Thank You For Healing

A few weeks ago while I was in prayer I got this sense of forgiveness rush through me. I didn't understand it and I wasn't sure what to make of that feeling. I felt forgiveness toward situations that happened a long time ago and situations that I haven't thought about for months. I didn't tell anyone about the feeling because I wasn't even sure what I was feeling forgiveness about. I prayed about it but I was afraid that the answer God would give me would put me in an uncomfortable position. In order to have total forgiveness I would have to admit that I was also in the wrong.

I was able to brush that situation under the rug for a while because so many other things were going on in my life. I thought that I had moved on from that whole situation but last night I found out that I was wrong. I may have thought that my job was done and that I wiped my hands of the topic, but God knew better. I prayed for so long about an issue that occurred well over a year ago. I moved forward with my life but I felt that God never really answered my prayer. As time passed the wounds seemed to lessen and I figured that must have been my answer. The truth is though, that I wasn't listening to God I was choosing my own way to go about this and I chose the answer that I wanted to hear. I wanted to be right, and in order to do that I had to ignore the words of the Lord.

I was looking over a very important piece of information that I would have found in the Word if I were actually looking.
"My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body." Proverbs 4:20-22

Someone reached out to me last night asking for forgiveness and I realized that it was God. This was His plan all along but I just needed to wait for His answer. The feeling that I had all those weeks ago was in fact forgiveness. Just talking to this person washed feelings of relief and a sort of peace about everything that was in our past. I finally felt like I could move forward, and move on in a Godly way. Once I finally listened God answered my prayer after all this time. I did not deserve to get an answer after all of this time because it was my fault that it took so long to hear the answer.

Today, tomorrow and always, I thank God for healing, repairing and forgiveness. It was a wonderful surprise last night to receive healing and understanding. I get so excited and on fire for the Lord when He presents Himself to me in ways that I would never have imagined. I am blessed to have Christ in my life and His wonderful works in my life. I challenge you to open your ears and listen to what God has to say. Even when you feel like giving up on someone or a situation don't. Remember that God loves you and He has a plan for everything in your life.

Thank You Lord For Life

We live in a world that is full of devistation. Turn on the news, any given day at any time and you will see the horror that occurs right here in our back yards. We have soldiers at war fighting for our safety and we have so many that die in the line of duty. There are people killing other people all around us and violence doesn't surprise us anymore. Hospitals are full of people that are dying from diseases like cancer and organ failure. It is depressing but sadly it is the truth. You can choose to look at life that way and live in sorrow or you can think about the flip side of all of this.

Yesterday my mom and I went to go see our friends who just brought their first child into this world. Before we went up to see her we had to figure out where the room was. We went to the front desk and as the gentleman was searching for the room number I was thinking about all the terrible things that had happened that day. Then the woman at the desk said, oh! another baby was just born. I looked at her puzzled and she told us that every time a baby is born they turn off the radio and play a lulleby. I was stunned for a second because right at that very moment a new life was brought into that world. I was standing in the same building that God was bringing a life into.

When we finally got to see our friends new baby I was in awe of God's creations. I held that baby in my arms and thanked the Lord for a beautiful, wonderful life. I held a life in my arms that had not seen any destruction or experienced any death. It was kind of like holding an angel for me. It sounds cliche but its the truth. I have been focused this week on what I am thankful for. Today I was all ready to write about my friends and how grateful I am to have them in my life. Which is true but something else has been laid on my heart today.

I am sitting her and thanking God for life. In a world where we see death and sorrow I have been given a new perspective. God brings us life. I am thankful for my life and for the lives of people that are around me every day. I am incredibly thankful for all of the lives that God creates each and every day. So it is my challenge for you today to figure out what it is about life that you are thankful for. Live life the way God intended us to and remember that even in a world of sorrow it is okay to be happy.

Thank You for Sending Your Son

This is the time of year where everyone is telling each other what they are thankful for. For a lot of people this is just a superficial thanks because they don't really feel all that grateful from the start. As Christians we tend to talk about thankfulness at different times throughout the year. We have so many things that God has given to us, that we should be grateful for but how grateful are we really? The way that I see it, a lot of us take our lives and our faith for granted.

Yesterday while I sat and listened to the sermon at church, I got distracted trying to figure out what I am grateful for this year. It shouldn't be that hard to think of things but I got trapped in all of the things that went wrong this year instead of all of the blessings that have been given to me. Then all of a sudden the pastor really got my attention because he began talking about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and the fact that God gave His son for us. I just froze for a second because the only things that I was thankful for were material objects. I am embarrassed and disappointed in myself for becoming materialistic rather than realize the most important thing that my life is built upon.

