Contentedness

So it's been the better part of three months since I've written...yikes!  It's time I got back into the swing of things!  I'll admit that this past month, I've been up and down with how close I am to God.  I've been letting the little things get in the way instead of pushing them aside and taking time with the Lord.  But I'm so thankful that He never gives up on me, no matter how blind I am!!  So I'm taking the plunge again and pushing forward to follow Him more earnestly than ever.

During Bible class the other day, I heard a teacher, and he was discussing Psalm 23.  Verse 2 says, “He makes me to lie down in green pastures: He leads me beside the still waters.”  I always thought, “Oh ok, great!  God takes care of us.”  But the teacher started explaining things and all of the sudden it made so much more sense!  

In Israel, he said, you can look around and it’s dry.  If you’re a sheep, you could wander around for miles and not find green grass to eat.  But the shepherd always knows where the green grass is, and all of the sheep depend on him to lead them to nourishment.  The teacher compared us to the sheep and he said that God will always lead us to green grass if we follow Him.  But if we’re completely worried about where we’re going to find our next grass, and we forget to enjoy where we are now, what good is it to us?  We need to stop worrying and enjoy the pastures we’re in right now.  It made me stop and think and it really encouraged me to just let go and let God lead me while I enjoy where I am.

It reminds me of what Paul says in Philippians 4.  Paul has been in and out of prison, he’s been beaten, he’s been threatened, but he still writes letters of encouragement to the different churches!  In verse 11, he says, “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:”  That’s what I’m learning to be.  I’m learning to be content where I am, but ready to move wherever God wants me.  As long as I keep my eyes fixed on Him, He can change my attitude and help me be content.  It's not going to be easy, but God never promised us the easy road =)
<3 Mik

Peace and love...and I'm not talking about hippies!

This has been a crazy week for me!  Ups and downs emotionally seem to bring me closer than ever to my Lord.  I'm not sure where to start, but I guess I'll just wing it!

The power of prayer is amazing.  I had an opportunity to pray over someone this week and it was an experience I don't think I'll ever forget!  We laid hands on him and we were praying out loud and after about four people had prayed, I felt that it was time for me to open my mouth.  But I really didn't know what to say because the people before me had already said what I wanted to say!  But I decided to follow the nudge and open my mouth and I am SO glad that I did.  I started to pray and I could just feel the Holy Spirit flow into me; I've never felt anything like it in my whole life.  It was as though me and my selfish humanness was completely emptied out of my body and the only thing in me was God, pouring through me.  And that is a very lame description of how I felt!  Never before have I reached a place with God like that, never before has He made me shake like a leaf, never before have I felt so empty and yet so full.  His power is breathtaking!!!

My Jesus seemed so close yesterday that I swear I could feel Him standing next to me.  We visited a church and the sermon was about deny ourselves and following Christ.  (The sermon was a lot better than my condensed version here ;P)  It really spoke to my heart and I could feel that there were things in me that I needed to surrender and give completely and wholly to God because He wants EVERYthing and not just most things.  So I got home, cleaned the house, had people over, rode the emotional roller coaster...and didn't take time to sit down and pray.  (Which I now realize was a big mistake!)  After everyone left, I went upstairs to my room, cried, and talked to my Savior.  I just poured it all out and told Him that I surrender everything; everything closest to my heart, everything I haven't wanted Him to change, everything that I've been holding onto for selfish reasons.  And the second I gave everything to Him, He filled me with peace.  He opened my soul and just poured it in like a waterfall!  Oh how refreshing it was; how amazing to feel the peace that surpasses all understanding!

After I'd soaked in the love of my Creator, my dad came upstairs to say goodnight.  He came in and gave me one of those hugs that he gives me when I'm sad, one of the really long ones.  And as I stood there and hugged him, I suddenly realized something that totally blew my mind.  I didn't need his hugs, his love, or even his comfort!  My Jesus had filled me up so much with peace and love and He had taken my sorrows away and I have never felt more loved in all my life!  (Sorry about this next part Dad O.o)  The love my dad had for me right then?  I couldn't even feel it.  I know he loves me and I cherish his love, but at that moment in time, any other love paled in comparison to God's love.  My heart was...in a different world.  That's the only way I can describe it!

Now I have this hunger, this burning desire, to go back to those places and meet God.  All I want is to be enveloped in Him!  I know it's not going to be an easy thing to keep surrendering everything everyday, but my love for my Savior and the love He gives me, makes it all so incredibly worth it.
<3 Mik

Are you being a good disciple?

