Peace in His plan and timing

 Hmm, contentment. How can something sound so simple yet be so hard? Next to patience I do believe contentment is one of the hardest things to learn and put into practice in life. Yet it is so necessary in the christian walk. This is something I've really struggled with this year, learning to be content with where God has me at the present moment. All my life I've dreamed of graduating high school, going off to the mission field then coming home and marrying at 19,  immediately setting out for Liberia together. The problem is that was MY plan. Not GOD'S plan for me.

   Here I am 10 years after receiving my call and I find myself in America with absolutely no exciting plans for the near future. For months I was not ok with this. I wanted so badly to get back out there, I was bored with every day life here and felt useless in my inability to hands on help those kids. Don't get me wrong, I loved being back with my family and church but I had the hardest time adjusting to the fact that God had me here for an unknown amount of time. (My poor family put up with a lot those months!)  But in the last month something in me has changed. I realized how badly I was hurting my family by my lack of joy at being here and more so, how I was hurting and even disobeying GOD by not accepting His plan.

     I look at life as a series of learning experiences, each day offers a chance to learn from and about God if I am only searching for His lessons. By doing this I have learned so much!! Most of all, I've learned true contentment in His plan and have peace at where I am in life because of this. Yes, where I am now is not what I would have chosen, but I wouldn't change this for anything! Every day here is a special gift from the Lord, one that brings numerous blessings and abounding joy! I treasure the fact that I am still living at home, that I get to go to sleep each night with one of my little sisters in bed with me, that I get to greet my Daddy at the door with a kiss on the cheek, that I still get to make meals for my family. The list goes on, and each day I'm filled with more joy and contentment. I still miss Africa and will be thrilled when He calls me back but for now, being here is a little piece of heaven on earth! I thank God that He knows better than I the plans He has for me and the outcome of this time here.

"So he will do to me whatever he has planned.  

He controls my destiny."

Job 23:14 

"For the glory of God!!"

The joy of the King

       He giggles with glee as I tickle his bare tummy then turns and runs to the other side of the room where he eagerly calls me, "Bee! Aun Bee!" then squealing in delight he runs into my arms. It was the game we played over and over last night. My darling little nephew with his laughing blue eyes and feisty temperament is such a joy to my heart. As I laughed with him last night it got me thinking. God delights in His children and rejoices to bring them joy right? But what brings God joy? 

    God is a God of emotion, which means He is a God of joy, a GIVER OF JOY. He delights to shower us with blessings that will bring us joy. Personally, I believe that when we deliberately choose to shun the joy of the Lord and dwell on our negative emotions we are taking away from His joy. If we want to bring our Father joy we need to LIVE IN JOY. One of the most easily recognizable characteristics of a Christian is their joy, so if we want the world to recognize us as a Christian one of the things we need to do is live a joyful life. It's not always easy, but we need to be purposely seeking to find even a hint of joy in our day to day lives to thank God for that cheer, being in communion with Him through the simple things that bring a smile to our face.

 "But let all those who take refuge and put their trust in You rejoice; let them ever sing and shout for joy, because You make a covering over them and defend them;

 let those also who love Your name be joyful in You and be in high spirits" 

Psalm 5:11

"For the glory of God!"

The honor of The King

“While we continue onward in the face of a world filled with uncertainty, we can rejoice for hidden within it’s mysteries is the honor of a King” –‘One night with the king”   

  While the rest of the world lives in fear because of the chaos sin has created, we as Christians can be at peace knowing that hidden in this world of darkness if the mystery of God’s plan.Yes, the world is a dark place and daily getting darker and more evil but God does have a plan. A plan for the world and an individual plan for each person on this planet. Not one person goes unnoticed by God. Not one day goes unplanned by Him. There is no birth, no death, no tragedy and no joy that is not part of His plan. True, people often interfere with His plans but He always has a way of leading the willing heart back to where they should be. 

    Every person is a unique being with a unique destiny and calling for their life. We can rest assured that if we let God have His way with our life His plan will lead us to the best life we could have ever imagined and blessings beyond our wildest prayers. Dreams He has for us will unfold into great beauty as we are tried and tested in the holy fire and come out strong and purified in our faith.Our King's honor is hidden in this dark world, hidden within our hearts waiting to be lived out as we reveal His glory to the world through our humble lives. He that honors the Father is in turn honored by the Father.(1 Samuel 2:30)  The whole purpose of life is to live a life on honor to our King. So let us return to Him the honor that is due His holy name!

  "For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, 

which are God's."  1 Corinthians 6:20

"For the glory of God!"