Oh How He Loves You And Me!!

An incident occurred to me on Facebook today that has been weighing heavily on me. I love Facebook...most of the time. :-) Other times, not so much. It's great reconnecting with old friends from your past, but sometimes, people you haven't seen in years...well, they change. And by change, I mean beliefs. To be honest, sometimes in today's world, I have a hard time distinguishing between Christians and the world. It just seems the more time goes on, the more we, as Christians, become accepting of what society is saying is ok. If it feels good, do it! God wants me to be happy. I don't get it. I don't think Christians are supposed to "be happy" in this world. And I don't mean we should be miserable, but I mean we should not be content in this world and want to stay here. There is nothing in this world for me that is going to make me happy the way God can make me happy and complete me. I cannot wait to get HOME to Heaven. That's where I belong and will truly understand the meaning of HAPPY. I sure don't belong here, and I sure don't fit in either. The only thing that keeps me going are people like you reading this blog. :-) And please don't take this as a suicidal blog!! haha! I'm not planning to do anything, it's just my place to blab about my feelings. :-) So today, I had a comment on one of my status updates from a kid I knew years ago, he was a believer and all around great kid. I've not seen him in almost 20 years, so his comment blew me away. This person, that I will call Bob, told me to "stop spreading such ignorance." WHOA!! It was a quote from a book that I thought was good. Honestly, I took offense and really wanted to give this person a piece of my mind, but I know that's not what Christ would do. Instead, He would look at Bob with compassion and love. Shouldn't I do the same thing?? I mean, I call myself Christian, and that is to be Christ like, right? I wish I had the ability to control my emotions, and love the way Jesus did instead of someone pushing my buttons, and I want to get defensive. I don't know that I was upset at the comments directed toward me, or knowing his comments were directed at God through me. Would he tell Jesus he needed to "stop spreading ignorance"? That's in essence what he was saying because it was a quote referring to God. I try to be a patient person, but I'm not very good at it. And when someone slams my God, it is hard for me to take. Bob used to be a believer, but now in his 20's, he's doubting. I'm not writing this blog to bash him, but to ask you all to please pray for him. I ask you to pray that he comes back to God's side, believes, and has the faith of a child. I know God still loves him and Jesus died for him, and I know that God loves me and Jesus died for me, too...even when I have no patience. Oh how He loves you and me!! Who can grasp such a love when we smack Him in the face day after day!! Our God is awesome, and I know that with our prayers, He can and He will soften Bob's heart. Thank you all for your prayers, and for always encouraging me to keep going!! I don't know about you, but I'm glad this world and all of its troubles and "right or wrong" issues are temporary. I just want a strong relationship with my Father! HE is the only one I'm living for, and the sooner I see Him face to face, the better!! Hope you have a blessed day!!

Cleaning Out The Cobwebs!!

Are there things in your life that you just need to get rid of? Something that's hindering your spiritual life?? It can range from material things, spending too much time on Facebook or just the computer in general, cell phones, certain friends, putting all your focus on a relationship either a friend or significant other, putting your nose in other peoples business, etc. Think a few minutes, and I bet all of us could think of some things, or as I like to call them cobwebs, that need to be cleaned out of our lives to strengthen our relationship with the Lord. As for me, I've always tried to be a people pleaser. Always worrying what people think of me, worrying about what career I had to look good in the eyes of others, wanting to impress certain friends, or hang out with certain people. I had to act "cool" so they would like me, and I always worried that they'd think I was a huge dork (which I am!! ha!). Many times throughout my life when I look back, I see how I have tried to keep certain people in my life while God was whispering to me to let them go and focus on HIM. I would put all of my time and focus in on that person or people. I was always worried about messing up, and them not liking to hang out with me anymore. I think within the past year I have finally been smacked in the head to finally hear God, and realize I've been living for people more than I have for Him. No matter how hard I try to keep certain relationships in my life, some of them always seem to fail. I've been disappointed numerous times by different people, and wasted who knows how many days dwelling on them letting me down and trying to fix it. I actually don't look at these situations now as as a bad thing, but rather a learning experience, and I'm thankful for them because they have sincerely helped me to grow in my faith. The older I get, the less I care what people think about me. If they want to be my friend, fantastic, if not? Oh well. It is only within the last few months that I've let go of all of this or shall I say, "cleaned out my cobwebs". I've let go of everything, and given my life totally and completely to God. I see things working out for me now more than ever because God is my focus, not another human being who will more than likely let me down. I think that's why I'm so content in my singleness. I've been in far too many relationships that hurt me, and I really don't trust anyone anymore. I know many think singleness is such a horrid thing, but for me?? I love it! I've got God, what more do I need? Do we really stop to think about how BIG He is, and that He will fill our needs more than our cobwebs can?? I've had several people recently tell me that my faith has made an impact on them. WOW! That has blown me away, and all I can say is that's a God thing, it's not me. I did not get to this "level" of faith and intimacy with God over night. It has taken much prayer, alone time with God (you ALWAYS have to make time for that), asking friends to pray for me, and truly just letting go of everything here...I MEAN EVERYTHING!!! I find myself more and more longing for more of God and less of this world and all the junk that's thrown in my face day after day from tv and movies to politics. All the cobwebs I've struggled with before have just disappeared, and now I find myself shaking my head at the cobwebs I used to constantly dwell on. I have just recently really let go of a cobweb that has been hindering my walk for a little over 2 years now. I kept praying that God would help me with this cobweb. I wanted to be a good influence, and help them with their cobwebs. As I thought I was making progress, their cobweb just exploded into something more than I ever dreamed, and because of this many people have been hurt, ignored, and abandoned. So, just as with all my other cobwebs, that was the last one I've been clinging to, but no more. God has told me to let go for quite awhile now, and I was refusing to listen. But now? I have finally surrendered it all to Him. I don't know about you, but I want ALL the cobwebs out of my life that are keeping me from knowing my Lord more intimately than I've ever known before. So give it a try, get rid of your cobwebs. You can start out slow, but the more you clean them out, the more peace you'll feel in your life and you'll eventually realize, GOD IS ALL I NEED!!! Have a blessed day!!

