Promises and Nephews

This morning I was reading in good ole Genesis about good ole Abraham, or Abram as he was formerly known. The particular passage we should pay attention to today is in chapter 15 of Genesis. So far in his story Abram was told by God to go from the land he has always known and go where ever God ended up leading him, with no end destination in mind. He had traveled to a new place, lied to Pharoh, almost lost his wife to Pharoh, gotten his wife back, went to a new land, split ways with his nephew, rescued his nephew, and had been blessed. 

Speaking of nephews, here is mine wearing my husband's shoes. 

Woo, its kind of exhausting, but it's scandalous and makes for good reading. Popular novels have nothing on this guy's life. 

Let's key in, though, on chapter 15 verse 6 which says "And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness." (NIV) 

So, Abram was in a situation where God told him that he would have many offspring and he would be made a great nation, but at that time the heir to Abram's stuff was a guy who wasn't a child of Abram. He may have been a trusted member of his household or even a slave. However, God made Abram the seemingly far-fetched promise that he would bear children in his and Sarai's old ages and they would have many descendants. It sounds crazy to me, and likely to Abram too, but he still believed God. 

This verse 6 that we are talking about was quoted in the New Testament 4 times. It seems pretty significant to me. Every time I come across it I find my self astonished by this and I have to stop and ask God to help me to believe Him. 

You see, unbelief is a sin. Firstly, not believing who God is or that He sent his son is the ultimate sin. So, us self-righteous people who do believe that probably think that we don't struggle with unbelief. (If you're arrogant like me and think you are awesome). 

Have you ever worried? Have you ever known that plan that God had in mind, but instead of waiting patiently tried to "fix" the situation yourself? Yes, my friends, here is where our unbelief rears its' ugly head.

I have a struggle in my life where I often think "this really has nothing to do with God, its just a thing that I deal with." To think that God doesn't care about the inner-workings of my brain, my very thoughts, is unbelief. 

He is so personal and wants us to draw near to Him. He promises to draw near to us too.

What promise of God are you not believing today? 

How do you feel?

Life is so full of ups and downs. There are days when we just have nothing to say, nothing to give, nothing to brag about, so it seems. When we face these times, we face confusion. Why aren't we happy? We try to count our blessings, but all positivity is banished from our frontal cortex.

These times happen, but let me tell you, even when we don't "feel" the Lord or "feel" his blessings, they exist. He is our ever present Father. He is our deliverer. We need Him.

Jeremiah 17:9 says "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" (NIV)

The human heart is messed up by sin, but God continues to pursue your heart. Even better, he promises to write His law on it.

Romans 6:17 says "But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness." (NIV)

We can rest assured that God has transformed our hearts, and continues to do so.

So my question is "Why do we allow how we feel to dictate our life?"

Think about it, and ask the Lord to make you faithful through it all.

I know, we need this assurance today.

So smile at this picture of Mark, my coworker and I in our awesome glasses.

Honesty about a Blah day

My sleep this week has been rather limited. Also, my air conditioner is not working. Oh, and the drain on our bath tub is not working and we have to shower standing in dirty water. Oh poor me. Haha

This was all I could think about this morning as I was such a grouchy pants.

After lunch I was sitting with my lovely coworker Casey preparing some mail to send off. When I finished we decided to stroll to the post office just to get out of the building. It was a nice walk there. Casey and I always have something to talk about. Our way back seemed the same kind of normal when suddenly the sky opened up and it was like the rain scene from Forrest Gump. We were soaked from head to toe.

I'm about to be stereotypical, and it pains me, but rain brings a lot of thoughts and metaphors that relate to a holy God. I can't help but be blessed by this rain, especially after the hot we have experienced this summer. (Or maybe the coldness of it shocked my system and jolted me from grouchiness).

Despite my grouchiness this morning, the Lord has been "raining" down his presence and blessings in my life the past couple weeks. Much of it has been through this very blog. I am so thankful that the Lord has used these words he puts into my head to share with you to bless your life and encourage your walk with him. Thank you, friends so much for the calls, texts, and messages about how you are being encouraged. I am so overwhelmed by it all. And I am especially overwhelmed by such a great God.

