That Samsung Galaxy commercial where the mom and kids are seeing dad off in a taxi cab and she wirelessly sends him a video she warns he “probably shouldn’t watch on the plane” is like a Rorschach test; whatever you think is on that video is exactly what’s on it, and that is how filthy a person you are.
OR… one could say that is how much of a “Romantic” you are.
Perspective John, Perspective.
;)
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Writing: It’s something I aspire to do one day, you know, on more of a “full time” basis. So here and there when I can, I come across advice from writers, teachers, etc. giving advice on the subject. Every time, almost without fail, I hear some of the same words;
“Just Start”
Start writing something, anything at all. Even if it’s just gibberish. Even if it’s just meaningless words. Start Writing, and then once the flow starts, its quite difficult to stop it.
Maybe it seems like that’s all I’m doing right now, Maybe it is. But it brought me to this thought:
JUST START
In life, n the Everyday, in your Dreams, in your hopes, through your fears… Just Start.
Even if you are starting with nothing, from nothing. Just start, even if all you have is words, or even if you don’t have the words, simply begin.
Even if you’re not quite sure what you are starting, what you could be diving into, it can only get better once it flows.
I think that is majority of what holds us back in life, it’s not having a lack of dreams or hopes or desires, it’s the first step. It’s the fear to start something that’s brand new. It’s the excuse of not knowing where to start. It’s the fear of failure.
Sometimes we just need to begin with nothing at all, but a little bit of faith.
Do we have faith enough that He will take care of the rest?
I’m dumbfounded.
I’m here all over again.
Struggling to Trust. I thought I learned this lesson already? Passed this test? Grew up & Moved on? It seems there’s always something else, something bigger tugging at me, asking me do you REALLY trust HIM?
A Friend and I were talking about this the other day. It’s a great feeling to find solace in the fact that you’re not alone, that you’re not the only child whose strayed from the Fathers safe arms into a mess of worry, fear, or doubt.
It happens to the best of us it seems. I do believe though, that we Can get there.
There must be some point we are able to come to, along our path when we FINALLY, truly grasp everything that it means to trust our Savior. The problem is, we learn it in one area and think we’ve past the test of all tests. We forget there’s about 3,000 other area’s we need to trust HIM in, for that moment anyways.
Then the moment passes and those 3,000 other area’s come creeping up on us and just like that we forget Everything we just learned.
Back to Step 1 we go.
When will we learn that His Eye is on the Sparrow? That the very hairs on our head are numbered? (Matthew 10:30, Luke 12) Yes, I know we know these things. We have all the bible verses memorized. But where do they go in our moments of stress? In the middle of the disarray and at the end of the day, I have to ask myself… can I say that I honestly put my TRUST in the Lord today? Or did I lean on my own understanding? (See Probverbs 3:5,6)
My understanding is nothing. HIS understanding is Everything.
If I could only get this on the inside of me. I know of it, but do I KNOW IT -So well that it never leaves my mind. So well that no matter what comes my way, I remain Confident, because my Trust is in the Lord, not in man.
I wish I could say I was there. But I can say I believe we can be. I believe if we soak ourselves in his presence & in his word enough, that knowledge becomes so much bigger than just knowledge- It becomes Who We Are.
I pray I can become that person. I pray I can become so Steeped in the knowledge of my Lord’s Character that it becomes my second nature to Trust Him, without wavering, and without running to my own solutions first.
This is my confession. I’m still in the process. Anyone along with me for the ride?
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XOX
Angela
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and Happy Almost Autumn to you all.
This is a tough one. No it’s not fun to talk about, but I feel I must, So I will.
It’s a simple concept really that I’m sure every if not most parents plan on teaching their children:
Your Choices have Consequences.
A good choice creates good results, a bad (or wrong) choice often produces negative results.
Revolutionary Right? Maybe not. But yet somehow as Christians I believe far too many of us think that we have some sort of “Right” to escape the consequences of this world just because we serve God.
This is not so.
Yes, we serve an Amazing, Loving, Gracious Father but this Father of ours understands Free Will. No, He is not waiting for us to make a mistake and then smite us with his vengeance. He is There ready and waiting to forgive us and help us back on our feet, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be consequences.
Take a Child Learning to Walk for example. Her father is holding her hand the whole way, helping her step by step, and when she wants to venture out on her own what does he do? He let’s her try. And when she stumbles and falls where is he? Ready to punish her? No. He is there ready to put her back on her feet and say “Try Again”.
Sounds beautiful doesn’t it? The problem is we often forget of the consequence that happened naturally in between all of that. Those consequences were: 1)She fell down. 2)She got hurt.
I’m sure any good daddy would give anything to take that hurt away - but it’s a part of Life.
It’s the same with our Heavenly Father, sometimes there are things in life, mistakes we make along our path where He is perfectly capable & willing to pick us up, place us on our feet and say “Try Again”.
