Suffering

"When suffering shatters the carefully kept vase that is our lives, God stoops to pick up the pieces. But he doesn't put them back together as a restoration project patterned after our former selves. Instead, he sifts through the rubble and selects some of the shards as raw material for another project--a mosaic that tells the story of redemption." --Ken Gire

The Influence of Others

"You must constantly ask yourself these questions: Who am I around? What are they doing to me? What have they got me reading? What have they got me saying? Where do they have me going? What do they have me thinking? And most important, what do they have me becoming? Then ask yourself the big question: Is that okay? Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change."

- Jim Rohn

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

Excuses, Excuses!

Remember the song that use to be on the radio all the time? "Excuses, Excuses, we hear them every day. And the devil he'll supply them, if the church you'll stay away. . . " Well, unfortunatly, we find pleanty of excuses not to serve God even when we are at church. One of them that I've found myself using pretty often is, "Things are harder now then they use to be back then. We have so many more temptations and not enough Godly influence." It sounds great, but is it in the Bible? What scripture can I find to back that up? I did  find a place where Cain slew his brother. That was awful! It's one thing to kill someone who is your enemy or someone you don't know personally, but killing your only brother is pretty crucial! And what about the King committing adultery? Sounds like something that would go on today, doesn't it? Then I came across a place in the Bible where Sodomy was being lived very openly . . . probably just as bad as it is in Callifornia.

Last week I started reading The Pursuit of God (a gift from my great friend Katie!). In the preface A. W. Tozer writes, "Current evangelicalism has laid the altar and divided the sacrifice into parts, but now seem satisfied to count the stones and rearrange the pieces with never a care that there is not a sign of fire upon the top of lofty Carmel . . . They minister constantly to believers who feel within their breasts a longing which their teaching simply does not satisfy." Remember, this was written in 1948, that's 62 years ago. How many of us have thought, "If I could have just lived 50 years ago I would be a better Christian"?

He went on to say, " . . . I wonder if there was ever a time when true spiritual worship was at a lower ebb. To great section of the Church the art of worship has been lost entirely, and in its place has come that strange and foreign thing called the "program." This word has been borrowed from the stage and applied with sad wisdom to the type of public service which now passes for worship among us."

 This world was in a horrible state 62 years ago, yet Christians still lived on strong. I'm sure that if I were to look hard enough I could find even older references to the wicked state of this world, wickedness that we are somehow convinced to believe only exsists in the twenty first centry. But the truth of the matter is this: Christians have been living in an evil world ever sence Eve took the first bite out of the fruit which came from the Tree of Good and Evil. The atmosphere in which we live in does not give us any reason to serve God with less vigor then the great Christians who served before us. May we all strive to be the best Christian that ever lived, in a time when it is need just as bad as it ever was.

Desiring to do Right

Today while I was reading a blog I was very encouraged by this girls strong faith in God and strong convictions that she has. As I read post after post about the thoughts she had on serving God, praying, witnessing, and such, I was reminded once again of how far away from God I had gotten. In sadness I thought about how hard it is to get back to where I use to be, but I knew I couldn't blame it on God. Our LORD never makes it hard for us to come back, the hard part is giving up bad habits and start living a selfless life. Sin is fun for a season, but I have come to realize that even when the fun runs out, it's still hard to give up. Even if it is something as small as selfishness or using my time unwisely. I'm reminded of this verse and quote that everyone should live by.

"Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom." Proverbs 18:1

"Sometimes I do what I want to, but most of the time I do what I have to do." ~ Bro. Mark McGaughey

A Truth to Remember

About a year ago while I was in a ladies Sunday school class the teacher asked a question that we should all want to know the answer to. "What is wisdom?" Since I've heard this question many times I offered my answer. "Wisdom is not just knowing what to say, but when to say it."

Having all the knowledge in the world will do little good if you don't know how to use it correctly. Giving untimely knowledge is like someone telling me to bundle up before I go for a walk in the summer. Why would I want to do that when it's 98 degrees outside? Maybe in a few months I'll need to pile on the coats to face the cold, but in the summer that advice is going to do me no good.

Wisdom is the same way. When knowledge is given too often or at the wrong time it is not going to sink into one's mind. We have to look closely at peoples lives and be sensitive enough to see those "go ahead" triggers.

Imagine you are a young mother raising your first child. You haven't figured everything out yet but you think your child is perfect despite all the things she does wrong. When she pitches a fit you think she is just going through a stage and as soon as the temper tantrum is over you are back to talking about how sweet your child is. If ever an angel did live, it was her.

