Mondays are super busy, crazy days for me. Today was more stressful than usual. As I was driving home, I turned on KLRC, the local "positive difference" radio station. Music is my entire being. I love it. It is definitely my most powerful connection to God. So, every time I turn on KLRC, my heart is almost immediately lightened, my mind is cleared, and my eyes are re-fixed on Jesus. The first song I heard tonight was Chris Tomlin's "Our God." If you're not familiar with the song, you should check it out!
"Our God is greater,
Our God is stronger,
God, You are higher than any other.
Our God is healer, awesome in power...
And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us?
And if our God is with us, then what could stand against?"
If God is for us, and He is,
Then what could stand against? Against a God who is greater, stronger, higher, more awesome? Against His beloved children, whom He will fight for? (Romans 8:31-32, Exodus 14:14)
I guess this song was just a perfectly timed reminder of who my God is and that He's on my side. He never changes. His truth and His promises stand firm. He never leaves me stranded on my own. I may wander astray, but His love stays the same. And that blows my mind. :) (Malachi 3:6, Deuteronomy 31:6)
Be still,
Ashley Anne
Some verses to check out:
1 John 4:4
Psalm 59:16
Isaiah 41:1
Monday, January 30, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
"I won't let you fall..."
The spring semester is officially at full-blown pace and that pace for me is ridiculously fast. I'm in good company because the same can be said for most of the music majors I spend all day with. Let's just say my semester is booked!!!
It feels like we've been back in school forever, but it was just last week that I was receiving syllabuses and organizing my classes, trying to get a feel for the reality of what this semester looks like. By Thursday I was thinking, "Man, I am in WAY over my head here! There is absolutely no way I am going to be able to keep this pace up after a month, maybe two." Just in the first week I had already gotten into the pattern of being in class or the library or a practice room for at least 14 hours of my day, often all back to back, and my brain was fried! Thursday afternoon I had a pretty intense mental/emotional breakdown. It was awful. I thought about dropping some classes and just paying the financial consequences of being "less than full time." I thought about just quitting all together! If you've read any of my previous posts, you may know that I am trying to overcome a mental barrier about spring semesters on top of dealing with school. I just knew I was already predestined to fail. My little breakdown lasted quite a while, like 4 days. When I decided it was time to snap out of it, I started reading Psalm 37. The whole thing is wonderful, you should really check it out. :)
This really stood out to me.
"If the LORD delights in a man’s way,
he makes his steps firm;
though he stumble, he will not fall,
for the LORD upholds him with his hand." Psalm 37:23-24
This is my "mirror verse" right now. I always have a verse on my bathroom mirror and I change it when God is using a particular verse to work in my heart. If I am following wherever the Holy Spirit leads me, and I have no doubt that I am in the right place at this point in my life, God will make my steps firm. What a confidence boost! As I mentioned earlier, going into this semester I had this mental predisposition that there was no hope of success. Even attempting this semester was a crazy notion; it was predestined to be a catastrophe, an epic fail, if you will. This mentality made me feel very fragile and unsteady. I felt like I was always on the verge of breaking, just waiting for the moment that everything would fall apart. From here on out I hope I remember that in the Lord, I stand firm!
Obviously my little meltdown was a "stumble," and I have no doubt that I will stumble often this semester. It's going to be super tough and definitely a test of my faith, but God's got my back. He's not going to let me fall.
He wants to help me succeed in fulfilling His plan for me. He wants to hold me up, because I won't make it on my own. I've tried.
He will not let me fall. That blows my mind.
This second week has not been easy, but it has been much better than the last. I'm already regretting spending too much time on this post, but relying on God for strength to push through the times where I am overwhelmed to tears has made all the difference and I wanted to share. :)
Be still,
Ashley Anne
More verses for encouragement:
Psalm 37:30-31
Philipians 4:19-20
Psalm 91
It feels like we've been back in school forever, but it was just last week that I was receiving syllabuses and organizing my classes, trying to get a feel for the reality of what this semester looks like. By Thursday I was thinking, "Man, I am in WAY over my head here! There is absolutely no way I am going to be able to keep this pace up after a month, maybe two." Just in the first week I had already gotten into the pattern of being in class or the library or a practice room for at least 14 hours of my day, often all back to back, and my brain was fried! Thursday afternoon I had a pretty intense mental/emotional breakdown. It was awful. I thought about dropping some classes and just paying the financial consequences of being "less than full time." I thought about just quitting all together! If you've read any of my previous posts, you may know that I am trying to overcome a mental barrier about spring semesters on top of dealing with school. I just knew I was already predestined to fail. My little breakdown lasted quite a while, like 4 days. When I decided it was time to snap out of it, I started reading Psalm 37. The whole thing is wonderful, you should really check it out. :)
This really stood out to me.
