December 1st!

Many years ago, a friend gave me a calendar of God's promises. Basically, the author of the calendar bases each promise from God off of certain scriptures. I wanted to share Day 1 (for December 1st) with you. I thought it was very fitting for where I'm at in my life.

"May you grasp how wide and long and high and deep My love for you is; a love that surpasses knowledge...you cannot ask or imagine the things I am planning for you!"

Your Heavenly Father

(based on Ephesians 3:16-21

Father, I praise you because you have

a plan for me! Your plans are so far above

my own that I can't even imagine them!

Thank you for reminding me today that you love me!

In Jesus' Name, Amen

Another year older

"I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me." Psalm 13:6

Well, I have been 22 now for almost 4 whole days! I like the sound of being 22, but I don't feel any older or any different for that matter. I think the older I get the more I realize how much I have to learn, so each birthday is a humbling experience. For this birthday, I requested that we keep it simple so I stayed in my pjs all day watching movies and resting from the busy week of school. I did request that my sister make me a homemade coconut cake that we found in a Food Network magazine. The article claimed that Bobby Flay had won a throwdown with this particular recipe so she jumped at the chance to make it. Poor, girl, it took her all day to make it! But it was worth it. It was delicious!! I almost cried while I ate it, knowing that she had worked so hard on it. God has truly blessed me with a family who loves me and I am so thankful for them!

Birthdays are definitely a time for reflection on the past year and a time to make goals for the next one. As I enter this new year of my life, my most important goal is to fall more in love with my Heavenly Prince, Jesus Christ! I want to live my life in total abandonment to Him. I don't want to look at my other friends' lives and compare theirs to my own. I want to walk the path God has put me on and hopefully touch a few lives along the way. I pray that when birthday # 23 rolls around I will be closer to the person God wants me to be.

Jesus, thank you for bringing me through

year 21. Help me to follow your will in year 22,

living in total abandonment to you!

I give you my future. Let my dreams reflect

the ones you have for me.

Guide me to do your will.

In your name, Amen

Feelings

Have you ever done anything just because you felt like it? Have you ever asked yourself or have been asked, "how do you feel about that?" I have. Often I allow myself to be led by my emotions. If I don't feel like studying, I don't. If I feel like drinking a large Dr. Pepper, I do. If I feel like playing with my dogs, I will stop what I'm doing to play with them. Sometimes I even think God uses my emotions to lead me do certain things, like talk to others.

However, I'm realizing that living by my feelings and emotions is wrong.

This thought came up as I read Leslie Ludy's devotional for this week called "The Secret of Contentment." Which I wholeheartedly recommend you read. http://www.setapartgirl.com/Devotional/Entries/2010/11/5_the_secret_of_contentment.html

In Leslie's devotional she quoted Elizabeth Elliot:

“The difficulty is to keep a tight reign on our emotions. They may remain, but it is not they who are to rule the action. They have no authority. A life lived in God is not lived on the plane of the feelings, but of the will. In Scripture the heart is the will – the man himself, the spring of all action, the ruling power bestowed on him by his Creator, capable of choosing and acting.” (Elizabeth Elliot, Quest for Love, page 35)

Powerful words, huh? Letting my feelings lead me often leads to selfish decisions and as a girl who wants to live in total abandonment to God, selfishness is not what I am pursuing. So today I surrender my emotions to Jesus!

"All my longings lie open before you, O Lord;

my sighing is not hidden from you.

My heart pounds, my strength fails me;

even the light has gone from my eyes.

I wait for you, O Lord;

you will answer, O Lord my God."

Psalm 38:9-10,15

Lord Jesus, I surrender my emotions to you. Show me how

to tell the difference between being led by my feelings

and being led by your Spirit.

A Choice

I have had a choice to make in the past two weeks. A choice that made me feel at the edge of two roads. If I chose the road to the left I would be choosing to try to be normal, fitting in with my friends, going through each day with my checklist, buying into the message the world teaches through music and television--that I need to find happiness in any way I can and right now, because I shouldn't have to wait for anything.

