What's Next?

This is a qutoe from an article titled "What's Next?" I wrote in October of 2007.

Have you ever wondered why God doesn’t let us know what is ahead? What would it harm?


Imagine if he did tell us everything we ever wanted to know. I think we would start to think that we didn’t need him anymore. God knows we need him, so he puts us in a position where we are afraid to walk without him. I like to picture our life’s journey as a child walking with their Father down a dark path, for truly, this is a dark world filled with sin. The Father only gives enough light for us to see right in front of us, so we cling to his hand for guidance and support. If we were to see the path all the way to the end, with all the holes, stumps, and sticks that try to bring us down, we could run ahead of our Father and may be able to avoid some of the obstacles, but in the end our life would not be meaningful. But when we come upon a fork in the road we will have to make a choice on which road to take. If we had stayed with our Father, he would have been right there to help us. But we choose to walk on our own, and now we have to search for God, or choose on our own.

We will always want to know what lies in the future, but God my never tell us what is next until we get there. For now all we can do is trust him and take it one step at a time. For “it is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.” Acts 1:7

I Love Saturdays!

Yesterday I had a great day! Saturday is one of the two days I get to . . .

• sleep in past 7:00
• eat breakfast with my whole family (except Ryan who is just getting home from work and going strait to bed)
• wear my jean skirts instead of "office clothes"
• exercise in the morning if I feel like it
• play the piano more then durring the week days
• practice our songs with Bethany, Phillip and Amy
• and stay at the house the whole day!

I love it! Last saturday I spend most of my day cleaning, but this Saturday I cooked supper with Bethany, and made a Chocolate Trifle. Making the desert was very interesting and took up a lot of time!

I started out with a chocolate cake that I would use in the trifle. I did this without any errors so I was feeling pretty good. While it was baking mama and Bethany headed to the store to buy some lace for a dress Bethany was making and I started on the pudding that would go on top of the layer of cake. While I was beating the milk and pudding mix together and chatting with Amy I noticed the electric mixer was kind of acting funny. Before I knew it the mixer was going crazy! I didnt know what was going on except that chocolate was being splattered everywhere and the mixer didn't want to corroperate. It took me by such surprise that I couldn't find the button to turn it off with right away, and when I did finnaly turn it off I found the beaters twisted together and a peice of it on the floor! Chocolate was everywhere, including me. Amy and I cleaned it all up and made another batch of pudding just in case little metal peices had gotten into the bowl. I had never seen such a thing! I believe I will be afraid to use an electric mixer for at least 2 months! : )

Luckily, the rest of the dessert went smoothly with no mistakes and everyone agreed that it tasted very good!

Books I Read

For the past few years I have been very carefull about what I read in my spare time. As a rule, I don't read hardly any fiction. (In fact, I can't remember when the last time I read a book that wasn't true.) The reason for this is because when I was in my early teens I became obsessed with Christian romance novels. Were they bad? Not exactly. . . that is, not until they became more important to me then the things of God.
 

I didn't realize that what  I was doing was so bad until I read an article by Isobel Kuhn, a missionary to China in the 1900's. She wrote about the nights she would stay up until midnight soaking up every last word of the lates fiction she was fascinated with, and then would try her best to keep her eyes open long enough to read a few verses of her Bible before going to bed. She compared herself to someone who eats nothing but candy, sweet dainties, and soda pop, and afterwards is left with no appitite for meat and potatoes.

It seemed that we had something in common other then our love for fiction. Neither one of us knew how to do things in moderation which leaves us with a great problem. While I read all those interesting books my chores went undone and my school work was done half heartedly. On one occasion mama had to take my books away until I started being more responsible with my time!

Since I knew my weaknesses, I decided to give up fiction entirely unles it was something that would be benneficial to my spiritual life. Recently while I skimmed through a book my sister is reading, I Kissed Dating Goodby by Josh Harris, something he wrote caught my eye. He said something to the effect that, different people have to limit themselves to avoid lustful thoughts. Some have to avoid watching TV, some decide not to go to the beach, and others quit reading romance novals. When I read that I felt like shouting "that's it!" That was exactly why I put away fiction books but I just didn't know how to say it. Those books made me live in a dream world that didn't exsist and never would, and they were doing nothing but feed my lust for fleshly things! And when it comes to lust it is hard to controll it with moderation.

I'm ashamed to say that I don't read very much at all now, but when I do make myself do it I usually read books on missionaries and Christian living. Among my favorite are Quest for the High Places by Natalie Nyquist, A Young Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George, Authentic Beauty by Leslie Ludy, and What Do I Know About My God by Mardi Collier.

I will admit that I love the old classics such as Little Women  the Anne of Green Gables Series, books that I think all girls should read at least once! But now I read books that I know God would be pleased to see me read. And if I ever need a good book to read I know just where to go! You can go there to . . . Katie is always reading something good and she gives great book reviews at her blogs God Will Bless Those Who Wait, and In the Hands Of God. Remember, we should want to please God in every area of our lives, and it should be no different when it comes to the books we read.

The Past Weeks

Lately I haven't had much to post about, and to be honest, I just didn't feel like it. Even now I don't know exactly what to say or how to say it. So here's a quick peek into what has been occupying my mind of late.

I've been reading . . .

and

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A poem I have been pondering . . .

"There is a quiet place,

Where I meet my LORD,

To wait upon His voice.

And when He comes,

All things surrounding,

No matter their worth,

Become shadows in the

Light of His embrace."

~ ~ ~ ~

My current thought . . .

God has been good to me!