"If the LORD delights in a man’s way,
he makes his steps firm;
though he stumble, he will not fall,
for the LORD upholds him with his hand." Psalm 37:23-24
This is my "mirror verse" right now. I always have a verse on my bathroom mirror and I change it when God is using a particular verse to work in my heart. If I am following wherever the Holy Spirit leads me, and I have no doubt that I am in the right place at this point in my life, God will make my steps firm. What a confidence boost! As I mentioned earlier, going into this semester I had this mental predisposition that there was no hope of success. Even attempting this semester was a crazy notion; it was predestined to be a catastrophe, an epic fail, if you will. This mentality made me feel very fragile and unsteady. I felt like I was always on the verge of breaking, just waiting for the moment that everything would fall apart. From here on out I hope I remember that in the Lord, I stand firm!
Obviously my little meltdown was a "stumble," and I have no doubt that I will stumble often this semester. It's going to be super tough and definitely a test of my faith, but God's got my back. He's not going to let me fall.
He wants to help me succeed in fulfilling His plan for me. He wants to hold me up, because I won't make it on my own. I've tried.
He will not let me fall. That blows my mind.
This second week has not been easy, but it has been much better than the last. I'm already regretting spending too much time on this post, but relying on God for strength to push through the times where I am overwhelmed to tears has made all the difference and I wanted to share. :)
Be still,
Ashley Anne
More verses for encouragement:
Psalm 37:30-31
Philipians 4:19-20
Psalm 91
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Trusting in a Better Plan
I have recently spent some time reading in Jeremiah 29. If you caught my previous post, I was specifically focused on verse 11: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." God revealed this to me: I am a huge planner. I meticulously plan every detail of my life; it makes me feel secure and in control. Even though I feel like my life is forever off-track, things are always rolling along according to God's even better plan.
My heart is wonderfully encouraged by this, and yet, I'm wrestling with it. Like I said, I am such a planner because it makes me feel secure; I need to be in control. However, as I mentioned last time, God's plan is not my plan. (Isaiah 55:8) If I want to follow Him and the wonderful things He has in store for me, then I've got to let go of my plans, let go of my constant need for control.
Hold up right there!! To let go of my control means I have to trust someone else enough to let them be in charge. Yikes. I have trust issues; I'll just put that out in the open. I was hurt in so many ways as a child by the people I was supposed to be able to trust and rely on more than anyone else in the world. Parents are supposed to be safe, open, and loving, but mine were not. For a long time, I didn't open up to or trust anybody or anything. It was me, myself, and I. Eventually, I started to trust people more freely, perhaps too freely. Again, I was deceived and torn down. Somehow, this betrayal hurt even more than my childhood wounds. Now I am working on knowing when and whom and how much to trust. I'm always a work in progress. :)
Through these waves of trust and mistrust, I have struggled with completely trusting God with my heart and my life, even though, logically, I knew I wanted to. God knows I'm a stubborn girl and He has proven Himself to me over and over and over again, each time coming as a reminder of His faithfulness just as I begin to sink in doubt. Yet, I still haven't given Him my entire heart...
This semester could be a landmark semester for me. I have never completed a spring semester. I fall apart mid-term and I end up dropping out. I have a theory as to why that is and this spring I am determined to overcome! But, I can't face it alone. I have failed so many times trying to succeed on my own, failure to the point of being completely shattered. God always ends up picking up the pieces and putting me back together, so why not just give Him the reigns in the first place? Rather than being intimidated by the idea of someone else being in charge of my life, I am actually finding comfort in the fact that someone much more wise than myself loves me enough to want to lead my steps. I'm exhausted from trying to do it all alone and God is saying, "Hey, I'm here. Remember me? Fall back and I'll catch you. Be still and listen to me. I will not lead you astray." (Exodus 14:14, Proverbs 3:5-6)
I give in. I am tired of fighting and I want MY shepherd to lead me. But, God, I've been such a mistrusting control freak for so long, how do I even go about giving You the control?
