Longing for home

I was studying this week for a lesson about the last of the beatitudes in Matthew which says, "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Casandra Martin, who wrote the book we are using for our outline, was talking about the conflict between enemies of the cross of Christ and those who are striving to live for Him. She talked about how Jesus reminds us of home during these struggles and makes the comparison of a soldier longing for home to how we should long for heaven.

I have recently been in touch with Josh Boos, an old classmate of mine who is about to be deployed to Afghanistan, and asked him what it was like for the soldier missing home. He wrote back:
     "As a soldier you go through tough times that change you; trials and tribulation on a daily basis. Depending on your job you face the ultimate sacrifice, which nobody wants to really give up but if it's necessary it happens. I have been close to death several times in the military, and it's something that is never easy. When times come like that you focus on what's going on at the time, but shortly afterwards you think of home and all the loved ones you miss greatly and usually it helps a person get through. A lot of people rely on different things to get them through but no matter what anyone says, its the memories and people from where the soldier calls home that makes him grit his teeth and keep going. As an infantryman, this is just words of hardship that one goes through. We all go away from home and long just to go back to feel the happiness and love of what we miss."

There is so much in that for application, and I'll leave most of it for you to glean from for yourself. That last sentence though sums up this thought. We are away from home, our heavenly one, and we can look around and see all the bad going on, and sometimes it is disheartening, because we are longing to feel that happiness and love that we miss. But just like the military man has the hope of one day returning home to loved ones, so we have the hope of going home one day to be with our Savior if we will fight the good fight. It's a beautiful thing.

Please remember to keep our military men and women in your prayers. I know from personal experience it is easy to let them slip out of mind, but they are fighting for our freedom and have done more for our lives than we will ever know. Thank you to those who have served.

"Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus." ~ 2 Timothy 2:3 (NIV)

don't quit

A couple weeks ago my family and I went to Austin for the Boy's State Basketball Tournament. One morning my mom, sister, and I skipped out on the morning session and went to visit a friend of our cousin. Her current interest is in photography, but she used to be a master seamstress I believe is how they referred to her. She has written several books and done some really incredible things. I was telling her about this quilt I am working on and how some of the edges didn't match up, slightly embarrassed because I knew she is good at what she does, and I know how some of my projects don't go quite according to plan. As I described some of the things that were going wrong she said something to the effect of "Oh yeah, I've done that too." Then she gave me a tip on how to fix it.

It's crazy how some of the simplest moments can have a profound effect on your life. There is a poem that says, "The great were once as you." I can't help but think that maybe the "greats" in this life are not the ones necessarily with the most talent, but rather the ones who persevered when things didn't go their way. The ones who keep learning and striving to improve. It's not that they never fail... it's that they don't quit.

I think the same can be true in our spiritual lives as well. It's important to keep in mind that while we are striving for perfection we can't obtain it on our own. We'll fail. And maybe we fail because we haven't been trying at all. The beauty is that God is on our side, and He wants us. He knows our past. He knows that we haven't been perfect or maybe that we haven't even cared to begin with, but He still wants us to turn to Him. His love is incredible and He wants us to keep going. To not quit... Maybe even to start. The question is will we?

"So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised." Hebrew 10:35-36 (NIV)

Precious in the sight of the Lord

"Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints." 

Psalm 116:15

Mom was talking about this verse the other day. She was thinking back on all the babies being born recently, and how the parents were anxiously awaiting their arrivals. She talked about the planning and the preparations, how they prepared a room for their new baby, and couldn't wait for them to get there. Then she drew the comparison to the verse mentioned above. The saint's death is their birth into heaven, and Christ is up there preparing a place and awaiting our arrival. What a thought!

It's easy to get caught up in life. Right now I am making a quilt for my nephew's room, dabbling in signs, trying to stay focused on a few projects instead of letting my mind (and money) wander into the many, many fun things there are to create, my sister's senior track season has started... haha the list can go on and on and on and it's easy to forget what I am here for or rather Who I am here for. God has blessed me with so many things, but His main desire is that  I live for Him for a lifetime... that I be with Him for an eternity. He's preparing a place. He wants us all there. Where is my focus?

 For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love  He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will— Ephesians 1:4,5

Life is now

There is something in our society that tells us we cannot be happy until we find the "one" we were meant to spend the rest of our lives with. Movies are filled with it... these miserable single people just waiting for life to start and then the right one comes along and life is suddenly wonderful, their cares are over, and life is good. I've never been married, but I can tell you for a fact from watching the successful marriages that surround me in my parents, grandparents, brother and sister-in-law and the many others that I have been able to witness, the cares and the struggles do not go away with marriage. They give you someone to go through the hard times with so you don't have to do it "alone", but they do not eliminate them. They cannot make you happy. You can find great joy in them, but ultimately happiness is dependent on the choice you make to be happy. 

