Can you blog twice in one day?! I'm just so overwhelmed by the goodness of God today, and I can't help myself! I want everyone I know to also see the goodness of God. I think if I didn't share, the rocks would start crying out and that would just be creepy! :)
Gotta always start these stories with a little background to catch you up to speed. Remember our wreck? Remember our miracle van? We've been saving money for a new vehicle because we wanted to pay cash and not have a car payment. Well, we finally got money saved up and bought us a nice used van that is perfect for our family and all the traveling we do. It's literally perfect. An answer to what we had been praying for. Awesome. Saving money for a vehicle tends to strap finances elsewhere in the budget. "No problem", I've learned to realize because God will take care of the needs.
I was looking ahead a little too far at some of the things coming up this summer we need to pay for. Taking my eyes off of Jesus and looking instead at the swirling waters around me. Summer activities, fees for middle school, a trip to Arkansas, etc. started freaking me out a little. God said, "One thing at a time, sweetie." So I thought I'd start praying for the most recent things we needed to pay for. I need $65 for something Monday. I need $120 for something on Thursday. I can pay them out of what's in the bank right now, God, but that will really leave us strapped. Funny when I'm telling God how I think He should answer my prayer. I'm sure He just stands there and giggles at me. He really likes to surprise me!
I get the mail today and there is an envelope from my church with a few checks in it. I buy a ton of stuff for children's church and then get reimbursed for it later. Sometimes I turn in so many receipts I never can keep track of what's to be paid back to me. (I know you organized people are cringing, but I'm horrible at money, by the way) In the envelope, there is a reimbursement check that was to come back to me in February, but it had gotten lost and now it was found. Perfect timing since it was for $65. God is so sneaky like that. Then I got my paycheck...I'm rolling in it, ya'll. But the timing was perfect and my $122 will pay for what I need to pay for on Thursday.
One thing at a time, sweetie. Now I'm just going to sit back and see how God is going to provide the other things I need to pay for this summer. I have a few ideas, but I'm sure He has a few tricks up His sleeve to amaze me.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Lessons
The sun is out today and my spirits are lifted. I went through a really rough week last week extremely down. Everything irritated me and upset me. I was tired and lacking motivation or energy to do anything. A little bit of a depressed slump there for me. Today as I bask in the sun, I'm trying to isolate what brought me down. I think I've been having a little pity party, is what I think my problem is.
I'm a veteran military wife. At that phase of life when we moved constantly, friends would come and go and I was used to that. I was used to unplugging from people and moving on. I was used to only investing so much into the lives of others, but not too much. Investing only enough to where the detachment process didn't hurt too badly. I'm not in that phase of life anymore, and my brain seems to have caught wind of that. Since we've been out of the military, I've let my guard down. Michael and I have began investing 100% into the lives of those who are brought into our orbit. We have been living our lives as though we'll have the same friends for eternity. But for the past few years, the ones we have invested heavily in and loved deeply have ended up moving away! And this has nothing to do with the military! It's just where life is taking our friends.
Some dear friends who we've only known since August of last year (yet we feel like we've known them our whole lives!) told us on Monday that they are moving. Back to Arkansas, no doubt. Michael even got teary about the situation because this is the first friend he's ever invested in who is now leaving him. I think I've been battling all week with God about why He keeps doing this to me! Why does He keep taking my friends away from me? If I were to sit back and count the number of friends who have been impactful in my life and then moved away, it would overwhelm me. So, not gonna do that! But the number is great. Apparently, God thinks I am a person who can handle that. Apparently God thinks He created me to be a person who can handle that. From what I've learned about God...He knows best.
I'm not to stop investing my whole heart into people. And neither are you. We can't look at it from an earthly perspective. Sure, my friends are ALL over the world, and there are many who I may never see again this side of eternity. But that's the point...I will have eternity with them because I have invested my heart into them. The way we treat people and love people is an eternal attribute. Jesus was only on earth for a short while and He invested everything He had. I know how it must have hurt His heart to leave His friends, but He invested for eternity.
It's no coincidence that my children's church lesson for this week is about Jesus calling His 12 disciples. Here's an excerpt from my lesson, "The task of the disciple was to learn all he could from his teacher in order to pass the information on to others. The disciples left their mark in history because of their willingness to follow Jesus. How will history record your willingness to do the same?" I'm a disciple. I teach, I invest, I love, and I send out so the Good News of Christ will be spread. Pity party ends here...because it's NOT all about me. Unfortunately it took me a week to learn that lesson this time. You'd think I'd be better about learning lessons, but I'm still hard headed.
I'm a veteran military wife. At that phase of life when we moved constantly, friends would come and go and I was used to that. I was used to unplugging from people and moving on. I was used to only investing so much into the lives of others, but not too much. Investing only enough to where the detachment process didn't hurt too badly. I'm not in that phase of life anymore, and my brain seems to have caught wind of that. Since we've been out of the military, I've let my guard down. Michael and I have began investing 100% into the lives of those who are brought into our orbit. We have been living our lives as though we'll have the same friends for eternity. But for the past few years, the ones we have invested heavily in and loved deeply have ended up moving away! And this has nothing to do with the military! It's just where life is taking our friends.
