I'm Coming To The Party!

Psalm 40 (The Message)

A David Psalm

1-3 I waited and waited and waited for God. At last he looked; finally he listened. He lifted me out of the ditch, pulled me from deep mud. He stood me up on a solid rock to make sure I wouldn't slip. He taught me how to sing the latest God-song, a praise-song to our God. More and more people are seeing this: they enter the mystery, abandoning themselves to God.

4-5 Blessed are you who give yourselves over to God, turn your backs on the world's "sure thing," ignore what the world worships; The world's a huge stockpile of God-wonders and God-thoughts. Nothing and no one comes close to you! I start talking about you, telling what I know, and quickly run out of words. Neither numbers nor words account for you.

6 Doing something for you, bringing something to you— that's not what you're after. Being religious, acting pious—that's not what you're asking for. You've opened my ears so I can listen.

7-8 So I answered, "I'm coming. I read in your letter what you wrote about me, And I'm coming to the party you're throwing for me." That's when God's Word entered my life, became part of my very being.

9-10 I've preached you to the whole congregation, I've kept back nothing, God—you know that. I didn't keep the news of your ways a secret, didn't keep it to myself. I told it all, how dependable you are, how thorough. I didn't hold back pieces of love and truth For myself alone. I told it all, let the congregation know the whole story.

11-12 Now God, don't hold out on me, don't hold back your passion. Your love and truth are all that keeps me together. When troubles ganged up on me, a mob of sins past counting, I was so swamped by guilt I couldn't see my way clear. More guilt in my heart than hair on my head, so heavy the guilt that my heart gave out.

13-15 Soften up, God, and intervene; hurry and get me some help, So those who are trying to kidnap my soul will be embarrassed and lose face, So anyone who gets a kick out of making me miserable will be heckled and disgraced, So those who pray for my ruin will be booed and jeered without mercy.

16-17 But all who are hunting for you—oh, let them sing and be happy. Let those who know what you're all about tell the world you're great and not quitting. And me? I'm a mess. I'm nothing and have nothing: make something of me. You can do it; you've got what it takes—but God, don't put it off.

"Meanwhile, friends, wait patiently for the Master's Arrival. You see farmers do this all the time, waiting for their valuable crops to mature, patiently letting the rain do its slow but sure work. Be patient like that. Stay steady and strong. The Master could arrive at any time. Friends, don't complain about each other. A far greater complaint could be lodged against you, you know. The Judge is standing just around the corner." James 5:7-9 (Msg.)

I absolutely LOVE this verse. I first discovered it on my flight from New York to London on the way to Africa. I was anxious, scared, tired, and excited all at the same time on this plane ride. Right before I boarded the plane, my thoughts were running wild. I couldn't actually believe that I was getting on the plane and taking the final step for my trip to Africa. There was NO turning back! I kept wondering why I was going, and why God had chosen young and inexperienced me to go on a missions trip. The only thing I could think of doing was to pray and get into the word to calm my nerves. I pulled out my bible, a set of bound note cards, and a variety of colorful pens. I can't tell you how much comfort those hot color gel pens gave me on that flight as I wrote God's words! :)

This verse in James is one of the first verses that God had me flip open to. It stopped me dead in my tracks (well not literally--we were 1,000's of miles above the Atlantic Ocean in a plane full of British accents)--and all I could think was... WOW! I repeated parts of the verse to myself. "Slow, but sure work." "Patience like that!" "Stay Steady and Strong." The way the Lord worded this verse was like it was written for me, on that plane, for that specific trip. I loved the verse even more once we got to Africa. The lush crops and green lands that encompass Kenya and the Kenyans were hard at work to produce crops to sell at the market, put this verse in an even greater light for me. These farmers rely on the rain (and God) to grow their crops that they will eventually sell just to survive. They have to have patience. They can't have an attitude of complaint. Instead, they have to trust God will do his slow, but sure work and trust that He is in all things, just waiting for you to accept His arrival. What a powerful verse to apply to our own lives.

This week let's remember to be patient in all things. Whether patience applies to waiting patiently in the Starbucks line, or kindly helping a co-worker on a project, let God give you patience and a heart not willing to give into complaining. In my own life, I will apply patience to trusting God with my nursing school application and not being so antsy that I forget to trust Him in the process. I will be patient with my busy schedule and know that God will make everything fall into place...like He always does. I will not complain about co-workers or the increase in gas prices. Instead, I will wait patiently for Him.

Always Say Never.

"Love Never Fails." 1 Corinthians 13:8

Happy Valentine's Day! I thought it would be suiting to share a verse on love today! 1 Cor 13:8 is on my heart especially today. It's funny how God takes three simple words, yet puts so much meaning behind each one and behind the entire statement.