I am thankful for God giving us His one and ONLY son. He is our savior and that is the greatest gift that we have ever, and will ever receive. If you are a parent think about this for a moment, could you imagine letting one of your children die a horrible death right in front of you. Could you watch your child be beaten and humiliated by everyone who claimed to support them at some point in their life. I cannot imagine any of us who would be able to stand that, but God did. He knew that His son was going to be our savior. No matter how hard it was for God He still gave us His son, which in turn gave us life. I am eternally thankful to God and to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and ONLY Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him." John 3:16-17

We would have nothing, not our families, or our friends or our belongings if God did not send His Son to save us. This week when you are asked what you are thankful for remember this verse. I could say that I am thankful for all of the blessings in my life and all of the opportunities that I have been given but when it comes down to it the most important thing that we can be thankful for is Jesus Christ our Lord and savior. What a wonderful gift, God gave us through His only Son. I am thankful for the life that I have and everything in my life but my focus this week is sharing with others the greatest gift we should be thankful for.

As For Me, I Trust in You

A week ago today I was holding a little baby in my arms wishing that I never had to let go, but I did. We had to let her go because it was in God's plan. I was hurting and I was angry. I wanted to be angry with God, I wanted to be angry with myself for not being able to stop what was going to happen. I couldn't do either of those things. I had to come to peace with God's plan and His will for that babies life and for my life. This week was a very trying week for me, and it was a week where I learned just how many people that He has placed in my life for support.

It feels like an eternity since that day last week. The days dragged on and I was kind of in a haze. I made it through each day, and even learned, and gave testimony to so many, but I couldn't stop thinking about the major change that has occurred in my life. As I have said before I hate change. I like things to be predictable and or solvable. Sometimes I get caught up in needed to take control of my life and how I am going to live my life, but I forget that I am not the one in control, God is. Sometimes the things that we try and take control of are small, and other times they have a huge impact on our walk with the Lord. Here I am preaching that we all need to give everything over the Lord, while I have sat here not letting Him take control of my situation.

I think that, that is one of the reasons last week was so hard for me. I wanted to control who was in my life and who was not allowed in my life. I wanted, what I wanted and nothing else. I was treating my loss as a personal failure. I did not fail because I am not in control and God did not fail because this was His plan. This week He has shown me how truly blessed I am. I do not deserve any of the blessings that have come my way. I didn't listen to Him, and I tried to take control, yet still, He blessed me and He comforted me. Through all of my tears He has yet again showed me His light and His love.

By trying to take control of this situation or any situation I am, in a way, saying to God that I do not trust His plan and His will . Psalm 55:22-23 says:
"Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall. But You, O God, will bring down the wicked into the pit of corruption; bloodthirsty and deceitful men will not live out half their days. As for me, I trust in You."

The first part really got me, because that is what I have been afraid of. I feared that I would not be able to keep moving on after this loss. I knew that by myself I really couldn't even stand right now, but I am standing. I am standing ONLY because the Lord is sustaining me with His love. For all of you that are facing trouble at the hand of other people read the second half of that verse and do not be anxious anymore. Trust in God. My challenge for you this weekend is to bow your head in prayer and trust God. Trust in His promises and His strength. All I can say to you is, As for my, I trust in You! God bless!

Judgement Free Zone?

In some way, shape, or form we all analyze each other. We make assumptions based on appearance, first impressions and stereotypes. You might say that you don't do that but honestly we all do it. It is part of our sinful nature, but those assumptions have consequences in your life. Even though we are Christians we do not always act like Christians. We fall into the worldly dramas and we lose out on relationships that God may have wanted us to have. Each time that we condemn or judge another person we are giving them a reason to stray from the church or their path/potential path with the Lord. If non believers see us acting like other non believers then what would make them want to accept Jesus into their hearts?

In my communication class we have been learning about how to make relationships work and how we view others. We have looked at the stereotypes that people put us in and then discussed how it made us feel when the assumptions were made. You may know the old saying, "Don't judge a book by its cover", and the same is true for people. It seems like that phrase has been drilled into our heads for all of our lives. If that is so true, how come we don't listen? Why is it so hard for us to look past the surface, or get over our judgments? For me, it is sometimes a fear of rejection. I don't take chances because I fear that when someone gets to know me they may not like me. My logic is that if I put them into stereotypical groups I never have to go out of my way to get to know them.

I am not alone in my fears, but there is another factor that plays into this. Some of us just don't care; Some people don't care what their judgement s do to others. You may think that if you don't care you can move on and forget about those people, but that's not always the case. It may sound extreme but each person that we judge and choose to ignore is another person that we are not sharing the love of Jesus Christ with. I still get caught up in meeting people and not liking them from the start. I never give those people a second chance and as I was reminded today, behind every angry person, or hurting person or happy person, there is a story and there is something in their life that makes them who they are.

I fell into the trap of judging and condemning  but today the Lord has reminded me how I am to live. One of my peers is a very angry person. I do not like anger being showed that vividly it scares me and I tend to look the other way. That person that I was shunning revealed something from the heart today and it made me realize that I was getting a lesson from God.

It is time for me to read scripture and actually take in what the Lord is saying to us.
"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your bother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye" Matthew 7:3

I had heard that verse time and time again but today it has been given meaning to me. I challenge you to look at your life before you pass judgement on someone else. Pay attention to what you are portraying to non believers. We are supposed to show the love of Christ and that means giving each person another chance. I had a nudge (more like a shove) into the right direction today. I am grateful for the reminder because I do have the love of God in my heart and its time I start acting like it.

