Thy Word

Psalm 37:3-6  

Trust in the Lord and do good;
    dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
 Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

 Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him and he will do this:
 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
    your vindication like the noonday sun.

My husband and I are committing to scripture memorization.  We want to have God's word on the tip of our tongues, present in our minds, and convicting our hearts.

Our pastor has been encouraging us to take our time of prayer to the next level, and to make God's Word more central in our lives.

I  plan to memorize these verses since they have been helpful to me this week.


II Cor. 12: 8-10
8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

My Refuge & Strength

Now that my world is again changing so quickly...as I'm doubting myself and my abilities, it is good to know that my strength comes not from myself, but from Him. 

Psalm 46

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth. A song.

¹ God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble.
² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
³ though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging.

⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy place where the Most High dwells.
⁵ God is within her, she will not fall;
    God will help her at break of day.
⁶ Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
    he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

⁷ The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

⁸ Come and see what the Lord has done,
    the desolations he has brought on the earth.
⁹ He makes wars cease
    to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the shields with fire.
¹⁰ He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.”

¹¹ The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Traveling

The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord.  He delights in every detail of their lives.  Though they stumble, they will not fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.  Psalm 27: 23-24, NLT

This life is not a state of righteousness, but rather, of growth in righteousness;

Not a state of being, but becoming;

Not a state of rest, but of exercise and activity;

We are not yet what we shall be, but we grow toward it;

the process is not yet finished, but is still going on...

-Martin Luther

Remember that happiness is a way of travel- not a destination.
-Roy M. Goodman

Choices

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, whose thought are fixed on you!  
(Isaiah 26:3, NLT)

In the midst of many life choices, it is easy to worry that you will miss a golden opportunity or choose the wrong path.  It is essential to stay in constant communication with God in order to determine his best way for you.  There are many roads to travel...but it is God who can direct your steps towards his best.

Help me to discern honestly my own gifts so that I may do the things of which I am capable, and happily and humbly leave the rest to others.
Jacob Boehme

Even though you might want to follow through with every opportunity, realistically, there is only so much one person can do in a lifetime.  Seek out which direction will best utilize the spiritual gifts God has give you.  Continue seeking until you have found not just a good way, but the BEST way.

Steer the ship of my life, good Lord, to your quiet harbor....Show me the course I should take.  Renew in me the gift of discernment, so that I can always see the right direction I should go.  And give me the strength and the courage to choose the course, even when the sea is rough...
-Basil of Caearea

Growth

Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

What can I learn from this experience?

How is God trying to change me?

Every problem we face is God-filtered.  He promises to never give us more than we can handle.

Every good and perfect gift comes from Him.

However:  WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.

If I have a lack of self discipline in my diet...over months I will gain weight and in time face the consequences of consuming too many fattening things!

However, if I run regularly and eat a balanced diet, I will reap great health in time.

I have found the key in this process is:  TIME.

After you sow goodness, love, self discipline, when you are practicing good stewardship and investing your time in worthwhile pursuits....do not expect to see results immediately.  Some crops take years before you can reap their harvest.

Conversely, just because you do not see the consequences of your foolish actions, this does not mean that you will not reap the fall out in time.

Sometimes people wonder if God is punishing them...I think most often God is not, but, the natural consequences of their foolish decisions are breaking their own hearts.

So be careful:  Keep on sowing LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, GENTLENESS, GOODNESS, & SELF CONTROL.

You might not see the harvest from this crop as soon as you wish....but in time, you will reap what you sow.

Hosea 10:12
Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you.

The Rarest Flowers in the Darkest Shadows

Freely run off the path to pick the rarest flowers in the darkest shadows...I'll find a place above it all where no one tries to stand on my shoulders or steal my strength.  -Rosanne Anderson 

James 1: 2-4
Consider it great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.

When my world is dark, I will run off the path to rescue the flowers drowning in the dark.  When my world is cold, I will light such a fire of inspiration and hope that all will see the glow and find their strength in its warmth.  When I feel I have given all I have, I dream of the day when I will find a place above it all- where no one can steal my joy or sap my strength.

Lamentations 3:21-23
This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have hope.
The LORD's lovingkindness indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness

I am HUNGRY!

With my pineapple pizza in the oven, its cheesy aroma spreading throughout my tiny apartment, I am feeling VERY hungry.  

But today I am feeling more than just hungry for food...

All day I have been longing for more, yearning to satisfy my appetite for life by rising above my current limitations and lack...feeling oh-so-hungry to reach my goals...  

I hunger to be debt free.

I yearn to more fully satisfy the requirements for science certification. 

I wish my friends were nearby.  I am starving for good conversation.  I want to be with someone I love.  

I want to freed from fear and blessed by confidence.  I long for someone else to pour more hope into me.  

I am starving for encouragement...I am a gaping abyss, not satisfied easily.  I feel needy.  

Why do I so strongly feel the need for these things?  Why do I feel unhappy as I feel the lack of achievement?  Why have I been unable to satisfy myself and unable to find solace with others' help?   I feel very guilty...I have good friends, I have been supported and encouraged today, and I cannot complain about my life.  God has greatly blessed my journey.

Why am I so hungry for things I do not have?  Perhaps I should not feel guilty and pained by my hunger, maybe it is my lack of patience that should worry me.  

It is difficult to wait hungrily for my tasty pizza to be ready, but it would not taste right uncooked, and it would burn my tongue if I ate it right out of the oven.  Perhaps I will be able to meet all of my goals and satisfy my hunger by persisting and waiting for God's perfect timing.  

Maybe I should not feel guilty for wanting more, rather, I should practice and exercise my patience.  Patience does not come naturally, it must be learned as you wait.  "He has made everything beautiful in its time"  Eccles. 3:11aNIV

I have many dreams...I feel terrible longings to achieve more.  To gain things I lack.  To experience life in ways I have not yet enjoyed...

Job 42:1-2  "Then Job replied to the LORD: 'I know that You can do anything and no plan of Yours can be thwarted"

Thy will be done heavenly Father.  Please help me reach success by learning to have patience and persistence as I reach to accomplish the dreams you have blessed me with.  

 A Dream Deferred

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up

like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore–

And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?

Or crust and sugar over–

like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags

like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

Written by Langston Hughes

“A hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13:12