"The Mirror Blocks the Way in Front of Me"

"The Mirror Blocks the Way in Front of Me" - Beth Moore

My reading today began with Daniel 3:1-4:37 & Psalm 136:1-9. Of course the story of Daniel is pretty familiar to us, as well as the story of Shadrach, Meshach, & Abed-Nego and the fiery furnace. Neither of these stories jumped out to me today - the man who jumped out to me was King Nebuchadnezzar.

Today we find this beloved king making a golden image of himself (a large image, at that - 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide), and commanding all people to bow down to it. We then read that he commands a fiery death for anyone who refuses to bow down to his image. Talk about arrogance!

The funny thing is, in the previous chapter, our dear king Neb had acknowledged God as the "God of gods" when He revealed a dream to the king (Dan 2:47). Neb had quickly forgotten his acknowledgement and had now elevated himself to "god" status.

Dan 3:15 is one of those verses that we, as Christians, can love because we know the end and can appreciate the irony; Neb boldly asks Shad, Mesh, and Abed "And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?" Ha. Good thing God is a God of Mercy!

So we know the story that the three men are thrown into the furnace, the guards who throw them in a burned up from the sheer heat, and the Neb sees the three men loosed, walking around, and joined by a fourth person. He acknowledges this fourth man as "like the Son of God" (Dan 3:25). He calls out the three men - notice he didn't care to call out the fourth man :) - and begins praising God for their rescue. He even goes so far as to order death and destruction on the household of anyone who fails to worship Shad, Mesh, and Abed's God (Dan 3:28-29).

Talk about a change! So it's a happy ending for King Neb. Not quite yet. We see in chapter 4 that Neb needs another reminder about his position and God's position. He begins boasting of his own power and his own success in building Babylon (Dan 4:30). He had just been warned in a dream about this arrogance not 12 months before! (Dan 4:29). So dear King Neb finds himself living as an animal in the wilderness until he comes to a knowledge of God's glory and power.

The beautiful thing about this story is found in the interpretation of King Neb's dream. Neb had dreamt about a tree being cut down, but the stump left intact and wrapped with iron and bronze. God tells us, through Daniel, that this stump is King Neb, that he'll be cut down, but he will be preserved while God is teaching him a lesson (Dan 4:20-26).

God wanted to teach King Neb to see past himself and to humble himself before God. God had brought this lesson to Neb multiple times, but each time, he seemed to forget. So, God taught him a BIG lesson. Yet, while God taught him this BIG lesson, He preserved his place in the kingdom. God doesn't cut us down and leave us for dead while teaching us - He preserves us, He loves us, and He protects the stump after He's cut it down.

King Neb was restored to his kingdom, just as God had promised, but with a new outlook on life and a new love for God (Dan 4:36-37). He was now seeing past himself - the mirror was no longer blocking his view - He was looking to God and not himself.

Thankfully, God is a God of Mercy - Psalm 136:1-9 praises Him for it. He doesn't allow us to live in pride, He teaches us humility. He wants us to be better versions of ourselves and conforms us in the most loving way possible.


"Humility doesn't come naturally" (Beth Moore, Daniel), but thankfully we have a God who loves us beyond what we can imagine who is willing to teach us.

Inspiration

I've been inspired by a friend to use my blog as a record of my journey with God throughout this new life I'm about to enter, well, entered about 8 months ago! :)

I was in the habit of blogging after I would do my daily Bible reading - I loved it and felt I learned so much! But I have slacked off lately...

I am now determined to start new - we'll see how this goes along with sleepless nights and life with a newborn and student teaching - but it'll be an adventure no less!

Wish me luck! I hope you can learn along with me :)

Grace

I have to admit I've been somewhat selfish lately. Somewhat self-absorbed.

Three weeks ago I went into pre-term labor at 25 weeks into my pregnancy.
I had no idea I was having contractions - go figure! :) - but went to the hospital with severe pain and humored the nurse as she told me I was, in fact, having contractions.

The thing is, this pain had been happening for a week or so. It had only gotten worse while on a road trip that weekend for our first baby shower. I prayed for it to stop and for everything to "be okay."

After hearing this news from the nurse, my husband and I were scared. While in the hospital, I prayed for the pain and contractions to stop. I prayed for labor to stop. I prayed the medicine wouldn't make me horribly sick just as the nurse had warned me it would. I prayed to be released the following day. After spending a day longer than I had hoped in the hospital, I was sent home on bed-rest.

