Short & Sweet

2 posts in one week?! Just a quick thought...

God has been showing me different forms of worship beyond just singing in church. How wonderful that we can give back to Him the gifts He has given us through our worship. I LOVE to write and I've realized that writing in this blog, in my journal or even papers for school can be worship if my heart is in the right place. For some situations lately, I have not had words to describe what my heart is feeling, but God has placed very visual images that I have been attempting to draw in my journal. Even these pitiful little stick figures can be used as worship for God. I just love that He gives so we can give back to Him. I'm also loving the challenge of finding different ways to worship and give back to God in my daily activities. Isn't God cool???

No Good Thing

For about the past month, God has laid Psalm 16:2 on my heart:

I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing."

I have so much to be thankful for as this year closes and I am able to reflect on all the things my Father has graciously delivered me from. It has definitely been a year of renewal and refining of my heart and I could not be more grateful for God breaking me and putting me back together into a woman striving to reflect His heart.

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. ~Psalm 51:10

As He tends to do, God revealed a greater truth about His goodness in the quietness of my car a few nights ago. I was thinking about how I want my body to be in perfect shape physically, and at the same time thinking about my passionate dislike of the gym. I petitioned God, "God, why can't I just have a perfect body without having to work for it?" Immediately He answered with Psalm 16:2 and I began to realize the depths of having NO good thing apart from God.
For me, it's easy to apply that verse to direct blessings I see in my life or certain situations. My pride gets in the way and I give myself credit for things I feel like I have accomplished, such as making it to the gym, or getting a good grade on a test. I was quickly reminded, it's not about my goodness at all. Left on my own, I am not capable of good, I am a sinful creature by nature. I've started listing and giving over the things in my life that I tend to take credit for and as I do, I am striving to give credit back to the One who is truly worthy of praise - and it's not me!

It is vain to trust the creatures: it is wise to trust the Creator...None are so safe as those whom God keeps; none so much in danger as the self-secure. ~Charles Spurgeon

Here's part of the list I've come up with so far:

-weight/body
-grades
-relationships
-giving of myself to others
-passions
-worship/singing
-my car/material things
-the city and state where I live
-graduating soon
-my future career plans
-the people I'm blessed with in my life
-my walk with God
-the trials I face and overcome
-the joys I experience
-the things I'm good at

It ALL belongs to God, for His glory, not mine. If I boast, may it be in Jesus Christ who has graciously given me all things. I can claim nothing for my own. Thank you, Father, for that.

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. ~Galatians 6:14

As 2009 closes, I encourage you to make a list of the things you think you are doing good and to realize Who is doing these good things through you! This life is not about me, it's all about Him.

Somehow my story is a part of Your plan, so here I am. ~Downhere

My Daddy!

I have recently realized that when I think about my dad, most of the time I think about his death. This makes sense in a way because when people ask about my dad, most of the time they just want to hear about how he died, so I tell that story more than any other story about my dad. That's not a bad thing, but I've been trying lately to make a special effort to remember the GOOD stories about my daddy. Through this, I've come to realize that I wouldn't trade the short 15 years I had him in my life for anything.
I am so incredibly thankful to God for providing me with a loving, godly earthly Father who greatly influenced the woman I am growing into. He introduced me to the mission field at the age of 2, led me to Christ at age 8, and had so much wisdom and godly insight that he willingly and lovingly shared with me and encouraged me with through the years. One of my favorite moments is being able to hear and apply advice he gave me when I was younger in difficult situations I face now. He wasn't perfect and I remember his imperfections very clearly as well! :) But what a deep relief to be able to stop dwelling on his death and remember his life. It blows my mind to think about the amount of people he was able to reach for Christ through his short 50 years because of a heart surrendered to God and willing to go where the call was, whether it was the Philippines, Nevada, or Fort Worth.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. ~Acts 1:8

I wanted to share just a few of my precious daddy memories and things I miss the most about him!

