Waiting Periods

"But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up on wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." ~Isaiah 40:31

...Wherever you are, whatever your circumstances may be...be assured that God has not lost your address or your file. He knows exactly where you are and what you need...

You make the most important decision in life, giving your life to Jesus Christ, "by faith." The second most important decision concerns your life-mate. This decision also demands the element of faith. Waiting for one's life-mate and then saying "I do" to him demands secure faith, like Ruth's faith in the God of Israel.

...Your faith during the "waiting period" pleases God.

Don't fear or resent the waiting periods in your life. These are the very gardens where the seeds of faith blossom...

This intruding anxiety about your lack of a life-mate is not reality, but rather a weakness that the Greater Reality is capable of handling. Just go to Jesus as soon as the intruder arrives. Such a practice will only enhance your life as a lady of faith. Many single women have not recognized that the trying, frustrating waiting period is the perfect classroom for the lady of faith. Don't skip class! Embrace those dateless nights and, by faith, rest in His faithfulness.

Lady in Waiting

is not about finding the right man,

but becoming the right woman.

The Lady in Waiting

recklessly abandons herself

to the Lordship of Christ,

diligently uses her single days,

trusts God with unwavering faith,

demonstrates virtue in daily life,

loves God with undistracted devotion,

stands for physical and emotional purity,

lives in security,

responds to life in contentment,

makes choices based on her convictions,

and waits patiently for God to meet her needs.

~ Jackie Kendall and Debby Jones

The Living God

"How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young-a place near your altar, O Lord Almighty, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you." ~Psalm 84: 1-4

This beautiful psalm echoes with the deep longing of a spiritual pilgrim whose soul craved to be in God's courts. The psalmist's journey was not to reach a place but to meet a person. His whole body and heart longed for the living God.

On your pilgrimage through life, don't settle for anything less than the living God himself. You will be tempted to turn aside to lesser things, distractions, false panaceas or even diluted theologies of God. But what your body, heart and soul long for is one thing, which cannot be substituted or replaced, the living God himself.

"But in the account of the bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord, the God of Abraham, and the God of Issac, and the God of Jacob. He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive." ~Luke 20:37-38

Prayer

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable thing you do not know." ~Jeremiah 33:3

Great and unsearchable things-that's what God promised to tell Jeremiah. When we call to God, he also tells us great and unsearchable things. Like what? you may wonder. Like the depth of love that would motivate him to send his Son to die in your place. Like the unending supply of his mercy and grace available to you today. Like what he's doing in this world and how he wants to use you in his plan. For many of us, the problem is that we think prayer is an exercise in talking. But to hear great and unsearchable things, we must also be listening.

Content to Be Me

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." ~Psalm 139:13-16

I am convinced that a woman who struggles with her identity and purpose is a woman who has abdicated control of who she is becoming. Don't forget: God is painting a picture on the canvas of our lives. Our bodies are merely the frame. God intends to paint a beautiful picture-a picture to others of our character and unique expression of Christ's life-and place it in this frame. But he can't create this work of art without our cooperation. It needs to be a lifelong joint project between God and us. If you choose to criticize the frame or resist God's brushstrokes, you will not find contentment. It will elude you. If you focus on God's vision that integrates the picture with the frame, and the development of His message through you, you can say, "I am content to be me."

Will you take the paintbrush in your hand and kneel before your master or try and paint your own strokes?

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"I would rather be what God chose to make me than the most glorius creature that I could think of; for to have been thought about, born in God's though, and then made by God, is the dearest, grandest, and most precious thing in all thinking." ~George MacDonald

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,which God prepared in advance for us to do." ~Ephesians 2:10

Trust Me in all Your Thoughts

I know that some thoughts are unconscious or semiconscious, and I do not hold you responsible for those. But you can direct conscious thoughts much more than you may realize. Practice thinking in certain ways-trusting Me, thanking Me-and those thoughts become more natural. Reject negative or sinful thoughts as soon as you become aware of them. Don't try to hide them from Me; confess them and leave them with Me. Go on your way lightheartedly. This method of controlling your thoughts will keep your mind in My Presence and your feet on the path of peace.

~ God

Long Day

"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." ~Matt 25:46

I have not forgotten to write in this. I went home for the 4th of July weekend to visit with family and friends. As always, it was great. I left this morning at 8am to give myself enough time to make it back down here to CC for my class at 5pm. Took me 7.5 hours because of the massive amounts of traffic.

As I was driving down Ocean Dr. you can definately tell that there was some crazy weather recently. The water is no longer blue green, more like brown! :( Also, as I drove into CC, an electronic sign on the highway said "Storm forming, Fill gas tanks." I'm pretty excited, but there is a chance it could miss us as always!

Its great to be home! Next thing on my agenda is to figure out where I'm moving, which is in about 3 weeks. Praying for some answers.

Praise Be to God!

The Start of Something New

" The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them." ~Psalm 145:18-19

Melina talked me into starting a blog for myself. This should be a good experience and hopefully I can stay up with the posts. I can be very determined at first and then slowly fade away, but I'm going to try and not let that happen. I've decided to start every post off with a bible verse. Just like we should start our day off with God's word; just continuing that to here.

Praise God in all that we do!