked into the Ark.  Which the Israelites knew was against God's commands.

The discussion turned to how God had withdrawn Himself from the Isrealites because they had turned away from Him and were not following God's law and commands. Also, how he killed off the people who looked in the Ark and some of the Philistines. Then the question came up "If God is a loving God and He wants people to be saved why would He do this?"  So it brought into question God's character.

I think as Christians we always fight with this in our head about God.  We want to believe He is loving and kind all the time and never harsh or punishing.  When we consider this story in the Bible, the waters get a little mucky and we don't want think about this side of God. We want Him to stay this sweet loving benevolent father, that never gets mad.

One of the guys in class said "Compare this story to being a parent, and your kid is walking toward a cliff." "What would do?"  These questions started a barrage of comments.  Listening to all this discussion, something just clicked in my head.

It is true, even with my niece and nephew if they are about to do something that is dangerous and they aren't listening, sometimes I raise my voice, or pick them up and remove them from the danger, or remove the thing that they want to get them to listen.  They view me as mean and harsh, but I know that I am doing something to protect them and help them so they don't hurt themselves or others.  What am I doing? I am fighting for them because I love them and I want them to have a good and safe life.

This thought just hit me.  God was fighting for the hearts of His people.  They were not walking but running full throttle into sinful behaviors that were eroding away at their lives. God tried over and over to get their attention but instead they were blinded and only focused on what they wanted at the moment.  God had to get their attention to wake them up to see how destructive they were becoming.  To both them and the Philistines it seemed harsh and mean.  But It was God Fighting for them out of His totally unfailing love for His kids!

The old testament stories sometimes are hard for me to swallow because it seems so ruthless sometimes.  But this helped me see how God has not changed. He is still a God of love.  It makes me see that even when it looks like He is Harsh and uncaring because things aren't going the way I want, that this may be ways that God is trying to fight for me and get my attention to turn my heart to Him.  That He will do everything He can to help me turn from things that destroy me and will in time take me down, even if harsh.  Not because He doesn't love me,  but BECAUSE He loves me!

Just makes me love Him so much more to know He cares that much!  God fights for you too!  Maybe the rough time or the thing you want is not working out, is the very thing God is using to say "Hey you are running toward the cliff! Turn around, Turn to me!"

Isn't it awesome how much God loves us! He will fight to the death to save us!  Guess What? He did that too! There is no end to how much He loves us! Such a good thing to remember when we are going through things that are rough and seem harsh.  He is fighting for you, because He loves you That Much!

Another Jewel from Job

I usually think of the statement "My Redeemer Lives" as one from the New Testament.  Found this beautiful jewel from Job as well.

Job: 19:25-27

"I know that my redeemer lives,
and that in the end he will stand on the earth.
 And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet in my flesh I will see God;
 I myself will see him
with my own eyes —I, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me" NIV

Job's faith blows my mind.  May this bless you as it  does me this day.  Know, Your Redeemer Lives! Amen!

Yet I will hope

This morning I'm reading Job.  I used to get so angry at the story of Job because it seemed so unfair.  A man that lived his life for God and looked out for his family.  How could God let Satan nearly destroy his whole life, kill off his family, and nearly kill him? And then when Job finally gets to talk and question God at the end of the book, God's answer is "Don't you know who I am, and who are you to question me?" At least it always felt that way. 

This is the second time I am reading through the Bible in the last year and I am noticing some beautiful verses of Job that show his ultimate trust in his God and friend. Yes he cries out over and over in his anguish and begs God to curse the day of his birth etc.  He has real honest questions as any of us would in his shoes, but there are some truly amazing statements of faith and trust that surprise me in the midst of all this pain.  This is one of them.

• Job 16:19-21: "Even now my witness is in heaven;
  my advocate is on high.
   My intercessor is my friend
  as my eyes pour out tears to God;
   on behalf of a man he pleads with God
  as one pleads for a friend." NIV

Wow! Isn't that amazing! Even in his horrible pain and suffering Job knows that he has an intercessor that pleads for him as one that pleads for a friend.  Even then Job was so close to God that He trusted and knew that Holy Spirit would intercede for him.  It say's advocate on high I wonder if this eludes to even Jesus.

The new testament supports intercession by the Holy Spirit and and we know Jesus intercedes for us.  Here is a verse from new testament I just love.

• Romans 8:26-27:  "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God." NIV

It is such comfort to me when I feel like I don't even know what to pray for I'm so distraught.  Job knew this too with his connection with God.