If I chose the road to my right I was choosing to learn to wait patiently on God. (It amazes me how God tells us to wait and the world tells us instant gratification is the way to go) Not to expect happiness, because God offers a joy none of us can comprehend. To not only read His word, but to also live by it, all of it, not just the parts I find easy-to-live-by or interesting, but every part.
I want to recognize the things that are a waste of my time because they do not bring me closer to Him or further His kingdom so I can let them go. And I want my example of living a set apart life to shine like a "star in the universe" (Phil 2:15). That's why God told us not to be part of this world...we are supposed to look otherworldly because this is not our home. By living a set apart life, people who need Him will see His love in our eyes and our actions, and God willing they will ask us why we are different. (I wonder what people in need of Christ think of Christians who live just like they do? Why would anyone want to accept Christ when most of the Christian examples are hypocrites, preaching one thing, living something totally different) I don't think we have to live in a Christian commune to achieve this. At least not a physical commune. But I think we have to guard our minds and hearts against the messages of the world. We can't afford to become emotionally attached to the things this culture promotes. We can only love the people in the secular world as Jesus loved them...if we love them humanly we will get burnt. Emotional attachment is so strong and just because we are Christians doesn't mean we are immune to becoming emotionally attached to the secular world, human or object. So we have to keep a safe distance while still filling the world with Christ's pure and holy love.

I have a desire to have authentic friendships…I think it comes to a point where God wants us to let go of relationships that are bringing us down. It is another moment of allowing Him to refine us with fire. In the end, we have to focus on Him. We were made to have a relationship with Him so if something takes the place of it, even a relationship, we have to let go. As God continually told the Israelites to get rid of their idols, we too have to clean out anything that brings our focus from our Lord's face. That even means relationships...and those seem to be the hardest to let go of. I've had to do it...I've had to let go and trust that God would take care of that person without my influence in their life. Because the risk was losing my own relationship with Him. God said through Paul that we should not be “unequally yoked together” (2 Cor 6:14). He is talking about more than marriage relationships here. No matter how strong we think we are we can be pulled down by the other person (1 Cor 10:12).

Though I might sound like I have it figured out, writing it out and living it is two different things. Each day I have to get up and choose who to serve. I have to strive to live by Philippians 4:8. Because if we apply that to everything in our lives...our books, the tv shows we watch, the movies we watch, the music we listen to, the jokes we tell, the conversations we enter into, and our very thoughts...if we live by that verse won't we be guaranteed to be set apart from this world? That is why I feel so strongly about drinking, smoking, drugs, tattoos, physical contact with the opposite sex. Those avenues are the world's...if I want to be an example to others, why would I walk down those roads? Why would I want to defile God’s temple, which is my own body to simply gratify my own desires? 1 Corinthians 10:23-24, “‘Everything is permissible’—but not everything is beneficial. ‘Everything is permissible’—but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.” Is it good for those who need God to see us, the ambassadors of Christ, living as they do: relaxing with a bottle of wine at the end of the day or ordering a mixed drink at a restaurant in the company of our girlfriends, falling asleep next to our boyfriend/girlfriend during a home movie, and going to see a new movie just because it looks funny even though the content is less than perfect. We can’t settle for less than perfect. 1John 2:6 tells us, “whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.” Wasn’t Jesus perfect? Should we not “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1John 1:6).

As I said before, I don’t pretend to live out these commands perfectly. But I pray that each day I come closer to the person God wants me to be. How can I do less for a God who “showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 4: 9-10).

You have a choice. A choice to live your life in total abandonment to your Savior or a life chained to the ways of the world, hindering your testimony to those seeking His face. You can either give all of your heart to Jesus or allow the world to steal away parts of it. Let me tell you, Jesus wants all of you, not just part of you. For "the world and its desires pass away, but the man (woman) who does the will of God lives forever" (1John 2:17) I pray that you choose to abandon the world. I pray you burn your idols and turn your face to the one who loves you with an everlasting love!

