Your Love Compels Me to Love
I have been longing to write in my blog, but have tried to refrain due to lack of time. I wish I could just add one more week to my study schedule. I feel socially deprived - seriously. I just love to talk with people, love on them, and encourage them... my CPA dreams are preventing me from doing what I love!! :( I have all these random thoughts, and I'm just going to throw them all out there since I am lacking time.
It's crazy how God helps you get through your own struggles, and then you meet people who are dealing with the exact same struggles. Funny how that works... It seems like most all of us have experienced a loss of someone we love. Whether it be a loss due to death or a break up, we all at one point will have to grieve over losing someone we love dearly. I have been really blessed to be able to share my experiences with others who are grieving over a broken heart from a break up. I sometimes wish I could swap hearts with them until the grieving is over, because I already know the outcome. I know God is Healer - He mends our shattered hearts. It seems like the phrase I keep telling people lately is "if God takes something good out of your life, it's only because He has something better for you". I know it's so much easier to hear, but I promise it's true. I once heard a pastor tell this story, and I think it illustrates the idea perfectly:
There was a little girl named Lucy who would go to the store with her mother every week, and one week she saw a plastic jewelry set with a plastic pearl necklace and pearl earrings. She begged her mom to buy them, but her mom said no. She told her mom it could be her birthday gift, because her birthday was that week, but her mom said they didn't have extra money to spend that day. The little girl really wanted the jewelry set, so she faithfully did her chores everyday and starting saving her allowance money so she could buy the set herself. She even told her brother she'd do his chores if he'd let her have his allowance too. Finally, Lucy saved enough money to buy the pearl jewelry set, and her mom took her to the store so she could buy the set. The little girl wore the jewelry every where she went. When she would lay down for bed she would set her pearls on her night, anxious to put them back on the next morning. Every night when her dad would come to pray with her, he would ask her if he could have her pearl necklace. Every night, she would give her dad reasons why he could not have her necklace: "dad, I love these pearls so much. I worked so hard to get them." or "I paid for these pearls myself and they make me so happy". Her dad would smile and tell her that he still loved her. This happened every night the following week and every night Lucy had an excuse for why she couldn't give up her pearl necklace. Then, one day, while her dad was talking with some friends, Lucy came up with her hand held out and tears running down her face. She reached out to her dad and put the plastic pearl necklace in her father's hand. At that moment, her dad reached in his pocket and pulled out a real pearl necklace he had for Lucy.
I LOVE this story. It has such a stronger effect when I can tell it in person, but what an AWESOME display of God's love for us. If you haven't already figured it out, God is the father and we are Lucy. Sometimes God asks us to give up something. Not because he wants to take goodness out of our lives, but because he wants to put something even BETTER in it. Isn't that so cool? We have such a hard time trusting God and giving freely what He asks of us, but I don't know why. God's intentions are always good, and He promises us the best. Whenever I hear of someone getting out of a relationship and being sad, or of someone losing a job and being discouraged, I think about this story. God has a plan, and if you can trust Him, He'll see you through your sorrow. God will provide and He will heal, but sometimes we just have to trust Him and His promises. What I love even more is that even while we make up excuses for why we can't obey God or do what He asks of us, God STILL loves us. Just as a father loves His child, God loves us. God will see us through our problems. He won't abandon us when we childishly refuse to give Him what He needs to fulfill the plan He has for us.
God is good.
I heard something yesterday that really hit me: "Is the life your living for worth Christ dying for?" As Steve said, "That's powerful"! I know, right? Makes you think twice about what you spend your days doing. There's a song on the radio called "Blink" (click to listen) and it talks about how our lives really are but a blink of the eye compared to eternity. God has really been tugging on my heart, and I've been spending this week focusing on what I can do to show God's love on a daily basis. Also, K-Love has this thing they do on Mondays where they challenge people to bless someone they don't know. Something as easy as buying the groceries of the person behind you. It's amazing the stories people have to tell about how that small blessing was exactly what they needed to make it through their day. It's amazing how God can use us to help others. I'm going to start living my life searching for opportunities to bless others. It's amazing how living a selfless life is so much more rewarding than being selfish.
My last thought is about forgiveness. I have been convicted of being bitter this summer. My sister is engaged, and she is doing wedding planning and most conversations revolve around her wedding. Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy for her, and I love her and Max very much. BUT, because of my disappointment through not having the wedding I thought I was going to have last year, I have had a hard time celebrating with my sister. In fact, my attitude really sucked when anything about a wedding was mentioned. I finally realized that me being bitter is not doing any good for me or for my sister. I'm very thankful I didn't go through with the marriage, but I guess I was kind of dealing with jealousy that my little sister was going to experience something I had longed for before me. How selfish? I know! After reading my bible and praying, I have realized that I would rather celebrate in her happiness than sulk in my bitterness. I prayed for forgiveness and feel really excited now to be a part of such a special time of my sister's life. God knows the desire of our hearts. He knows that I was preparing my heart for marriage, and I have to trust that He has a plan beyond what I wanted. It's amazing what forgiveness can do. Not just being forgiven, but forgiving. I remember hearing the quote "Forgiving someone is like setting a prisoner free and finding out that prisoner was you." So true. I dare you to forgive and see how freeing it really is. Better yet, I dare you to seek forgiveness for anything you've been refusing to make right. I bet you'll feel good in the end.
Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of you heart.