The one verse that just blows me away and shows Job's total and complete trust in God is this one .

• Job 13:15: "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him;
  I will surely defend my ways to his face." NIV

Can you imagine!  The kind of faith in a God that you know is allowing all these horrible things to happen to you?  Job doesn't just lay down and not express himself to God and just except his fate without question, but in all this even in his questions and frustration he still trusts.  Can you wrap your mind around what kind of relationship he had to have with God in order to say "Though he slay me, yet I will hope in him"?

I think it is such an amazing testament to Job's relationship to God.  One, that he can feel totally comfortable being honest to God how he feels, and two, that in all of that he still trusts God to death even if God Himself kills him!

It sounds awful at first, but if you really think about it, isn't that amazing and awesome that Job trusted God that much!  Doesn't that testify to how good God really is?  Job knows that when it comes down to it, God is a good and loving God. Even trusting that sometimes death may be a mercy in some circumstances, which is sometimes hard to imagine.

It encourages me in my roughest times to remember our God is Good and we cannot see the big picture.  We think we know what is best, but honestly every day our vision is warped and darkened.  This is why only complete trust and surrender to God is our hope and strength. Only God sees the full picture and knows what is best for us.

So when things are looking bad and you think you can't go on, remember God is looking out for your best even if it looks like its the worst.  Remember if Job could trust God that much we can too! Yet I will hope! How about you?

 

I Am With You

I Just started reading this book this morning called 

Love Does by Bob Goff

The first chapter already has me tearing up.  The chapter is called I'm with you.  It is a story about when He was a teenager and he wasn't quite done with high school he wanted to go to Yosemite and be a rock climber.  There was a a guy that didn't go to his high school but would come by and hang out at the school and try to talk with him about Jesus.  After a while they became friends. 

Well Bob, the author, decided he was going to cut school and drive to Yosemite and he went to say goodbye to his friend, his friend thought for a few mins and invited himself to go with him saying "Bob, I'm with you".  No chastisement or "what are you doing?" Just "I'm with you"  

So they head out to Yosemite in VW and Bob tries to find a job and can't find anything and is running out of money. So he decides after 2 days of not finding anything and only enough money to get home, he would head back.  Again his friend just said to him "I'm with you" 

When they get back and Bob goes to drop his friend off at his house they go into the house and Bob sees there are wedding gifts half opened, and realizes that his friend had just gotten married to his girlfriend and sacrificed part of his honeymoon to go with him to Yosemite to make sure he was safe and ok. 

I was so moved by this story.  We are told all the time God is with us over and over.  But there is a big difference between just some higher being that looks down us and says "I'm with you" and watches over us, from a true friend that looks us in the eye that packs their bags and says "I'm with you".

My family moved around a lot when I was a kid because my dad was in the air-force.   It kind of made it hard for me to make friends. That may sound a little crazy, because you might think that would make me be good at making friends.  But being an introvert, you kind of get more and more shy of making friends because you know you will soon have to say goodbye and move.  

I think it was almost after I started my first job out of college that I met a friend that really was truly "with me" for the long haul.  I am so grateful every day for her she is my dearest Sister.  

• Matt 1:22-23 Says:  "All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us)”NIV

 God didn't just stay in heaven, He came down to earth and was born as a human being to BE WITH US!  :)  Isn't that Cool!

God is totally the guy that packs his bags or the sister that packs her purse :)  and says "I'm with you!" "For the long haul, whatever it takes"  Even if He knows we are bent on heading into the fray without a single lick of sense or preparation.  "I am with you"  "I am your confidant, comrade, your bestie, your BFF"  "I got your back"  

Great reminder that God is always closer than we think in a so much more personal way than we give Him credit for.  How has God told you lately that He is with you? Remember this week, He is more than just with you..... He is All In, packed His bags,  WITH YOU AlWAYS! AMEN!

Not Be Moved

Psalm 55:22

Cast your burden on the Lord,
and he will sustain you;
 he will never permit
the righteous to be moved. NIV

Whatever you have going on today God's got you covered :)

Give your burdens to Him

Keep your eyes on Him

and He will hold you steady in His Love!

God is Always Working

 

I'm overwhelmed with joy...... my friend that I have been praying for came by tonight and told me she wants to start going to church regularly and wants to read a Bible!!!!  I should not be surprised but it was like a record just scratched for a second.  :)  As I got whiplash looking back at her. She asked me what part of the Bible she should start reading first. I told her the Gospel's. Then she said she didn't have a Bible.  So I tried not to literally leap into my house to get her one. :) My heart was singing all the way! 

