Disappointment: Great Expectations

So I do not have all the answers to disappointment. I think there are many things that we will not fully understand about God for probably a very long time. But I do think God gives us enough evidence to believe if we choose.  Therefore, I attempt to share some of the things recently that have helped me in my disappointment with God.  

My hook for falling into major disappointment with God is my great expectations.  I think God is mighty and powerful and I should be able to expect certain things from Him.  Now this is where things get sticky. Can we expect things from God?.... yes! Can we always be sure of what action God is going to do? .... No. This can become a real problem in discerning, and can quickly get me in trouble because I start to place God in a box, and start predicting what I think God will do or should do.  As if I know His will and plan in detail. 

When we are in pain and struggling with something big in our lives, we want to believe in a big God that will come to our rescue and sweep in and save us like we have read in so many books.  Even many Christian inspirational books are full of stories of miracles and amazing things that happen to people who have prayed and believed.  Their loved one was saved, or cancer cured, or recieved money right before a house was to be foreclosed.

I get caught not so much with earthly things lately but with spiritual things.  I am praying for someone and suddenly things get worse and they are doing worse and seem farther away from God than before I started praying.  Or I try to fast and pray to get closer to God and a veil seems to fall over me and I feel totally disconnected, worse off than when I started.  It's these things where I lose my way.

My thoughts are "God surely wants to save this person.  It has to be His will"  "God surely wants me to draw nearer to Him, this has to be in His will"  Now are these things true? Yes!

• 1 Timothy 2: 3-4 - "This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth" NIV
• James 4:8 - "Come near to God and he will come near to you..." NIV

The problem comes when I take these promises and truths and think God must act a certain way, or I build up in my head the ways I feel He should show Himself and work miracles.  As I pray and do what I think I should then my expectations get bigger and bigger and I climb higher on the ladder that I have built.  My thoughts go from trusting God to trying to will God to do what I think He should. It is so subtle I don't even know I'm doing it sometimes.   Then when things don't work out the way I think, I go into major faith crisis. I go from anger, to blaming myself for not doing the right things, to having issues trusting God.  I think "Why won't God do for me or my love ones what he has done for others?"

What can we expect from God?

• He will never leave us. 
• He will work out things for our best. 
• He will give us the Holy Spirit freely.
• He will forgive us if we confess.
• He will finish the good work He started in us. 
• (I'm sure there are more you could add to the list)

Notice most of these have to do with the internal world and not external.  Even when the scripture says He works things out for good, we think we know what good is, but most of the time God is looking for eternal good not always what our version of good is.  God works in many ways but always with the eternal and spiritual in mind.  And a lot of the times, outside of our understanding as finite human beings.

So how do we as Christians believe in a messed up world and trust even when we have been greatly disappointed?  It is not easy sometimes.  When I was researching this topic the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came to my mind and what they told King Nebuchadnezzar.

• Daniel 3:17-18 - "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

This is some amazing faith!  They believed that God could totally save them if He wanted to, but they also knew that sometimes He doesn't.  They chose to believe anyway! They trusted that God knew the eternal outcome for good and the physical one was not the most important. They understood that this world is a war zone and with many unhappy endings as it would seem in our small human view.  But that God's view is much bigger and wider able to see the spiritual and eternal importance beyond.  They chose to cling to hope & trust rather than expect a certain outcome in the now.

So I guess for me I realize, in light of my disappointment, that I was building up great expectations and attaching them to my faith.  That somehow if these things don't work out, God is not who He says He is.  The devil loves to try and get us to believe this in our disappointment and pain. I realized I am putting God in a box and demanding He prove Himself to me, rather than trusting the hundreds of other things He has done in my life. I am not believing that no matter what things appear, He IS working things out for good spiritually and eternally beyond my view.

• 2 Corinthians 4:18 - "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

Great Expectations can get us in trouble but Great Hope (faith) trusts God is who He says He is and will work things out for Good for the spiritual and eternal of all His kids. We can expect God will do HIS thing NOT OUR thing, and one day we will get to see more why.

Disappointment

There are different times in our lives when we face storms.  Most of us now, are dealing with some small irritation or another and all of us have times where we feel like we are in a hurricane and no end seems in sight.  Sometimes it can feel like any form of help is a million miles away and God is silent, or absent.  

One of the things recently in my life that I am realizing very acutely is that I struggle with my expectations of God.  It is a tricky thing, because we are invited by God to believe and hold faith, but in our point of view at certain times, it seems like circumstances line up to just get worse and fall apart. Despite many hours or years of prayer and diligence God seems to be doing nothing, and more pain and suffering ensues.  These times can leave a huge sense of disappointment and questioning of God and God's character. 

Disappointment is:

the feeling of sadness or displeasure caused by the nonfulfillment of one's hopes or expectations.

So I read this and think "So it is better not to expect or hope for anything?"   In the middle of my storms especially the bad ones, I will sometimes say to God "So I'm not suppose to care?"  To be totally honest,  going through times of great disappointment, are the most fragile times and can be the most pivotal  moments in my relationship with God.

In my disappointment  I will usually want to scream something like "But I am suppose to expect something from you God aren't I?" 

