So for some reason, Testimony Tuesday didn't really work out yesterday. So, I've decided to go on like nothing ever happened and share what I felt led to this week.
Matthew 13: 3-9
He told many stories int he form of parables, such as this one: "Listen, A farmer went out to plant some seeds. As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn't have deep roots, they died. Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.
Matthew 13: 18-23
"Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don't understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don't have deep roots, they don't last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God's word. The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God's word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God's word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty , or even a hundred times as much as had been planted.
Each of us have probably been several of these seeds at one point or another. Personally, the seed I identify with the most is the seed that fell on shallow soil. I can remember countless times that I have received the Word from Jesus either through scripture, preaching, others witnessing too me, or just an intimate moment with God. And I was so filled with joy and a renewed relationship and a new zest for God. And within days, it was all fizzled out and I was back to my same old ways.
I can honestly say, this is how I spent most of my Christian life. Ups and downs... lukewarm at best... not really challenging myself to grow in Christ but still unwilling to deny His presence.
And now, even in just the last year or so, my relationship with God has been deepened and magnified and it is just truly awesome! It is exciting.
Back in the day, it was a CHORE for me to read my Bible. And honestly, I just didn't do it. I didn't want to. I didn't get it. And I didn't care. I could pray and feel good about everything. And even praying wasn't like a conversation. It was every once in a while when I needed something or was having a hard time.
I now LOVE to read my Bible. I get excited about making time for my Bible.
I guess what I am getting at is that there are those reading this who identify with many of the seeds in Jesus's parable... but not the last one. And you want to identify with the last seed. The fertile seed. The seed that multiplies by 100.
It takes discipline. It takes constant prayer and fellowship with Jesus. It takes having faith in JESUS that He will take care of you. It takes blocking out the devil and his doubts and worries and fears and insecurities. And it takes forgiving yourself when you miss the mark.
Because ultimately you are made for God's purpose. And it is a pretty great one. You just have to realize that you are the only one in the way of your relationship with God. What do you need to change in order to experience Him in a deeper way?
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Sweeping, Stairs, and the Shuffle
Ok so the title is weird but it is just a way for me to have a title other than, "Look how cute my son is... again." So deal with it, mkay? LOL
Story: Sam was quiet for a long time. It finally dawns on me to go looking for him. When I find him he is sitting in my bedroom pretending to read his bathtime book. It was so sweet!
Now you may be wondering, "Bathtime book? In the bedroom?"
Yeah... get off my case. We just moved in. Some things landed in weird places.
This is a series I like to call, "Sam and Skipper... making out."
And this is a nightly thing. The two just love each other and to doggie and 17 month old... that translates into sugars.
But sometimes Sam gets tired of sugars.
Sam also likes to sweep.
Everything.
Even the dog.
And alas, I bring you to my favorite part. But you need back story first.
We have stairs. Sam loves stairs. This scares Momma.
But Sam being the creative little hooligan that he is, comes up with his own special way of going down the stairs. He flops on his belly, backwards, and slides down.
I've never seen anything like it. And he came up with it all on his own. I was worried about him trying to go up and down the stairs. Susan told me about another kid a little older than him that goes down stairs backwards... but he crawls backwards. So I flipped Sam around wanting to give it a try and OFF HE GOES! Sliding down on his belly.
So I wanted to capture this because it is a HOOT! So I get the video camera out and well... watch all of it... even the boring ball stuff in the middle.
I cannot get enough of this kid!
Story: Sam was quiet for a long time. It finally dawns on me to go looking for him. When I find him he is sitting in my bedroom pretending to read his bathtime book. It was so sweet!
Now you may be wondering, "Bathtime book? In the bedroom?"
Yeah... get off my case. We just moved in. Some things landed in weird places.
This is a series I like to call, "Sam and Skipper... making out."
And this is a nightly thing. The two just love each other and to doggie and 17 month old... that translates into sugars.
But sometimes Sam gets tired of sugars.
Sam also likes to sweep.
Everything.
Even the dog.
And alas, I bring you to my favorite part. But you need back story first.
We have stairs. Sam loves stairs. This scares Momma.
