1 Piece Out Of 5,000

I'm currently doing a bible study on one of my greatest weaknesses - prayer.  The study I'm doing is called "Living A Praying Life" by Jennifer Kennedy Dean.  Prayer has always been a struggle with me for many reasons.  Not having enough time, forgetting to do it when I do have down-time, feeling awkward praying out loud by myself or if someone else is in the house with me....etc.  We all make excuses at some point, but I truly think that prayer is part of a strong foundation of having a close and personal relationship with God and living a blessed and fulfilled life according to His purpose.

The most recent teaching that reconfirmed my ideas about prayer, and I found encouraging, was how prayer plays such an important role in every step of our life even when you think your prayer isn't being answered or is being ignored.  Dean's example is this- imagine that you are handed 1 piece of a 5,000 piece puzzle.  Would you be able to guess what the puzzle was a picture of based on that one small piece?  Chances are slim that you would. Think of your life in the same way.  If something isn't going how you expected it to go, it is just one small piece of God's plan for your life.  He has intricately weaved all of our live's plans together, and he knows what is best for us.  Trust Him with your life, be patient, and wait to see where God gets you.

What is an example of a time in your life where you thought God was ignoring or denying your prayers, but in time you looked back to see that He was blessing you above and beyond what you had ever imagined?

Schloss Hurlach (Hurlach Castle)

One small example in my life from way back was after high school I really wanted to go to college in Germany.  It was a YWAM discipleship school in a castle outside of Munich.  I've always had a very strong desire to live in Germany (still do!) and I thought that this was my time to do it.  Besides, I was going there to learn more about God, church, discipleship, so why wouldn't God help me get there?  I got all the necessary papers in order, loans figured out, and all of the needed references....except for one.  That one (my pastor's!) never made it to them and I didn't get in.  I was so heart broken and couldn't understand how that wasn't part of God's plan for my life and how my pastor couldn't get the papers in!  This caused some resentment and bitterness, but I did get over it.

Looking back, I'm glad that I didn't go.  Because of the path I took I ended up getting a good degree, didn't need to take out a student loan, met my husband (man of my dreams!!!) and am now in a job that I love.  Even though there have been struggles and hard times, I'm so happy and blessed to be where I'm at right now and I know that I wouldn't be here now if I would have went to the YWAM school.

There are so many other life examples I could write about, but I'll just leave you with that one.  Remember- Jesus told us to "Have faith in God" - Mark 11:22.  As Dean says in her study - "When you place your faith in an outcome, you will often be disappointed.  When you put your faith in God, you will never be disappointed."  Don't put a period where God has put a comma.  He will always have more to bless you with if you let Him.

Becoming Fully Devoted

I am starting a new bible study.  I will admit it has been a while since I have gotten into the word and I have let go of my daily time with God.  I'm ready to get back in the swing of things again and give God his rightful place in my life.  This goes along with my priorities post I did a few weeks ago.  God 1st, husband 2nd, then all things falling into place after that.  I encourage you to read that post so you can begin mapping out your priorities as well.

These are my notes from today's study.

Question: 
Why is it hard to change a specific action/habit if we aren't totally devoted to God?

My thoughts:
I think that when we aren't completely devoted to God we get lost in the day-to-day, in the "stuff" that we "have to do".  We lose sight of who God is (creator), what He has blessed us with (life, shelter, friends, job, purpose), and the very basic fact that He created us AND loves us!  He loves us so much that He sacrificed His son. He allowed His on to be tortured and betrayed by the very race that He created just so that the bondage of sin would be broken....without this happening we would never be worthy enough to go into His kingdom!

Once we recognize the reality of all this and internalize what He truly did for us, will we be motivated to make changes in our life that would please Him.

"Fear God and obey His commands, for this is the duty of every person." - Ecc. 12:13

"Your heavenly Father already knows your needs, and He will give you all you need from day to day if you live for Him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern." - Matt. 6:33

My Actions:
1. Focus on Him daily (spend time in the word, prayer)
2. Learn to hear His voice (by spending time with Him!)
3. Take care to follow His commandments better

How do you work on your devotion to God?  What helps you keep Him a priority?  I would love to hear your thoughts!

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.

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!

Do you have the guts to do it?

So today I tried out my church's newest service location- at a movie theater. I have to tell you that I was a little skeptical prior to going, but WOW! What a spirit filled worship service and a great sermon! I wanted to share what I learned today, as I believe that it totally applies to my life and some of the perceptions that I have held about myself as of late.

First off, the verse that started today's message:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
- Mark 5:3

I've always just skimmed through this section of the bible. Been to a few sermons that covered the beattitudes, but not like this. Let me explain...

I know my calling is to be a missionary, going overseas somewhere at sometime. I had my first experience doing this in Louisiana. Staying stateside was a great first trip, as I learned lots of things that are best to learn in a similar culture and same language. Some examples- staying in close quarters with the same people day in and day out, limited niceties such as showers, spare time, good food, etc. I am planning on being in a leadership role in a mission trip to Poland next year. I will be going with some Senior High students as a chaperon. Lately I have been doubting my qualifications for going and playing such a role. I mean, what do I really know? How could I really be a good missionary if I'm not even really comfortable praying with those I hardly know?

Those doubts were squashed this morning. The verse of Matthew 5:3 helped with that. Those who are poor in spirit-those that come to the realization that you don't need to do good deeds, follow each commandment, all the laws, etc to be saved and get to heaven. Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice that continuously washes our sins away. We never deserved to have such mercy. Even the first people that God created SINNED! It is part of our nature. So once we realize that we aren't in control of our salvation, that no matter what we do, God has the ultimate and final say as to whether we get to join him. Thankfully, He loves us unconditionally and as long as we believe in Jesus, the Lord, we will be able to join him.

The second message I gleaned from today's sermon was a testimony given by the youth pastor. His was a story that recently happened to him regarding a very cool miracle that took place. He made us realize that EACH of us are vessels for God to do miracles through. Miracles didn't stop once Jesus left the earth. They continue each and every day. All He needs is for you to have the faith, and the GUTS to act according to His will. If you have faith and guts, then miracle CAN and WILL happen! Amazing! So, next time you doubt yourself, pray and listen to God so he can work through you and bless those around you that need it.