If you are like me and find yourself on this normal Thursday being a grouchy pants I encourage you to go stand out in the rain (metaphorically speaking). Take time, write down, say aloud (I don't care) all the things the Lord is up to in your life that are so good you couldn't possibly deserve them or be responsible for them.

Rain now reminds me of my wedding day. On the way to Memphis after our wedding Lucas and I saw a full rainbow. It was absolutely beautiful. I felt like it was God's way of assuring me of his presence in our marriage despite any insecurities I had or will have. (And here is a picture of part of it)

This picture really doesn't do it justice compared to the picture of it in my heart.

So, stop being silent. Please share with me via Twitter, Facebook, or email what blessings rain reminds you of? Please?

This is how happy it will make me..

An Honest Post About Honesty

Honesty, what a concept. My husband is the most honest person in the whole world. It's so true. I'll keep saying it until the cows come home. Knowing him has taught me many truths about honesty and this concept the 'youngins' call 'being real.'

In honor of his honesty, here is a cute picture of him. 

So, let's talk about what being real means (in my humble opinion), and what being real is not.

-Sometimes we under-appreciate honesty. Sometimes we take the truth personally. When someone tells us a truth we take it as a personal attack (when it's not desirable truth) and get our feelings hurt and, consequently scold the other person for speaking truth.

-Realness is face to face (Not stinking text message). When is the last time you had a face to face conversation with another human being about the true desires and thoughts of your heart? Do you have someone to whom you can expose the true desires of your heart? Both the ugly and beautiful?

-Since it is face-to-face, realness is not on social media. We've all done it. We carefully go through pictures that we are tagged in and untag those that do not flatter us. We say very thoughtful and lengthy compliments to our friends while we hide bitterness and jealousy in our hearts. We only post things to show the world how great and perfect our lives are. This is not real life.

-We avoid truth in the day-to-day. We lie to ourselves.

What do you do in life to save face, avoid necessary honest talks, and keep yourself looking pristine?

When was the last time you rebuked a friend in a Godly and Biblical fashion?

Now, I must note that the danger I have found in my own developing honesty is the difficult to manage 'brutal honesty.' It is easy to confuse being honest with just being plain rude.

Yes, this is tough. I'm feeling convicted.

Hey, I have an idea! Let's do our thing and ask the Father to show us how.

To Feel Love

Today I am overjoyed to feel ever so loved. That is, loved by my husband as well as my heavenly father. Since all love comes from the Father and He is Love, I can't mention being loved without mentioning him. It is a beautiful picture how God can use men as a picture of himself and women as a picture of his church.

I left for work this morning feeling loved, taken care of and pursued. I am very blessed to have this life. I can remember a time (not very long ago, mind you) that I didn't really believe that this type of love existed. I never knew very many men who exhibited this selfless, laying down your life, kind of love.

This is me at the top of Diamond Head in Honolulu looking over God's creation. 

So, what did I do? I grasped. I grasped on to whatever I could for a moment of stability or a moment of temporary fulfillment. I might have been grasping onto my pride that I can do whatever I want because I'm awesome. I might have been grasping onto the thought of a boy who I knew wasn't sent from the Lord, but I knew would give me a few moments attention. I might have even grasped too firmly onto friendships that took my affections away from the Lord. Whatever the case, we've all done this at some point whether we are single or not.

I do want to speak specifically to single ladies today, though (if you aren't one, please take a listen for the sake of understanding). I am amazed at the girls in the youth group Lucas and I help with and how they adore our imperfect relationship and in their eyes we are the perfect couple and long for someone to call their own. They eat, sleep and breathe relationships and love and everything that will give you warm fuzzies if you think on it long enough.

I know I was that way at one point to some extent. I focused on every good-looking man that walked by, and if he didn't give me a second look I knew that something had to be wrong with me. Wow, my mind was so warped.

Many other scenarios happen with young ladies who are looking for love. I could really go on for days with stories of people I know and my personal stories, but we don't have those kinds of attention spans.