But Sam being the creative little hooligan that he is, comes up with his own special way of going down the stairs. He flops on his belly, backwards, and slides down.
I've never seen anything like it. And he came up with it all on his own. I was worried about him trying to go up and down the stairs. Susan told me about another kid a little older than him that goes down stairs backwards... but he crawls backwards. So I flipped Sam around wanting to give it a try and OFF HE GOES! Sliding down on his belly.
So I wanted to capture this because it is a HOOT! So I get the video camera out and well... watch all of it... even the boring ball stuff in the middle.
I cannot get enough of this kid!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Testimony Tuesday: Unanswered Prayers and Faith
This is in no way what I intended to write about today. In fact, this went a whole different way than I expected. But it is here. Please forgive the mis-capitalization throughout. I typed really fast.
Hebrews 5:7: While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God.
Basically, Jesus cried out to God to rescue him from death in a very emotional and deep way, and God heard him, but did not grant his wish. Why? To save our souls... he had a bigger picture in mind.
Take that in for a minute. His SON was pleading and crying out for his FATHER to save him from death... and God said, "No, son, we will continue with my plan."
And that plan? To DIE for OUR sins. OURS.... not his... ours.
I cannot imagine what I would not give to spare my son any torturing or death. Nothing comes to mind that I wouldn't do. I don't even understand the depths of my love for my son.
But he told him no.
So now think about whatever life circumstance you are going through. Is God not answering your prayers? Are you pleading for something that isn't happening? It does sometimes seem that He doesn't hear us. But he does. He hears our cries. And he ultimately he has our best interests at heart and we could never understand fully his love for us.
So we are left with having to trust in our Heavenly Father and not lose faith that He loves us and wants what is best for us.
Verses for illustration:
God never puts on us more than we can bear. (paraphrase from 1 Corinthians 10:13). We hear this all the time but it is true! After going through trials, do you not come out a better person?
Even when we lose faith, God remains faithful. (yet another paraphrase of 2 Timothy 2:13
We walk by faith, not by sight or appearance. 2 Corinthians 5:7
And the kicker... Hebrews 13:8: Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Did he do a good job creating the universe? The stars? The plants? The animals? Has he been faithful to you? Has He ever changed?
No... he hasn't. Why would he stop being faithful to you now?
Just as a baby cries for milk...does the mother instantly have food to give? Or might she have to go make formula, or prep to breastfeed, or might be in another room. The baby doesn't understand though. The baby just knows to cry until he is fed. And though time and time again the mother feeds the baby when he cries, does he still not cry for food?
But just like God shows us His plan in good time (His time...not ours), the mother gives the baby food.
So can you trust that God is in control and knows what He is doing?
Basically, if you believe the above verses, you must use your faith to trust that God has your best intentions at heart and he will deliver in good time.
Hebrews 5:7: While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God.
Basically, Jesus cried out to God to rescue him from death in a very emotional and deep way, and God heard him, but did not grant his wish. Why? To save our souls... he had a bigger picture in mind.
Take that in for a minute. His SON was pleading and crying out for his FATHER to save him from death... and God said, "No, son, we will continue with my plan."
And that plan? To DIE for OUR sins. OURS.... not his... ours.
I cannot imagine what I would not give to spare my son any torturing or death. Nothing comes to mind that I wouldn't do. I don't even understand the depths of my love for my son.
But he told him no.
So now think about whatever life circumstance you are going through. Is God not answering your prayers? Are you pleading for something that isn't happening? It does sometimes seem that He doesn't hear us. But he does. He hears our cries. And he ultimately he has our best interests at heart and we could never understand fully his love for us.
So we are left with having to trust in our Heavenly Father and not lose faith that He loves us and wants what is best for us.
Verses for illustration:
God never puts on us more than we can bear. (paraphrase from 1 Corinthians 10:13). We hear this all the time but it is true! After going through trials, do you not come out a better person?
Even when we lose faith, God remains faithful. (yet another paraphrase of 2 Timothy 2:13
We walk by faith, not by sight or appearance. 2 Corinthians 5:7
And the kicker... Hebrews 13:8: Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Did he do a good job creating the universe? The stars? The plants? The animals? Has he been faithful to you? Has He ever changed?