It can be very hard to understand in the midst of pain what we can and can't expect. All through the Bible are amazing stories of God doing huge and mighty things.  We even now, have many books and stories of miracles God has done recently in peoples lives. This builds up huge expectations, and God calls us in the Bible to remember the great things He has done.  Over and over He tells the Israelites to remember how they were rescued from Egypt and brought to the promise land. And in the New Testament there is passage after passage reminding us to remember Jesus and all the mighty things He did.  

The other aspect that is hard to understand in the midst of pain, is that God doesn't always act every time in these huge and mighty ways.  And also there are many stories in the Bible that have this kind of thing too, where people waited years and years to see God's promises fulfilled.  Some never saw it fulfilled but believed anyways.  And still others were killed beheaded, hung upside down on a cross, or tortured without any intervention from God in our perspective.   

So one could vacillate endlessly back and forth about what to expect from God, and honestly lately I have been doing that very thing. I have felt the need to pray for specific things over the last few years and the more I have prayed over these things the worse the circumstances seem to get. For a while I comfort myself with the usual things we say as Christians "The devils is working as well", "Sometimes things have to get worse before it gets better", "God is in control" ..... etc.  You probably know a bunch more.  Don't get me wrong, these things are true, but to a person in pain and huge disappointment they can seem trite, and don't get to the heart of the matter.  Sometimes in our pain we need more.  

So over the next few posts, I would like to explore some tough questions that some of us as Christians have a hard time even uttering, but we all think sometimes.  Mainly, because being honest with ourselves and God is hugely important in a having a viable and growing relationship with God.  I would also input that God is big enough to handle ALL our questions and help us come out the other side stronger in our faith and with greater understanding of Him.  

I believe He longs for us to ask and probably wishes that some of us would get more honest about our doubts and questions about Him and really lay it out to Him so He could draw closer to us. 

• Isaiah 1:18 - "  “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: ...."ESV

 

Stronger

Testing..... I would say probably most of us do not like testing of any kind. Especially tests in school growing up.  As adults in our jobs we might have testing as well to keep up our skills or learn new things and show compliance for a new skills needed for our jobs.  Whatever the situation or reason for the test, it usually is not fun and just the thought may cause some of us to sweat. :) I know I do. 

The hardest kind of testing for me, hands down, is the testing of life circumstances and relationships. All the things in life that get difficult can be hard, but the struggles in relationships are the hardest for me. Especially, when it happens with people closest to me. With all of us, this kind of testing can hurt the most. 

The Bible talks about the testing of people's faith.  Abraham is an example.  Job is another one. There are many who have faced the trials and difficulties of life and had their faith tested.  I have heard some people say "Why does God test our faith, doesn't he know?"  Yes He does.  But I guess the better question is, if He knows what our faith is, then why does He test it or allow things to happen to try our faith?  Maybe it is more for us to discover what our faith really is.   

I know for me, if things are going well and I'm floating along, it doesn't take long with my sinful nature to think I'm a pillar of faith.  It is when trials come in my life, the really acutely painful ones, that show me what my faith is really worth.  A lot of times I stand in awe and shame that I puffed myself up and thought I was so strong. I see over and over that instead of truly trusting in God in everything like I thought I was, it doesn't take much to turn the tables and for me to doubt God like the Israelites in the desert.

There is a serious battle going on for our hearts.  It is not that God does not care, or wants us to go through tons of pain and heart ache.  But He knows that our sinful condition is fatal, if we don't rest all our hope and trust in Him.  Allowing this "testing of faith" burns out the impurities in our hearts and teaches us the reality of the status of our heart with God, if we let it.  It becomes an opportunity to grow and be more perfected in our faith.  

I know I have used this verse before and probably in a similar way discussed this topic, but I know I need repeated reminders in this area and maybe some of you do too.  And in times like these this verse always helps to put things in better perspective for me.

• 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

At the end and sometimes in the middle of trial "testing" , it can give me a different and better perspective on where I really am with God and especially my true trust level with Him.  God is jealous for us.... For ALL of Us... Our whole heart.... not just a piece of it.  He knows our tendencies and where we slip back into old habits, and He knows the devil is out trying to take us down and rip us and our faith to shreds.  He wants us to see that no matter what trials we face can trust Him and be mature and complete in our faith.

So the verse says "Let perseverance finish its work".  This is what I tell myself this morning in the midst of my testing.  Instead of fighting the pain and wishing this trial would be over cause it hurts so much, I need to trust God and let the pain of perseverance finish its work.  For the proverbial "What doesn't kill us makes us stronger"  Holds true by the loving hand of our God if we let Him.  Even when we don't understand why we must go through what we are going through.  We get stronger in faith in Jesus and that He is fighting the fight for us and has already won.  

Courage for you this day in the testing of your faith!

Lens of Love

So lenses are very amazing things.  They are able to take in light and show and image to the viewer.   In photography, the lens makes all the difference on what you see.  Things can appear totally different than what they really are.  There are lenses with glass that warps an image to be really close up and the edges far away, or one that makes things close seem far away, or even with certain colors prominent. 

My lens or lack of lens has been a little skewed lately. Have you had times like that?  You know like you have a good friend and they seem a little distant, or a brother or a sister you are close to said something that seemed a little off, or a co-worker you normally get along great with seems to not like one of your ideas.  It kinda messes with us doesn't it.  

