Clock ticking.
Computer fan running.
The melody of windchimes.
Tinkling of my cat's collar bell.
Walls creaking.
Neighbor cheering.
Sirens blaring.
Cat yawning.
Phone beeping.
Me breathing.
Worship songs playing.
Refrigerator cooling.
Airplanes flying overhead.
My world can be so noisy. Amid the many different sounds that fill my days, the sound that I long to hear the most is the one that only comes when I slow myself down long enough and quiet my heart.
The sound of my Saviors voice.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
Verses 3,4, and 5
I've been out of the loop lately with the blog. Just have not had much to say but do want to make sure and document my experience with my scripture memory this year.
Verses 3 and 4 really focused my mind on being renewed and and how God gives me power to conquer those things in life that get in my way. It truly does all begin in the mind. I struggle so with what goes on in my mind. I do need the truth of God's word renewing the ugly lies that Satan feeds me over and over.
Will I ever gain victory?....Yes in Christ I will!
Verse 3:
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7
Verse 4:
She will have no fear of bad news; her heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
Psalm 112:7
Verse 5 was taken from my recent readings in the book of Deuteronomy. It just really spoke to me about who God is and how I am to hold to him with all my might and will. And to acknowledge that He is my praise and MY God. Just realizing that I need Him so much and for some reason I find myself not turning to Him first.
Verse 5:
You shall fear the Lord your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swer. He is your praise. He is your God, who has done for you these great and terrifying things that you eyes have seen.
Deuteronomy 10:20-21
Verses 3 and 4 really focused my mind on being renewed and and how God gives me power to conquer those things in life that get in my way. It truly does all begin in the mind. I struggle so with what goes on in my mind. I do need the truth of God's word renewing the ugly lies that Satan feeds me over and over.
Will I ever gain victory?....Yes in Christ I will!
Verse 3:
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7
Verse 4:
She will have no fear of bad news; her heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
Psalm 112:7
Verse 5 was taken from my recent readings in the book of Deuteronomy. It just really spoke to me about who God is and how I am to hold to him with all my might and will. And to acknowledge that He is my praise and MY God. Just realizing that I need Him so much and for some reason I find myself not turning to Him first.
Verse 5:
You shall fear the Lord your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swer. He is your praise. He is your God, who has done for you these great and terrifying things that you eyes have seen.
Deuteronomy 10:20-21
Saturday, January 15, 2011
SSMT Verse 2
Well, here we are on the second posting of a verse for the SSMT (siesta scripture memory team). I had a harder time this go round of chosing a verse that spoke to my life. I spent a considerable amount of time this morning searching and searching for a verse. Usually, God gives me a verse without much trouble but this time that was not to be. I don't know why...could blame it on my weird mood lately...kind of disconnected. But I am learning that nothing is wasted when I give it to God and I've been trying to give those feeling over to him.
He is so good to me and I know that He is molding me into His image. Working on my character and producing hope within my heart. I almost chose to memorize the verse from Romans 5 that says that suffering produces endurance and that endurance produces character and that character produces hope. What I love is that it goes on to say that hope does not put us to shame (or as another version state, does not disappoint) because God's love has been poured into our hearts. I just may have to really meditate on this verse too!
But, alas, the verse that I've chosen to marinate in for the next two weeks is this:
No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, FULLY CONVINCED that God was able to do what he had promised.
I chose this verse because I need to be reminded that my faith is a constant and daily choice. I have to chose to trust God with everthing in my life each and every day. Sometimes, each and every hour. And on occasion, each and every minute.
I will confess, I struggle with distrust. Distrust of people and sadly enough, distrust of my Lord. I am trying so hard to trust Him with everything but it is hard. I think that it is in part connected to injuries of the soul that we all experience but I also think that it is connected to my sinful heart at times. I just don't want to trust God because trusting God means giving up what I want. It is a walk toward less and less selfishness. It is something that I do desire but really, the sinful man within me fights it.
God has made me a promise, one that involves my blessing, my freedom, my healing. If I would but trust him and not waver in my faith, I will become fully convinced that He will prove himself faithful!