Some dear friends who we've only known since August of last year (yet we feel like we've known them our whole lives!) told us on Monday that they are moving. Back to Arkansas, no doubt. Michael even got teary about the situation because this is the first friend he's ever invested in who is now leaving him. I think I've been battling all week with God about why He keeps doing this to me! Why does He keep taking my friends away from me? If I were to sit back and count the number of friends who have been impactful in my life and then moved away, it would overwhelm me. So, not gonna do that! But the number is great. Apparently, God thinks I am a person who can handle that. Apparently God thinks He created me to be a person who can handle that. From what I've learned about God...He knows best.
I'm not to stop investing my whole heart into people. And neither are you. We can't look at it from an earthly perspective. Sure, my friends are ALL over the world, and there are many who I may never see again this side of eternity. But that's the point...I will have eternity with them because I have invested my heart into them. The way we treat people and love people is an eternal attribute. Jesus was only on earth for a short while and He invested everything He had. I know how it must have hurt His heart to leave His friends, but He invested for eternity.
It's no coincidence that my children's church lesson for this week is about Jesus calling His 12 disciples. Here's an excerpt from my lesson, "The task of the disciple was to learn all he could from his teacher in order to pass the information on to others. The disciples left their mark in history because of their willingness to follow Jesus. How will history record your willingness to do the same?" I'm a disciple. I teach, I invest, I love, and I send out so the Good News of Christ will be spread. Pity party ends here...because it's NOT all about me. Unfortunately it took me a week to learn that lesson this time. You'd think I'd be better about learning lessons, but I'm still hard headed.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Eternal
I have decided I'm a "words" person. For some reason, I really enjoy words and discovering their meanings. God must know this about me, because one of the ways He speaks to me is with a word. When we were going through a very painful time in our life, He simply gave me the word "Sovereign". I had to digest that word and study that word for a while to learn what God wanted me to learn about our trying time and His sovereignty. He's given me the word "Redeemed" to chew on and study to teach me that nothing I've ever done in life matters because the blood of Jesus has redeemed me! "Faithful" was my last word He gave me to teach me He is always there, in the midst of everything, always by my side.
Recently the word that keeps flooding my brain is "Eternal". A verse that has sustained me for the past few years is Ecclesiastes (or Ecclesiastics, as Evan calls it) 3:11 "He has made everything beautiful for its own time." But the second half of that verse has recently come into focus for me..."He has planted eternity into the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end". The word eternity means a continuous, unlimited amount of time, often with a focus on the future.
Lately, I've been focused on what I'm doing with my life. If it has no eternal value, then I give it up. My work has eternal value. Raising my children to follow God's commands. Teaching them to love others regardless if they look like or act like us. Ministering to children at church and showing them how to follow Christ with abandon! Volunteering my time for organizations with an eternal mission of serving others and spreading the Gospel. Michael has begun to live with eternity set in his heart. Living on faith does that to a person. You realize that nothing here on earth really matters. It's all fleeting. We are here for a short time. And it's not at all about me! "Only one life will soon be past. Only what's done for Christ will last."
Building lasting friendships that we'll carry into eternity. That matters. Serving God even when I'm tired. That matters. Being available to my friends whenever they need me. That matters. Spending time reading my Bible and building my relationship with God. That definitely matters! Inviting friends over for dinner even when the budget is strapped and I'd rather just sit on my couch and play games on Facebook. Being obedient to the things God has asked me to do. That matters. Showing a smile and some love to a homeless man on the street or even striking up a pleasant conversation with the gal at Walmart in my check out line. Those things matter. Putting on Christ and letting that show over my ugly humanness. That matters more than you'll ever know.
God has placed eternity into your heart. Sometimes we have a hard time finding it because of our selfishness. That's when we just have to "lay it down" and pick up what really matters. Life is fleeting. Live for eternity.
Recently the word that keeps flooding my brain is "Eternal". A verse that has sustained me for the past few years is Ecclesiastes (or Ecclesiastics, as Evan calls it) 3:11 "He has made everything beautiful for its own time." But the second half of that verse has recently come into focus for me..."He has planted eternity into the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end". The word eternity means a continuous, unlimited amount of time, often with a focus on the future.
Lately, I've been focused on what I'm doing with my life. If it has no eternal value, then I give it up. My work has eternal value. Raising my children to follow God's commands. Teaching them to love others regardless if they look like or act like us. Ministering to children at church and showing them how to follow Christ with abandon! Volunteering my time for organizations with an eternal mission of serving others and spreading the Gospel. Michael has begun to live with eternity set in his heart. Living on faith does that to a person. You realize that nothing here on earth really matters. It's all fleeting. We are here for a short time. And it's not at all about me! "Only one life will soon be past. Only what's done for Christ will last."
Building lasting friendships that we'll carry into eternity. That matters. Serving God even when I'm tired. That matters. Being available to my friends whenever they need me. That matters. Spending time reading my Bible and building my relationship with God. That definitely matters! Inviting friends over for dinner even when the budget is strapped and I'd rather just sit on my couch and play games on Facebook. Being obedient to the things God has asked me to do. That matters. Showing a smile and some love to a homeless man on the street or even striking up a pleasant conversation with the gal at Walmart in my check out line. Those things matter. Putting on Christ and letting that show over my ugly humanness. That matters more than you'll ever know.
God has placed eternity into your heart. Sometimes we have a hard time finding it because of our selfishness. That's when we just have to "lay it down" and pick up what really matters. Life is fleeting. Live for eternity.
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