In theses situations we have choices right?  Based on our experience with them and the truth we know, we can choose what we do with the things that seem not good.  We choose to believe what we see on this one occasion as the truth, or we can choose to believe what we know about and have seen from the past. We can decide what lens we will look at the situation.

Now we were meant to be able to look at the world with pure clean lenses.  God made man to see the world as it really is, a beautiful gift of love from our creator. But the Devil had other plans to come and distort or vision and inject sin into this world.  And we all know sin as flipped this world upside down.  Now what is right, SEEMS wrong, and whats wrong, SEEMS right.  

The beautiful thing about God is that He gave us a lens that helps flip the image we think we see into the image it really is.  

JESUS

• John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." NIV

So when we think life is too much and we are doomed, we aren't! Thinking about this Love of God by giving us Jesus, doesn't this have the capacity to change our view?  Of  COURSE! 

So all those people you know that may have let you down sometimes or done something that didn't feel good. If you choose to look through the lens of love, that they love you, you can trust them.  Then you know that even when things a little off, you can trust their love for you.   You are able to still move forward in the relationship with them even when things aren't perfect.

It is the same with God!  God does so much for us every day from the warm bed we sleep in at night, to the flowers outside, to fuzzy little mongrel that welcomes you when you come home from work! But besides the things we enjoy now God has given us JESUS! He gave us Jesus to show us His great and abounding love for us beyond question!!!!  So even if our warm bed is taken from us, or the flowers forget to bloom, or the fuzzy mongrel is no more, that we can look to and through the Jesus and this Great Love, to know that God looks out for us and will not abandon us!

So as usual and as many of us do sometimes, I got down about life circumstances.  In times like these, I lose my lens.  I decide to try and look at the word and my circumstances through my own eyes and start doubting God's love for me. I get lost in the lack of a spouse or kid when all my friends have one, or in dissatisfaction with my job or family.  Instead of stopping and taking the time to look through the lens of Jesus.  I cry out to God and say "why is everything so messed up!!!"  And God gently reminds me "Remember My Love"  "Look to and through the lens of My Love, Jesus"

I was sitting in church yesterday and I was listening to the music being played for the offertory "Redeemed".  The line that always touches me is "Redeemed how I love to proclaim it, HIS CHILD AND FOREVER I AM" 

With that kind of love, how can we not want to look through the lens of love always!  I pray for you and for me that we get better at choosing the lens of love, over any other in this world.  God bless you this week!  Amen!

Singing Over You!

"The Lord your God is in your midst,
 a mighty one who will save;
 he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing"

Zephaniah 3:17 ESV

I was just recently introduced to this verse.  I just so love the picture it paints of God.  That He rejoices over us as His kids!  That He quiets us with His love and is so overwhelmed with love for us He sings loudly over us!  

Can you imaging God walking around heaven saying your name and how much He loves you and starts singing in joy over you and the relationship you have together, like a Dad sings to his kids to comfort them, or be playful with them, or be proud of them because they are HIS kids!  

Dear friends in Christ!  Please know this today that God loves to sing over you!  May you be encouraged this day! 

Trust Me

My heart has been hurting a lot lately. There are times in each of our lives that we feel down or discouraged. I feel the pain of a couple of close people to me.  I identify with their suffering and questions.  I long to reach them but they barrier themselves up because of their pain or disappointment.  They can only see their pain they cannot see past it.

Boy do I identify with these feelings.  I have been several times in places where all I could see was my suffering.  I had no idea the damage my own suffering was causing to those around me.  Anyone that tired to help I would fight and argue with  because I was too afraid to let anyone touch that wounded part of me. But deep down I longed to be set free and be healed. 

I know what awful games the devil plays with our minds and even still I find myself getting stuck in these patterns of thinking starting to believe the lies he spins for us. "No one will understand you" "you'll never be good enough" "Everyone thinks you're crazy" "God loves them more than you" "If you tell them how you feel, they will leave you"

Ever heard those lines before?

My heart just aches for these loved ones and for the wake of destruction this kind of thinking is doing in their lives.  I have tried to talk with them but they still seem so stuck.  

So this last couple weeks I have just cried and cried over it. I long for God to step in and wake up their hearts to see His love and a way out.  But it seems that things just get worse and more people are getting hurt.  It seems as if all my prayers are in vain and nothing breaks through. 

It is hard in times like these for me to keep the faith.  I feel God saying to me just keep trusting me. I just want to say like David saying "How long oh Lord!"  But you know what I love about David... He was so honest about his feelings to God and just laid them at God's feet.  In the end he always found hope in His loving God. Psalms 13 is one of my favorites.

"How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
 Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
 But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
 I will sing the Lord ’s praise,
for he has been good to me" NIV

In some way God speaks to David and reminds him of all He had done  for David and says "Trust Me, Remember all the times I have been good to you, just trust me"  David remembers and says. Despite what I see and feel "I will trust in your unfailing love......for he has been good to me"

Psalms has a way of soothing my soul in rough times. It helps me to see I can be totally honest with God and tell Him how I feel.  I don't have to pretend with Him.   When I lay these burdens at His feet, He will lift me up and remind me to hang on and trust Him because of all He has done and His unfailing love.