Lord do it!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
SSMT Verse 1
Lord Jesus,
You promise to keep me in perfect peace when my mind is focused on you. I pray Lord, that in this new year I would have a mind that is stayed on you and that as I learn to keep it focused on you that you would build my trust in you.
You are good to me and I know that you are my rock. Help me to lean on you and you alone.
Amen
Friday, December 31, 2010
Final Post of 2010: The ABC's Of God
This was incredibly helpful to me over the course of this year. My friend Cheri told me one day to focus on who God is and that it would help me by thinking of the ABC's and come up with an attribute of God to correspond.
So, here is my list.
A: God you are ALMIGHTY
B: God you are BURDEN BEARER
C: God you are COUNSELOR
D: God you are DELIVERER
E: God you are EMMANUEL
F: God you are FAITHFUL
G: God you are GENTLE
H: God you are HEALER
I: God you are INCREDIBLE
J: God you are JUST
K: God you are KIND
L: God you are LOVING
M: God you are MAJESTIC
N: God you are NEAR
O: God you are OMNIPRESENT
P: God you are PEACE
Q: God you are QUENCHER OF MY THIRST
R: God you are REDEEMER
S: God you are SAFE
T: God you are TRUSTWORTHY
U: God you are UNDERSTANDING
V: God you are VICTORIOUS
W: God you are WONDERFUL
X: God you are eXcellent
Y: God you are YOKE REMOVER
Z: God you are ZEALOUS FOR ME!
May your 2011 be blessed!
So, here is my list.
A: God you are ALMIGHTY
B: God you are BURDEN BEARER
C: God you are COUNSELOR
D: God you are DELIVERER
E: God you are EMMANUEL
F: God you are FAITHFUL
G: God you are GENTLE
H: God you are HEALER
I: God you are INCREDIBLE
J: God you are JUST
K: God you are KIND
L: God you are LOVING
M: God you are MAJESTIC
N: God you are NEAR
O: God you are OMNIPRESENT
P: God you are PEACE
Q: God you are QUENCHER OF MY THIRST
R: God you are REDEEMER
S: God you are SAFE
T: God you are TRUSTWORTHY
U: God you are UNDERSTANDING
V: God you are VICTORIOUS
W: God you are WONDERFUL
X: God you are eXcellent
Y: God you are YOKE REMOVER
Z: God you are ZEALOUS FOR ME!
May your 2011 be blessed!
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
End Of The Year Musings
It has been over 2 months since I've written on this blog. It never ceases to amaze me how time just marches on while I'm trying to keep in step!
My life has once again changed in big ways. I've moved yet again. Twice in one year is too much for me I think. This move is harder because I've pretty much been doing all of the work myself. And I am TIRED of the loading, hauling, and unloading of my "stuff".
It causes me to think about my "stuff" and how pitiful it is that I have so much. There are people who have nothing but what is on their backs and their loved ones. We here in the USA have so much. It is just absurd sometimes and it does cause my mind to spin. It causes me to give much thought to what I place my priority in.
Where do I spend my time?
Where do I spend my money?
What do I hold as valuable?
I have paid 67.00 a month to store my "stuff" and was able to live without it for 6 months! I am glad that one of the side effects of being without my stuff is that I am not as attached to it as I once was. Now I am in the midst of sorting through it and truly deciding what I need and what I don't need.
The struggles that I've endured this year has been such a driving force for me to re-evaluate my life. Re-evaluate my faith. I do believe that I have been under the hot refining fire of the Lord's testing. My faith is being refined and the truth of what I believe and trust is coming forth. It is my deep desire that the result of the refining would show pure gold. That I would emerge with a faith that is as pure gold and not ashes that result from the consumption of something that has no substance.
I know that I am closer to the Lord than I was one year ago.
It is a closeness that I am thankful for but still unsure why it had to occur this way.
I think that is probably one common question that believers ask. Why this way Lord? I don't want to ever be so comfortable with my life that I don't want to go where God goes but I will always try to understand why He chooses the road that He does somethimes.
