Finding perspective

  A wise friend once told me that she believes joy is a matter of perspective, that one has to first learn to see the beauty in a situation before they can acquire joy in that situation. Wise words.

God is a God of beauty and emotion, and when I say beauty I'm not referring to beauty that the eye can behold (though He does make people and scenery beautiful). I'm referring to the beauty of the love and joy He surrounds us with; the very beauty that gives meaning to this world and lightens the burdened soul. To obtain this kind of joyful attitude one must make a conscious habit of looking beyond the spectrum of the situation to discern the beauty within. Not every situation is beautiful, nor is always what we want it to be, and often it is very difficult to find any joy in it. But we must remember that because God allowed that situation into our life, there is beauty in it and when we find it, that beauty will bloom into a joy that only God could give us. His beauty is all around, beauty that turns to joy when we find it. I have found it in my life.

 I see it in the joyful seasons and the hard seasons. I see it when I'm facing disappointments and when I'm receiving blessings.

 I see this beauty in the laughter we share around the dinner table, in the silence that enfolds us as Daddy prays for the meal.

 I see it in the joy that sparkles from my sisters eyes as she runs to greet her man at the door.

I hear it in the thunder of little feet that rush to greet me as I come home from work. I feel it in the bundles of joy that burst from the door to throw themselves upon me. 

I see it in my Lolly as she gazes at me with luminous brown eyes, and feel it as she wraps her arms around me.

I see it in the fingers that grasp mine as I rock Shandie, and hear it in the sanctuary as the church lifts up their voice before our God. 

    I see it in all the little things that often go unnoticed, yet catch my eye, heart or ear and cause me to notice the beauty within.  These are the things that my heart thrives on, the things that cause me the most joy and give me a greater glimpse of my Savior.

Will you stop and survey your life to find this hidden beauty?

"Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart."

 Psalm 37:4

"For the glory of God!"

What love really means

    Love. How does one even know the true meaning of love in this world? This day in age when someone refers to love they are referencing the generic kind of love that Hollywood sells. A love that revolves around lust and "love at first sight." The world has taken a God given thing, the very thing that made this world beautiful, and turned it into something fake and short lived. In this whirlwind of romance and emotion, people have completely forgotten the true meaning of love. They have forgotten what it is to truly love. They rejected God's perfect and selfless love for that which is as empty as the air. How has that worked for people? 

    Somewhere in Africa there is a child in an orphanage, crying for the love of a mother who is never coming back. 

In India a child sits begging in the streets because her father has abandoned her.

The teenager in jail weeps for the deeds he's done. All he's ever wanted was to be loved and accepted for who he is.

The man on the sidewalk, trying desperately to keep warm, hasn't been shown love in months. 

    

      God is a God of love. He created love and designed that His people would live in love. Daily His heart is grieved for those who are "unloved." He cries out to His people to bring back that kind of love and awaken the world unto Him through His love. The world would be a totally different place if we have but the courage to love as He has loved. But where has that love gone??





   

     

Why are we not reaching out with unstoppable love?? Why have we let the world trample us and rob us of our courage? Where is our faith to do these things??

^" Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." 

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 

"For the glory of God!"

Waiting for mine

  Dear sisters,

   If you are a single lady seeking to honor your future husband and wait upon God to write your love story, then this post is for you. 

     Ladies, I know that this season of waiting can sometimes be hard, especially with Valentine’s Day just around the corner. But we need to remember that this season of waiting will not last forever. One day God will complete His love story for us and when that day comes, the waiting will no longer matter. We are in a fight for purity and true love. We want a love that only God can write. A love that the world will constantly fight against. In this battle we need to remember that every season of waiting is for a purpose and this particular season is a hidden gift from God. We have been given the opportunity to prepare ourselves for marriage. An opportunity that most women will never get because they rush into relationships.

     Let’s look at this under a different light: take a minute and imagine what kind of husband you want. Now think about what kind of woman that man would want. Are you that kind of woman?? 

    Girls, we have been given the rare and unique gift of readying ourselves for our groom. Don’t let this time go to waste!! Let’s ready ourselves, be in active prayer for our man! Study what the Bible says about marriage and how a Christian wife should conduct herself and strive to be that woman. God obviously thinks our man is worth the wait (or maybe He thinks we will be worth the wait.)  Let’s use this Valentine’s Day to dedicate prayer to our husbands and start becoming the women they deserve, the women they've prayed for their whole life, women they can be proud of.

     I finish with this: ladies, don’t give up the fight. Don’t settle for less than what God has for you. Always remember that though we are single in this season, somewhere out there is a man worth waiting for. When you think about him, stop and remember, you are his and he is yours. Don't do anything that either of you will regret when you are finally together. Be patient and wait, demonstrating your love for your husband by your willingness to wait. 

"Love is patient...Love bears all things, believes all things,

 hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends." 

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

"For the glory of God!" 

When I fly

"I'll fly away oh glory, I'll fly away in the morning, 

when I die hallelujah by and by, I'll fly away! "

 I sat there listening to these lyrics and watching the video of the man who is now gaining his eternal reward. I had goosebumps as I watched his life legacy. The video got me thinking. If I died tonight what would my life legacy be? How will people remember me when I'm gone?

    I walked away from that funeral in awe of the legacy that man left and praying that at the end of my life I too have that kind of legacy. The one thing that kept coming back up as the pastor talked was how devoted Mr. Jerry was to God...his faith, his discipleship of others, his trust...etc. How does one develop that kind of faith and devotion to God? Or more to the point, how does one leave that legacy? It’s quite simple: by living in genuine faith and faultless obedience to God.

