http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cAvqByM1Fk
This song is what I am clinging to right now. Me and DR have just gone through something extremely tough. I may blog about it in detail later if I feel led but for now I will leave it at that. Since we got the news all I could think of was "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord" This is so true. Who are we to tell the maker of the universe how we want our lives to run. For He knows me far better than I know myself and he knows that "the testing of my faith will develop perseverance." Over this past week I have been painfully reminded that this life is temporary, a holding place until we are with our saviour and he will 'wipe away every single tear I have cried'. Jesus says that 'in this world you will have trouble, but take heart for I have overcome the world' I know that the hard stuff in this life is serving a purpose. The Lord never lets our pain go for nothing. He promises to make 'beauty from ashes' and to be near to us when our hearts are breaking. I also have been flipping through the book of Job and I have to say like Job did- if I can receive blessing from my Lord and good times, should I not receive the hard times that are used to deepen my faith? Praise the Lord that we have a high priest who can sympathize with every single one of our weaknesses. He has been here. He took on our form and walked through pain and suffering so He could understand everything we feel. I know God has a good and perfect plan. Next time you go through something really tough, remind yourself that God is working it for good.."You meant to harm me but God meant it for good, what is now being done-the saving of many lives" What an amazing promise. Our pain could be a vessel which someone comes to know Jesus. To that I say it is worth it. This life and all it has to offer, does not surpass the greatness of knowing Jesus Christ. Here I am, a broken and wounded soldier, wrapped in the Peace of God that goes past all human understanding. For those of you who know and who have been praying- thank you! We can feel the prayers and feel the Mighty one holding us up in his hands. Blessed be His name. Amen
Friday, March 18, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
I've been MIA for a while. I spilled water on our brand new lap top so it is not working at this time. Anyways I wanted to get some thoughts out. I am in the midst of uncertainty. I feel overwhelmed at times and just freaked out at others. Through it all I FEEL God soo near. What a blessing! When something scary or uncertain happens our first instinct is to question God or even be angry with Him, which I have gone through both, but the amazing thing is that he can handle it and he just wraps His arms around us even tighter when we are fighting Him. What a sweet and merciful God we serve. I don't have much today but I just felt led to send out these words. The Lord is NEAR. He saves those who are broken hearted and crushed in spirit. He comforts us in all our troubles so we can in turn comfort others in their trials. He longs to be gracious to us and He rises to show us compassion.
Father, who is man that you are mindful of us? To You alone be the glory Lord. Amen and amen.
Father, who is man that you are mindful of us? To You alone be the glory Lord. Amen and amen.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Waves of this life
I woke up this morning with a heaviness. I actually had a dream about some things from the past and it really got to me. Its amazing how something like a dream, at least for me, can get into your being and just really start to effect you as the morning comes. Anyways it caused me to really get in the word and ask God to take back this day and so comes this little blog of insight I have gained from Him….
This marks a week that I have been in the bed from a slipped disc in my back so I have been through all of the emotions. From feeling sorry for myself, to thinking I will never be normal again. It just has been so easy to get overwhelmed and to take my eyes off of Jesus. I don't say this lightly or in a cliche way. Stuff like this can just really get to you and take over your thought process if you allow it to. This is so easy to do in our everyday life, even when no sickness or tragedy strikes. It can be something like our marriage, our living situation, our insecurities, or fill in the blank. Any time we take our eyes off of Jesus and focus on the 'waves' around us, we are in trouble. Its exactly what happened to Peter when the disciples were stuck in the middle of the storm. Jesus came walking out on the water to be with them and Peter said 'Lord if its really you, tell me to come' Jesus did and Peter stepped out of the boat, on top of water! Literally. However, the second he took his eyes off of Jesus he began to sink. It says that IMMEDIATELY Jesus reached out his hand and pulled Peter up. I love that. It wasn't after Peter confessed that he was afraid and that he took his eyes of his Lord. Jesus just reached right into his mess and pulled him to safety. I am just overwhelmed with this picture today. It is so easy in this world to take our eyes off of the one who holds all of this together and focus on our problem or what we are battling with. Me and DR have this thing - well mainly DR does this for me haha- but whenever we feel the other one going down the slope of self-pitty and 'freak out mode' we call each other on it and try to remind the other one of Jesus and the hope He has. It is actually pretty annoying when all you want is to get people on board for why your situation really is the worst or why things would be so much better if only ______ blank would happen. It is so necessary though. The world wants us to buy into the lie that things are better over there, or once this happens I will be so much happier. There is nothing in this world that will fulfill like Jesus Christ. I don't say that as one who has figured it all out, but as one who is longing to grasp this truth I KNOW is real. The prince of this world would love nothing more than to distract us with the waves- the problems around us, no matter how big or small- and take our eyes off of the only one who can fill our void and fix our problem. Today I am led to the prayer Paul prayed in Ephesians. This is a really neat version:
This marks a week that I have been in the bed from a slipped disc in my back so I have been through all of the emotions. From feeling sorry for myself, to thinking I will never be normal again. It just has been so easy to get overwhelmed and to take my eyes off of Jesus. I don't say this lightly or in a cliche way. Stuff like this can just really get to you and take over your thought process if you allow it to. This is so easy to do in our everyday life, even when no sickness or tragedy strikes. It can be something like our marriage, our living situation, our insecurities, or fill in the blank. Any time we take our eyes off of Jesus and focus on the 'waves' around us, we are in trouble. Its exactly what happened to Peter when the disciples were stuck in the middle of the storm. Jesus came walking out on the water to be with them and Peter said 'Lord if its really you, tell me to come' Jesus did and Peter stepped out of the boat, on top of water! Literally. However, the second he took his eyes off of Jesus he began to sink. It says that IMMEDIATELY Jesus reached out his hand and pulled Peter up. I love that. It wasn't after Peter confessed that he was afraid and that he took his eyes of his Lord. Jesus just reached right into his mess and pulled him to safety. I am just overwhelmed with this picture today. It is so easy in this world to take our eyes off of the one who holds all of this together and focus on our problem or what we are battling with. Me and DR have this thing - well mainly DR does this for me haha- but whenever we feel the other one going down the slope of self-pitty and 'freak out mode' we call each other on it and try to remind the other one of Jesus and the hope He has. It is actually pretty annoying when all you want is to get people on board for why your situation really is the worst or why things would be so much better if only ______ blank would happen. It is so necessary though. The world wants us to buy into the lie that things are better over there, or once this happens I will be so much happier. There is nothing in this world that will fulfill like Jesus Christ. I don't say that as one who has figured it all out, but as one who is longing to grasp this truth I KNOW is real. The prince of this world would love nothing more than to distract us with the waves- the problems around us, no matter how big or small- and take our eyes off of the only one who can fill our void and fix our problem. Today I am led to the prayer Paul prayed in Ephesians. This is a really neat version:
Ephesians 3:16-19 (Amplified Bible)
16May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the [Holy] Spirit [Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality].
17May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love,
18That you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints [God's devoted people, the experience of that love] what is the breadth and length and height and depth [of it];
19[That you may really come] to know [practically, [a]through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses[b]mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] [c]unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and [d]become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]!
Amen :)
17May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love,
18That you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints [God's devoted people, the experience of that love] what is the breadth and length and height and depth [of it];
19[That you may really come] to know [practically, [a]through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses[b]mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] [c]unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and [d]become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]!
Amen :)
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