Sometimes as a Christian, I lose sight that there are truly people I know that are hungry for God.  Our 1st world society is so full of so many distractions and luxuries, that I feel it lulls us all to sleep.  I don't give God much credit for doing what He does best, touching peoples hearts with His love!

God Never Stops Working!  Even when things look like they are falling apart He is still working! Such a good reminder for me this week! Never lose faith, God knows what He is doing.  Things done in our time can turn out a mess, things in His time turn out Amazing!  

So my heart is just overflowing and full of joy for the journey my friend is embarking on, because if she wants she Will find Jesus, and He will fill her with the joy, peace, hope, and love that she longs for.  YAY!!!!

• Psalms 57:9-10:  "I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
  I will sing of you among the peoples.
   For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;
  your faithfulness reaches to the skies" NIV

 Our God is so faithful! Always working things out for good.

So don't lose hope! God is working even if you can't see the end of the road or even a foot in front of you.  God is working Keep The Faith!  Don't believe what you see, Hold onto what you Know to be true! Jesus Reigns!

No Accident

Courage From 2 Kings

Good Reminder Today :)

2 Kings 6:16: “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them". NIV

God and His angels are bigger & more powerful

than anything you face today!

Take Courage!

& 

Have and Awesome Day!

Wings of a Grateful Heart :)

I was at work yesterday and my co-worker started just talking about God with me.  She is an amazing lady! We got on the topic of gratefulness.  She was saying she had some friends challenge her to do 7 days of thankful/gratefulness on facebook.  She said she thought it was interesting how hard it was a first, but good.

This whole conversation got me thinking about gratefulness in my life.  I look back to even a couple years ago and how different my life was.  And how many things I worried about and stressed over. Even as a kid my mom used to make comments about how I was little miss pessimistic.

Honestly, this world can be more than a little scary and painful.  It gets really hard sometimes to see all the things that God has blessed us with.  And the devil knows right where to try and blind side us so we loose focus on God.  Whether it is through just little things going wrong in the day to big things like family dysfunction or problems at work, it does not take long sometimes for me to feel like I get in a tailspin I can't seem to pull out of.

Back nearly 2 years ago when I totally surrendered to God, I see how my thoughts have started changing. In one of my earliest posts I wrote about God winks, good things that happen in the day, gifts from God. My one friend from work at the time had talked to me about this and given me the book on it.  I started writing down my God winks.  I would write down things like I got a discount on a shirt at target that was unexpected, a co-worker walked by and said I did a good job with a patient, or even that I saw a beautiful flower growing in my yard I hadn't noticed.

Soon these things begin to add up. I started in my prayers in the morning to God with things I was grateful for like my job, house, nice neighbors, beautiful sunrise, even my ornery little cat :)  Looking back I see how focusing on these things have transformed my spirit and my thoughts.  I'm ,more days than not, full of joy and wonder at how blessed I am!  I see more and more God working in my life and the lives of others around me.  The eyes of my heart are becoming more and more trained to find the  blessing and jewels in life instead of all the junk. 

Now, I'm by no means perfect in this. It took me 3+ weeks to get over my  recent vacation blues, and I have had many times over the last couple years where I have been sad because of certain things going on.  The interesting thing is that through those times I have a sense of hope because my heart is trained for gratefulness.

• Psalms 147: 7-11 : "Sing to the Lord with grateful praise; make music to our God on the harp.
   He covers the sky with clouds;
  he supplies the earth with rain
  and makes grass grow on the hills.
   He provides food for the cattle
  and for the young ravens when they call.
   His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,
  nor his delight in the legs of the warrior;
   the Lord delights in those who fear him,
  who put their hope in his unfailing love" NIV

 God is SOOOOOO Good and He loves us so much!  Lift your eyes to see all the small and maybe even big things in the day that God gives!  From the roof over your head to the ornery little munchkin or mutt that welcomes you home at night :) Daily gratefulness to God can transform your life from the inside out!

So I love cows. So this was what I was grateful for this weekend. :)

Tiniest little baby cow I had ever seen!  Now how can that not make you smile :)

What things can you be grateful for? Let your spirit soar on the wings of a grateful heart!