Now my heart still hurts and I will keep longing for these loved ones,  but God reminds me that He has unfailing love not just for me but for my loved ones as well. That He has not forgotten my prayers or missed one tear I've cried. He gently whispers "Trust Me" " Remember what I've done in the past for you and trust me"

Many of you, I know struggle with much harder things than this. God see's everything we go through and His heart breaks too for the things sin does to us in this world. He longs for us to reach out to Him in everything with total honesty of heart. He knows He is the only one that can save us from this world of sin and pain.  He holds out His hand and says "trust me, I know it seems unbearable but trust me" "I am your hope and your salvation. My love is unfailing! I will lift you up!"

God knows that if we will chose to trust Him, we will have peace. If we chose to believe what He promises and has shown us over and over again in His actions of sacrifice and love, we can have peace!  It may not change the longing but now it can be cradled in hope in our loving God!

So this morning I'm reminded to lay this pain and fear for my loved ones down at God's feet. Reminded of my God's love for me i relax a little. I chose to trust Him, even as I type this entry and make this decision to believe in my God over what I feel and see, peace is washing over me. 

It is an interesting thing choice. Choice must come first sometimes before the peace.

So lay your heart out to God in your struggles, whatever they might be.  He sees you and hears you and so longs to draw close. He wants to give you hope in the midst of your suffering.  Reach to Him and know His unfailing love!  He has not forgotten you or hidden His face. Choose to trust Him and you will find peace.

Head in the Game

So I'm back to running again.... for little over a month now.  I'm doing better this season than last considering I took winter off.  Last year I came to a point where running more than 3 miles was hard to me.  I only made 4 miles once.  This season I've made 4 miles 2x but I struggle to get that mileage every time.  

I started doing some research  and my conclusion is. Running is a head game.  Its what I'm telling my body I can do verses what I can't do.  So I know I can do it I've done it before. It is my head and my focus on my body aches fatigue etc that stops me.

I think God has steered me into running, even though I'm not a runner build or really even liked running to start with, because it is such a physical tangible way of understanding our spiritual running.   

Paul compares his spiritual life and mission as a race more than once in the new testament. 

• Acts 20:24 - " However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me —the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace" NIV

• 2 Timothy 4:7 - "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" NIV

The writer of Hebrews which is unknown but sounds a lot like Paul also encourages us in our faith and spiritual lives as well with analogy of running.

•  Hebrews 12:1-2 - "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith..." NIV

As I put my shoes on and get ready to go outside and do this running thing, what I'm focused on and what things I say to myself make a difference.  If I focus on my body and my internal tiredness I feel like the road stretches endlessly before me and I fail to make my goal. But if I tell myself positive things and focus on the road ahead and my goal, I can do it!

Sometimes  and especially for me the last month, I feel little lost and struggle to feel close to God. I start worrying about how I'm feeling rather than what God's truth is and His promises.  My emotions want to take over and tell me I can't run this race.  However, I'm reminded through my physical running, it is not how I feel that determines my success it is what I'm focused on.  If I take the time to remember God will never leave me and nothing can separate me from His love, my focus shifts and I have a little more energy to keep going despite what I feel.

The devil will try and manipulate us into thinking that how we are feeling whether discouragement, depression, or disillusionment, is the reality. But as Christians we have promise after promise, and truth upon truth, not only in the Bible but times in our lives when God has stepped in and worked miracles for us.  When we focus on these things the resistance drops away and we find the energy to keep the faith and keep going.

So this last week or so I have had to say to God "God despite how I feel I know Your promises and Truth. I trust You" I'm slowly pulling out and finding my energy again to keep going.  Every time I do this it grows me and my faith for the next time around. I find myself able to trust my loving God more and more!

What struggles or emotions are you facing that seem to be clouding your vision or feelings of closeness to God? Remember the Truth. God loves you and will never leave you! This spiritual race is tough and at times a head game.  Keep your head in the game and Trust what you KNOW to be True, not what your body is telling you. Fix your eyes on Jesus and you will find the energy bit by bit to finish the race!!

Dare to Speak

I got to spend some time with my niece and nephew today. They are such great kids. And I pray for them constantly for God to enlighten them and draw them and show His love to them. I want them to find that wonderful loving God I know.  Every once in awhile I get a glimpse that God is working.

So as we were driving in the car my nephew says he has a hard time telling his friends at school about Jesus. I asked him why and he said it was because he has friends he knows does not like Jesus or are not Christians. I tried to encouraged him as I can, but I too understand his dilemma.

As much as I encourage him and long for him to find the courage to be a God follower.  His comments and thoughts still ring in my ears and make me think and considered my life as well.

Don't we all as Christians struggle with this very concept.  I struggle with this all the time. I want to reach the world but I also struggle to acknowledge God before my friends especially the ones I know aren't really Christian or even a little resistant.  I like to think I do better than I used to but I think if I were really under pressure would I speak up despite the cost of losing a friend or being mocked for my belief.  I have to say I empathize with my nephew but also know that God wants us to speak up.  Jesus gives us instruction on this very thing in Matthew.