   I’ve learned that God rarely calls us to do big things. More often than not the things He asks of us are small and unnoticeable things. Yet He will never present us with big opportunities to serve Him if we are not faithful in the little things. By building up our obedience in Him, we allow Him to build a legacy around our lives. Whether that is a legacy that touches hundreds or simply dozens, is based on our faithfulness to the Designer of that legacy.

    I don’t know about you, but I know I for one, want to surrender the pen of my life to His hands and let Him write my story how He will. When I die I want to know I made a difference in this world, in the lives of those around me, in my church. When the day comes that I’m entering into eternity, I don’t want to be lying there with regrets, wishing I’d done things differently.  I want to be so faithful to God that He is fully able to use me to set this world on fire for Him! To have that kind of faith I know I have a long wait ahead of me. I pray that as I seek to become the woman God designed me to be, He will develop within me the spirit of obedience and faithfulness.

When I fly away I want to hear Him say, "Well done, thy good and faithful servant!"

  

"For the glory of God!"

Distputing fear

I’m running…and running..but I can’t run fast enough. They’re always behind me..chasing me... closing in on me. They get closer. I scream...

and then I wake up.  

It’s always the same. I wake up just before they catch me.  These are the dreams that haunt my sleep whenever I think of returning to Africa. My fear has become the enemies tool to slow God’s plan with me.

     But I will not be defeated.  There is a stubbornness in me that  refuses to be trampled down. God has called me for a reason and no matter how scared I am, I refuse to let Satan stop me. 

     I think of those little arms that entwine themselves around my neck. The sad eyes that long for love; the millions of orphans around the world that have no hope and I'm filled with anger and determination. 

    I remember the joy I felt while being there, fulfilling God's plan. There was so much love in my heart I thought it would burst as I held those hurting children and brought laughter to their hearts as I loved them.  I think of how God's grace transformed their lives and brought hope back into their hearts. These are the thoughts that sustain my call. These are the memories that spur my determination not to be hampered. 

 

 

When I'm in Africa I experience a whole new measure of joy. I just need to say no to fear and yes to the nudge in my heart. One day I will stand once more upon that red dirt with the warm breeze on my face. I will hear their laughter and will feel His presence like I only do when in His perfect plan. When that day comes and I hear His summons, I'll gather every ounce of faith that I possess and throw fear to the wind. No matter how scared or small I feel, I will go. For this I know: God won't send me where His grace can't protect me. I'm never alone; there is nowhere I'll go that He won't be.

“For the glory of God!”

Catching a glimpse of heaven

Over the last 2 years God has really been challenging me on where my faith is. As I’ve learned to be on the lookout for Him, I’ve also learned to see the things He does in my life. But I continue to miss the acts that matter most; those small and “insignificant” things that God does in my life for great purpose. Those are the things that I need to see and learn from, so I've spent the last 2 years on a Godhunt, trying to recognize when He does little things in my life. I see now that all those little things He does and the lessons I learn from them, are for the purpose of revealing more of who He is to me.

Two years ago I set out to simply to learn to recognize the little things He was doing in my life.  That year I learned that He is truly Jehovah-Jireh. 

    Last year I sought to see what He was teaching me about who He is to me personally. I learned just how much He is truly my Shepherd.

    This year I’m trying something new. I’ve started a “glimpse of heaven jar.”  This jar is a place to record my prayers, spiritual lessons, trials, times of receiving comfort from the Lord, the times I saw God’s hand at work and the things that impacted my spiritual life in 2014.  This jar stands as a challenge to me, challenging me to live in active pursuit of God by searching for Him in my daily life.

    Likewise, I encourage you to do whatever it takes in 2014 to draw nearer to our Father. Whether it's a jar to record God's work or simply upping your prayer life, I pray that you will be actively seeking God. Let us make 2014 the year of personal revival in each of us, the year that we draw closer to Him than ever before!

May God be seen by each of us for how great He really is!!

 

“But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Deuteronomy 4:29

"For the glory of God!"

Christmas in our spirit

      She grabbed my hand as I hugged her. Holding tight she said, "Thank you for remembering us and coming today! When we see young people coming in here and smiling at us, hugging us, listening to us and sharing your joy with us, it inspires us. It reminds us that we are not forgotten in here, that we are still important to people."

     She went on, "We're stuck in here day after day with no change and no visitors. Just the same thing every day. Few people care enough to come see us, let alone listen to us. We look at that and think, 'what do we have to live for?' Then we look at days like today, when visitors come just to hang out with us, and we think 'that's why we're still here. To bring inspiration to young people."

    This coming from sweet 90 year old Mary, at Turlock Residential Retirement home.

     As we wake every morning with joy in our hearts ready to face a new day, they wake with heavy hearts, facing another empty, depressing day. Separated from their loved ones, they spend their days playing Bingo and watching the hours tick by as they wait for visitors.

      They sit by the door hoping..waiting...praying for a visitor. The door opens. A warm pair of arms suddenly envelops them. Startled, they look up. Friendly eyes and a warm smile accompany the unexpected hug. You smile. They smile. You say, "Merry Christmas!" and spend the next hour talking with them.. or rather, lending them a listening ear. By the time you leave you have just made their day and completely transformed their spirits. 

     What does Christmas mean to you?  For me, it means having all the more reason to share Christ's love and joy with those less fortunate than me. This Christmas, I urge you to remember the elderly. Be the reason they smile that day. Show them what Christmas means to you.

  May the grace of our Lord be with you all! Merry Christmas!