When I Grow Up...

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

I love asking preschool-age children that question - it's always a surprise the answer they'll give. One of my nieces desires to be a "rescue vet," while the other just doesn't know. It's okay to not know. It's okay to be grown up and still not know what you want to do or be. Although, one thing we should all want to be is like Christ.

There's a song by Warren Barfield that has the lyrics, "Who I want to be looks a lot like You, who I am has a lot of work to do." Isn't that the truth? The more we strive to be like Jesus, the more we see we aren't much like Him. I think that's God's intention - the more we strive to be holy, the more we realize we will never be, so we come to appreciate His grace even more.

It's His grace that saves us. It's His grace that gives our lives purpose. What is your purpose?

Growing up, I wanted nothing more than to be a Mom when I grew up. I grew up with a mom who stayed at home with the four of us and provided us, along with my Dad, an amazing childhood - I can't remember lacking for anything, except the mohawk I wanted to get in first grade but wasn't allowed...

I never desired to have a career, I never desired to be a working woman. I still feel that way today. At times I felt lost, almost like God didn't give me a talent or a calling. Then one day at teen camp, I felt God calling me to give up my life, no matter the cost, to follow Him, no matter where He called me.

A year or so later, I started seeing God's call on my life as a teacher, a writer, and a speaker. I enrolled in a Speech class in high school and was encouraged by that teacher to pursue my talent in speaking. Later, in college, I was also encouraged by a professor to pursue my talents in devotional speaking and writing.

I was told, however, that I needed to have life experiences in order to become a women's writer/speaker. "Easy enough," I thought, so I prayed for life experiences.

Since that time, I have had many experiences, some overwhelmingly big that I know I've experienced them for no other reason than to use in ministry one day.

When I go through these obstacles, no different than any other person (we all face trials and experiences), I'm comforted by the fact that God is answering my prayer for experiences and confirming His will for me to become a women's writer/speaker.

Just as Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, God doesn't comfort us to make us comfortable, but so we can comfort others. In the same sense, God doesn't give us experiences and successes just for our own good, but so we can share our successes, testimony, and experiences with others (2 Corinthians 1:4).

What is it that God's asking you to do? Do you have a particular talent that others praise? Are you gifted in a certain way? Do you feel Him calling you to action or to a heart of willingness where He can show you His will for your life?

What does God want you to be when you grow up? He has a plan for your whole life. Find out His will for your next step.

"For I know the thoughts I think towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end" (Jer 29:11)

Everlasting Love

We all want to be loved. We love stories about love. We love songs about love. We love being loved. Funny how God made us that way. He made us with a desire to be loved, and He desires for us to desire His love.

Yet, have you ever felt that you've done too much wrong for anyone, let alone, God, to love you?

Psalm 78:56-66 talks about the children of Israel turning their backs on God (v 56-57). Because of their behavior, God became furious and "abhorred" Israel (v 59). The word, "abhor" is synonomous to "despise, hate," it means "to regard with extreme repugnance or aversion; detest utterly; loathe; abominate" (dictionary.com, 2010).

Is this the God of Love that we know?? How can God extremely detest these people?? I thought He loved everyone??

Exactly, He does. In Jeremiah 31:3, God says about the children of Israel, "I have loved thee with an everlasting love." This word, "everlasting" means without end, of old, or infinite. So if God loves us with a love that never ends and is infinite, how can He abhor us? That's just it. He doesn't abhor US, He abhors our ACTIONS.

He is jealous when we place other things/people above Him in our lives.
He is hurt when we criticize and bring down other people.
He hates it when we disobey Him and disgrace His name.

But He still loves US.

Isn't that refreshing? No matter how much wrong we do, no matter how badly we think we've messed up, God still, and always will LOVE US. Just as the children of Israel in Psalms, we will face consequences for our sins, but God will never stop loving us.

He loves us with a love "of old": the same love He had for King David, for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for all the saints we read about and think we can never be as close to God as they were - He loves us just as much as He loves them.

Everlasting. Without end.

Youth

I had the privilege of babysitting my newly 3-year-old niece the other day. We were outside enjoying the spring weather when she looked across my front yard to the golf course in front of my house and very matter-of-factly stated, "I WILL play golf one day."

I've been spinning that statement over in my mind since she said it. Not only was her determination adorable, but it was also very encouraging. Here's why:

In 1 Timothy, Paul urges Timothy to "let no man despise [your] youth, but be an example of the believers in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, and in purity" (1 Timothy 4:12). Perhaps Paul meant "youth" in more ways than one. We often think of physical youth. What about mental youth? Even inexperience? Isn't it always the youth or the inexperienced that face situations with a fresh courage. When beginning a new job we often enter the office with a fresh outlook and hope for change only to be knocked back by someone with more experience and frankly, more pessimism (often disguised as "common sense").

My niece's determination is the perfect example of Paul's charge to Timothy. Taking her to a golf course now and trying to teach her how to play would be nearly impossible. Or would it? We never know until we try.