But we cannot get mad when we feel as though that doesn’t happen immediately. During the in between stage when all we can feel is the pain -It’s not God, I dare to say it’s not even the Devil.. It’s the simple consequence of our action.
I know some of you are having a field day right now.
“How can you say it’s not the Enemy, It’s the Enemy who made me mess up in the first place, (that one’s my favorite) It’s an Attack from the Enemy” Etc. Etc. Etc.
I’m not saying there aren’t times of battle. If you are sitting in shame and guilt and condemnation over your mistake THAT is the enemy. THAT is what God sent his only son Jesus for. To remove your guilt and to remove your shame, and to set you back on your feet!
What He didn’t send Him for was to remove the possibility of earthly consequences. Put abruptly there is not guarantee that if you…
These sound ridiculous to us at first glance but I truely believe far too many Christians are living as if the “World’s” Consequences don’t apply to them.
Yes we are Children of the King. Yes our God is Gracious & Loving. But that doesn’t mean that we should be thrown for a loop when we get pulled over for a speeding ticket just because we spent time praying that morning. (I’m using the “speeding ticket” reference because its minute, sadly there are often far bigger trials and consequences because of some of the actions we take outside of God’s will for us).
The best part of all of this is that though there are consequences we will have to face, because we WILL mess up from time to time, our God does have the power to turn them around for good, just remember it is a process. Consequences happen in our lives; Good Consequences and Bad Consequences, it’s the circle of Life my friends, and it’s time as Christians we fess up to it. We are not perfect, but we do serve a perfect Lord.
God forgive us for ever thinking we are above reproach. Forgive us for ever thinking we DESERVE your abundant blessings. Let there always be Less of Me, and More of you.
“A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions.The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.”
- Proverbs 27:12
Today I’m wearing a sweater that’s a teeensy bit too tight. That’s UNCOMFORTABLE.
But that’s not where I’m going with this. I’m talking about being UNCOMFORTABLE in life. Sounds just dreadful doesn’t it? Who wants to feel constricted or confined, itchy, or irritable. Not me I’ll tell you that much. (Does not make for a “good mood Angela”) but Today I’m wondering if this is exactly where I’m called to be.
Stick with me here;
When I’m cozy, comfy, safe, & warm I find it incredibly hard to move. The last thing I want to to do is move! I’ll stay right here thank you very much and don’t you dare touch my perfectly aligned pillows and blanket and cup of tea within the perfect distance of reach. Oh so comfy. Why would I move?
But get me UN-Comfortable? You’ve got a whole new ball game. Kicking, Screaming, Scratching, Crawling anything to find a little comfort!
And I wonder why God let’s me stay this way…. meditate on THAT for a minute.
You see I believe God has no other choice sometimes but to allow us to get a little bit UNCOMFORTABLE with where we are in life. We go to church and prayer meeting and cry out to God for change, for miracles, for revival- but we go home afterwards and are absolutely unwilling to change anything ourselves, because well we are safe here, we are cozy here, we are Comfortable.
My friends, I am preaching to myself, yet again.
For the past few months I have been calling out to God asking why I have to be so uncomfortable right now. Begging Him for some sort of relief, Anything! Like Lord, a little scratch on the back, a pillow! But I am realizing more & more that maybe sometimes the breakthrough needs to come when I am so sick and tired of being UNCOMFORTABLE that I finally get up and scratch. That I finally take off all the extra baggage that’s weighing me down. THEN… I MOVE.
I encourage you. Maybe God has called you to an UNCOMFORTABLE place for this season. Maybe it is so UNCOMFORTABLE that that you question if God has really called you there or not. Do not give up hope. Allow yourself the opportunity to be a little bit uncomfortable, and if you’re really brave (braver than I) get even more Uncomfortable. Dig into all that God has for you in THIS season. You may just be uncomfortable because God is positioning you for you Greater things. It is often the times of discomfort that shape the most beautiful outcomes. And if you’re just too comfortable right now? Then take this as a wake up call, it’s time to throw caution to the wind and realize that being uncomfortable provides far greater reward in the end when God guides you to HIS safe place, instead of staying “safe” and “untouched” in your own place of comfort.
Here’s to being UNCOMFORTABLE… in life, not this horrible sweater ;)
James 1:3 ”For you Know that when your Faith is Tested, your Endurance has a chance to Grow.”
Friends,
Today I write with… hesitation. Not because I do not hold the adequate desire or because I sit in fear, okay thats a lie. It’s fear. I fear I do not posess what a subject of this magnitude requires me to hold. Yet, I cannot shake it. So despite my better judgement I will tackle this head first & keep it as simple as can be. (An excuse really, for the lack of knowledge I have surrounding it.)
Okay, I can hear you, you’re like OKAY OKAY what is “it” already this subject that haunts you so?
FORGIVENESS.
But, not just any forgivness, God’s forgivness. Which is so far reaching beyond our human comprehension, and so deep, and so wide, and so absolutely indescribable I doubt again if God is really calling me to write this. (Last chance Lord?)