• Matthew 10:32-33 - "“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven." NIV

Jesus goes on in this passage to say He did not come to bring peace to the earth but a sword and to turn family against each other.  Initially this sounds harsh and crazy, but he says a key point that puts in more in perspective.

• Matthew 10:37 - "“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." NIV

Basically, Jesus knows that if we love anyone or anything more than Him we will parish on this earth.

•  Matthew 10:39 - " Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it" NIV

How do I make God so important that I would sacrifice even my closest relationships for Him?  It is something that Jesus calls us all to do, that we should love Him more than anything or anyone else.

It is a process but as we look to Jesus and grapple with these questions, He transforms us day by day to get to the point that if the time comes we will have the courage to do just that.  Dying to ourselves and looking to Him gives us life eternal and helps us reach our world.

I'm glad to see my nephew is seeing these things and looking to find answers to these critical questions so early in life. It is a sign that God is calling on his heart. He isn't perfect at it, but he is learning. And as I think on it, I realize I too am learning the same as he is to acknowledge more my loving Lord and Savior to the world around me.

Through this little chat with my nephew, it reinforces to me the importance of always looking to Jesus for my strength to speak up when at times I might feel like shrinking back.

How can you step up and speak up more for God and acknowledge Him more to those around you?  How can we all focus our eyes on Him more in our day?   The smallest moment acknowledging God before others can plant seeds that can produce a harvest 10 fold. So take courage my friend and dare to speak!

My Father and Your Father!

Happy Easter! I guess a little late for some and I'm sorry.  It has been a busy weekend with all the events and special gatherings. It was a weekend full of God, good times with family, and friends for me.  I hope it was for you too.

This year was a little more special for me because of one of my dear friends pointing me more to Jesus.  She is super musical and has such a great heart for music and the message of music.  She also has had a burden to show more of Jesus sacrifice and His great love by His death and resurrection this Easter.  More than usual for her.  It has pushed me to consider more deeply Jesus personal care and love for each one of us.

I was reading this morning in John about Jesus death and resurrection.  Honestly I think it is cool that Mary Magdalen is the first to see Him.

• John 20:15-17 - "He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
  Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
   Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
  She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
   Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God" NIV

Can you imagine how He must have spoken to her?  Reading it this morning, I imagined He said her name with such tenderness and love yet with such a heart of excitement to have her see that He was really alive and savior to the world! That as He asked her why she was crying, He was just waiting, with a smile on His face, to see Mary recognize His voice and go from utter sorrow to pure joy!  What a tender beautiful personal encounter with Jesus!

The next part just hit me between the eyes this morning! Jesus says "I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God".   My Father AND your Father! My God AND your God!  I wonder how amazing it must have felt to Jesus to know that sin and death was conquered and that now each and every person could now say "My Father, My God!"  We could all now become His kids full fledged papers and all :) Adopted into God's Family because of Jesus sacrifice! He had just erased over 4 thousand years of sin before the cross and 2+ thousand years to forever in the future for all who believe in Him!

Oh how I wish every person could grasp even a small glimpse of this Amazing Love for each one of us! Oh dear reader, whoever you may be, whatever brought you to this page..... let this really sink into your heart, the knowledge of Jesus dying for you and the joy He has seeing you realize He really isn't dead.... He is Alive with more love than you could ever imagine! So that you can be free from sin and call Him Dad!

It Doesn't get any better than that!

Confession and a Bulldozer

So a subject that has been on my mind a lot lately is confession.  Mainly for how it keeps the road more clear between me and God.  It allows me to be in better communion with Him and hear Him more speaking in my life. 

This concept of confession did not dawn on me till just in the last couple years.  That confession is the key to the bulldozer that clears out the garbage between me and God. I'm not perfect at it all the time, but I do see as I take time daily to reflect and lay in front of God the things that come to me where I had a bad attitude toward someone or got impatient or selfish, the road of communication becomes more clear.

The Bible tells us there are times when some people have been so full of sin that God fails to hear them.  Now I'm not sure that it refers to the literal sense of hearing or more that God does not give them what they want because their hearts aren't right with Him. They don't confess and repent, they just want relief from their suffering. 

• Isaiah 59:1-2 - "Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save,
  nor his ear too dull to hear.
   But your iniquities have separated
  you from your God;
  your sins have hidden his face from you,
  so that he will not hear." NIV

David in psalms also talks about his state before confession to God and what God did when he did confess.

• Psalms 32:3-5 - "When I kept silent,
  my bones wasted away
  through my groaning all day long.
   For day and night
  your hand was heavy on me;
  my strength was sapped
  as in the heat of summer.
   Then I acknowledged my sin to you
  and did not cover up my iniquity.
  I said, “I will confess
  my transgressions to the Lord.”
  And you forgave
  the guilt of my sin."NIV

The beautiful thing about God is if we confess, He forgives us and cleanses us from everything! 

•  1 John 1:9 - "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" NIV 

And when we do this, His eyes are on us and He hears us!

•  1 Peter 3:12 - "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
  and his ears are attentive to their prayer,....." NIV

 I know this is a lot of verses but such an important key to our communication with God and having it healthy and working right.