In His Arms

So I found this pic yesterday morning.  So comforting.  And as a kid this was my favorite Bible verse.  I think as a kid I felt that I was to be quite and not bother anyone.  And I loved the verse the first time I heard it, because it made it okay for me to come to Him without restriction.  In my adulthood so many things have caused that feeling of restriction to settle back in and make me feel like God is a million miles away when I feel bad.

My mom and dad never seemed to really understand when I felt bad about something.  Negative emotions were just not acceptable.  Even some of my extended family, most of the time, did not know what to do with a crying kid except punish them or guilt them into quit crying.  This definitely made its mark on me in not the best way.

I have been struggling to get back into a routine since vacation. I feel like a 3rd wheel a lot lately and without family time much, my heart is just hurting.  I'm sad and grieving some losses in my life and that old restriction starts to creep in.  It starts to make me feel like I'm stuck in a cage unable to talk anyone or God. 

It is natural to feel lonely or hurt because we are disappointed with where we are in life sometimes.  God always has His arms open wide.  Even if we don't always feel it, God is always by our side in our toughest struggles.

I went running the other night still in my grumpy mood.  I had been praying for several days that God would help me get out of my funk.  I was doing my cool down walking home and saw some dirt and some gravel in the path where the city is doing some side walk and street work.  I stopped and drew a smiley face in the dirt with my tennis shoe randomly, don't know really why.  Then it was almost like God just whispered in my ear "That's my girl!"

I know it is simple and may even seem a little silly.  But I really believe God takes little moments like these to whisper words of love to us and speak to our hearts when sometimes no one else can. In that moment I felt like all the barriers were removed and I could run to His arms again. Made me feel like the picture, safe in His arms. 

Really awesome reminder, and I've needed a lot lately. But the burden is lifting, and things are getting better. Nothing has really changing in my life, but my perspective changed.  My God fights for me and gives me just the right reminders at just the right times to help me keep my hope and faith in the darkness. 

We are always welcome in God's arms and presence even when we are feeling totally grumpy or down. 

• Romans 8:38-39 : "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
   neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." NIV

Nothing can separate us! So no matter what state we are in  we can always look to Him and run into His arms of Love.  

  

Belonging

Here is another pic from my vacation.  :) Beautiful town next to the lake and mountains! Sorry for my feet in the corner :)  I kind of got on this habit of taking pics of my feet on vacation. I don't know whether it is because it gives a sense of someone relaxing in this beautiful view or if it is me trying to convince myself that I belong here in this landscape.

This trip was so fun! I enjoyed the time with my friend immensely! Looking at this picture is wonderful, but also speaks to me a little about my sense of belonging.

I know it may not be the perfect thing to say, but I really struggle with a sense of belonging.  And as a single this can get more acute with age.  As friends find spouses, have kids, and move forward to different stages in their lives, it can feel like that sense of belonging melts away.  With my family still at odds with each other, for me, this intensifies this feeling.

Sometimes, I feel I am always the one looking in on others lives.  Like I'm looking in windows at Christmas time. Everyone is inside enjoying the warmth and connection with belonging, and I am stuck outside.  I'm invited in sometimes, but I still don't live there, I still have to walk home in the cold.

Yes, yes... that was very sad and full of self pity.  I promised to be honest.  I do feel this way sometimes.  I have my days where I feel good and it doesn't bother me and days where it really gets me down.  I wouldn't be human if I didn't feel some struggle and sadness in this sinful world.  I am finding more connection here and there and God blesses. But it is still a part of being single that can really hurt sometimes.

Coming back from such a great trip, where I'm with my dearest friend, that is like a sister to me, I always have a little after vacation blues.  We have such a great time and she feels like family.  For that space and time, I belong.  Then reality of life sets in and I'm thrust back out into the cold breezes of the trials in my life and its hard not to get stuck feeling sorry for myself.

The thing is, I know my loving God. He sees my pain and knows what it is like to be alone, and rejected even by His own people. In the book of Mark right after He calls the 12 disciples, His family comes to take Him away and says He is crazy.  And in Luke 4, His town and His church/synagogue rejects Him and wants to kill Him. Then even His disciples the night before His arrest can't even stay awake in His time of need and proceed the next day to scatter and deny Him.

No I am by no means Jesus, I'm just saying, He understands way more than I give Him credit for.  In fact, compared to Him, I have it pretty good.  I'm not condemned for feeling bad sometimes, God understands, and He gives us what we need to make it through.  It may not be in the way we want, but He always makes a way for us to find comfort in Him.