So I continued reading...
"Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the Lord, "and I will bring you back from captivity." Jeremiah 29:12-14a
This logical brain of mine could not have asked for more clear instructions:
Come to me and pray to me. Seek me with all your heart.
I have a mentor who tells me on a daily basis, "Pray about it. God wants you to go to Him." I do it, but I am often just going through the motions. I'm not really praying from my heart because somewhere in the back of my mind I am thinking, "Why am I doing this? God doesn't really hear me. And even if I do trust Him, I can't be fixed...again."
But this broken heart of mine could not have asked for more comforting promises.
I will listen to you.
I will be found by you.
I will bring you back from captivity.
Trust is not something that develops overnight. It takes time to trust someone with your heart. It takes a relationship to trust someone enough to let them lead your life. I thank God every day that He never gives up on me in my moments of weakness. I'm so thankful that He knows the desire I have to know Him in my heart and that He is continually revealing Himself to me. I pray that when I start to doubt His instructions to call upon Him and seek Him wholeheartedly, I will remember that He wants to listen to me. He wants to be found by me. He wants to bring me back from captivity. He loves me that much. He knows that I will stumble, He knows that I will doubt, but He is faithful. And through this, I'm learning to trust in His better plan.
Be Still,
Ashley Anne
More verses for encouragement:
Job 42:2
Proverbs 19:21
My heart is wonderfully encouraged by this, and yet, I'm wrestling with it. Like I said, I am such a planner because it makes me feel secure; I need to be in control. However, as I mentioned last time, God's plan is not my plan. (Isaiah 55:8) If I want to follow Him and the wonderful things He has in store for me, then I've got to let go of my plans, let go of my constant need for control.
Hold up right there!! To let go of my control means I have to trust someone else enough to let them be in charge. Yikes. I have trust issues; I'll just put that out in the open. I was hurt in so many ways as a child by the people I was supposed to be able to trust and rely on more than anyone else in the world. Parents are supposed to be safe, open, and loving, but mine were not. For a long time, I didn't open up to or trust anybody or anything. It was me, myself, and I. Eventually, I started to trust people more freely, perhaps too freely. Again, I was deceived and torn down. Somehow, this betrayal hurt even more than my childhood wounds. Now I am working on knowing when and whom and how much to trust. I'm always a work in progress. :)
Through these waves of trust and mistrust, I have struggled with completely trusting God with my heart and my life, even though, logically, I knew I wanted to. God knows I'm a stubborn girl and He has proven Himself to me over and over and over again, each time coming as a reminder of His faithfulness just as I begin to sink in doubt. Yet, I still haven't given Him my entire heart...
This semester could be a landmark semester for me. I have never completed a spring semester. I fall apart mid-term and I end up dropping out. I have a theory as to why that is and this spring I am determined to overcome! But, I can't face it alone. I have failed so many times trying to succeed on my own, failure to the point of being completely shattered. God always ends up picking up the pieces and putting me back together, so why not just give Him the reigns in the first place? Rather than being intimidated by the idea of someone else being in charge of my life, I am actually finding comfort in the fact that someone much more wise than myself loves me enough to want to lead my steps. I'm exhausted from trying to do it all alone and God is saying, "Hey, I'm here. Remember me? Fall back and I'll catch you. Be still and listen to me. I will not lead you astray." (Exodus 14:14, Proverbs 3:5-6)
I give in. I am tired of fighting and I want MY shepherd to lead me. But, God, I've been such a mistrusting control freak for so long, how do I even go about giving You the control?
So I continued reading...
"Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the Lord, "and I will bring you back from captivity." Jeremiah 29:12-14a
This logical brain of mine could not have asked for more clear instructions:
Come to me and pray to me. Seek me with all your heart.
I have a mentor who tells me on a daily basis, "Pray about it. God wants you to go to Him." I do it, but I am often just going through the motions. I'm not really praying from my heart because somewhere in the back of my mind I am thinking, "Why am I doing this? God doesn't really hear me. And even if I do trust Him, I can't be fixed...again."
But this broken heart of mine could not have asked for more comforting promises.