On the road to Damascus, Saul, a persecutor of Christians, is visited by God.  After the Lord has spoken to Saul, he speaks to a disciple named Ananias. (Acts 9:10-16)

"Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, 'Ananias.'  And he said, 'Here I am, Lord.'  So the Lord said to him, 'Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying.  And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.'  Then Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem.  And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name."

(Key verse)

"But the Lord said to him, 'Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.  For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name's sake.'"

It hit me as I was reading this; we, as Americans, are so spoiled!  How much do we suffer for His name??  Oh dear, a person might think we're weird, or maybe they won't invite me to their family picnic...that's all bunk!  There are people dying every single day for Jesus Christ.  There are people in prisons, who will never be able to see their children grow up.  There are people who are tortured for their faith; and we're worried about our social image?  I'm preaching as much to me as I am to you!  We need to not lay back and think everything is going to work out and your best friend is just going somehow get to heaven; YOU may be the tool God wants to use to wake that person up!  But if you are a keeper of the aquarium, instead of a catcher of the fish how are you going to increase the tank?  I've got news; it won't happen.  So it's time to get off our butts and start asking Him, "Who am I supposed to be a blessing to today?  Who am I going to be able to share with?  What is Your plan for my day?"  God has called us to be disciples and I don't know about you, but I've been way too slack lately; it's time to get back on track.

<3 Mik

Surrender

My life has seemed like a treadmill lately; you run forward and get nowhere, but if you stop running, you go backwards!  It can be so discouraging!!  But thank God that He places people in the right places, at the right times, with the right messages!

On Friday, at youth group, we played a game called "Crossed and Uncrossed".  You pass a pair of scissors around the room, opening and closing them and trying to figure out if they're crossed or uncrossed.  What nobody realizes is, they're so focused on the scissors, that they ignore the obvious body language of those who know how to play.  When you take your eyes off the scissors, you can clearly see that the people are uncrossing and crossing their legs and that's how you figure out if the scissors are crossed or not! 

The analogy Andy drew from that was that the devil can throw things straight in your face and you're so concentrated and distracted with it, that you don't realize what other things the devil is messing with.  It's been eating at me since that night; there are certain things in my life that have clearly been distracting me because I've been so focused on them, and the material things, that I've allowed them to fill my time, instead of using that time to get closer to God and listen for His voice and direction.  And man, let me tell you!  If I had taken the time and listened before all of this, I would have been a lot better off!  John 3:30 says "He must increase, but I must decrease."  He's once again opened my eyes to the fact that He matters more than anyone or anything and how much I need Him.

Another thing that's been eating at me, is something else that Andy talked about.  It was about laying down what we consider our "rights" and giving it all to God.  I was sitting on my bed the other night, and I just started writing a list.  I wrote down all the things I could think of that I needed to surrender to God; that list is a lot longer than I'd like it to be!  I thought a lot of those things had been completely surrendered already, but when I sit and think about it, I realize that a lot of them are only partially surrendered.  And that's not a good thing!  If Jesus is to be Lord in my life, He needs to have EVERYthing; not just little bits and pieces.  My challenge for me and for you in these next weeks; is He what you think about in your spare time?  Is everything that you do, devoted to Christ?  Is He what you meditate on while you're walking, doing dishes, lying in bed at night?  Because He should be.  He should be a constant companion; the one you go to first when you're happy, sad, or confused.  He understands every single thing that you're going through, even when you're sure He can't!  The life you lead should glorify Jesus; 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."  "Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ..." (Philippians 1:27)  Live for Him; let everything you do be surrendered to Him.

<3 Mik

Love

I don't know about you, but I have many times where it feels like I've screwed something up so badly that there's no way anyone could love me.  And it's at that time that I find myself turning to what have become my favorite verses of all time; 1 Peter 2:4-5.

They say, "Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."  

And later on, verses 9 and 10 say, "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy."  
And no matter how terrible I feel, those verses change my whole mindset!  God has chosen you and me and has called us "precious"!!  How wonderful are those sweet words!  Those words, spoken from a human, would mean a lot but...spoken from God?  They lift my soul; my innermost being.  There's no way anything on this earth could even come close to that feeling!  My Bible loves to open to Peter, because I have to remind myself, over and over, that my God loves me more than I can even fathom.  How blessed are we, as Christians, to be able to press into that love and experience it more deeply every day!

<3 Mik

Joy? Right now? Really?!?

