Just Because's!

Recently, my best friend and I have been going through some challenges. Having dated, a friendship is complicated! And to add to it, we're both very stubborn! (I know that might surprise some of you! Jaja) So as a result of our stubborn personalities and recent break up, it's been difficult. But it's also gotten us talking, a lot! In some ways it's easier to talk now because it seems as if nothing is "at stake." Today we had one of those "hind-sight is 20/20" conversations talking about what we would do differently if we were to start over. Isn't it funny how differently we view things when we're out of the moment? Well this conversation led to talking about "Just Because's:" things like buying flowers, going out to dinner, writing cards (or even sticky notes!), helping with boring tasks to make them go by faster, etc. It got me thinking about all the people in my life who deserve some "Just Because's." My mom, my friends (and of course my very best friend), some adults in my life who have done so much for me, my boss, anyone and everyone who means something to me. I would have loved some myself at times! (just for a bit of encouragement and a reminder that I was special to someone) The problem? "Just Because's" take TIME (something so coveted in my life, I know), sometimes MONEY (a college student spending money on something so trivial??!), and recognizing the special people in your life. The outcome? The special people in your life will be reminded often about how much they mean to you, YOU will be reminded about how much those people mean to you, and the extra encouragement will only serve to improve your relationships! So tonight, while my best friend is at work, I made him some "Just Because's" to remind him that just because our relationship has changed, I still love him and appreciate him being in my life, very much. I hope he realizes how special of a person he is and what his potential is! But no matter if he realizes that, I know that I am doing what I can to encourage him. And I hope it will mean something and make a difference in his life. And if I can do that for everyone who I appreciate, at least from time to time, then maybe I can make a habit of following God's instructions to build others up. Yay for good habits! Besides, if I can't make time to give at least one person a "Just Because" a week, then something definitely needs to change in my life!  What do I have to lose?

Here are some verses for thought! Again, if you know of any more please share them! (and so encourage others!)

    1 Thessalonians 5:11 

11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

Hebrews 10:23-25 

23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

1 Peter 4:8-10

8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace:

Galatians 6:2

2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Don't let another day go by without letting those you love know that you love them. You never know how many days you have left to tell them! 

Thank you for being a wonderful best friend, David. You teach me and help me realize so much about what is important in life. 

You Can Run, But You Can't Hide!

Ever kicked your heels off as soon as you get in the car after church? Or taken off pantyhose as soon as you possibly could? What about changing from the Christian radio station you were listening to on your way to church to the "good" music station on the way home? Ripped your cell phone out of your pocket? Thrown the Bible in the back seat?  Let your hair down/threw it up? Ripped off the sweater you wore to be modest? Let your mood be changed? GUILTY! I know I'm not the only one! It occurred to me on the way home from church this past Sunday that these actions, while not exactly "sins," do suggest that something changes the moment we leave the church parking lot. So what is it? For me, I think to myself, I know I need to make it to church, and after that I can take care of everything I didn't get done before Sunday morning. I am reverent and polite while in the church building, knowing what we are called to be for our God-family. But when I leave I act as if my "duty" is done, as if I have left God's sight. But the Bible disagrees!

Psalm 139:7-10 (New King James Version)

 ⁷ Where can I go from Your Spirit?
         Or where can I flee from Your presence?
 ⁸ If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
         If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
 ⁹ If I take the wings of the morning,
         And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
 ¹⁰ Even there Your hand shall lead me,

         And Your right hand shall hold me.


and then God stresses that we are in fact, not our own, but a temple of the Holy Spirit!

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (New King James Version)

¹⁹ Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? ²⁰ For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body^[a] and in your spirit, which are God’s.

So, ultimately, it is foolish of my to believe that my leaving church gives me the "right" to change my attitude of devotion to the Lord, my thoughts about modesty or dressing my best, my thoughts in general, and especially my actions. So my new view on living the life God wants me to live is living before the Lord. Everywhere I go, and everything I do should reflect the love and attitude of Christ. "...[W]here can I flee from your presence" Lord? NOWHERE! Now it all sounds well and good but to really live humbly before the Lord at all times is not going to be an easy thing to even consciously remember! But, I know that if I ask God to help perfect my faith, He won't refuse. Here comes the practice! I am praying that I will recognize the opportunities He gives me to practice this and take full advantage! And then how do I live with my head bowed humbly before him while still holding my head high in confidence? It sounds like a recipe for me to get carried away and lose sight of the humility I need to keep close! But God will NOT be working against me in this. Satan may try!

BUT...

Exodus 15:2
The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him.

1 Samuel 30:6
David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.

1 Chronicles 16:11
Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.

Nehemiah 1:10
"They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand.

Psalm 28:8
The LORD is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.

Psalm 46:1
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

Psalm 59:16
But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.

Isaiah 40:28-31
 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 41:10
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Jeremiah 17:5
This is what the LORD says: "Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD.

Daniel 10:18-20
Again the one who looked like a man touched me and gave me strength. "Do not be afraid, O man highly esteemed," he said. "Peace! Be strong now; be strong." When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, "Speak, my lord, since you have given me strength."

Habakkuk 3:19
The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.

1 Corinthians 1:25
For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Ephesians 3:14-19
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.


Ephesians 6:10
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.


Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Colossians 1:10-12
And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light

2 Timothy 4:17
But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it

1 Peter 4:11
If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. (James 4.7-8a)

...my God is STRONGER. And clearly He intends to strengthen and help us through every struggle. And as Philippians 4:13 reminds us, we can do ALL things through CHRIST who gives us strength. Hallelujah! 

Anyone else struggle with living like it's Sunday morning on Friday nights, or maybe Monday MORNings? Or when you're around certain people who don't share your goals or who are just hard to love? He cares about all of our time and how we spend it! (Help keep me accountable!) If you know of any other verses that you find helpful in this struggle, please share!

Hurting

With all that is going on in my own life and in the lives of those I know, and even those I don't know, I have both experienced and seen an immense amount of hurting. In some cases I can only imagine the hurt that these people are going to. In other cases I know what the hurt is like. But I am so convinced that God would not give my heart the immense capacity to hurt if He didn't want me to use it for good. It's both a blessing and a curse for me. My heart aches for those impacted by this earthquake and tsunami, it aches for those in my city, my own city, who are starving- not to mention those starving elsewhere around the world. I ache for the children left to grow up with no parents, or even worse, those with parents who are abusive or neglect them. It's easy for me to ache for these people and just lose hope. But I have to refuse that tendency of mine to just sit and sulk about it, the urge to sit and wonder why we have destroyed our earth to this point, why I am not like them today. It's not as easy to take my hurting and exchange it for healing and strength. In talking to two of my very best friends, I tried to put into words the feeling I have towards the things I have experienced. I have lost two grandparents to cancer, a "2nd mother" also to cancer, had my heart broken, been at my brother's side on the way to the hospital after being run over by a car. I watched another brother go through open heart surgery, and yet another brother suffer through cancer before he could understand what it was. I have been rejected (in a church of all places), had to learn to find peace with very little money, been brought to a helpless physical state due to food poisoning in a foreign country. I have had relationship struggles with my parents, suffered from anxiety, and had many feelings of loneliness in a crowd of people. I feel (something I cannot put into words, but something similar to lucky) to have gone through all that I've gone through. Because now, I can relate to people going through these same things. I know I'm not the only one to have gone through these things or who will go through these things. And for some people, my life sounds like bliss. And that hurts my heart. I wish I could trade lives with those truly suffering, to give them a glimpse of hope. But I need to exchange my hurting for healing and strength. Even if it causes more hurt for me in the beginning, I know it will help me heal in the long run if I'm just open and honest with people who are also struggling. Letting them know that it is a struggle, but that we never have to struggle alone. It will hurt, but there is hope. It's hard to open up about things that hurt though. It's hard to share the details that I try to forget. But, I have learned that putting all things in God's hands is the only way to make it through these struggles we face in life and truly leave it with Him. We may not be able to control what will happen, but we can choose to go through it all with someone who understands every bit of the good and the bad. I cannot wait for the day when the earth is returned to the way it was meant to be and there will be no more hurting. But until then, I have to make the most of my hurting by choosing to help those going through the same struggles, and hope that they too will see that God is our loving Savior.

Romans 12:15 (New International Version, ©2011)

¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (New Living Translation)

The Hope of the Resurrection

 ¹³ And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died^[a] so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. ¹⁴ For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. ¹⁵ We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died.^[b] 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died^[c] will rise from their graves. ¹⁷ Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ So encourage each other with these words.

Romans 8:28 (King James Version)

 ²⁸And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Miracle, Music, and Mess-Ups

It has been a crazy couple of days, hence the lack of a post. So here goes a summary. I spent the weekend at school planning on resting and spending plenty of time packing, cleaning, and finding stuff to get rid of. None of which I really succeeded in doing! And speaking of not so successful attempts, I did not do very well with my no-facebook/tv challenge. I have still been doing great in not watching tv since I now find what's on tv awfully dumb! But with the decrease in time spent on tv, there was an increase in facebook time. I feel really awful having done so poorly with it but it's an ongoing challenge! I will succeed! I am home now and spending much more time with family, reading, enjoying SUNSHINE (having left behind a snow shower in Boone!), reading my Bible and praying. It has been AWESOME to see God working in my life and in the lives of others. This Sunday, a good family friend who has always inspired me had a stroke and seizure. It was really difficult for me to understand why this kind of thing would happen to someone who had spent her life serving the Lord. While struggling in prayer over the situation in the car I was listening to the radio and heard the line, "the Voice of Truth says, 'this is for my glory'." This couldn't have come at a better time! Through all my struggles I have never considered them for God's glory. And this situation truly was for His glory, as I can now see in many of the situations I have been in the past and didn't understand. God worked a miracle in this young woman's life these last few days. As of tonight she is doing so much better and is able to talk (which was somewhat unexpected). This could have killed her and she is already recovering! What an amazing reminder that God is in control and can use us for His glory at any time He chooses! I was initially really upset about it all, about it happening to her of all people! But now I realize she was chosen for this. God chose to use her life as a testimony to His love and power. She is in His hands. Period. Praise God for his faithfulness. I am so thankful for Spring Break this week and the ability to spend more time on my relationship with Him and reading His word as a love letter. He is truly amazing. Despite all my faults (if you saw my day today you would know they are many! [I lost one of my mom's special rings down the vent, knocked over a trashcan full of eggshells, etc., dropped food on the floor....just to name a few]) He STILL loves MEUNCONDITIONALLY. Can you find that kind of love anywhere else? I love you, Lord!