This pain helps me see others in the same boat and draws me to reach out and hopeful encourage someone else dealing with the same feelings.  This pain helps me seek God more with all my heart and lean on Him. It allows Him to pour is love out into my heart to heal me and in turn pour that love out to others.

This weekend has been hard, and a little lonely, my family is out doing their own things this weekend.  But one of my friends a few nights ago spontaneously wanted to go to dinner with me, church member wanted to pray with me, and I got to talk to my sweet friend from overseas who greatly loves and encourages me in this single walk I have been given in this time of my life.  She loves me even when I sit and cry through half our skype time. :)

So yeah, I struggle to feel like I belong, but it gets easier as I let God in and look to Him to define my life.  He has given me so many beautiful people and things in my life to be thankful for.  The devil wants me to get stuck believing I'm no good and I don't belong.  But God reminds me through my friends and His word, that I do belong in His family, He has a plan for me, and He sees my pain.

• 1 John 3:1 : " See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! ..." NIV

• Hebrew 4:15-16 : " For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are —yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need" NIV

• Jeremiah 29: 11-13: " 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 on 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" NIV

This is the truth I focus on, in and through my tears.  I will in the power of my loving God, look the devil in the face and say "Get behind me, I am a child of God, I will not believe your lies!" And peace washes over.

Take hope my single friends! We are not forgotten! Even though the road is not easy and it is really hard sometimes.  God see's our pain and reminds us He loves and has a plan for us.  Don't give in to believing  you are worthless and left behind.  Each one of us is worth one whole Jesus! We are His kids and He will help each one of us in our time of need if we just keep our eyes on Him.  

So maybe my shoes do belong in the picture :) and yours too! Hugs

Perspective is Everything!

So I'm finally back from my trip to visit my friend.  God is so good! I really needed the break and time to just be. 
I find it so interesting how even on vacation God speaks to us.  The whole trip seemed to have a theme.  Over and over again I was amazed at the idea of perspective in nature. 

This picture is for real!  I know it looks almost fake it is so beautiful.  This was the first hike I went on and I couldn't help myself, I started singing.  And yes for all those other musical lovers out there, it was from The Sound of Music. :) LOL  How can you look at such beauty and not want to sing!  I was also reminded of the song that has been on the radio more called Stronger.  Mainly because one refrain in the song is "Let your name be lifted higher, be lifted higher, be lifted higher!" And that is what I was doing singing and hiking higher and higher :) 

But then along the way I see beautiful little things like this.

Daisy's just make me smile.  They are like God's little smiley faces sprinkled all over the world to remind us of His love. :)  But a totally different perspective from the above picture. 

Again this idea of perspective just echoed over and over in my head.  I love traveling because it gives me a new view.  It open's my mind to new people and new things and helps me see things in a different way that I never thought before.  How we look at things and what things we choose to look at and study mold and shapes how we think and what things seem important to us.

Perspective is incredibly powerful and influential in all of our lives!  If we choose to look at the ground all the time we only see the grass, rocks, dirt, and flowers, which can be nice, but if we don't look up we miss the open blue sky and mountains, people, fields, and lakes. Vice versa, if we only stare at the sky or the mountains we miss all the beautiful details of the flowers and grass :) The more we look all around and take in everything around us, the better understanding we can have of ourselves, God, and the people around us.

Something else that impressed me on this trip was lenses.  Yes I said lenses :)  I have my phone and my camera.  My camera has a greater capacity to take wider range of pictures but its lens only captures one set light based on the setting.  My phone however, has this feature called HDR and mixes 3 different light settings to get a more natural light and perspective on the picture.  Which you can see in the mountain picture above. the sky was really bright that day and my regular camera could not capture the clouds be cause the light contrast was too great.  But my phone with HDR was able to get the whole scene and you can even make out the clouds in the sky over the mountains.

As well as perspective, the kind of lens we look at life with also effect how we see people, the world, and ourselves.  I know this first hand in my life. For a long time because of my hurt an pain, I could only see things through a darkened lens, I missed so much good things.  But now with God, things look totally different.  He opens my eyes and I see more and more of the His mercy, grace, and love and begin to see others in a whole new light. It's like going from black and white to 3D HD technicolor!  Yes even in the rocks and dirt of my life!

So after this trip, I am reminded how important perspective in all forms and lenses, can bring darkness and pain or bring health and life to our body, minds, and spirits.  The truth we seek is right before us, but it is how we look at it and what lens we choose that makes all the difference. The mountains and the sky still exist even if we only stare at the ground, the flowers and grass still exist even if we chose to only stare at the sky. Either view taken exclusively can warp us in the long haul, but taken together can create the beautifully harmony and view that makes our hearts sing for our Awesome Creator and share with others His love.