Ladies, I also know that you hate hearing people say "But this is the time in your life when you need to get to know God." or the dreaded "Jesus is your Prince Charming." I get it, I loathe when people say cheesy and stereotypical things, especially about something so personal and serious.

Let me say, it is your time to spend with your Father. Serve Him, chase Him, love Him with all your heart. He has a perfect will that is about His kingdom. When we can take the focus off of what we want out of life and focus on his perfect will that we know Him, life is not perfect, but we can grasp the beauty of our situation, not matter what it is.

Be encouraged today because your story really doesn't belong to you. We serve a God who is above traditions, cultural boundaries, religion, family values, and every other thing humans invented to make ourselves feel normal.

Seek Him with me today. He sure is pursuing us.

Wisdom for Each Day

Today I have the privilege of being married for one month. He is a good man. I am more convinced of this the more I know him.

So far, marriage has been an interesting ride for us as we have hardly been home and I've been sick half the time. I guess you could say we are starting real life with a dose of real life. Do you remember when you were 10 and you thought to the future about high school and how grown up and smart you would be by then? Then when you were in high school you thought about how much you would know when you got to college and how mature you would be? Then, do you remember college when everyone is dreaming about big careers, perfect marriages and great family life?

I am in that just married stage and I know that we are just a month in and I am a self-admitting rookie. I have learned a few things though:

1. Marriage is harder than it looks. This adjusting period is difficult. Laying down your desires and putting someone else first seems poetic and even romantic, but in the ticking clock of real life, it's just plain hard.

2. I am sooooo immature. All those dreams I had when I was younger about how wise I would be are just silly as I look back upon them. I'm now begging the Lord for wisdom in every moment. (Because James 1:5 says to ask for wisdom and the Lord will give it.) Boy do I need it.

3. I'm not saying that I condone this in any form or fashion, but I see why people divorce so quickly in our society. How could a society that teaches us to look out for number one produce strong marriages? I am convinced that a marriage could never live up to its full potential without wisdom and grace that comes only from the Lord.

Now, don't go off thinking this post is all about me. It's about us, I promise. What is that thing you think you have figured out? What is that thing you are failing miserably at? Where is the Lord in your situation? Have you asked him or wisdom today?

Goodness, people, we need Him. On our own, we are just sinful and naive children dreaming about a future that only He writes.

When I was a Freshman

This is me on move-in day as a freshman with my first college
roommate, Beth. I realize I look pretty much the same 5 years later.

Right about now, my summer in inundated with freshman planning and contacting for the fall. I love those little fellas. I have been thinking a bit about my time as a freshman and what I would have/ should have done differently, and these are a few things I wish I would have known. Please, feel free to comment on this blog and add to the list!!

1. Learn how to study. A lot of sharp kids get away with not studying in high school, but it doesn't work in college. If you don't have study skills ask a smart friend for some help. It works wonders.

2. Dating in college is slightly more serious. Hanging out with a different boy every night might be cool, but it is not wise.

3. Parties are really boring if you don't drink alcohol. The solution to this problem is up to you.

4. Roommates do not have to be your best friend. I always worked best with a roommate if we got along, but generally did our own thing. I like to think of it as a business transaction. We live together to split the bills, if we happen to want to be friends that is a great bonus. (Some people think this is cold, but it worked for me).

5. Money is not everything. This is a lesson I'm learning still, but professors and other filled my mind with dreams of always driving a brand new car and having plenty. I'm learning that God is sufficient.

6. College is a time for growth and self-discovery. Ask yourself important questions like "what's my purpose in life."

7. Hanging out by yourself is better than being drug down by the wrong people. (I took an entire semester where I hung out with my parents every weekend, and it was so worth it).

8. The freshman 15 is real.

Freshman year is such an exciting time full or new people and experiences. Let's remember that this is also a very important year. Namely in the first two weeks freshmen set patterns that will be with them the rest of their college career. Let's not get caught up in this thought pattern that "when I get older I'll straighten up." Let's all work toward being the person that we want to be 30 years from now.