I am still having contractions on occasion and am dealing with pain. I never knew bed-rest could be so taxing on a person - emotionally, spiritually, and physically. My husband and I pray for the pain and contractions to stop. I secretly (well, it's no secret now! :) ) pray that I will eventually be taken off bed-rest before our little man is born.

The thing was, none of these prayers were being answered in the way I had hoped. The medicine made me horribly sick, I'm still having contractions, I'm still in pain, and I'm still on bed-rest. I would be lying to say that I wasn't growing frustrated with God.

Today was one of those days when I was especially frustrated. In my boredom and sour mood, I purchased the new Shane & Shane album in hopes of cheering myself up - God definitely had a change in my mood in His plans! The following lyrics caught me by surprise and brought me to my face in front of God:

"What are you gonna do when the doctor comes into the room, puts his hand on you and says, 'I'm sorry'?
What are you gonna say to God when all you do is pray to God to take the thorn away
And all you hear Him say is,
'My Grace, my Grace, my Grace is sufficient, my Grace is sufficient..."

How did I feel after hearing this? Utterly selfish and immature. I had completely forgotten that He hears me ALWAYS - it's not that He wasn't answering my prayers - He is answering my prayers, but just through a means that will make me a better person in the end.

I say none of this for pity or sympathy (I know it'll all be worth it in the end when we have a healthy baby boy), but to share the lyrics of this beautiful song and refresh your faith that regardless of what you're facing, regardless of your situation, He hears the prayers of His children and ALWAYS answers them in a way to make us better versions of ourselves. We may not understand - most of the time, we won't, but eventually, He'll let us see His beautiful plan and how it worked out so much better than we ever could have planned or imagined on our own.

May I never forget this.

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." - Jeremiah 29:11-13

Lately.

It's been awhile since I've last posted. So many exciting things are happening in our lives right now, that I feel it's a good time to post and share our day to day blessings :)

I've gone from a stay-at-home wife/part-time hobbyist photographer/graduate student to an expecting first-time mommy/graduate student/student-teacher. A lot has changed - I've given God full reign of my priorities and He's elevated things I love and taken away things that were only causing me stress. It's an amazing thing and I can't complain one bit :)

These days I'm student teaching in my Christian high school - spending days with high school students until December. I come home, do a Premier Designs jewelry show here and there, complete school work, make dinner, and try to sleep anywhere between! :)

Josh and I are SO excited about our little boy coming in January 2012. He is an answer to prayer and a very direct blessing from God. The moment I was pregnant I knew, I felt God confirm to me that He'd answered our prayers for a child to give back to Him. I felt Him tell me I was having a boy and what we were to name him. It was an amazing experience feeling God so positively confirm His blessing. When the pregnancy test was positive, I was a mix of shock, peace, and sheer happiness. I knew I was pregnant 2 weeks before I took the test, so I felt guilty feeling shock, but I knew God was smiling on both of us as we reveled in excitement! :)

We are busy getting our house and lives ready for our little man's arrival. Not sure how ready we can really be, but we're enjoying the excitement and anticipation that comes with a first baby.

I hope to update with baby news, pregnancy excitement, recipes, lesson plans, decorating ideas, and devo thoughts. We'll see how often I keep to this. :)

Guidance

My husband and I are in a time of our lives where we need guidance. Not just any guidance, but specific, concrete, beyond-a-shadow-of-a-doubt guidance.
A few years ago, I was in a similar position and God gave me a verse to ease my mind. As usual, I had written that verse on a notecard and had it taped various places in my house. While cleaning out boxes this past week, I came across that same notecard.
God provided a verse for me again, just as He always does when I ask.

Look at the beauty of that verse:
"Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory" - Ps 73:24

Does the psalmist (inspired by God) tell when God's counsel will begin? No. Does he say when it will end? Yes, when we are in Heaven. One of the amazing things about a relationship with God is that He will always provide guidance (counsel) for us. He always has and always will - when He stops providing counsel, we'll be in His presence.

God is El Roi, the God who sees us. He knows where we are, what we need, and where we are going.

God is Gelah Raz, the Revealer of mysteries. He knows what's ahead and will reveal His will to us in His own time with His understanding.

God is Jehovah Jirah, our Provider. No matter where we are, He knows what we need and will provide for us when we need it most.

God is Jehovah Ori, our Light. He will guide us with his presence and his wisdom. We only have to seek Him to find Him.

"Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory" - Ps 73:24

God will always guide us - we only have to seek His counsel - it's always there for His children. The only time we won't have His guidance/counsel is when we'll be with Him for eternity!

What a relief! :)

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.