Wednesday, January 25, 2012

trials and tribulations

So we are all a part of a world that is not ours and not in our control. Tuesday was absolutely one of those days that I was reminded at every turn that the world and my life was out of my control. I was also reminded at every turn that my prayer life and my choices were powerful and strong in battling every day frustrations and 'lousiness' of the world.

After a day that finished up with me having to shove Chip Sharp through a window to break into my own house (don't ask! I TOLD YOU it was a loooong day!), I ended up in bed in silence with a lot running through my mind. All I knew to do, was to not complain, not gripe, not fuss, not ask why, but to speak with the Lord and ask "What do I do with this?" All there was to do was to take my frustrations and my day and lay them at the Lord's feet and say, "here is all the crap and trash from today, Lord, now you take it, do away with it, teach me from it, and let's rest and get ready for tomorrow!"

I was speaking with a really good friend Tuesday night, just having a 'moment' as I like to call them, and we discussed that Jesus is the light of the world, yes, but He only promises to be the Lamp unto my feet - NOT the spotlight into my future. We also discussed that we are to "Be anxious about nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." That is great to tell other people, but when you have had the day like I had Tuesdsay, to make all of my requests to the Lord WITH THANKSGIVING (did I mention that i had the worst day and could find nothing in the moment that i was thankful for at all) seems impossible! That night, though, when I was in bed, I had read a little of a book loaned to me by a friend, gave me a lot of food for thought:

A creator's creation reflects the creator. Our creator is Christ. We long to be satisfied and fulfilled and, as it was proven Tuesday, things and people will never satisfy or fulfill. The only thing that can satisfy or fulfill us is what we were created for, and we were created for a relationship with the Lord. Only the relationship with the Lord will satisfy our deepest longings, hurts, desires and everything else. People will let us down, events will not always turn out right. In those moments, we are to turn to the Lord and let Him satisfy us. Let the Lord comfort our hearts and minds when it is all going awry. And as we will be there for every single thing that our children needs or even sometimes wants, so our creator, the Lord, will be there for every single thing we need!

That is the heart of a creator, to protect, satisfy, and comfort His creation. Isn't that the heart of us toward our children? If we are that way with our children, how much more does the Lord feel that toward us!

<><
Rebecca

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Faith is sometimes making a choice "on your own"

There comes a time in our lives where we realize we are at that fork in the road... that fork that we have always heard about. Sometimes we stop, look around, and with care and concern, we begin the evaluation process of deciding which path, the right or left, is the wise path to take. Other times we feel a little 'gutsy' with our decisions, flip a coin (figuratively or literally) and we make the choice of which path to take, and boldly go about our way down whichever path won the coin toss.

Now there are times in which one of these ways always works, but what about 'that time' that comes up in your life where you know you are at a fork in the road and you don't have the nerve to enact the coin toss method, and yet the evaluation method seemingly gets you nowhere. What then? This tends to be the moments in time where we seek wise counsel and are reminded of scriptures like Psalm 27:14 - "Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." and Isaiah 40:31 - "but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

........ but what then? The question that has arisen lately in our life is "What now?" How long do we wait; and what exactly do we wait for? This is, I guess, where the true fork in the road makes itself very apparent. After it seems in my mind as though I have "waited long enough" and I still don't know which path to take, then what?

This is where I truly find what drives my faith. Is my faith based on what I can see and the results that occur or what I know to be true? Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as "the confidence in what we hoped for and the assurance about what we do not see." When the fork in the road is as big as it seems, what in the world does that mean and what does it have to do with making this HUGE decision in my life?!?! This means that in this fork in the road, at this point in my life where I am asking "what now, Lord?", I am to be confident that after prayer and supplication, and all my efforts to truly 'hear' God's plan, sometimes I am to choose one of these paths "on my own." In that choice, though, I am to have FAITH- I am to be confident in what I wish and desire to be around the bend in the path I choose, and I am to be assured that it is the will of God and that He will be glorified in the results of what is beyond the bend in the road that I cannot see.

Sometimes we are to make our own choice because the Lord has set it up that way. We make choices every day that the Lord has made available to us to make "on our own": to speed or not, to exercise, what to eat, to spend time with our family, to worship Him, etc. All of these every day choices, we take for granted and we forget their magnitude and their ordination to make these choices is from the Lord. It is in the moments where we are fearful of making a so-called "wrong choice" that we want God to "make the choice for us" or to "write it in the clouds" but this is not always His nature. He is a God of choices and a God of grace!

So, Lord, give me the FAITH (confidence and assurance) in my choice of path. Give me wisdom to chose the 'right' one. And just beyond the bend in the road that I cannot see where I stand today, let me not forget to give you the glory in what may appear!

<><
Rebecca

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

hmm...

Not sure what to blog about this week but i do know that the world has kicked back into full gear now that Tony is back in school, the holidays are over, and everything else. We are super busy at work right now, which is a great thing, and then there are the other 'normal' daily tasks such as being a mom, wife, volunteer, etc that keeps me busy, too! :-) All of that to say that we're busy, blah blah blah, life is grand and moving right along, blah blah blah, and I'm just going to post pictures from New Years, random pics i found the other day, etc this week. Enjoy the pictures!!!!! I hope you get as much of a laugh out of some of them as i do! :-) <>< Rebecca

Chip and daddy 'hanging' out at Landmark Park


Just hanging out on the front porch of the General Store at Landmark Park


Hoppie, Chip, and Laynie setting EVERY Christmas puppy off in Belk
of Jackson, MS.... they were all singing and we were all laughing!!!
The other customers thought it was cute, but I don't think the employees
thought the same LOLOLOL


Popcorn and a train movie with daddy.... heaven! :-)


Give a boy a 'shubbel' and a field of dirt, and he is entertained for hours!


Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Matthew 6:34

So I've been giving a lot of thought lately to the whole "New Year" thing. With resolutions and all, what makes a new year new? Is it that the number on the date we write down changes? Is it that we have an opportunity to do something new and different? Is it that we have a fresh start?

I think all of those things are a way of seeing the New Year. We see the new year as a new start, we see the new year as a new opportunity. But why is it that we lose the vision to see each day as a new start and a new opportunity? I have really been challenged in hearing about all the new year's resolutions out there to not choose the new year to start anew or fresh but to recognize and choose to live each day as a fresh start. The Lord gives us each day to wake up, realize that we have breath and an opportunity for a new day! I was having a conversation this weekend with my sister-in-law (the 'in-law' thing is weird to type, she is truly my sister) and we were discussing the timing of the Lord in his province to take people or leave them on Earth. We both agreed that if you are still here on this earth, then your greatest purpose in life has not been fulfilled or accomplished. What a thought, right?!?! What a reason to start anew each morning! The greatest purpose you have on this earth is not finished yet if you are still breathing. We are put here to glorify the Lord in all we do and spread his love.

People find themselves searching for a purpose and reason for living. It is such a common theme for people's lives that there are millions of books written on this topic! All we have to do is know that the Lord has us here for a reason, we are to live by His standards , strive to do His will, and worship Him as Lord and, through us, He will accomplish His purpose for our life here on Earth.

So change the world by changing your thoughts about life. Live each day as a new day, a new opportunity, and new chance to not do something for you by a "new year's resolution", but to do something for the Lord and to accomplish your greatest purpose for living. And that greatest purpose for living hasn't happened yet if you are still here! hmmm..... I guess we should live for today because we are still living!