I think this part is important:   life is now. God gave us this moment right now. I know in my own life hundreds if not thousands of prayers have been prayed for God's will and for the man I will marry, both by me and my family and friends. While I understand very well my own limitations and understand that I don't always have the answers, I can rest assured knowing that my prayers have been heard by the One who not only knows the right way, but loves me enough to withhold the wrong thing even when I (or others for me) really want it.  I don't believe it is in my right, while knowing God is in control, to put my life on hold for the "one" because I don't believe that is why God is giving me the gift of single right now. I do believe it is a gift, and to all my single friends I hope you are able to see the gift in it as well. Not so you can believe you are a little superior to the married people, just like I hope the married people can appreciate the gift of marriage while not deprecating the gift of single.

Regardless of whether we are married or single, life is now. It's not meant to be a time of mourning. It's meant to be a time of service to our Heavenly Father. We can do great things in both situations. Both sides bring their limitations, but they also present their unique opportunities. Take advantage of that fact. Don't let what you don't have be your focus. Focus on the good because there is always good to be found.

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." ~Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

turning 24

Today I turned 24. (It's technically the day after but since I haven't gone to bed yet I feel like it still counts.) I've decided that this is my year to do great things. I'm not sure if it's because my basketball number was 24 and I have a fetish with it or if it's because this is the only time I have at the moment, but I have great plans for it.

I started 2012 with several new year's resolutions that I am hoping to actually complete. I want to run 750 miles (yes I am crazy), do the 90 day challenge of reading the Bible cover to cover in 90 days, and I want to start a pro life website that focuses on what a great gift life is both for those of us who have had a birthday and for those who would like one. I also told my sister I was going to get married this year. However single life has been a gift so if it is God's plan that I keep it for a while longer that will be a blessing too. Oh and I had a very exciting plan for about a week to go back and play college basketball before I found out my eligibility had run out. Life goes on... again.

The goals are big, and there is a high risk of failure in each one. I learned something as an accounting major though about the risk/return ratio. The higher the risk the greater the return. The lower the risk the lower the return. It's easy to look at the possibility of failure and allow the fear that things might not work out to keep us from even attempting our goals. I know I have done that on numerous occasions. And it's not that it doesn't hurt when we aren't able to complete some of our goals. Strange as it may be I really wanted to play college ball, and I was disappointed when that door closed again, but God has a way of moving us in the direction He wants us to go. I don't claim to know the exact details of how He does it, but I do know that I pray for intervention in my life and not just to make me feel better (although that is a wonderful thing that comes out of it.) So dream big. Start with this year, this very day. Pray for God's will and know that He has a plan for you even if you don't know it yet. He will reveal it in His good time, and it will be better than you ever expected.

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. ~ Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

uncertainties

These are the things that make up life. There will always be uncertainties, because we aren't given the ability to see the future. Even when we think we know the direction we want to go in life so often there are roadblocks in the way. Some are meant to make us stronger and to see if we really want it, others are put up to steer us in another direction, and they aren't always clearly marked. There are moments when these can be frustrating especially when plans are needing to be made one way or another and we are not sure where to go or what to do. More often than not our plans affect others both directly and indirectly and not knowing causes stress and other things that aren't always pleasant.

The truth of it is, life is uncertain, but we serve a God who knows our future. He has great plans for our lives if we will choose them. He never changes. He is steady. He absolutely loves us! We are blessed with the ability to pray to Him for guidance, and while often times the answer doesn't come to us immediately, it comes in His timing which I have found is always better than my own. I have no idea why, but I often forget about the fact that God loves us. He wants so much more for our lives than just fine. It does however require faith.

Tony Dungy said it this way, " Christ doesn't call us to understand it all, to see all of God's plan for His Kingdom and our role in it. Instead, He wants us to have just enough faith in Him to continue to follow Him day by day on the path He has set before us." We don't have to see the whole picture today. Pieces will unfold in God's timing. We just need to keep praying for His will and direction. He will prepare us, guide us, and open the right doors at the right time. I wonder how often I have neglected my preparation trying to find the end result?

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. ~ 2 Corinthians 4:16-17

Whom Can We Trust?

These were the words of George Washington after he found out Benedict Arnold's plans to hand over West Point to the British. "Whom can we trust?" This betrayal left Washington in a state of bewilderment, and with the uncomfortable thought that trust could be a luxury of the past. His men might even lose their trust in him, and how do you lead without trust? Moments like these can make or break a man. What do you do when you don't know whom you can trust?

Washington gave the answer in a letter he wrote. He said, "In no instance since the commencement of the war has the interposition of Providence appeared more remarkably conspicuous than in the rescue of the post and garrison at West Point." Even in the time of tragedy he saw the hand of God, and learned the answer to the ever important question, "Whom can we trust?" We have an unchanging rock in our Almighty God that we can always trust, even in uncertain times.

I read something yesterday that questioned why it mattered to us today what George Washington thought. He lived and died over 200 years ago and times are different. The importance of George Washington to our present lives I believe is this, he was a man of character, a man of principle. While men like this will eventually die, they are important to give us insight into how God's ways really are the best, and when we live in accordance to them not only our life but so many others' lives are better for it. Times do change, but principles do not. We may not be able to change our current leaders' hearts to trust the Lord, but we can change our own, and hopefully leave a legacy that inspires others to do the same.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight." ~Proverbs 3:5,6 (NIV)