Susie, on the other hand, has raised many children and knows that if these bad habits aren't taken care of at a young age you will lose control of your daughter. So Susie goes to you and tells you quite bluntly that you need to discipline your daughter better and she knows the best way to do it if you'll only listen. You would most likely be taken back because you didn't realize there was a problem! You thought you were doing just fine. You might even think, who is she to tell me how to raise my child? She needs to stay out of my business! The knowledge she gave is true, but it was given at the wrong time. If Susie felt the need to talk to her she should do it in a very calm way as if to suggest, but without going into a lot of detail. If you really wanted to know more, you would ask questions.

Now lets look at it in a different light. You realize that your daughter is getting out of hand more and more each day and you worry about how she acts when she doesn't get her way. You may have even voiced once or twice that you just don't know what you are going to do with her. When Susie hears your frustration she is able to reply with a way to discipline her. Since you are looking for a different method of training your child you listen to every word she says not wanting to miss a thing! This is knowledge given at a the right time and is very effectual.

This is just one of many examples. We all need to be reminded how important it is to wait for the right moment to speak. Knowledge given at the right time can make a world of difference.

"Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will

despise the wisdom of thy words."

~ Proverbs 23:9 ~

From the Mouth of a 17 Year Old

"The problem isn't when you fall down. The problem is when you don't get back up." ~ Jacob Renshaw

Quote of Truth

Don't Ask God to Direct Your Steps
If You are NOT Willing to Move Your Feet!

Biblical Courtship

True Biblical Courtship is loving God with all your heart and He then gives you His pure love to share with someone. Infatuations is taking a little bit of your love from God and giving it to another - this is selfish love. ~ Author Unknown

Quote on Courtship

Last week Renee and I were corresponding through e-mail about a topic she wrote on in Hope Chest Magazine. Although our stories of our broken courship were very differant, we both experianced heartache. The wisdom she shared with me through e-mail helped me so much that I wanted to share it with my blog readers. I hope this insight blesses you!

"Unfortunately in our type of circles, courtship is held up too often as a formula to follow and adhere too. The reality is that relationships that are truly vulnerable and honest, never fit into a formula of ideals. Just like people are flesh and blood, joy and sadness, turmoil and peace - so are relationships. A courtship relationship should never, ever be held up as a demand of perfection on individuals. What is courtship exactly? How do we view courtship? What are people & how do we view people? These are relevant questions to consider and ask ourselves, I think.

Do not berate yourself for having gone through a heartbreaking relationship. Did you make any mistakes? Most probably. Did he? Most probably. Did anyone else involved? Most probably.. Does that mean your relationship was a mistake? Most probably not. Mistakes are not bad things, if we allow God to take our mistakes (like we should every aspect of our lives) and guide us by His Holy Spirit, refining and nurturing us into women of God." ~ Renee Pratt

Seeing the Glory of God

"We can only see the stars at night. They're there during the day, when the sun bathes our world with light. But we can't see them until the sun slips away, plunging us into darkness." ~ Excerpt from Heaven Without Her by Kitty Forth-Regner

When I read this I instantly grasped the concept! I have gazed up into the blackest skies many times and admired with silent awe the flickering stars that seem worlds away. I don't exactly know why little white dots against a black back ground are so amazing, or why my soul is flooded with such feelings. When I gaze up at the huge sky I feel very small and insignificant.

It was always during the dark times in my life when I saw God's wonderful amazing glory. I would sometimes sit back and reflect on what had taken place in my life and try to grasp what God has done for me. I would feel very small and insignificant and realize how BIG and GREAT my God is!

Do I wish there were never nights? Of course not! If that were so I would never be able to see the beauty of the stars against the dark sky. Do I wish I had never been through my trials? No. If I hadn't, I would never know how much my LORD really does love me. "We can only see the stars at night."

All At Once . . .

All at once it was for me to be rid of those fruitless joys which I had once feared to loose. You drove them from me, You who are the true, the souvrein joy. You drove them from me and took their place, You who are sweeter than all pleasure. O Lord my God, my Light, my Wealth, and my Savior. ~ The Confessions of Saint Augustine

Who Does Your Heart Belong To?

"A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ
that a man should have to seek Him first to find her!"

Author Unknown

Suffering

"There's nothing wrong in suffering, if you suffer for a purpose. Our revolution didn't abolish danger or death. It simply made danger and death worthwhile." ~ H. G. Wells

"For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;" Philippians 1:29

Worth a Thought

Great Quotes

"The measure of a man’s greatness is not in how many people serve him, but in how many people he serves.

God does not look at the magnitude in which you serve, but at the willingness of your heart."

Dr. Paul Chappell

How True

"It's sad that we're excited about the second coming of the Lord when half of the world hasn't heard about the first." ~ JJ Alderman