Let's start with the word Love, or, "Agape." Agape is God's self-sacrificing love for humanity. God looks at each one of us and covers us with His perfect agape. His agape is always right, gentle, free from judgement, and perfect in every way. As I write this, part of me wishes that our love as humans we're that way so we could never be let down or let others down. But as I think about it more, I'm happy God designed us to be 100% human. Designed to love as only we know how, imperfectly. If we are "imperfect" (and I hate to use that word, because that is NOT how God sees us) we can find God's loving perfection.

Never. Never in the dictionary is defined as, "not ever; at no time; absolutely not." What a discouraging word. Can you imagine if the word never was used on a daily basis in your life as a reference to things you wanted to accomplish, but knew you never could? What if instead the word Never was used in a positive way, as in "Never, Say Never!?" What a spin that puts on a situation with no hope.

Fails. The dictionary defines fail as, "to fall short of success or achievement in something expected, attempted, desired, or approved." What an awful feeling. I've been there my fair share of times and it's not pretty, but it is healthy. Not only does failure help you to grow, but it strengthens your relationship with God.

Let's look at the big picture now and see what God really wants us to understand here. Have you ever felt like you've loved someone so much only to feel left with nothing? Like your love failed, wasn't recieved, or not reciprocated? Well, I'm usually not one to intentionally discount feelings (unintentionally--yes, all the time!), but in this case I must. Guess what? These feelings are invalid. Even if the person you gave your love to didn't appreciate or accept it the way you may have wanted them to, doesn't mean it wasn't recieved by God.

God's love never fails, and guess what else? The good news is, neither does ours! He see's our loving intentions, is blessed by them, and stores them up as a treasure for us in heaven. So, today instead of dwelling on earthly love or feeling as if you don't have anyone to share this National Hallmark Holiday with, be filled with the love of God and know that no matter what, love never fails.

Measure Yourself, Not Others.

"For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Matthew 7:2

Judgement has been on my mind a lot this past week. I knew that judgement needed to be my next blog topic as it has been on my heart this past week, however I continue to stumble on my ideas and thoughts for this particular topic. Today as I read an exerpt from Oswald Chamber's, "My Utmost For His Highest," on this particular topic, I knew that his words describe judgment better than mine. Instead of writing my ideas, I will share Oswald's as I think he gives a great reflection of God in his writing.

Oswald writes...

"Jesus' instructions with regard to judging others is very simply put, He says: "Don't." The average Christian is the most piercingly critical individual known. Criticism is one of the ordinary activities of people, but in the spiritual realm nothing is accomplished by it. The effect of criticism is the dividing up of strengths of the one being criticized. The Holy Spirit is the only one in the proper position to criticize, and He alone is able to show what is wrong without hurting and wounding. It is impossible to enter into fellowship with God when you are in a critical mood. Criticism serves to make you harsh, vindicitve, and cruel, and leaves you with the soothing and flattering idea that you are somehow superior to others. Jesus says that as His disciple you should cultivate a tempermant that is never critical. This will not happen quickly but must be developed over a span of time. You must constantly beware of anything that causes you to think of yourself as a superior person.

There is no escaping the penetrating search of my life by Jesus. Every wrong thing that I see in you, God finds in me. Every time I judge, I condemn myself (Romans 2:17-24). Stop having a measuring stick for other people. There is always at least one more fact, which we know nothing about, in every person's situation. The first thing God does is to give us a spiritual cleaning. After that, there is no possibility of pride remaining in us. I have never met a perosn I could despair of, or lose all hope for, after discerning what lies in me apart from the grace of God."

In another entry Oswald goes onto say, "Who of us would dare to stand before God and say, "My God, judge me as I have judged others?" We have judged others as sinners ---if God should judge us in the same way, we should be condemened to hell. Yet God judges us on the basis of the miraculous atonement by the Cross of Christ."

EnGRAIN This Into Your Head...

"How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
they would out number the grains of sand."
Psalm 139:17-18


Last week in Chemistry we began reviewing everything from Matter to the Periodic Table of Elements. My teacher is the type of guy who loves to throw in random facts and scientific jokes to keep the class entertained. Let's be real--it is chemistry--it's tough to be entertained so I like his logic behind the jokes. Last Tuesday (I know it's been awhile since I've p0sted so I'm just now getting my thoughts up here :)) as we talked about exponential notation, he used a great example in trying to teach notation to the class.

He asked the class, how many grains of sand are on the earth? My first thought was who has time to count sand and why do I need to know this?! Well (FYI), it turns out that a scientist in Hawaii (I'm guessing he's a surfer with too much time on his hands) came up with a formula to estimate the grains of sand on the earth. There are about 10^22 (in exponential terms which turns out to be way over 100 billion) grains of sand on the earth! I can't even write out a number that big, let alone think of that number in terms of sand! I did leave lecture that night being amazed at how much sand there was on earth and proud of myself for learning something new.