So perspective is everything! Chose God's lens in your life and see what wonderful and beautiful things He has place in between the rocks and dirt of your life.  Look up and dare to take in the solid mountain of strength and power and the blue sky full of grace and beauty for you!

• Psalms 36:5-9 : "Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.
   Your righteousness is like the highest mountains,
  your justice like the great deep.
  You, Lord, preserve both people and animals.
   How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!
  People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
   They feast on the abundance of your house;
  you give them drink from your river of delights.
   For with you is the fountain of life;
  in your light we see light" NIV

• Psalms 121:1-2 :  "I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from?
   My help comes from the Lord,
  the Maker of heaven and earth" NIV

Of course now I have to put in a verse or 2 that fit so well. :)

So I hope this helps encourage you to try to take in a new perspective or change out your lens to be open to God and His view.  What have you got to lose?  More like think of all the beautiful things you have to Gain! :)
Perspective is everything! 

Little Break

So I'm going on vacation for couple weeks. I'm looking forward to the break and some time with my good friend and her family. I hope to write a couple times but may not be able to due to being in another country.  Blessings to all if you and I will be back. 

Isaiah 26:3-4

You will keep in perfect peace

those whose minds are steadfast,

because they trust in you.

Trust in the Lord forever,

for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.

Kori

MORE! Together!

So this morning I'm struggling with longing.  You know that feeling in your heart for something more.  We as humans seem to always have this desire for more. It is part of our DNA some how.

Lately for me it has been a longing for revival in my church. I grew up in a more conservative church. There isn't as much stigma now, but when I was growing up there were several rules focused on outward things that had no real bearing on salvation, but were treated almost as such.  I could tell many a story of people being shunned or treated badly because of things that were totally not related to salvation and some of those things completely out of the person's control.

Now things are not as strict as they used to be but, this culture of legalism still exists to a level and brings a environment of church culture that is difficult sometimes to explain to a non-believer.  I know all churches have their own culture to an extent.  Some of you may have the exact same thing in your church.  I see how easy it is for us a humans to add our own twists on the Bible doctrine and end up with a ridged mangled view of what God really intended.

The reason I long for revival, is because I long for the Holy Spirit to drive the church not human rules.  I long to have an environment of God so present in every service that I know that whoever I invited would get a serving of God's love straight up, instead of an agenda.

For a few years I stepped out of my church and sought out other things.  For me my church had become a dead routine, with focus more on culture and rules and mediocrity.   I felt there was no life, just pretending.  Now I know that is not completely true.  There are always some that just do things to feel better about themselves going through the motions, but there are always people as well that are seeking with true hearts.  Everywhere, this exists.  There is no place where Christian church is perfect.  But for me I had hit a wall.

I eventually began going to a non-denominational church.  It had  written over the door "Helping people take their next step toward Christ... Together".  This is their church mission.  Their whole service was focused on people that are seeking God, Not members.  Members had a more in depth service during the week.  The whole weekend was the members of church reaching their community. Dedicated to sharing Jesus in a relevant way to the people around them.  They would have baptisms of hundreds  a certain time of year.  The environment was alive!  Now they had their issues like every church, but their focus was different.

So I long for revival, I long for a shift of focus, I long for a re-arrange of our narrow thinking as humans, to God's thinking.   We focus on feeding ourselves a lot sometimes as Christians, but miss the ones around us spiritually starving daily, longing for something more in their lives.  As Christians we know the answer is Christ! How can we help them take their next step toward Christ.... Together!?

Every church no matter the denomination has the potential to do this. Isn't this what Jesus commissioned all Christians for? Yes we all have different talents and gifts but together as a body our one and only mission is to do this very thing, Help Others Find Christ!

So I want more.  Yes More.... More Of Christ! in me and my church. I put my hope in God and His word to show me what I can do to help.

• Psams 119:81 : "My soul faints with longing for your salvation, but I have put my hope in your word" NIV

What do you long for?  Whatever it is, Christ and His love is the only one that can fill that void.   As Christians, How can we long for God so much we long for others to know Him too?  How can we help people take their next step toward Christ?  That is our Mission if we choose to accept it!  What a beautiful one it is!  One that every Christian all over the world can stand behind.  Together!