No... he hasn't. Why would he stop being faithful to you now?
Just as a baby cries for milk...does the mother instantly have food to give? Or might she have to go make formula, or prep to breastfeed, or might be in another room. The baby doesn't understand though. The baby just knows to cry until he is fed. And though time and time again the mother feeds the baby when he cries, does he still not cry for food?
But just like God shows us His plan in good time (His time...not ours), the mother gives the baby food.
So can you trust that God is in control and knows what He is doing?
Basically, if you believe the above verses, you must use your faith to trust that God has your best intentions at heart and he will deliver in good time.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
We Got a New Home and Junk!
I have been MIA in the blogging world for a bit because I WAS MOVING INTO OUR HOUSE!
That's why!
I cannot begin to tell you how amazing it feels living in my own house. Background story for all of you not in reslife... I have lived on campus for 9 years... yup. 9 years. One year shy of a decade.
Holy smokes that is a long time.
Now, stop picturing me in a dorm room for 9 years. I was in a dorm room for the traditional 4 years (really only 3.5 since I got the hall director job early). Then I moved into a two bedroom apartment which happened to be in the dorms. Then I moved to another two bedroom apartment at a different school... but still in the dorms. (Also, any reslife people reading this are CRINGING that I am calling it "dorms").
So, alas, my time has come to join the homeowner's world.
I of course have no pictures, but I will eventually.
Favorite things about having a house (in no particular order):
1. Kitchen space. I have some now. It is fantastic. I don't have to creatively stack things in order to make sure I have all the equipment I need. I have a drawer just for plastic baggies. I find this awesome.
Also, two people can fit in my kitchen without being mistaken for bumping uglies. It is phenomenal.
2. Sam has space to PLAY! He runs through the living room, through the kitchen, through the office, all the way back around, just giggling the whole time. It is so great!
3. There is space for a recliner for me and the hubs! WHAT?! You mean I don't have to sit on the floor when guests come over??! Preposterous!
4. We can have a family meal now. We bought our dining room table the other day and it goes in our little bay window area. LOVE IT! It has a country cottage feel to it and we all fit at the table and we will be having our meals there. Every one of them.
5. Bugs. I can hear bugs now. I think this is why I found Alma so relaxing. I would "getaway" to Alma and I would hear bugs at night. There is no one yelling... no sirens... hardly the noise of cars driving by even... just bugs. And if you know me well, you know how much I must be in love with something to brag about the bugs.
6. Neighborhood walks. I can go on them now and not fear for my well being. And that may be a little misleading because it makes it sound like I've been on neighborhood walks where I used to live. I haven't.
But here, we can walk right down the middle of the street. And we do sometimes. Me, Justin, Sam, and Skipper all go on walks in the evening after dinner. We walk around the neighborhood, admire the landscaping that the neighbors are doing, listen to bugs, and just walk. It is so great.
7. Living close to family. I know a lot of people may not see this as a plus, but we do. Since I do not have the luxury of living close to my family, I have worried about Sam being close to his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I loved growing up with my cousins. We had so much fun! And I was always so close to my grandparents too.
While we may not be close to my family, we are now to Justin's. And I just love it. We can go over to their house for a swim if we want. They come over just to bring cookies for Sam (and for us, let's be honest). Johnny just shows up one day to mow the yard. We can run stuff for them, they can run stuff for us. It is just nice to be near family. I love it.
8. Proximity to friends. I will admit, this is a sore subject for me because this move put me much farther from my BFF and that is a major downside to this moving thing. But, we are closer to some friends that we have missed hanging out with because of our distance. Now we live right down the road from them and can hang out SO MUCH MORE! And they are super great people to be around anyway so this has to go on the plus list. Also, Sam and their daughter are TWO days apart! Which is fun because Justin and her dad are ONE day apart! I love coincidences like that!
9. Being a homeowner and dog owner helps me get up in the morning. It is insane. I have been wanting to get up at 5 am for so long. And then I just wouldn't do it. I have been up at 5:15 am every morning so far and it hasn't been hard. I just get up, take the dog for a walk, shower, coffee and quiet time, make Justin's lunch, get Sam ready, then it is off to work I go! And it hasn't bothered me.