I'm thinking that the answer to that question may never be revealed. It is probably not in my best interest to know. That is okay. I know that God's plan is best, even when it involves pain. I don't understand Him most of the time, but I am learning to trust Him. I try to place my full trust in Him and as of yet, I've not found Him to be unfaithful or untrustworthy.
As 2010 comes to an end, I find myself thinking of how grateful I truly am for the pain of this year. It has brought me closer to my Savior and has prompted a newness in my walk with Him. I hope that 2011 will be a better year but even if it is not, I know that my God will not let me go. He will hold me as long as I am reaching out for Him.
My life has once again changed in big ways. I've moved yet again. Twice in one year is too much for me I think. This move is harder because I've pretty much been doing all of the work myself. And I am TIRED of the loading, hauling, and unloading of my "stuff".
It causes me to think about my "stuff" and how pitiful it is that I have so much. There are people who have nothing but what is on their backs and their loved ones. We here in the USA have so much. It is just absurd sometimes and it does cause my mind to spin. It causes me to give much thought to what I place my priority in.
Where do I spend my time?
Where do I spend my money?
What do I hold as valuable?
I have paid 67.00 a month to store my "stuff" and was able to live without it for 6 months! I am glad that one of the side effects of being without my stuff is that I am not as attached to it as I once was. Now I am in the midst of sorting through it and truly deciding what I need and what I don't need.
The struggles that I've endured this year has been such a driving force for me to re-evaluate my life. Re-evaluate my faith. I do believe that I have been under the hot refining fire of the Lord's testing. My faith is being refined and the truth of what I believe and trust is coming forth. It is my deep desire that the result of the refining would show pure gold. That I would emerge with a faith that is as pure gold and not ashes that result from the consumption of something that has no substance.
I know that I am closer to the Lord than I was one year ago.
It is a closeness that I am thankful for but still unsure why it had to occur this way.
I think that is probably one common question that believers ask. Why this way Lord? I don't want to ever be so comfortable with my life that I don't want to go where God goes but I will always try to understand why He chooses the road that He does somethimes.
I'm thinking that the answer to that question may never be revealed. It is probably not in my best interest to know. That is okay. I know that God's plan is best, even when it involves pain. I don't understand Him most of the time, but I am learning to trust Him. I try to place my full trust in Him and as of yet, I've not found Him to be unfaithful or untrustworthy.
As 2010 comes to an end, I find myself thinking of how grateful I truly am for the pain of this year. It has brought me closer to my Savior and has prompted a newness in my walk with Him. I hope that 2011 will be a better year but even if it is not, I know that my God will not let me go. He will hold me as long as I am reaching out for Him.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Discipleship, Do I Dare?
I am behind a little on this Radical Walk with God. How did we get to chapter 5 already??!!
This weeks reading covered the topic of discipleship. When I think of making disciples, the first thing that I think of is a small group that I was involved in as a young beliver. I don't remember the name of the study materials that we used but I know that it had the word "discipleship" in it. I was so excited to begin learning the truths of the Word of God and was so happy to have an "older" believer in the body of Christ walk with me through the experience. Allison was only 4 or 5 years older than me but she definately was more mature in her faith!
What I did not know then is that the discipleship did not happen via the material. Don't get me wrong, the material was great and very helpful. It was a catalyst for discipleship that occured because Allison made time to meet with me, invest in my life, and encourage my search in my newfound faith.
Discipleship happened because Allison was commited to walking in RELATIONSHIP with me. As David Platt states in his book Radical, "Making disciples is not an easy process. It is trying. It is messy. It is slow, tedious, even painful at times. It is all these things because it is relational." (93). The short period of time that I was learning about the basics of the bible was a time that forever impacted my relationship with Christ. I learned many truths that to this day I refer back to over and over. They are foundational to my beliefs. I also learned that being a Christ follower is not lived out with my nose burried in the book. It is lived out day to day as I walk in relationship with my heavenly Father, believers, and unbelievers in my world.