I will listen to you.
I will be found by you.
I will bring you back from captivity.
Trust is not something that develops overnight. It takes time to trust someone with your heart. It takes a relationship to trust someone enough to let them lead your life. I thank God every day that He never gives up on me in my moments of weakness. I'm so thankful that He knows the desire I have to know Him in my heart and that He is continually revealing Himself to me. I pray that when I start to doubt His instructions to call upon Him and seek Him wholeheartedly, I will remember that He wants to listen to me. He wants to be found by me. He wants to bring me back from captivity. He loves me that much. He knows that I will stumble, He knows that I will doubt, but He is faithful. And through this, I'm learning to trust in His better plan.
Be Still,
Ashley Anne
More verses for encouragement:
Job 42:2
Proverbs 19:21
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Teaching or Learning a Lesson?
Not too long ago, I was asked to teach the Bible lesson for a youth ministry I volunteer with. I was really nervous because I had never done anything like that before. I am great with one-on-one or even one-on-few investment, but teaching the whole group was way out of my comfort zone.
When I was given the memory verse to teach, I just wanted to die. It was Jeremiah 29:11- one of the first verses I learned as a Christian, a verse I have consistently relied on for encouragement and read a hundred times, a verse I have often pulled out of my memory bank in various situations, a verse plastered all over Pinterest, a verse that so many people can recite....
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
How on earth was I going to teach this one to little kids? There are so many big words! So I started to pray. I decided to break it down the best way I knew how and I wrote out a lesson plan. When I finished and looked at it, my only thought was, "Oh boy..." For the 36 hours between finishing the lesson plan and the actual talk, I tried to stop freaking out about saying the right things and about what the other volunteers would think of me. My prayer became, "Lord, let it be You standing in front of those girls and not me. Let it be Your words and not my own."
When the time came, I pretty much freaked out. I'm fairly certain I said, "God has a special plan just for you," about twenty times in five minutes and babbled in between. Now, I believe God is faithful, and I sincerely hope that the girls got something out of that lesson. Perhaps one of them needed to hear about a special plan twenty times. I may never know.
I do know that it was no mistake that I was given this passage to teach on.
I am a huge planner and I always have been. I write out elaborate hour-by-hour plans for my week. Taking the thirty minutes to do so on Saturday night makes me feel better, more in control. The thing is, not much on my detailed hour-by-hour schedule actually goes according to plan and I often find myself in a tizzy about mid-week. The awesome not-so-secret that God decided to let me in on is that He has already planned every hour of my life! And that totally blows my mind. Every hour He has planned is a precious gift. While keeping myself organized is good, I can't let my world shatter when God takes me in a direction I didn't expect. After all,
"My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord.
Isaiah 55:8
The other thing I realized is that God's plans are way better than mine will ever be, no matter how meticulously I plan! His plans are good plans full of hope, safety, prosperity and love. Just as Jeremiah 29:11 says.
Funny how God can take such a familiar verse and open your eyes to something new. He is good.
When I was given the memory verse to teach, I just wanted to die. It was Jeremiah 29:11- one of the first verses I learned as a Christian, a verse I have consistently relied on for encouragement and read a hundred times, a verse I have often pulled out of my memory bank in various situations, a verse plastered all over Pinterest, a verse that so many people can recite....
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
How on earth was I going to teach this one to little kids? There are so many big words! So I started to pray. I decided to break it down the best way I knew how and I wrote out a lesson plan. When I finished and looked at it, my only thought was, "Oh boy..." For the 36 hours between finishing the lesson plan and the actual talk, I tried to stop freaking out about saying the right things and about what the other volunteers would think of me. My prayer became, "Lord, let it be You standing in front of those girls and not me. Let it be Your words and not my own."
When the time came, I pretty much freaked out. I'm fairly certain I said, "God has a special plan just for you," about twenty times in five minutes and babbled in between. Now, I believe God is faithful, and I sincerely hope that the girls got something out of that lesson. Perhaps one of them needed to hear about a special plan twenty times. I may never know.
I do know that it was no mistake that I was given this passage to teach on.