God wants to show us and teach us sooooooo much! Why not take the time every day to ask God to reveal to us what we should confess. Then God can get out the bulldozer of forgiveness clear the path and cleans us opening better communication. Wouldn't we all benefit from hearing God more in our life?  You have only sins to lose and forgiveness and whole lot of awesome to gain! :)

Titanic, Wake Up!

So I have recently been contemplating our world.  All the pain and suffering and death and brutality.  Our world is a huge mess.  On some days I think a lot of us say to ourselves "what is this world coming to?" (Kinda sound a little old reading that back to myself) :) But lets face it, its true, right?  Some day's I feel like we are on the Titanic.

Well, honestly we are aren't we?  Jesus even tells His disciples the end of time and the world as we know it was going to come to and end. Jesus told them the world was going to get worse before He comes back again.

• Mark 13:7-8 - "When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains" NIV

These terrible events we are seeing more and more in the news, are signs that the end of time is coming. This ship is going down.  This earth full of sin is getting more and more wicked and people care less and less for each other.  This is the result of sin in the world.

To some this idea may be a little extreme, but I challenge you to read the Bible and look for yourself about what Jesus says.  Ask the Holy Spirit give you discernment on these things.  And I know He will.

Time is running short.  And just like the people on the Titanic so many of us are Asleep!  Even many Christians are Asleep!  We have taken comfort in our 1st world countries and all of the conveniences of life, and let them become idols and lull our brains and hearts to sleep!  We don't even know how to hear God anymore.

I am as much to blame for falling asleep for years. I went to church feeling I was doing fine because at least I did my best to do good.  But my heart was dead.  I had no life in it.  I still was thinking only of my selfish desires in this world and never really able to find any kind of meaning or peace in my life.  I would vacillate between feeling emptiness, fear, anxiety, and depression.  There was always this thought, "I'm supposed to be happy because I'm a Christian" but inside, I was completely apathetic. I tried to use the worlds momentary things try and fill the God sized hole in my heart.  It never worked.  Mean while, everyone around me is perishing and getting sucked in too.

I'm not perfect and won't be till heaven, but I'm happy to say God is waking me up!  So I'm pleading with you!  Wake up!  This ship is going down!  How many horrible things in this world have to happen before we see that we don't have much time left.  Do we wait till people start getting beheaded in our country before we do something?  In our state?  In our town?!  Do we not see that we need to get serious about our walk with God!

God is calling us and pleading with us!  Even as Paul does to the Ephesians.

• Ephesians 5:14 - "   This is why it is said:
  “Wake up, sleeper,
  rise from the dead,
  and Christ will shine on you.”NIV

Revelation also speaks of waking up and what happens if we don't.

• Revelation 3:2-3 -  "Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God.
   Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you" NIV

Jesus even gives a parable about this as well of the ten virgins in Matthew 25:1-13.

Will We open our eyes?!  Will we see the signs right in front of us? Or will we, especially us a professed 1st world Christians, sit in our high level comfy cabins say "Oh, We're fine there is nothing wrong."  as the water is at our door and our neighbors are drowning!

Again, I know to some of you this may seem extreme. But again I challenge you.  If you claim to be a Christian, when will you get serious about your walk with God? I mean serious.  Like pressed in to Jesus seeking Him night and day.  God does not call us to live "all things in moderation."  God calls us to be SOLD OUT, FULL THROTTLE, ALL IN for Him EVERY DAY!

When will we fully surrender to Him and focus on Him rather than our ipads, phones, tv's , and video games, selfishness, other peoples opinions about us, etc..... you fill in the blank.  If we keep our heads buried in these things, and not turn our eyes and hearts toward God, we will drowned and go down with the ship!

God is knocking at our hearts, I know some of you feel it.  Don't ignore it!  God is calling you! Wake up! Surrender to Him and let Him into your Heart! Focus on Jesus and let Him transform you and the people in your life for Him! Before it's too late.

I pray for everyone that is reading this that your heart is stirred and you have the courage to wake up and surrender, All IN for Jesus our Loving Lord and Savior, to reach the world for HIM!  Amen!

Salted by Fire

Happy Wednesday!  :)  My worship lately has been reading through first 4 Gospels and trying to glean more about Jesus life and really focus on His messages to His disciples.  I especially love John.  Mainly due to more description and details about Jesus life and it feels more chronological.  I'm no Bible scholar so unsure how chronological it is, that is just the feeling I get when I read John.  However, a verse in Mark jumped out at me the other day.  It was if I had never seen it before.  

• Mark 9:49-50 - "Everyone will be salted with fire.
   “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.” NIV 

I heard this passage about being salty hundreds of times, but never heard the salted with fire!  Pretty cool hu?!

The thing about salt is you don't need very much to make a dish taste better.  A little salt goes a long way.  Fire is kind of the same in the sense all you need a little spark to start a fire and that small fire can set a forest ablaze.

So this verse immediately made me think of when the disciples were given the Holy Spirit.

•  Acts 2:3-4 - " They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit...." NIV

What a awesome connection!  So Jesus talks about salt but not about literal salt or even just general figurative version of salt.  He is almost if not predicting the gift of the Holy Spirit to His disciples and believers!  