I digress..
I simply want to tell each of you, Christians included of the deep love, and profound forgiveness our Savior has granted you. I think as Christians sometimes, if not most of the time, we forget the emphasis that forgiveness has in our lives. We forget because we focus on forgiveness for the “sinner” or for the “lost”. And ultimately we FORGET what God has done in our lives. Which leads me to the main event…
Forgetting;
One of the most beautiful promises held in God’s word is His forgiveness for us. The bible says not only does God forgive our sins (our shortcomings, our failures, our rebelliousness etc.) but God, because he is GOD actually erases the deed from His mind.
Think about that for a minute. He doesn’t remember it.
This is something so hard to wrap our minds around, because no matter how much I am capable of forgiving someone, no matter how genuine I am in accepting an apology or saying things like “It’s behind us” “Dont worry about it” “I forgive you”
My human mind makes it pretty difficult to actually “ERASE” it.
Yet, this is what God has done for us, time & time again. His love for us is so pure, so genuine, and He is so powerful that He actually has the ability to wipe the slate clean, and not even remember the very sin that hurt Him.
So what’s the problem?
The problem is we are constantly reminding God of the very thing he CANNOT remember!
Why do you think the enemy is constantly bringing it up to you? You know what I’m talking about - the reminder of that one sin, one shortcoming. Whether it was yesterday, or 10 years ago. If you are a child of God, and if you are walking in surrender and repentance, God cannot and will not remember it! I believe the enemy not only wants to remind you so that you feel inadequate, insecure, and incapable - but ALSO that you feel the unnecessary desire to Remind God. (The audacity we have.. right?)
In my opinion (not exactly theologically based) God is saying: “Quit Reminding me! I forgot already! I don’t know what you’re talking about! or (my personal fav) Now I have to go ERASE that AGAIN!”
It’s time for us as Christians to take our place in the forgiveness God has blessed us with. His perfect love is part of his Perfect Power and when we begin to let it take action in our lives - and when we begin to realize that the very “sin” that is haunting us technically does not exist any longer - that is when we embrace freedom- that is when we truely embrace the Christian Walk we are each called to.
Meditate on his FORGIVENESS - not the Sin. Live as he calls you- beloved. <3
Verses to Back it up:
Hebrews 10:17 (NLT) - ” I will never again remember their Sins and Lawless Deeds.”
Isaiah 43:25 (NKJV) - “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.
Hebrews 8:12 (NLT) - “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins”
It’s hard for me to even begin today. Those words resonate so deeply within me, and at the same time I feel as though I can barely grasp them.
I came across this verse as I was searching for “My new verse of the year”. Okay, some back story time: My dad ,when I was growing up came up with this idea that each year on your birthday, you would find a verse (or 2 or 3 or 6 or 12) that correlated with your age and that would sit before you for that next year of your life. For example this year I turned 23, so I looked for references Chapter 2: Verse 3. Now, to be completely honest with all of you I haven’t done the best job at keeping up with this every year but this year I decided I would find the verse that spoke to my soul and I would declare it over my life for this year.
(By the way, it can be quite entertaining looking for that perfect verse not EVERY verse that is 2:3 was exactly what I “needed” but God has quite the sense of humor I believe:)
NOW that you know how I came to this verse you can understand a little bit more why it means so much to me and why I felt compelled to write about it, but really the words speak for themselves. The promises that this one little verse holds are endless, and the hope that springs in your heart when you let it get on the inside of you is unstoppable.
1) The vision WILL be fulfilled
2) Wait patiently
3) God will not delay
What a beautiful piece of encouragement from God almighty to his people. What hope & expectation it places in my heart!
I can tell you truely this is 100% what my spirit was longing to hear and know this year. It is so easy to see how slow the “process” is moving. It is especially easy for me to see the “Vision” but not be able to see the day to day journey that I am on is leading me there. Patience is not exactly my forte, but I must learn that patience provides fulfillment in the end. Steadfast patience and trust gets us to where we need to be.
but I think the most powerful of any of this that I need to get on the inside of me is knowing, that God will not delay. Knowing with Every thing inside of me that God is proactively working in my life. God, Let me use this knowledge to do the same! No longer will I delay, No longer will I put off the vision for another day, but because I know that He WILL fulfill his promise, and that the vision will come to pass, I will choose to fulfill my promises toward God. Whether that means actively serving in church, or strengthening my prayer life, or working hard on the projects and assignments he’s set before me. It’s knowing that he is not delaying, so why should I?
The vision God has placed on the inside of you is for such a time as this, and though it may seem “slow in coming” I challenge all of us to grasp that our God does not delay. It’s not in his character. Grasp the idea that this God who does not delay lives in you. Grasp the truth that your vision is currently actively coming to pass. That is if we choose to rise up and embrace it.
Look around you. “It will surely take place”. People, get ready.
Habakkuk 2:2 “The Lord said to me: Write the Vision & Make it Plain, that he may run who reads it”