What if we all had the same "youthful" determination/faith? Jesus urged his disciples to have a "childlike faith." Simply put, we should have a fresh-faced, optimistic faith. Children do not look at circumstances and consider the risks or obstacles: they simply "go". We, as adults, tend to look at our circumstances and talk ourselves out of possibilities.

The next time we are faced with a seemingly impossible or even slightly difficult task, instead of considering all the negative things that COULD happen, let's stare it down and, with a childlike determination, tell ourselves "I WILL do this." Whether it be faith in trusting God with finances, losing weight, changing our career, giving of yourself to help someone else, standing up against gossip, or fighting to save a marriage - look at that problem, put your hand in God's and DO that thing together.

March 27, 2010

I have to confess, I was embarrassed today by something I said earlier this week.

My husband and I are in the process of buying our first home. Everything involving this process has fallen into place so smoothly and all of our finances have been met while buying this house - so much so that we know that God wants us to have this place. He is blessing us tremendously.

I am also direction the annual Easter play for my church and incorporating a dinner into it to support youth missions: my husband is working full-time, going to graduate school full-time, and participating in the play, so our schedule is extremely busy for this week leading up to Easter.

We were told three weeks ago that we could expect to close on our house this week. Some issues came up, so we were told that we could close this coming Monday. I was excited - Monday would allow some cushion to move in and get things ready for the play and for my in-laws to visit for the holiday. There was one financial issue that concerned me, though.

Because we had an issue surface, the closing was going to cost a little more than expected, leaving us enough, but less money for other things I had planned to purchase while moving in.

We received a call this week telling us that we would be closing on Wednesday of this coming week - 3 days before the Easter play! I panicked and could not understand why God was pushing this back. I asked Him why because it didn't fit in "my schedule."

(You think I would know how well my schedule and God's schedule works by now. haha. They are always vastly different and His is always better!) So last night I received my answer.

I was painting alone in the house when God revealed to me that because we are closing on Wednesday, we are closing on Josh's payday. So we have more than enough money to cover the issue and buy the other things.

:)

I apologized and was embarrassed that I had questioned Him about such a small thing. After all He's done. I guess I can't judge the children of Israel too much for complaining, it seems I was doing the same thing.

March 28, 2010

Our topic of discussion in Sunday School this morning was: "Why Do We Think We Are Better Than Other People?".

I sat and listened to the answers: "Sometimes I think.....", "Because I look at people as if....", "I used to think....", "It's hard for me to think of a criminal as....."

While agreeing with them all, I noticed a recurring theme in all of these answers and could not help but think that it is the root of majority of our problems with other people: We look at others through our own eyes. "I think", "I look", "I used to", "It's hard for me." See the pattern?

Paul instructed the Corinthian church not to compare themselves to those around them, but to God. Wouldn't that solve most of our relationship issues? Even our pride?

When someone has hurt our feelings, or done wrong to us or someone we love, what is our natural reaction? Mine is to harbor hurt feelings and then judge that person when they do not react in the way I feel they should react. This, in turn, causes dissension with that person and can affect our relationship as well as those close to us. This problem becomes our focus when we interact with this person.

How much different would the situation be if we looked at the person and situation through God's eyes? What if we saw that person how God sees that person? I have done things unintentionally and, as hard as it is to admit, sometimes intentionally that hurt God. What is His reaction? While it hurts Him, He still loves us, He still wants a relationship with us.

The book of James tells us "As much as is in you, live peaceably with all men."

Are we to ignore our hurt and continue to be walked over by that person? No. God gives us guidelines for confronting a problem with someone.

I learned today that I need to look at others the way God sees them - as how/who they can be, not by what they do. I mess up daily, but God shows me how I've messed up and He lets me try again. He knows I'll mess up more and hurt Him in the future with my sin, but He still has a relationship with me.

Jesus knew that Peter would deny Him, yet, He cultivated a relationship with him for 3 years. Jesus knew Judas would betray Him, yet He brought him into His inner circle of disciples and taught him for 3 years.

How different could our relationships be with those close to us and those we come in short contact with throughout the day if we looked at others through God's eyes rather than our own?

Blackberries & Jesus

Strange name? Not really. :) It's been a dream of mine for some time to write a devotional. My husband has been super encouraging about pursuing my dreams - I'm working on the "becoming a professional photographer" part of my dream, starting to learn piano, and thought I needed to begin the "becoming an author" part as well. So, here it is: "Blackberries & Jesus."

The title for this has been in my head about as long as the dream - two of my favorite things that I never get tired of. Granted, Jesus is more important than any fruit, and by no means do I mean He's second place to anything - it's just when you fill a day with all of your favorite things and you lie down that night replaying the day in your head, it all rushes together, but there is one favorite that tops all favorites...that's Jesus. Lots of other things fill my mind as my favorites: cupcakes, my husband, 4 year olds' silliness, napping on a rainy day, the smell of sunscreen, a great bargain, amaryllises, cooking a good meal.... but to list all of those would make the title of my blog much too long. :) So, it's simply "Blackberries & Jesus. A menagerie of my favorite things."