Nehemiah 8:10b says "Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."
All of us, (assuming you're human), go through tough times; whether it's loneliness, discouragement, pain, worries....the list goes on!  It's sometimes hard to remember to be joyful in those times, but if there's anything I've learned this week, it's been joy.  Sure, it's so easy to be full of joy when a toddler gives you a kiss, when everything goes the way you want it, or when that certain person gives you a look.  But when your car breaks down and the mechanic won't be there for another hour and you're going to miss your flight; how often if your first thought a thought of joy?  Uh huh.  I didn't think so!  Staying up late, only to wake up early to the sound of children crying doesn't really encourage joyful thoughts in my mind, and I will be the first to admit that I fail at opening my mouth and being joyful at moments like that.  But God has changed my point of view this week!!  I have begun to realize that not only is it a good thing to be joyful, but over and over in the Bible, there are passages about praising the Lord!  It's not a new thing; it's been around since the beginning, but I'm finally starting to understand how important it is.  Look at this; in Psalm 5:11 David says, "But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You: let them ever shout for joy, because You defended them; let those also who love Your name be joyful in You."  Psalm 35:9 says, "And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord; it shall rejoice in His salvation."  And, (this is one of my favorites) "Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound!  They walk, O Lord, in the light of your countenance."  Over half of the Psalms contain parts about praising the Lord; how could I have missed this before??  I guess it's just been one of those obvious things that I've just breezed by, but now I know better.

Do you remember the story of Corrie ten Boom?  She and her sister were in a Nazi concentration camp and their barracks were plauged with lice.  Corrie complained about the lice; about how they left bumps, and how they itched, and how annoying they were.  But day after day, Corrie held Bible studies and they never got caught; in fact, no guard ever came near their barracks!  The mystery was solved one day when a guard was overheard saying, "I don't go in there because of the lice".  Corrie realized then that she had a reason to thank God for something that seemed like a pest, but was really a blessing.

Ok, so maybe you're thinking "How is Johnny breaking his leg a blessing?!"  I'm not saying that every teeny thing that goes wrong is a blessing in disguise, but training yourself in the simple act of praising God is the main thing.  Learning to be joyful and praise Him during the good times in your life, insures that when things are rough, you will continue to have a joyful soul and a heart full of praise.  So this week, when your husband has to stay late at work, or your car breaks down, find something to praise God for.  It doesn't have to be big; thank Him for the fact that you have a husband who comes home to you, or thank Him that you have the resources to have a car.  In every situation find something to praise Him for, because chances are, your joy will be noticed.
<3 Mik

Trust. It's hard. But it's worth the reward.

I sat down at my computer and checked my Facebook. There was a link on my wall from a friend of mine, so I checked it out. It was "Let Go" by BarlowGirl, and it was just the confirmation I needed that I should write this out tonight. Let me share the lyrics with you - (in purple)

Yeah I trust in You
I remember times You led me
This time it's bigger now
And I'm afraid You'll let me down

But how can I be certain?
Will You prove Yourself again?

[Chorus:]
'Cause I'm about to let go
And live what I believe
I can't do a thing now
But trust that You'll catch me
When I let go
When I let go

What is this doubt in me
Convincing me to fear the unknown
When all along You've shown
Your plans are better than my own

And I know I won't make it
If I do this all alone

Trust; to have confidence or faith in. This past week, God has been showing me how much I need to trust in Him and how much I desperately need Him! Yes, I trusted in God before, but this week has made me rely on Him so much! I've been constantly surrounded by people who trust wholly on Him, but I've never fully realized how important it is. This week, I started coming to Him with everything; not just the huge things in my life, but even the teeny little things that bug me. One night, I told Him how much I was sick of trying to do everything my way and I just gave it all up to Him again. I was so tired of worrying about things, of living anxiously. The minute I gave all my burdens to Him and let Him take control, I had peace. Philippians 4:6-7 says, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Surpasses understanding? Yes, that describes the incredible peace I had! Guess what happened to the stupid things I had been worrying about? They were all fixed....within 48 hours! I'm not saying we're always answered that fast, but God has so much planned for us, if we'd just trust in Him! There are so many amazing things He's got going on, but we need to lean completely on Him, and that's what He has been teaching me this week.

Vessels :)

I was talking to a friend the other day and we were discussing how there are some people who just light up for Christ. How they’re vessels for Him and it seems like the more they give, the more they get, and the brighter their light gets. It’s been a week or so since that conversation, but it’s been in the back of my mind, so when I read my devotional this morning, it hit me a little harder. This is from Corrie ten Boom’s book, “Each New Day”. (The quotes from the book are in gray, and the words of the Bible are in green)

April 30th
We are common earthenware jars, filled with the treasure of the riches of God. The jar is not important—the treasure is everything.“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”
2 Corinthians 4:7 KJV

(Corrie ends her little devotional with a prayer and I’m going to put that here also.)