Thank you for letting me share! I didn't think anyone read my posts, but this last week several people have told me that they enjoying reading my blog and are blessed by me. I was blessed by them being blessed!! I guess I'll keep writing!! :)
James 1:2-7 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
Psalm 73:26 My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
It's crazy how God helps you get through your own struggles, and then you meet people who are dealing with the exact same struggles. Funny how that works... It seems like most all of us have experienced a loss of someone we love. Whether it be a loss due to death or a break up, we all at one point will have to grieve over losing someone we love dearly. I have been really blessed to be able to share my experiences with others who are grieving over a broken heart from a break up. I sometimes wish I could swap hearts with them until the grieving is over, because I already know the outcome. I know God is Healer - He mends our shattered hearts. It seems like the phrase I keep telling people lately is "if God takes something good out of your life, it's only because He has something better for you". I know it's so much easier to hear, but I promise it's true. I once heard a pastor tell this story, and I think it illustrates the idea perfectly:
There was a little girl named Lucy who would go to the store with her mother every week, and one week she saw a plastic jewelry set with a plastic pearl necklace and pearl earrings. She begged her mom to buy them, but her mom said no. She told her mom it could be her birthday gift, because her birthday was that week, but her mom said they didn't have extra money to spend that day. The little girl really wanted the jewelry set, so she faithfully did her chores everyday and starting saving her allowance money so she could buy the set herself. She even told her brother she'd do his chores if he'd let her have his allowance too. Finally, Lucy saved enough money to buy the pearl jewelry set, and her mom took her to the store so she could buy the set. The little girl wore the jewelry every where she went. When she would lay down for bed she would set her pearls on her night, anxious to put them back on the next morning. Every night when her dad would come to pray with her, he would ask her if he could have her pearl necklace. Every night, she would give her dad reasons why he could not have her necklace: "dad, I love these pearls so much. I worked so hard to get them." or "I paid for these pearls myself and they make me so happy". Her dad would smile and tell her that he still loved her. This happened every night the following week and every night Lucy had an excuse for why she couldn't give up her pearl necklace. Then, one day, while her dad was talking with some friends, Lucy came up with her hand held out and tears running down her face. She reached out to her dad and put the plastic pearl necklace in her father's hand. At that moment, her dad reached in his pocket and pulled out a real pearl necklace he had for Lucy.
I LOVE this story. It has such a stronger effect when I can tell it in person, but what an AWESOME display of God's love for us. If you haven't already figured it out, God is the father and we are Lucy. Sometimes God asks us to give up something. Not because he wants to take goodness out of our lives, but because he wants to put something even BETTER in it. Isn't that so cool? We have such a hard time trusting God and giving freely what He asks of us, but I don't know why. God's intentions are always good, and He promises us the best. Whenever I hear of someone getting out of a relationship and being sad, or of someone losing a job and being discouraged, I think about this story. God has a plan, and if you can trust Him, He'll see you through your sorrow. God will provide and He will heal, but sometimes we just have to trust Him and His promises. What I love even more is that even while we make up excuses for why we can't obey God or do what He asks of us, God STILL loves us. Just as a father loves His child, God loves us. God will see us through our problems. He won't abandon us when we childishly refuse to give Him what He needs to fulfill the plan He has for us.
God is good.
I heard something yesterday that really hit me: "Is the life your living for worth Christ dying for?" As Steve said, "That's powerful"! I know, right? Makes you think twice about what you spend your days doing. There's a song on the radio called "Blink" (click to listen) and it talks about how our lives really are but a blink of the eye compared to eternity. God has really been tugging on my heart, and I've been spending this week focusing on what I can do to show God's love on a daily basis. Also, K-Love has this thing they do on Mondays where they challenge people to bless someone they don't know. Something as easy as buying the groceries of the person behind you. It's amazing the stories people have to tell about how that small blessing was exactly what they needed to make it through their day. It's amazing how God can use us to help others. I'm going to start living my life searching for opportunities to bless others. It's amazing how living a selfless life is so much more rewarding than being selfish.
My last thought is about forgiveness. I have been convicted of being bitter this summer. My sister is engaged, and she is doing wedding planning and most conversations revolve around her wedding. Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy for her, and I love her and Max very much. BUT, because of my disappointment through not having the wedding I thought I was going to have last year, I have had a hard time celebrating with my sister. In fact, my attitude really sucked when anything about a wedding was mentioned. I finally realized that me being bitter is not doing any good for me or for my sister. I'm very thankful I didn't go through with the marriage, but I guess I was kind of dealing with jealousy that my little sister was going to experience something I had longed for before me. How selfish? I know! After reading my bible and praying, I have realized that I would rather celebrate in her happiness than sulk in my bitterness. I prayed for forgiveness and feel really excited now to be a part of such a special time of my sister's life. God knows the desire of our hearts. He knows that I was preparing my heart for marriage, and I have to trust that He has a plan beyond what I wanted. It's amazing what forgiveness can do. Not just being forgiven, but forgiving. I remember hearing the quote "Forgiving someone is like setting a prisoner free and finding out that prisoner was you." So true. I dare you to forgive and see how freeing it really is. Better yet, I dare you to seek forgiveness for anything you've been refusing to make right. I bet you'll feel good in the end.
Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of you heart.
Thank you for letting me share! I didn't think anyone read my posts, but this last week several people have told me that they enjoying reading my blog and are blessed by me. I was blessed by them being blessed!! I guess I'll keep writing!! :)
James 1:2-7 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
Psalm 73:26 My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Comments
Post a Comment