As I've been reading this book and hearing messages from other sources I have discovered (with much conviction!) that my faith is not about me at all! It is about how I can share the Gospel with those in my midst and how I can bring glory to God through my life. As I think of discipleship, I am reminded of a young woman who was commited to pouring time, energy, and love into my life. As I remember those lunch hours with Allison, I am encouraged to pour out my life into others in intentional ways, building relationships. I want to be a blessing to those God places in my path.
I am encouraged to seek all that God has for me in my relationship with Him so that I can be a benefit to another. As Platt writes, "In order to teach someone else how to pray, we need to know how to pray. In order to help someone else learn how to study the Bible, we need to be active in studying the Bible. But this is the beauty of making disciples. When we take responsibility for helping others grow in Christ, it automatically takes our own relationship with Christ to a new level". (100-101)
So, where does this take me and how can I apply this lesson to my life today?
I am encouraged to open my eyes and see where God has placed me at this moment. I am living with a couple who are fairly new in their walk with the Lord. I am commanded to love them with the love of Christ and invest my time and energy into their lives.
I am also involved in a ladies small group on Thursday mornings at church. I love my group so much and am so excited to see how God will use us to disciple each other. I have already been blessed in many, many, sweet ways. I am praying that as I grow in relationship with these ladies, that God would use me in their lives too. He has definately used them in mine!
Discipleship is a sweet thing. Let's make sure that we are seeking to walk in relationship with those that God has placed in our lives making disciples!
This weeks reading covered the topic of discipleship. When I think of making disciples, the first thing that I think of is a small group that I was involved in as a young beliver. I don't remember the name of the study materials that we used but I know that it had the word "discipleship" in it. I was so excited to begin learning the truths of the Word of God and was so happy to have an "older" believer in the body of Christ walk with me through the experience. Allison was only 4 or 5 years older than me but she definately was more mature in her faith!
What I did not know then is that the discipleship did not happen via the material. Don't get me wrong, the material was great and very helpful. It was a catalyst for discipleship that occured because Allison made time to meet with me, invest in my life, and encourage my search in my newfound faith.
Discipleship happened because Allison was commited to walking in RELATIONSHIP with me. As David Platt states in his book Radical, "Making disciples is not an easy process. It is trying. It is messy. It is slow, tedious, even painful at times. It is all these things because it is relational." (93). The short period of time that I was learning about the basics of the bible was a time that forever impacted my relationship with Christ. I learned many truths that to this day I refer back to over and over. They are foundational to my beliefs. I also learned that being a Christ follower is not lived out with my nose burried in the book. It is lived out day to day as I walk in relationship with my heavenly Father, believers, and unbelievers in my world.
As I've been reading this book and hearing messages from other sources I have discovered (with much conviction!) that my faith is not about me at all! It is about how I can share the Gospel with those in my midst and how I can bring glory to God through my life. As I think of discipleship, I am reminded of a young woman who was commited to pouring time, energy, and love into my life. As I remember those lunch hours with Allison, I am encouraged to pour out my life into others in intentional ways, building relationships. I want to be a blessing to those God places in my path.
I am encouraged to seek all that God has for me in my relationship with Him so that I can be a benefit to another. As Platt writes, "In order to teach someone else how to pray, we need to know how to pray. In order to help someone else learn how to study the Bible, we need to be active in studying the Bible. But this is the beauty of making disciples. When we take responsibility for helping others grow in Christ, it automatically takes our own relationship with Christ to a new level". (100-101)
So, where does this take me and how can I apply this lesson to my life today?
I am encouraged to open my eyes and see where God has placed me at this moment. I am living with a couple who are fairly new in their walk with the Lord. I am commanded to love them with the love of Christ and invest my time and energy into their lives.
I am also involved in a ladies small group on Thursday mornings at church. I love my group so much and am so excited to see how God will use us to disciple each other. I have already been blessed in many, many, sweet ways. I am praying that as I grow in relationship with these ladies, that God would use me in their lives too. He has definately used them in mine!
Discipleship is a sweet thing. Let's make sure that we are seeking to walk in relationship with those that God has placed in our lives making disciples!
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