I am a huge planner and I always have been. I write out elaborate hour-by-hour plans for my week. Taking the thirty minutes to do so on Saturday night makes me feel better, more in control. The thing is, not much on my detailed hour-by-hour schedule actually goes according to plan and I often find myself in a tizzy about mid-week. The awesome not-so-secret that God decided to let me in on is that He has already planned every hour of my life! And that totally blows my mind. Every hour He has planned is a precious gift. While keeping myself organized is good, I can't let my world shatter when God takes me in a direction I didn't expect. After all,
"My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord.
Isaiah 55:8
The other thing I realized is that God's plans are way better than mine will ever be, no matter how meticulously I plan! His plans are good plans full of hope, safety, prosperity and love. Just as Jeremiah 29:11 says.
Funny how God can take such a familiar verse and open your eyes to something new. He is good.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Just a Little Praise...
Several weeks ago, it hit me...I am really an adult. I don't know why it took me until age 21 to realize this, but it did. This last semester of school was incredibly life changing. It was a super rough start, but it ended up being better than I ever could have expected. I couldn't have done it without an awesome support system and, of course, the love and strength of our Almighty God!
Today, I started feeling like a fairly responsible adult. It's kind of a "I'm free" feeling. I am living on my own. I am staying on top of my own finances and budgeting responsibly. I am strategically planning my errands and daily activities to save gas. (This is a new one and kinda what made me start thinking today.)
I am taking care of my health conditions (nothing serious...no worries) and coinciding with that I am eating well and exercising regularly. I encourage everyone to do this...it may be hard at first, but if you keep at it, it will change your world in so many ways! I have this verse on the inside of my gym locker and it always helps me keep at it.
"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received
from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."
-1 Corinthians 6:19-20
I'm straying from my point...
I am growing in my walk with the Lord.
I am building healthier relationships here on earth.
I am so blessed to be working with young girls and to be one of Jesus' vessels in their lives.
I am studying what I love and I am finally succeeding at it!
My first thoughts when I came to this epiphany today were all about me. "Wow, I'm actually doing this! I have had so much heartbreak and so many setbacks. Nobody thought I could do it, look at me now!"
Then God gently kicked me in the booty, as He often does, and when I got home, I opened my Bible and in front of me was the story of David destroying the Amalekites.
"When David and his men came to Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and
daughters taken captive. So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep.
David's two wives had been captured- Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal and Carmel.
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 Samuel 30:3-6 (NIV)
To be honest, after reading some more and doing some minor research, I still don't understand the history behind these battles; perhaps it's something I should study more. I do know that through it all, David went through his own trials and heartbreak, but he found his strength in the Lord.
Then the second epiphany came. I am absolutely nothing without God. Over the last couple years, I have gone through the lowest points of my life thus far. Like David, I was at the point where I was not strong enough to even keep weeping. I did not become this "fairly responsible adult" by my own strength; I have only accomplished these things through relying on God. And I just can't thank Him enough!! (John 15:5)
If you are to a point of total depair, I encourage you to take it all to the Lord. If you're like me, that's a scary thought. I know...I've been there. And who's to say I'll never be there again? I'm the queen of self-sabotage. ;) Go before Him and be still; He will listen and He will answer according to His plan...He is mighty and wonderful and He wants to take care of you. He loves you more than any of us can comprehend here on earth. That's what this blog is all about. :)
If you are in a wonderful free-feeling place, take a moment and praise God today!! It's all Him and to Him be all the glory!!!
Ashley Anne
More verses for encouragement:
Nehemiah 8:10
Psalm 105:4
Isaiah 41:10
Philippians 4:13
Psalm 73:26
Today, I started feeling like a fairly responsible adult. It's kind of a "I'm free" feeling. I am living on my own. I am staying on top of my own finances and budgeting responsibly. I am strategically planning my errands and daily activities to save gas. (This is a new one and kinda what made me start thinking today.)
I am taking care of my health conditions (nothing serious...no worries) and coinciding with that I am eating well and exercising regularly. I encourage everyone to do this...it may be hard at first, but if you keep at it, it will change your world in so many ways! I have this verse on the inside of my gym locker and it always helps me keep at it.
"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received
from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."
-1 Corinthians 6:19-20
I'm straying from my point...
I am growing in my walk with the Lord.
I am building healthier relationships here on earth.
I am so blessed to be working with young girls and to be one of Jesus' vessels in their lives.
I am studying what I love and I am finally succeeding at it!