• Hebrews 12:29 - "for our “God is a consuming fire.” NIV

So this is God imparting a little part of Himself, the Holy Spirit, on each one of us to light the world on fire for Him!  Even the smallest flame makes a difference and spread far beyond what we think.

So lets pray today...."Help me be salted with fire of Your Holy Spirit"  So we can help set this world on fire for our Loving Savior!  May you be encouraged and blessed this day! And most importantly set on FIRE!  Amen!

Kori :)

ALL IN! not a fan

I just finished this book called not a fan by Kyle Idleman.  This book has totally blown out of the water some of my thoughts about being a follower of God.  The idea that Jesus has lots of fans but few true followers.  Being a fan is easy, but being a follower is way harder and demands much more than some of us are willing to give. It has really made me re-evaluate what I'm really willing to surrender and do for my Savior and my Love. How serious am I? 

On this weekend focused on human love, there are all kinds of overtures people make to show love.  Some of them are cards, candy, nice dinners, and romantic get-a-ways. But you don't see people selling all they have to following their love around the city or to then ends of the earth very often.  Oh people love to sing about how they would run 500 miles, and 500 more, just to be the person that walks a 1000 miles to fall down at their door.  :D (yes I'm a little silly blame it on me being a late gen X 'er) LOL
But not many are truly serious about it.  If we were, the divorce rate probably wouldn't be so high.

Kyle tells a story about a person that comes up to him and complains about their family member being to crazy about God and talking too much about good sermons and giving too much of his hard earned money away to the church.  The person asks him to tell the family member that the Bible says "everything in moderation" and it doesn't have to be all or nothing. I paraphrased a little there... but basically, what was said.  Kyle as nicely as possible quotes part of Revelation 3 and tells them God asks us to go ALL IN.

• Revelation 3:14-22 - "  “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
  These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!
   So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
   You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing. ’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
   I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
   Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
   To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches" NIV

So I have a tendency to want to be a fan.  Don't we all! Our sinful natures want the benefits but not the hardships and the trials that come with being a true follower of Christ.  We think we look like the picture above.  Cool collected fashionable with a little bit of the world and God mixed together in one so the non-believer can swallow Christianity easier.  We look in the mirror and say secretly to ourselves and say "I don't look half bad today, someone out there is going to want to be a Christian like me" I confess I have had this thought sometimes.  "Thanks God looking pretty good now"  But really the times we think that, are the times we look like this.

The minute I'm thinking I'm all fly and strutting my stuff, I'm looking in the mirror the devil threw up.  I really traded my gold and my white robe for wretched, pitiful, and blind.

Now this said I don't think we need to wander around thinking we are garbage and get stuck in guilt. But we have to keep things in perspective and remember that, wretched, pitiful, and blind is where we come from and if we want to be more than lukewarm.... We have to go ALL IN.  We have to give up Everything to experience the full measure of His love.  He gave EVERYTHING for ours!  He walked more than a 1000 miles in the dust for us to knock at our hearts door!

Won't we let Him in?! Won't you let Him in?! Don't settle for lukewarm.  Don't just be a fan.  Lets go ALL IN! What does He promise?  Jesus promises He will come in and eat with us! Personal and real, giving us gold refined by fire (riches this world cannot buy), white robes to cover us, and salve for our eyes so we can REALLY see.

Oh Great the Fathers Love For Us! How Vast Beyond All Measure! That He should give His ONLY Son. To make a wretch His Treasure!

The best Love EVER!

Not a fan......  Follower!

Praise to you God!

all my <3 ....kori

Straight To The Heart

As some of you know I work in healthcare.  My job is to help fix peoples bodies.  To get them stronger so they can get out of the hospital and get back home, or play a sport, or play with their grandkids again after illness or injury.  I enjoy my job but sometimes I feel I wish I could help heal a persons heart more than their body.  

See there is thing that happens when you start spending more time with Jesus...... You start seeing beyond the exterior to their hearts.  This is an absolutely beautiful thing and a horribly saddening thing.  Some days I feel like I see so much sorrow and pain I can't take it anymore, but then a small God wink and I find a jolly soul with a joyful heart; I'm revived! 

I've been praying God helps me hear him better and be more present with my patients to REALLY See them, not just focused on my own agenda.  To look them in the eyes.  It may seem a little silly to say that, but how many times in the day do we look right through people focused on our own tasks?  

Each one of my patients needs love, needs to be cared for, needs healing, needs God.  No matter how cranky or mean they are to me, they all need someone to care enough to look past that to their heart.  It is amazing what happens when I take the time to do this.  

This week, I had one patient that was really cranky when I saw them, complaining and refusing certain things.  At first I bristled, but then I stopped and took a deep breath and asked God to help me.   I changed my way of doing things a little and the pt. suddenly burst into tears and revealed a very sad personal story to me. The next day I came to see them, half way through treatment they asked me to come near and they gave me a big hug.  If I had not taken the time to breath and ask God what He wanted me to see I would have missed the brokenness in this patient's heart and potentially done more damage. Instead some healing happened :)

• 1 Samuel 16:7 "....People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” NIV

Thank goodness Right?!  On any given day if you caught me at the right moment you might catch my crabby cranky side and say to yourself "Holy Cow that girl's got issues!" But you know in those circumstances when I am that way, are the times I need love the most.  I am probably acting like that because I forgot my connection with God and someone else said something mean to me, or I woke up with bad hair, or my cat wouldn't let me sleep last night. :)  Crazy Cat!  LOL   But honestly if someone really stopped to look at me..... In my eyes.... into my heart.... they would see I just really needed a kind word and a loving smile to turn things around.  