-Singing together while he played the guitar for us.
-Having theological discussions at an age so young I didn't even realize we were discussing theology at the time!
-The best most comforting hugs after a hard day.
-Him sneaking in my room, while he thought I was still asleep, to give me a kiss on the forehead every single morning before he left for work without fail.
-Walking in his & mom's room to see him kneeling over the bed with his Bible open praying.
-Doing mission work together in Overton and Echo Bay each Sunday.
-Dancing to country music in the living room.
-Singing old country songs in the car.
-His laugh. His smile. His eyes. His hands.
-Going on family vacations and seeing every National Park between Texas and Nevada as a kid.
-Camping, hiking, fishing, swimming...
-Going to the park, playing games and sports together.
-Teaching me how to drive.
-Sharing popcorn while he helped me with homework.

This list goes on and on...

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. ~Philippians 1:3-6

Quotations

I love, love, love quotes. If you've ever seen my Facebook status', you know I post a lot of them. So I decided it would be fun to compile a bunch of the quotes I love for a blog post. I'm sure I'll have several posts like this one in the future, because I'm always finding more than tug at my heart. And I know a post with some of my favorite scriptures will be posted at some point.

"Little faith hopes that God will do what He says; strong faith knows that He will; and great faith believes that He has already done it." ~Charles Stanley

"If there is pride in your life, God knows exactly what you need: a good dose of failure." ~Charles Stanley

“Decisions become easier when your will to please God outweighs your will to please the world.” ~Anso Coetzer

"God made us for community. Part of community is recognizing when someone doesn't show up." ~Mike Beresford

"If we choose not to cultivate our hope in Him, where will we place our hope? Is there anything greater, more equitable, more powerful, more reliable, and truer than God?" ~Dr. Joe Stowell

"A woman of true beauty is a woman who in the depths of her soul is at rest, trusting God because she has come to know Him to be worthy of her trust. She exudes a sense of calm, a sense of rest, and invites those around her to rest as well. She speaks comfort; she knows that we live in a world at war, that we have a vicious enemy, and our journey is through a broken world. But she also knows that because of God all is well, that all will be well. A woman of true beauty offers others the grace to be and the room to become. In her presence, we can release the tension and pressure that so often grip our hearts. We can also breathe in the truth that God loves us and He is good." ~Captivating

"He doesn't compare us to anyone else. He doesn't have a list of what Christians should be and do at certain phases of their Christian walk. He accepts us individually and works with us where we are. Yet He constantly challenges us to go beyond where we are. And He throws a great big party whenever reach a milestone or make a spiritual breakthrough.

'Did you see that?'

He asks, turning to the angels and pointing to earth.

'That's my girl.'"

~Having a Mary Spirit

"We are safer in the storm God sends us, than in a calm when we are befriended by the world." ~Jeremy Taylor

"My hope lives not because I am not a sinner, but because I am a sinner for whom Christ died; my trust is not that I am holy, but that being unholy, He is my righteousness. My faith rests not upon what I am, or shall be, or feel, or know, but in what Christ is, in what He has done, and in what He is now doing for me." ~Charles Spurgeon

"When fear seeps into your heart, stop and consider the Lord’s character and motive: He is holy and sinless; He has infinite wisdom, perfect knowledge, and an eternal perspective; He loves you and has the power to work all things for your good (Rom. 8:28). Now compare your credentials to His. Who do you think would make a better master of your life?" ~Charles Stanley

Jesus said, "Go and make disciples," not "make converts to your opinions." ~Oswald Chambers

"Tenacity is more than hanging on, which may be the weakness of being too afraid to fall. If our hopes are being disappointed just now, it means that they are being purified. There is nothing noble the human mind has ever hoped for or dreamed of that will not be fulfilled. One of the greatest strains in life is the strain of waiting for God. Remain spiritually tenacious." ~Oswald Chambers

"Dream your biggest dream; God's Dream is bigger." ~Jimmy Draper

"At some point we started coming to church and quit being the church." ~ Matt Carter

"Ely's only cry over chopped onions." ~Matthew

"Somehow my story is a park of Your plan, so here I am." ~Downhere

Direction

"Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of JOY comes in the morning!" ~Psalm 30:5

This past week has been the best week I've had in a very long time. I mentioned in my first post that God used this summer to refine me. I would not trade the brokenness, refinement and trial for anything because of the many, many life lessons learned. I will say, it is so refreshing to experience a full week of pure Joy with no pain for the first time in months! The only tears shed this week were tears of pure, true joy, love and admiration for my Deliverer.