Father, it is a testimony to Your glory that something so common as our weak bodies may possess Your riches. Only a true Artist can make full use of humble materials. I don’t think I’ve ever looked at it that way exactly. I mean, I knew we were vessels for Christ, but when Corrie says “The jar is not important” but the "treasure is everything", she changed my perspective completely! In her life, she truly died to self and told God that her “jar” wasn’t important. And what a cost for her! She was in German camps for years, lost all of her family, and yet… She told God all that she had was his; she allowed Him to come and take over her vessel.
Am I being persecuted as she was? Am I beaten for my faith? Do I have to secretly meet to speak about my Savior? No. Then how is it so hard for me to lay my selfishness down and tell God that He can move in? I get so frustrated with myself for not being able to lay it all down!! And then I realize; it’s impossible for me to lay it down all by myself. Hello! I have a God that can do anything and yet I try to do it all myself?? Wake up, Mik! Not only did our Jesus show us how to lay it down; He will HELP you lay it down! He has to continually say that to me, because I guess I have a little brain and I forget it easily. Thank goodness for His never-ending patience and grace and mercy! I would be nowhere without it!!

My new blog!!!

Well, it's almost one o'clock and I should be getting ready for dance. But I'm obviously not! Instead, I decided to start my own blog just because I can :)

When I was younger, my mom started me in a habit of list writing. I have now taken to writing lists about what I want God to help me with, or what I want to grow into. I was reading through Psalm 119 today and my goodness!! There are so many things that I have to work on! But I thought I'd post a few and and maybe challenge others, who knows? (Yes, some of these verses ARE out of context, but right now I'm just sharing what He was telling me when I was reading them. That's my official disclaimer!)

Psalm 119:2-3
Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart! They also do no iniquity; they walk in His ways.
Seeking Him wholeheartedly - This can be a problem for me. Do I seek Him? Yes. With my whole heart, every time? Sadly, no. And at this point, when David was writing this Psalm, it seems like he was. Now, I could choose to take that as a challenge or as a discouragement....I choose the challenge. Do you seek Him with everything that you have?

Psalm 119:82a says "My eyes fail from searching Your word" Do I study Him so much and for so long that my eyes fail? I must admit that I do not. I'm not sure that sounds amazingly comfortable, but hey! In this part of the Psalm, David is asking God to comfort him. When I need comfort, do I always run straight to Him and His word and say "Help me"? No. I wish I could say yes, but 'twould be a lie. Yet another one of my goals; to have Him be the one that I run to when something goes haywire, when I'm hurt, when I'm afflicted, when I'm sad, when I'm frustrated. I know He holds me in the palm of His hand, but do I always think about that and say "Here I am, mold me and make me"?

Psalm 119:25-26
My soul clings to the dust; revive me according to Your word. I have declared my ways, and You answered me; teach me Your statutes.

"I have declared my ways...." Let's see...yup! Put another check on the list! Oh, but wait. There's a second part? "You answered me" Okay. Hmmm....I know that I'm often guilty of talking to God about what I want, and what I want to do, and then I'm like, "OK God, it's all Yours!" and I walk away. But how often do I sit and listen for His answer? Do I do all the talking and just tell Him everything that I want? Talking to Him is great, but are you giving Him time to answer? Is your heart open to what He has to say, or are you so set on what YOU want that you push His voice away? It's time to open up and let Him teach you, instead of you trying to redirect His plan! No matter what you do, God has a plan and you can follow it the easy way or the hard way!

Psalm 119:37
Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, and revive me in Your way.

I must confess that I'm an ADHD child. I see things and I want to do them. I see things and I want to have them. I want to do what I see others doing! Therefore, God has to constantly remind me that I need to zoom in on Him. Worthless things? Yep, gotta say worthless things do look good a lot of times. Do I always listen for His voice when He's saying "It's not of Me. I have better things than what you're seeing now."? Nope. But I find out afterwards that it wasn't what everyone else said it was. It was empty and meaningless! But then I look back and realize that He was right there; I just wasn't listening for His voice. A terrier with a million smells to sniff needs a shock collar to teach him to obey. But what use is the collar if it isn't touching the skin? It's useless! We are terriers; God is our shock collar. Are you allowing His word to penetrate your skin and teach you? Or is it sitting there on your fur, full of potential, yet useless?

Ok, I have a lot more to write, but I need to go do some chores. I hope that this gives you something to think on.....feel free to comment....comments rock my world!