Distractions

Distractions; they come in many different ways, at different times and they have different effects on us. Sometimes we get distracted for a few seconds or for a few minutes. Other times it might be a few days, then there are those who have been distracted for a few years. We don't realize the effect that distractions have on our lives. It might be something as small as you day dreaming at school or at work. Every time you look at your phone waiting for a reply you are being distracted from whatever else you were doing. Those are some very small everyday examples but distractions are not always so small.

For me in the past there have been days where I was so distracted by everything that was going on in my life, and I ended up in prayer for only a few minutes and only once that day. I am sure that I am not the only one that this has happened to. We try to keep it to ourselves when we realize that we were so distracted. I was embarrassed that I got so distracted and didn't spend time talking to God. I did not want to admit that I forgot but here I am finally deciding to admit it because again, I don't think that I am alone in this. Luckily I was able to realize what I was doing and I asked for forgiveness and I actually haven't let distractions take away from my prayer life but that is not the only thing that can be effected by distractions.

Right now I am sick, all I can think about is the fact that I hate being sick. I have a major project and an exam to complete tomorrow, yet all I can think about is how I feel. I do not feel motivated to do my work, even though I know it must get done. If I do not put my distractions aside, I could face getting a bad grade, or not doing my best work and getting a low grade. Most of those reading this are not in school, but the same can be true for the workplace. If you have an office job, you have to be organized and on top of paper work and whatever else your job requires. Say you had a bad morning before work and that's all you could think about; if you do not get your work done because you are distracted you could face consequences that you did not want.

The bigger issue is when Christian get distracted from God. You may not be getting distracted on purpose, most of us don't do it on purpose. There is that old saying that "life happens", its as if you have an excuse to be distracted but we do  not. God knows when your kids are causing trouble at home and He knows that you can't stop thinking about how to fix things. He knows where our hearts are at, and He waits for us to turn to Him. If we do not put God first we risk being the person who gets distracted for weeks or months. We get distracted when we are consumed with anxiety about making enough money to provide for our families, or wondering about the future and the life that your kids will inherit. It is so tiring to be so distracted from the Lord and His plans.

 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?^" Matthew 6: 25-27

Let me be the first to admit that I let worries become distractions in my day to day life. No matter how many questions I ask the answer is still the same. He gives us the same response because we need to embrace this truth in order to live and to love the life that has been given to us by our Lord and Savior. I challenge you to take a look at your life and figure out what is distracting you. If may be small and it may be large but give it to God because you cannot follow His path if you are continuously questioning His ways. Be in prayer and know that this might take time but it all starts with you admitting that you have distractions and asking for help to change.

Just Keep Going

It has been four days since my life was turned upside down again. I have tried not to ride the downward spiral of depression. It is very hard when everything seems to be going wrong, to look at the bigger picture. My friends have continued to check up on me and try to make me happy, and I have been trying so hard to make an effort at being happy. I hate disappointing those who are trying to be supportive of me, by giving a negative attitude. I think people have been worried that I will blame God for this whole mess, but that never really seemed to be a solution to my problem. Instead of blaming Him, I begged for His help, and His comfort, and His guidance. However, I have been having trouble hearing His answers.

The advice I have been receiving is greatly appreciated and helpful. I have been consumed in studying and searching for an answer and a healing for my pain and my families pain. I wish that the answers were in black and white and handed out to me, but they aren't. We all have to keep our eyes and our hearts open for the Lord's response to our prayers. Yesterday, a friend that I haven't spoken to in some time, reached out to me. We caught each other up on the things going on in each of our lives. Both of us have grown so much, and experienced so many things since we last spoke. We talked about the future and what we are going to do as adulthood fully comes upon us. In a way I was forced to look at the bigger picture and the future that could become present very shortly.

Today I have a long walk to one of my classes, so I put in my headphones and I talk to God. Today in my time of prayer I realized that I have been so focused on my loss and my pain. I have been feeling like the world has stopped and that life can't get worse, and then it does get worse, every single day. I sit and wait for something else to go wrong and I am wasting time. I am on the path that God is leading me on, but I have sort of just stopped and I am standing still. I haven't budged and I really haven't wanted to budge. While I am standing still I am missing so much of the joy and learning that is going on around me. I cannot just stop on this path because there is so much more waiting for me that God has planned.

There is a reason that I am going through all of this right now, and it will be revealed to me in time.
"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the songs of God to be revealed For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God." Romans 8: 18-21

There is a lot to that verse but it gives yet another perspective on my situation. Let me be the witness for you, that God will reveal His plans in His time. I challenge you to face any new or difficult situation was your focus on seeing God's bigger plan for your life. I have so much to learn and as I learn I hope to teach as well. This sorrow inside of me will take time to heal, but I cannot stop on the path that I am being led on. Just keep going.