“This is love for God: to obey his commands. And His commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” 1 John 5:3-5


Lord, I want to live a life pleasing to you, set apart from this world.
Allow your unfailing love to shine through me.
Guide me to live differently than the world tells me to live.
Help me live according to your commands.
Help me walk as Jesus did.

The Old Rugged Cross

Today I had the need to praise God through some good, old fashioned gospel music. So I opened my itunes and found The Gaither Vocal Band. Those guys know how to praise God and you can't help but get in a toe-tapping mood when you listen to them.



What touches me the most, besides the inspirational music, is the lyrics. When "The Old Rugged Cross Made the Difference" began to play I was struck with the thought that I don't think about the Cross enough. Let me share the lyrics of the first verse and chorus with you...

'Twas a life filled with aimless desperation

Without hope walked the shell of a man;

Then a hand with a nailprint stretched downward,

Just one touch then a new life began.

Chorus:

And the old rugged cross made the difference

In a life bound for heartache and defeat;

I will praise Him forever and ever

For the cross made the difference for me.

If we could only live out our lives with the Cross on our minds and this chorus as praise on our lips, how much different would our life here on earth be like?

follow this link to watch a video of this song...excuse the static because the whole video is worth it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mw3DYtZCOyc&feature=related

Roomies

The idea of getting my best friend to be my roommate has always been one of my dreams. I could picture us staying up late sharing stories, giving ourself pedicures while watching sappy movies, and just being there for each other through the craziness of life.

As a college student, who still lives at home, I've never experienced sharing a dorm or an apartment with a roommate. A lot of my college friends share places with their best girlfriends. They often post crazy pictures of their times together and sometimes I'll visit them and think how cool it would be to share an apartment.

But just when I feel down about my circumstances I experience a night like last night....

My sister and I were getting ready for bed and we turned on the radio. One of our favorite stations to listen to at night is hosted by a woman who solves people's problems. Often a guy in love will call in and ask her to dedicate a song to his girl and she'll throw in some advice for free. We love listening to the sappy loves songs and laughing out loud at the people who dare to call in and share their life story.
We finally told each other we had to go to sleep. After turning out the lights and crawling into bed (we share a room and a queen sized bed) Jennifer started chattering up a storm. It is amazing how the quietness of night brings out the chatterbox in my sister. Part of me was irritated because I was tired, but as I look back on our life and our time sharing a room (almost 15 years!) the best memories are when we talk, under the covers, in the darkness of room before drifting off to sleep.

So, I might have never shared an apartment with a close, college friend, but I've shared a room with my best friend in the whole, wide world for most of my life!! She is, and always will be my best friend....my sister, Jennifer!!

Thank you, Jennifer, for putting up with me all these years. Just like many roommates we have our differences and our arguments, but we always manage to patch things up.

I praise God for you, little sister!

My plans vs God's plans

I've been reading Mary Beth Chapman's book "Choosing to See" this weekend. Not only is the book about the Chapman family and the tragic death of their five-year-old daughter, Maria Sue, but there is a main theme that runs throughout the book. This theme is the struggle that Mary Beth has had in recognizing that God's plans do not always line up with her own.

I'm sure many of us struggle with this from time to time, I know I do. I like to have things planned out. I don't like to be caught off guard. When my family and I are going on a trip I like to know exactly what we are doing and when we are doing it so I can be prepared.
I have some friends who are spontaneous. They like when events come up unexpectedly and they like to go with the flow, but for me going with the flow sometimes seems impossible.

One of my favorite verses, Jeremiah 29: 11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Look closely at this verse. "For I know the plans I have for you." God is speaking and He says that He has plans for you. Not the other way around. God doesn't say "so, how do you want your life to go? Let me take notes so I can follow your insructions to a T." That isn't how it works. He created us and He has a plan for us. Somtimes His plans don't turn out to be what we invisioned or even what we prayed for, but as Romans 8:28 says "in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

We can have faith that God works in our best interest. As children of God, we can place our hands in His and trust that He will lead us on the best path.

Father, thank you that you have a plan

for me. Remind me that your plan is

better than the plans I have for myself.

Help me to daily surrender to your will and

praise you even when your plans turn

out differently then my own.