What's Important To You?

I read Day 9 in the "One Month To Live" book today and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I have these moments often in books I read that enhance my faith. :-) Have you ever thought about what is most important to you in life?? How many of us would say "things"? I'm betting not many of us, and if so than you better reevaluate your life and think about what's really important. This is an excerpt from the book that I want to share:

"When all is said and done, relationships are all that really matter. It doesn't matter how much money we have, where we live, or how many beautiful toys we've collected. None of these can comfort us, console us, cry with us, or love us. Our investment in the people we care about is the only legacy that has the power to endure beyond our lifetime."

I've never thought of "things" from this perspective before. But how true that the "things" we have can't comfort or console us, only people can do that. Although, I will say that music consoles me and relaxes me after a stressful day. :-) But really?? Our relationships are all that matters in this world, and that includes our relationship with God. I want people to remember me after I'm gone as someone who made a difference in their life, someone who was a good listener, someone who was an encourager, someone you could count on no matter what, someone who has a faith that can move a mountain. I don't want to be remembered by the "things" I had. People are so important to me, and I just want to be known as someone who loved people. So how about you?? Are there people in your life you need to spend more time with?? I bet we all could say our family. I challenge us all to spend more time with the ones we love because time is slipping away, and our relationships are more important than "stuff". I'm thankful my schedule has become flexible to allow me to strengthen relationships and spend more time with people I love. God has blessed me so much!! I love my life and all the people in it!! I challenge you to simplify your life so you can spend more time with the relationships in your life because in the end, God and people are all that matter. I hope you've all had a blessed day!

What Would You Do?

My small group has started a study on Sunday nights from the book "One Month To Live" by Kerry and Chris Shook. Talk about a challenging book, but for me, it reaffirms my decision to walk away from my job. Think about it, if you only had 30 days left to live, how many of us would be SO concerned with our jobs, money, or material things? Probably not too many. We would want to spend every minute we can (or at least for me) living life to the fullest with our family and friends, and hopefully ministering. I think I would just not worry about anything but trying to share Jesus with everyone I could. What a testimony your life could be if you only had 30 days left, and you really let your faith shine. The thing about this book is death is a reality for all of us that we seem to always push to the back of our minds. We may have 30 days left, 30 years left, or we may not be here tomorrow. Are you ready to die?? What would you do differently if you knew your time on earth was almost over? Bottom line, the clock is ticking for all of us. I think about things over the past 37 years of my life that I have let consume me, worry me, bog me down, and hinder my walk with God, and now?? Looking back, it's like "What in the world?" It just doesn't even matter, and I find myself shaking my head wondering WHY I thought that "thing" was such a big deal. I wish that we could all just forget focusing on the here and now, and look to Heaven and eternity. It's so easy to get caught up in this world, and just because we are in our 20's, 30's, 40's or whatever, we think death is nowhere near, when in actuality it's just a breath away. We just never know. Look at the lives lost this past week in the deadly storms, I wonder how many of those people thought the night before their life would end the next day? Probably not many. I highly recommend this book to everyone as it will challenge you to make changes in your life that you might not do if you don't read it, and it will help you live a full life without regrets at the end saying, "I wish I had done this or that when I was younger". I have finally learned after almost 38 years on this earth to start living life to the fullest, not in the shackles and chains of the business world. God has made us for SO much more for His glory, but we like to stay in the safeness of our comfort zones instead of walking on faith and trusting Him to take care of us. I cannot tell you the freedom I feel since I left my job. I have given it ALL to God, and I believe He's going to lead me and take care of me to do bigger things for His kingdom than I have ever imagined. What a joy it is now to not have to worry about how much vacation I have to do something, or have a boss nagging me day after day making me want to claw my face off. :-) It's just an unbelievable feeling, peace, and freedom resting in the comfort of my Father's arms and knowing HE is going to take care of me if I just give it to Him and serve Him with all I have. He is the only thing that matters!! GOD IS IN CONTROL!!! Feel free to share your thoughts of how you would change your life or do things differently if you only had 30 days to live. And please, if you get the chance, read this book. It's another one that will jolt your faith!! I have placed a link to the One Month To Live website on the right hand side of my blog if you'd like to check it out. God Bless!