God is always at work, but sometimes He allows us to see His hand more clearly than other times. I'm experiencing a very special time where I feel like I am seeing His hand in just about everything! Today, the Billy Graham Rapid Relief Team (http://www.billygraham.org/RapidResponse_Index.asp)held a seminar at First Baptist Wylie that my mom and I went to. I was just introduced to the RRT about a month ago and then 2 week later I received an email about this seminar. At first I deleted the email not wanting to travel to Wylie or spend the money on the seminar. Silly me... then a 2nd email came. I looked into it a little more, but wasn't sold on the idea of traveling to Wylie alone and spending money on this seminar...and getting up at 8:00 am on a Saturday. :) But the Holy Spirit would NOT leave me alone about this seminar. I finally figured out that the decision had been made: I was going. I registered and booked a hotel room for Friday night and emailed my mom to let her know I'd be in Wylie the first weekend of October. After looking at the event info on the website, mom emailed back and said she wanted to go too. I assumed no one would want to sit in a seminar for 8 hours on a Saturday, so I thought it was a pity offer because she didn't want me to go alone! She convinced me that she really was interested and said that she felt like everyone needed to be prepared to share their faith and know how to reach the hurting not just in the midst of disaster, but in our everyday encounters. So true.

So last night we headed to Wylie. It's always fun to have mom & daughter girl time. The seminar was incredible. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has really done their homework. After 9/11, they saw that the Church wanted to help, but went in to ground zero not really knowing what to do and in some ways ended up hurting more than helping. The first major rule of thumb with RRT is "Do no harm". This means physically, emotionally, spiritually and mentally. I have been struggling the past year trying to discern what God's plan is for me after graduation. I have two fields of interest: Counseling, and disaster relief. I've been going back and forth trying to figure out if I want to pursue counseling, which would mean grad school, or if I want to pursue a career in disaster relief. I went into this seminar knowing that God wanted me there and praying for direction from Him. He definitely gave me some answers today. I think for now I'll be putting counseling on hold, knowing that at any point, whether a month from now or 10 years down the road, God could call me into that ministry and I'll willingly go. I'm applying to volunteer with the RRT which means at anytime I could be asked to deploy to help with disaster relief. I'll have to make sure I can take off from school & work, but I'm so excited about this ministry opportunity!!! This is something I'm really passionate about and I can't wait to start serving. What an awesome privilege and responsibility to share God's love with those who are hurting.

"For Christ's love compels us...We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us." ~2 Corinthians 5:14, 20

SO glad my mom shared today with me. I'm so blessed!

A New Normal

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" ~ 2 Corinthians 5:17

I finally started a blog. :) I've had friends prompting me to do so, but finally broke down mainly just so I can subscribe to other blogs! I'll try to keep this up though. God has and is refining me this summer and I'm excited to share some of the truths He has revealed to me in hopes of bringing glory to Him and encouraging those who might read my blog. I know I'm always encouraged by others who post how God is working in their lives.

Recently, our Minister of Music had brain surgery to remove a tumor. The surgery went great and Stewart is back at home recovering. Before leaving the hospital, the nurses and doctors discussed with the family that Stewart's life post-brain surgery would force them to adjust to a new normal. The phrase "new normal" has resonated within me ever since. Last week, I was driving and thinking (I do my best thinking in the car) about how I had not been as passionate about my quiet times in the past week as I had been for most of the summer. I attempted to ease my conscience by telling myself that life was getting busy again and things were just getting back to "normal" (whatever that is). The minute I had the thought, God reminded me of the "new normal" the doctor's had spoken of to Stewart and his family. As Christians, when we accept Christ into our hearts, we are called to a new normal for our lives.

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." ~Romans 12:2

The busyness of this world no longer takes priority to my time with my Heavenly Father. In this new life He has given me, He comes first. The old life must die and fade away to make way for a new life in Christ. It's my prayer that I would be open to how God wants to use me and that He would be first; less of me and so much more of You, Father. Realizing that I can do nothing in my own strength, I pray that more and more each day God will enable me to live a New Normal, dying to self and exalting Him in everything.