My first thoughts when I came to this epiphany today were all about me. "Wow, I'm actually doing this! I have had so much heartbreak and so many setbacks. Nobody thought I could do it, look at me now!"
Then God gently kicked me in the booty, as He often does, and when I got home, I opened my Bible and in front of me was the story of David destroying the Amalekites.
"When David and his men came to Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and
daughters taken captive. So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep.
David's two wives had been captured- Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal and Carmel.
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 Samuel 30:3-6 (NIV)
To be honest, after reading some more and doing some minor research, I still don't understand the history behind these battles; perhaps it's something I should study more. I do know that through it all, David went through his own trials and heartbreak, but he found his strength in the Lord.
Then the second epiphany came. I am absolutely nothing without God. Over the last couple years, I have gone through the lowest points of my life thus far. Like David, I was at the point where I was not strong enough to even keep weeping. I did not become this "fairly responsible adult" by my own strength; I have only accomplished these things through relying on God. And I just can't thank Him enough!! (John 15:5)
If you are to a point of total depair, I encourage you to take it all to the Lord. If you're like me, that's a scary thought. I know...I've been there. And who's to say I'll never be there again? I'm the queen of self-sabotage. ;) Go before Him and be still; He will listen and He will answer according to His plan...He is mighty and wonderful and He wants to take care of you. He loves you more than any of us can comprehend here on earth. That's what this blog is all about. :)
If you are in a wonderful free-feeling place, take a moment and praise God today!! It's all Him and to Him be all the glory!!!
Ashley Anne
More verses for encouragement:
Nehemiah 8:10
Psalm 105:4
Isaiah 41:10
Philippians 4:13
Psalm 73:26
Sunday, January 8, 2012
The Lord is MY shepherd...
Another New Year's post. :)
The material for this blog comes from a service at Fellowship Bible Church on New Year's Day. You know how church is always good, but sometimes the message really strikes a chord with you? That's what happened today.
I know that there is a wonderful God and I know that through prayer and study I'm building a relationship with Him. There have most definitely been moments where God has clearly shown Himself to me and I've felt the connection. There have been countless times that He has proven to me His faithfulness. And, yet, I still had this idea that God was this huge God up in the sky that came to save the whole world. I think of the song from Sunday school, "Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world..."
He did come for the world, but He also came just for me. And He came just for you, too. As Sam talks about in this sermon, the first five words of Psalm 23 are powerful and insightful: "The Lord is my shepherd..." These words seem so gentle and so welcoming to me. God is a wonderful shepherd calling in His little sheep that need guidance to survive. I really focused on the word "my." I realized that God wants to have a very personal relationship with every one of His followers. Jeremiah 29:12 says, "Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you." God's word is full of promises and He promises to listen to us. My heart matters to Him. And that blows my mind.
The end of that same children's song goes, "They are precious in His sight, oh Jesus loves the children of the world." We are precious in His sight. I am precious. You are precious. Your daughter is precious. Your next door neighbor is precious. Your co-worker is precious. You get the idea....
I encourage you to go listen to the podcast of this sermon because it's just wonderful.
Link to Fellowship Sunday morning audio
Be Still: A New Year's Resolution
I am forever on the go, especially when class is in session. I'm a music education major and it's SUPER time consuming. I pray between classes, I pray before tests, but I'm always on the move and not really focusing on my walk with God. I'll admit, I skip my daily quiet time a lot for some extra sleep. When I get stuck in this crazy busy rut, I feel unsatisfied.
This winter break, I have had the awesome opportunity to really spend time in the Word, work on honestly praying from my heart, and really just sit before the Lord. I don't think I have ever done that before. Just sit and be still and listen. Keep my motor mouth shut for a change.
I didn't just pull this new mind set out of thin air. It was totally God's hand at work in my heart. The following verses came up in my life, repeatedly. I read them during some of my quiet time. One of them showed up in my morning devo. One of them I read on a friend's post on facebook. You get the point. God is so good to drive the point home; He must know I have a hard head.
Psalm 46:10 (NIV)
"Be still and know that I am God..."
Exodus 14:14 (NIV)
"The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."
The cool thing is that these are verses I had learned and stored in my memory bank, but never really payed much attention to. Now showing me them in a different light, God is saying do it. Obey. Seek him. Be still.
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