Trying to keep this in mind when someone is chewing you out over something you didn't do is really hard.  Sometimes it is even hard when people are just thoughtless and cut you off on the freeway or cut in line in front of you at the grocery store and you were clearly standing there.  Oh believe me I've been there! :)  But each one of us act like this because we are hurting inside.  Sin has broken us and damage our hearts. 

This week was a good reminder for me to keep daring to look beyond the exterior and pray that God helps me see the heart.  That way maybe through helping people heal their bodies, I can help heal a little part of their heart by the love God pours into mine.  

So I dare you to pray this prayer and see what happens.  Dare to look beyond the rough, mean, cranky exteriors that rub you and look to the heart.  See what God really wants you to see and be prepared to be inspired to give love to another hurting one out there.  The blessing you will receive are far beyond measure! And another heart, maybe even yours, closer to being whole. 

Blessings,

Kori

"Choose Me"

Greetings!  I have new assignment right now for my job that is requiring longer drive and it is taking up more time than I'm used to.  So apologies for lack of posts lately.  One good thing about the long drives is it means I can pray more on the way to work, talk with God, and I love this.  I have been longing to hear God more in my life and these long drives help because there is little else to do when you have nearly 3 hours on the road.

John 15 has been stuck in my mind lately.  It is easy for me to get frustrated with where I am at in my life and feel like I'm not doing enough.  I think this is why God keeps pushing John 15 into my head.  It is all about abiding in Him.  Just being with Jesus and letting go of everything else in our lives. 

This is so hard for me and probably for many of us.  I'm a people pleaser, control freak, DYI'er :)  Being single for so long kinda makes you that way, but I have major genetic disposition to be this way as well along with my sinful selfish nature to boot.  I seek the praise of others and get caught up in that sometimes rather than just sitting at the feet of Jesus and looking to Him for His thoughts and connection.

One of the verses that has been sticking out to me is this one, the last part of John 15:5.

• ".......apart from me you can do nothing" NIV

God has given me gifts and talents like He does all of us.  Sometimes He gives us a glimpse of what those talents and gifts could be in the long haul.  I think He does this to help grow our desire for Him and to grow our passion to reach others. Which are all good things.  Being that I want to impress deep down in the selfish part of me, I sometimes take these glimpses and become so excited I'm like a wild horse at the races.  I just want to run!

Do you know what a wild horse at the races will do? Probably destroy a lot of things and maybe cause some injuries.  Why? Because it isn't disciplined to run the race.  Oh no question it can run, but it has no idea how to do it effectively to win the race. I forget that in order to get from point A-Z there is a whole lot of other steps that need to happen.  Hence the fact I think God keeps putting these verses in my face.

John 15 draws me, because I want to bare fruit, be a light for Him.  But the 2 key points is that I can do NOTHING by myself....And I have to ABIDE in Him. Overall the concept is simple, but the doing it is hard.  Not because God makes it hard.  I make it hard! This whole thing is about choosing to look to Jesus in every moment of our day.  This is literally the only thing we have... choice. 

What do I mean?.... Choosing to look at Jesus in every situation and every task of the day and struggle we face. There is a spiritual battle going on around us, a fight for our heart.  And the one thing we have is choice. We can choose to get caught up in what things are going on around us, the praise we seek, the things we think are right..... or we can choose to look to Jesus in everything. 

This may seem a little cliche to some.  And we may even think to ourselves  "Of course I choose Jesus!" We may even feel we are on fire for Him and running with all our might. But are we really focused on Him or our own plans?  This is definitely me more times than not.  But God keeps reminding me "you can do nothing apart from me"  "Abide in Me.... Look to Me... Chose Me... in every moment of the day" "I will show you every step to Z" "focus on me every minute you are with your patients" "Look to me when you get frustrated with your day" "Turn to me when your heart hurts over disappointments" "Abide and chose Me before everything." 

And with all of that what does He promise us?..... Read the list in John 15.  Anything you ask He will grant, you will bare much fruit, friendship, Love, and Joy complete. Everything our hearts could long for!

So I guess in my long drives with the long stretch of road a head of me, He is teaching me. He is whispering to my heart these things to choose and look to Him every moment of everyday.  What a Loving Savior! He says "Quit making it so hard! Rest in me! And you will produce more fruit than you can even imagine! Just choose Me."

How is God calling your heart to abide and choose Him lately? Every minute of everyday He has things to share with us if we just choose and look to Him.  What burdens would you be free of? What freedom could you find letting go of everything and just focusing on Him? Lets do it together! It's going to be amazing!

Tree By The Water

Jeremiah 17:7-8

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.
 They will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.” NIV

This verse really hit me this last week.  I long for it to be the theme for the year.  To stay focused trusting God so that my life is a constant witness to His Glory, Power, And Great Love.  Amen

God bless you this year!

Kori

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! :)