10. Not to get all mushy or anything, but we finally have a home. This is where Sam will grow up. This is where we will make so many memories. It is just nice to have a HOME that is your OWN. I am so thankful for my many years living on campus. It has impacted me in ways I couldn't even begin to understand. But the time has come for me to move on and I just couldn't be more in love with our little house.
That's why!
I cannot begin to tell you how amazing it feels living in my own house. Background story for all of you not in reslife... I have lived on campus for 9 years... yup. 9 years. One year shy of a decade.
Holy smokes that is a long time.
Now, stop picturing me in a dorm room for 9 years. I was in a dorm room for the traditional 4 years (really only 3.5 since I got the hall director job early). Then I moved into a two bedroom apartment which happened to be in the dorms. Then I moved to another two bedroom apartment at a different school... but still in the dorms. (Also, any reslife people reading this are CRINGING that I am calling it "dorms").
So, alas, my time has come to join the homeowner's world.
I of course have no pictures, but I will eventually.
Favorite things about having a house (in no particular order):
1. Kitchen space. I have some now. It is fantastic. I don't have to creatively stack things in order to make sure I have all the equipment I need. I have a drawer just for plastic baggies. I find this awesome.
Also, two people can fit in my kitchen without being mistaken for bumping uglies. It is phenomenal.
2. Sam has space to PLAY! He runs through the living room, through the kitchen, through the office, all the way back around, just giggling the whole time. It is so great!
3. There is space for a recliner for me and the hubs! WHAT?! You mean I don't have to sit on the floor when guests come over??! Preposterous!
4. We can have a family meal now. We bought our dining room table the other day and it goes in our little bay window area. LOVE IT! It has a country cottage feel to it and we all fit at the table and we will be having our meals there. Every one of them.
5. Bugs. I can hear bugs now. I think this is why I found Alma so relaxing. I would "getaway" to Alma and I would hear bugs at night. There is no one yelling... no sirens... hardly the noise of cars driving by even... just bugs. And if you know me well, you know how much I must be in love with something to brag about the bugs.
6. Neighborhood walks. I can go on them now and not fear for my well being. And that may be a little misleading because it makes it sound like I've been on neighborhood walks where I used to live. I haven't.
But here, we can walk right down the middle of the street. And we do sometimes. Me, Justin, Sam, and Skipper all go on walks in the evening after dinner. We walk around the neighborhood, admire the landscaping that the neighbors are doing, listen to bugs, and just walk. It is so great.
7. Living close to family. I know a lot of people may not see this as a plus, but we do. Since I do not have the luxury of living close to my family, I have worried about Sam being close to his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I loved growing up with my cousins. We had so much fun! And I was always so close to my grandparents too.
While we may not be close to my family, we are now to Justin's. And I just love it. We can go over to their house for a swim if we want. They come over just to bring cookies for Sam (and for us, let's be honest). Johnny just shows up one day to mow the yard. We can run stuff for them, they can run stuff for us. It is just nice to be near family. I love it.
8. Proximity to friends. I will admit, this is a sore subject for me because this move put me much farther from my BFF and that is a major downside to this moving thing. But, we are closer to some friends that we have missed hanging out with because of our distance. Now we live right down the road from them and can hang out SO MUCH MORE! And they are super great people to be around anyway so this has to go on the plus list. Also, Sam and their daughter are TWO days apart! Which is fun because Justin and her dad are ONE day apart! I love coincidences like that!
9. Being a homeowner and dog owner helps me get up in the morning. It is insane. I have been wanting to get up at 5 am for so long. And then I just wouldn't do it. I have been up at 5:15 am every morning so far and it hasn't been hard. I just get up, take the dog for a walk, shower, coffee and quiet time, make Justin's lunch, get Sam ready, then it is off to work I go! And it hasn't bothered me.
10. Not to get all mushy or anything, but we finally have a home. This is where Sam will grow up. This is where we will make so many memories. It is just nice to have a HOME that is your OWN. I am so thankful for my many years living on campus. It has impacted me in ways I couldn't even begin to understand. But the time has come for me to move on and I just couldn't be more in love with our little house.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)