As I crawled into bed that night, I felt the Holy Spirit stirring me to pick up my bible next to my bed. I really wanted to reach for my new Suze Orman, "Young, Fabulous, and Broke" book, but I obeyed to see what was so important. I was getting the feeling I needed to read a chapter from Psalms instead of a chapter about retirement, but not knowing where to start I turned to the familiar Ps. 139. I instantly read that God's thoughts for ME AND YOU are GREATER THAN THE GRAINS OF SAND OF THIS EARTH! Can you imagine? Over 200 billion thoughts from God about you on a regular basis? That's amazing to me. I get so fixed in the mindset that I am to conquer things on my own, but then I read this and realize that God's already thought things through. He has a plan and a will for my life and his thoughts about me are more than I could ever imagine or count. I'm so thankful to have a Daddy God who is full of love, mercy, and thoughts about me.

If you have time, I challenge you to read the entire Psalm 139 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%20139&version=31). It will take literally less than two minutes, but will fill the rest of your week with confidence and refreshment from the God who created you. Instead of investing in your earthly retirement (like I was about to do with Suze's book), invest yourself in Him--that's a retirement worth investing into and that no vacation to Hawaii (from your 401K investments) will ever be able to replace.

Enjoy The Challenge.

"...Strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. 'We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,' they said." Acts 14:22

Last week my women's bible study started back up, after about a month off. After praying about which study to partake in I decided that I was being led to do a Beth Moore study called, "Living Beyond Yourself, Exploring the Fruit of the Spirit." I was also led to break away from my original bible study group consisting of all girls in their twenties, and join a group of older women so that I could be better discipled.

As last Wednesday approached I began to get anxious about not knowing which group I would be joining, being twenty-three and join a group of women age 50+ can be a bit intimidating. I was told to sign-in and pick a table which would then be my new bible study group. I walked into a room full of women I'd never seen before and quickly paced around the room hoping and praying someone would just ask me to sit down. It's funny how God works though...He doesn't always make it easy on us, in fact more times than not God provides a good challenge for us to learn and grow from. I know it sounds silly, but to me this was one of those challenges. Luckily, after a few minutes of stalling I ran into a woman I knew and she quickly and sweetly sat me at just the right table for me (thanks God). A small group, with only four other women. I knew they were excited and I could tell they knew I was nervous.

The bible study video began, and Beth Moore talked for almost an hour on Living Beyond Yourself. It was one of those nights where God has right where He wants you. You are in a great mood, have an open heart, and aren't distracted by the things that normally pick your brain. On this night not only was I nervous about the bible study group, but I was also overly consumed with school starting and not receiving my books in time and wondering why God is calling me into nursing when I am the most un-scientific person in the world. Don't even ask me how many times I have taken Chemistry :). I was truly doubting until I got into bible study and sat down.

Anyway, Beth Moore shared the verse above and it completely struck me in the place I was at that night...and even again as I read it today....

I was reminded that my purpose in life is to live beyond myself. Our faith isn't supposed to be easy, it's not going to be handed to us on a silver platter. Instead it is meant to be a stretch for us, but God never says it will be a stretch for Him. Having a relationship with God means living far beyond ourselves and remembering that in Christ we can do what we normally wouldn't be able too.

Beth Moore reminds us that through our relationship with Christ you can:
"Do things I couldn't, Feel things I didn't, and Know things I wouldn't."

Just the reminder I needed as I join a new bible study group which is outside of my comfort zone and as school begins, which I will only be able to accomplish and survive with Christ guiding me through each and every class.

Yup, You've Been Called!

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

What's on your heart today? I know there's one thing that is in the fore-front of your mind and you're just wondering how it is all going to work out. You are stressed more than you can show, because others have been lead to believe that you have fully given your situation over to God, when in reality you are still trying to hold what is left of the situation it in your hands without letting it slip through.

So really, what is this so-called problem you face that is too big for God to handle? Ha. Too big for God. NOTHING is too big for God. If God can take ashes and make humans, He can also take your situation and work it out into good. So, right now...before reading anymore of this silly blog...stop and earnestly give it to Him. Whether big or small, life changing or day changing, He can take it and wants to use it because He loves you.

Did you pray and whole-heartedly give it to Him? Okay good!

Look back on some key situations in your life and see how they have played together into your future. I can guarantee --well God can guarantee and I can have faith in His guarantee-- that He has worked them together for good. Here's an small example of His faithfulness: since summer I have been trying to figure out nursing school stuff and get into classes. Too say the least it's been frustrating, overwhelming, up in the air, and a drawn out waiting game. After months of taking on the daunting task of trying to work out everything on my own, I finally REALLY gave it up to God and guess what? Not only was it a relief to relish control, but it worked out far better than I could have ever planned myself! Not only did I get enrolled into the classes I need, but I also am able to stay at my job (which means $ and benefits), and I had to learn to trust His will and timing for my life (which I know I will continually have to re-learn). Amen!

I like how Oswald Chambers describes the testing of our faith:

"The goal of faithfulness is not that we will do work for God, but that He will be free to do His work through us. God calls us to His service and places tremendous responsibilities on us. He expects no complaining on our part and offers no explanation on His part. God wants to use us as He used His own son."