Learning to live for HIS glory

Discouraged.  That's how she felt.  Thoughts of whether or not her prayers were worthwhile clouded her mind, and she wondered if God would ever come through and work as she had been pleading Him to.  Did her prayers really matter?  Frustration, sadness, discouragement, disillusionment . . . these emotions hung over her like a cloud, and she wondered where to turn--what to do.  "Does He hear me?," she wondered, "Why can't I see Him working?" Do you identify with "her"?  I do.  But maybe that's because these words are a description of me.  Just last weekend I felt like I was living inside a gray cloud.  Discouragement filled my heart and mind because I could not see God at work in those areas where I was begging Him to show up.  However, in the midst of the dark cloud of discouragement, the Lord sent a piercing ray of light to my heart.  He encouraged my weary soul with His truth and in so doing reminded me of His incredibly persona...

Today is Easter or Resurrection Day, a day on which we (as those who believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior) purpose to remember His sacrifice for us on the cross.  But not just His sacrifice, not just His pain and death, no we also remember His life.  For He IS RISEN!  When He died He didn't stay dead, but rose again to give us newness of life . . . to offer us the opportunity to choose Him, and in Him, victory over sin and death.  My heart is overflowing today--overflowing with joy!  For these are the truths that bring joy . . . and hope, and peace.  And I want to remember these truths, not just today, but every day.  For they are just as true tomorrow as today, and just as true next month as tomorrow.  These are the truths that put a smile on my face, and make me cheerful even when I am at work and it is 7 in the morning.  I desperately need to claim them as true in my life, to reckon them, daily.  For then I live as I a...

So I was reading through old journals the other day and came across this word picture . . . I thought I'd share--after a little editing :) . . .   Life is meant to be a duet, a harmony.  Lived out in the ups and downs of human life--it is a dependence on the God of the universe.  It is to be a blending of the Divine and human, woven together so intricately that you cannot tell one from the other.  For this is what Jesus so perfectly portrayed.  He was fully God and fully man, and He is our example.  Much more though, He lives in us!  And it is His example of the Divine and human so perfectly woven into one that we are to imitate . . . our lives in harmony with God and His plan.  When we look just at our own lives sometimes we see missing pieces, and sometimes it doesn't make sense.  Often times it just does not look or sound pretty.  But that is the way harmony works--we are dependent on the other part--because without it we don't reall...

Me: It's been a good day. Mom: What made it good? Me: Jesus . . . and remembering Him. A simple exchange of words in the kitchen yesterday afternoon, that I've been pondering since.  Because truly, Jesus' presence with me does make a day good, no matter what it's schedule includes.  The trick is remembering He is with me.  He is always there--desiring my full attention, painting beautiful pictures in the sky, wanting to teach me from His Word, loving me more fully than I will ever comprehend--but unfortunately I don't always remember to look for Him.  I'm not constantly purposing to abide. Even the simplest, most mundane of days can be joy filled when I remember He loves me and lives inside--when I consider the fact that my life "is hidden with Christ in God" (Col. 3:3).  For "in His presence is fullness of joy; at His right hand are pleasures forevermore" (Psalm 16:11). As a birthday approaches and a new year of life is about to begin,...

The beauty struck me as I drove through town and country.  Darkness made it hard to see anything beyond the reach of my headlights or the few streetlamps, but something in the cold wet night caught my attention.  The rain.  Tiny droplets speckled my windshield and merged to form streams on the pavement.  Alone: just wetness, but catching the gleam of my headlights, the streetlights: glistening specks that spread the light.  Their reflecting chased away the darkness and lit up the night. Enjoying the beauty, my thoughts turned to how this resembles our relationship to Jesus and the world.  Like a little raindrop, I am not much to speak of on my own.  However, He is the Light shining on my soul, and reflecting Him brings Light to the darkness of this world. Driving, on a dark night, in the rain . . . Jesus' light is shining :)

If I were to tell you the past few months have been easy, I'd be lying.  The truth is, they've been anything but.  The path that I'm walking is not one I would have chosen, in fact, if given the option I would have run as far as I could in the other direction.  However, it is the path that God has chosen to lead me down . . . and even though the way ahead continues to look dark and hazardous, looking back I can see His faithful hand guiding, protecting, and wooing.  I don't recall only sunshine when I pause to remember, I also recall pain, frustration, and tears, but weaving through all the dreariness, the gold and silver threads of God's wondrous purpose, love, and hope. There have been dark days and moments, and I'm sure there are probably more to come, but that's not what I want to focus on.  Instead, permit me to draw our attention to the theme that Jesus has drawn mine too over the past week or so: that of hope. Hope . . . it's a word that makes o...

I've been reading through Psalms lately, and really been challenged with how much the authors purpose to give thanks and tell of the wonderful things God has done.  But it's not just something they did back then . . . it's also a command from God's Word for us today!  So with that said . . . let me recount and give thanks for some of the things God has done. Every day, without fail, He paints beautiful sunrises and sunsets!  Making the colors in the sky almost dance sometimes, as they swirl together in patterns sometimes intricate, sometimes simple and serene.   He has grown my horizons and worldview in some crazy ways through experiences I never expected.  Who knew this Lancaster County girl would spend most of her teen years less than an hour from the city of New Orleans?  And yet, through that experience He has grown and changed me in many ways!  How amazing is my God, and how truly incomprehensible are His ways! He has changed my he...