Encouragement in a Verse

"So I pray that God, who gives you hope, will keep you happy and full of peace as you believe in him.  May you overflow with hope through the power of the Holy Spirit." 

 - Romans 15:13

Enjoy What You Have

From today's devotional...

Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don't have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless; it is like chasing the wind.   Ecclesiastes 6:9

Observation:
We are surrounded by a world that wants everything.  We are made known by what things we possess- the more we have, the happier we are...right??  NOPE!  If we have everything, in the end it still won't bring happiness or satisfaction.  God has given us all that we have.  We should give Him thanks for it and enjoy it instead of spending our time just wanting more newer and better things.  This is hard to do as it is part of our nature.  Even our environment works against us.  How many ads is an average person hit with a day? I've seen estimates from hundreds up to 3000+.  I think everyone is affected by these ads, some more than others.  I know that an Apple ad comes on and I'm just about ready to run to the nearest apple store, throw my plastic at them and come back home with a shiny new toy (just for the record, I have NOT done this, I'm just tempted to).  That's my weakness, I'm sure everyone has theirs as well.

Application:
Next time I want something newer and better, I need to think on all that I've been blessed with already. Do I really need this new thing?  Will it really make my life better and bring meaning to it?  Probably not.  Doing so is just like "chasing the wind" - it's pointless.

Working For 'The Man'

The other day I was leaving a friend's house, and as I was walking out the door I jokingly commented "gotta get home now, workin' for the man in the morning!...oh wait, I DO work for THE MAN!". We all started cracking up because, well, I do! This wonderful opportunity working for my church has already offered more than I ever thought possible from a J-O-B. It's only been 2 months and I've already discovered:

1. Fulfillment: I'm working towards something I believe in, and I'm helping others achieve purpose and a better life.
   
2. Love: This is an answer to prayer really. I wanted to understand how to love others as Jesus does. Essentially shaping my heart to be more like His. I'm learning this and seeing it in action and experiencing the overflow of love our church has for others lives. AND it's not a superficial love! These people all genuinely CARE about each other, and I in turn care about each of them! There can't be many work-places out there that are like this.

Working for "The Man" has turned out to be one of the best decisions I've made yet. I know over the months to come there will be lots of personal and spiritual growth, and my work/church family will walk with me every step of the way showering me with encouragement.

Thank you Lord for bringing this opportunity into my life!

Worship in a God Beam

Have you ever seen those "God Beams" as I call them, rays of sunlight pouring from beautiful fluffy clouds? They are just beautiful rays of light that seem to shoot down from the heavens and touch pieces of the earth. Well, today's worship felt like just one of those "God Beams" was reaching from heaven and enveloping me, embracing me with God's love and comfort. Ahhh, what a refreshing breath of air.

I hope and wish that everyone could experience that at least once in their lives. Just that experience alone is proof enough that God does exist, he loves us, cares for us, and can talk with us if we would just chill out and listen. I encourage you believers that struggle with worship or don't see the point of it to try this out next time- Close your eyes, sing, let go of your worries in this moment and FOCUS on God. Visualize that you are looking at him face-to-face singing these beautiful words to HIM! You will feel his love surround you, his peace taking that stress off your shoulders, butterflies going crazy inside. Just try it. You will be amazed and in awe of what you will experience and worship will never be boring again!

Thank you Lord for giving us your Holy Spirit to guide us and remind us of your presence in our lives. Thank you for all you do for us, your provision, your grace, blessings, and your love. You are amazing!

Encountering Your Future

Do you remember the days when you were younger and all you had was the future? You would spend hours dreaming of all the great things you would do, how you would help others and the world around you. In school teachers would ask "What do you want to be when you grow up?" I remember answering that based on my passions at that time. I wanted to be an archeologist, yet more specifically an Egyptologist. I loved the adventure of digging up history and culture. These were people's lives. I would spend hours in my room studying Egyptian hieroglyphics, customs, religion and their stories in fascination.

At what point do we stray from these dreams and passions? When was it that I had to be something practical? Did I choose my future to make someone else's life easier? I think for me I made those choices perhaps to please others, but also because I didn't know yet what would make me happy. I'm still struggling with finding what makes me truly happy. I must say, though, that over the past year of discovering who I am, I have come closer to finding my answer than ever.

Do those things that determine our happiness change as we grow older too? Will the things that make me happy right now fade away? I think so. I know that certain things from my childhood that made me happy wouldn't bring me the same excitement today. Life is a constantly changing and morphing journey that keeps us on our toes. Though sometimes that may seem like an undesirable way to live, I couldn't imagine it any other way. How dull it would be without the constant flux!

I will continue living knowing that all I've encountered along my path and all the choices I've made ultimately shape me and make up my life's legacy. I think my new question will not be "What do I want to be when I grow up", rather "What do I want my legacy to be?" How would you answer that question?