Distracted

I so easily fall into the comforts, routines and everyday happenings in life. I am so easily distracted. I so easily go one day, two days, three, without reading my Bible and meditating on how to apply it to my life and praying for it to change my heart. Why do I do this? How can I so easily forget the promises, the hope I have in Christ alone? He is all that matters. So I pick up my Bible and read it once again. I never regret the time I spend in His word and in His presence. I can't say the same for watching TV, surfing the internet and so on. Thankfully the Holy Spirit nudges me and reminds me of who I am living for!

Spoiled

She might be a little spoiled...

Answers

I am completely and totally touched by reading this post from an adoptive mother of 6 orphans from Ethiopia. I am spurred on to action. Sometimes answers to prayer come in the form of just reading scripture instead of just sitting around waiting for an answer. God answers prayer in many ways, but He's not going to e-mail me to say, "This is what I want you to spend your life doing." Or, "This is my will for you." Sometimes just reading scripture like this passage...

Matthew 25:44-46

44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

...can be all the answer I will ever need. Here is the post that has so greatly impacted me tonight:
http://blessingsfromethiopia.blogspot.com/2009/06/i-wish-i-could-tell-you.html

Jesus is Coming Back!

Jesus is coming back!!!!

Wow... have you ever stopped to think about meeting Him face to face? I had the opportunity, no, the gift, of taking the time to stop and truly imagine being in the presence of God this past week. It makes everything else in life seem so trivial. I immediately became anxious at the thought of meeting the Lord face to face. I hated that I felt anxious, but I really did. I think the anxiety comes from knowing His word and His commands, and living differently. I think it comes from my disobedience and flat out just being lukewarm. Since I know I am not living my life as He commands, I become anxious. I have doubts. Satan creeps in and then it's just a mess. But when I open His Word, read His promises and seek Him once again, the doubts, fears and anxieties melt away. Peace takes over. Hope remains.

Jesus is coming back!!!!

I should be excited for this! This is what I am supposed to be living for! But again, fear creeps in. Fear of the unknown, fear of those I love being left behind, fear of not having done enough or believed enough or anythinged enough.

I know He is coming. I know Heaven will be the most amazing, incomparable place that I am not even capable of imagining. I know I am an "alien" on this earth and my true home is not here. It is with Him. My Savior, my Lord, my Redeemer.

If you have never done so before, I encourage you to take a few moments and imagine you are at the end of your life (which any of us could be at any second) or that Jesus is coming back (which He could be at any second). How do you feel when you think of leaving this temporary life and being suddenly in the presence of God? Wow... Does it make you think any differently of your priorities? Goals? Money? Time? If you do not believe in Him, does it make you worry about what will happen when that day comes?

So many thoughts... it is time for bed... so with a heavy and hopeful heart I will leave you with one last thought: Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Him. All my love...

Entangled

"No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier."

2 Timothy 2:4

I get so easily entangled in this life. I care way too much about things I should not care about.

I am ashamed to tell you the cost of some of my jeans, so I won't.

Life can bring so much joy, but I can not forget I will face God someday, at the time of His choosing. If I am truly a "soldier" for Christ, my life should be a walking, talking reflection of that.

I love that God is teaching me so much right now!

Good

I might make you think I love the beach and that is why I changed my blog background to this peaceful scene. While this is true, it is not the only reason. I changed it because this peaceful scene of this peaceful beach is how I am feeling right now; peaceful.

I have learned so much in such a short amount of time. God really knows what He is doing. I have learned that God is good, no matter what my circumstances. He is good even though I had a miscarriage. He is good even if we take in a foster baby, love him/her, and have to give them back. He is good when we are hurting and He is good when we are laughing. He is good when my co-worker just lost her husband. He is good when another co-worker's daughter was just critically injured. He is good no matter what.

Many of you already figured this out for yourselves so you might be thinking, "Of course! We already knew that! What took you so long to figure it out?" Well, some of us are slow learners and God has to work with us a little more before we finally get it.

I am at peace because He loves me, I know Him, and He is good.

My Classroom In Pictures- January

It's a New Year

I'm not one of those people who says, "I am so glad this year is over" or "Next year has to be better than this one was!" But if I was a person to say such things, it might be about 09. I admit, the pain of personal loss, family issues and more have clouded my view of the blessings of 2009. Randy woke up next to me this morning and said, "Wasn't it such a great year?" I couldn't believe it! I rattled off my list of why this year was one of the hardest yet. But when he told me how he got to wake up next to me for the last 365 days, how God provided us with a home, and how we are blessed beyond measure by our loving Creator, I softened. I started remembering how we were able to buy a trailer and take many trips, strengthening our bonds with family and friends. I started remembering how we have a Bible study in our home each week with our wonderful new friends. I started remembering how much joy God has given me through these trials. I began realizing how each day is a gift. We just experienced 365 of them. Good or bad, easy or difficult, we had the opportunity to experience them. Since this life is nothing but a dust, a vapor, I am now more grateful for those days than I ever thought possible.

A fresh start to a new year can be cleansing and exciting. I look forward to the ups and downs of this next year. I look forward to where God leads us and the changes that are to come. I look forward to savoring each day and remembering how it is ALL ABOUT HIM! Here are some of my goals for the upcoming year:

1) Be faithful in prayer, scripture reading, serving and seeking
2) Be intentional about developing relationships with neighbors
3) Keep an eternal perspective
4) Spend less and save more for next year to possibly work part-time or stay home with our foster child(ren)
5) Remember that no matter how 2010 pans out, I am incredibly blessed to have a loving Savior who is coming back one day!
6) Keep blogging about it all... I have now been blogging for a whole year! :)

So that's about it. There's nothing like coming full cirlce... Happy New Year!