Howdy all,
Ok...so, jumping to a different topic again today, talking about God and us. Proverbs 8:34-35 says "Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the LORD." So if we are waiting daily for God, we will receive life and favour. How many of us actually spend time each day to give God our burdens and listen to his voice?
Christians always advocate spending time with God. But what does that mean- exactly? Reading a few passages of the Bible when I wake up in the morning? Praying briefly before I begin my day? I think that everyone can figure out for themselves what brings their hearts fulfillment from time with God and how that time needs to be spent.
Luke 9:23 says "Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." Everyday we must humble ourselves before God, ask him to lead us and follow him. We need to give God control over each day so as not to control our lives ourselves. Time with God is so important- we all know the Lord's prayer- Give us this day our DAILY bread- and so on. We need to pray that God will provide for our needs of that day and totally and completely surrender to him. Time with God helps us!
Yet I think it's so much more than just asking God to do a bunch of stuff for us. It has the function to bring us closer to God and demonstrates to God how we want to experience him more in our lives through the sacrifice of our time. We are busy- it's hard to sometimes set apart even 15 minutes for God. But it's worth it. If you want more of God, and want to experience radical things with him (visions, dreams, supernatural stuff...) than the more time you spend with him, the more your heart and mind become in tune with the Spirit of God. Time with God can alleviate stress, comfort us, help us feel loved by God, give us direction for our lives and give us answers. God can do whatever he wants with the time that you give him. Just give it to him and let him take you places.
Okay, maybe you're thinking that this sounds nice and all but whenever you've spent time with God, it's been, well, boring. You pray and then you hear the silence, than you start thinking of the stuff you need to get done and God kinda fades from the picture. Or you really try to concentrate on God but nothing happens. Personal time with God becomes disappointing or boring. Ya, this definitely is how time with God sometimes seems but it doesn't make it any less important because God sees your efforts.
And it also makes me think that, perhaps, you're not spending time with God how you should. He created us all different after all! There isn't one rule of alone time with God. Some people find praying for a long time riveting to their soul, others, just can't concentrate on it. But prayer isn't only one way of communicating with God, it's important, definitely but there are other ways. Everyone has different talents, so use them when spending alone time with God- it will make it way more fun! Sing to God, write songs to him that express your thoughts, paint out your communication to God, journal your prayers, thoughts and whatever else (that's one of my personal favourites), even things like baking can count as personal time with God because you can do it for God! You can talk to him while you stir the dough or praise him while it's in the oven. Whatever we love doing, do it with God!
Do something different all the time, journal for awhile but then take some time to study the Bible (we can never neglect the Bible!) or listen to praise and worship music and just concentrate on sending your own praises to God. It doesn't have to be the same thing all the time. Yet, what you should do every time is listen for God's voice. He may speak audibly to you (I've never heard him) but you never know how God wants to reach out to you. Other times, his voice may be thoughts that pop in your mind and over time you may be able to actually recognize those thoughts apart from others and know him speaking. It's difficult to say the least, confusing and sometimes frustrating but something I keep in mind is that if I am hearing something positive and uplifting- it's from God. If it's something that will encourage me, help me grow, it's from God. Sometimes it won't even be words, God can speak using pictures in your mind or sending you a random Bible verse to look up. Sometimes, as you go through your day, someone may say something to you that strikes you in a particular way and you just know inside that God is using that person to communicate to you. Or maybe even a certain event occurs during the day that points us towards God. It's important to always try to keep listening! The Holy Spirit is there inside of us to point out God's direction and truth to us so we better try to listen.
Anyway, sometimes I just feel that we'd fare a lot better if we just made some time for God- alone- no interruptions if possible. So I just encourage you girls to make it a habit and don't get discouraged when not much seems to happen, keep at it, perseverance brings more of God.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Sparks and Fireworks!
Hey Girls...
Relationships are fun aren't they? They're exciting and new and spontaneous! The initial meeting the guy brings so many sparks and butterflies that's it's hard to keep you're head in it and not just get caught up in every sweet moment-other times, we're confused and unsure if it's right and good. It is an emotional rollarcoaster and sometimes the wildest ride of our lives because relationships have the capacity to change our lives forever!
This is why it's important to keep our heads in it, with our hearts. Dating can start out with many sparks but if that's the main attraction- it won't last for long. Some people continually chase after the feeling of a new crush because their addicted to the butterflies and that's plain unhealthy. Sparks come and go over a long term relationship- it's just natural.
Often at the start of a relationship or even a short ways into it, you're impacted with so many emotions that it's hard to think clearly. This can produce negative results- it can rush the intmacy too far or sabatoge something that has very good potential. The important thing to remember is to pray. Always pray. Pray with your boyfriend- this is essential. From the start you and your boyfriend should be in the regular habit of praying together and even if it feels uncomfortable or awkward- do it anyway! This is the most important part of your relationship. If you begin you're relationship with both of you focusing on God, you'll have the assurance that both of you are looking for God's direction and you won't have to worry so much about the situation yourself. You can be confident that your boyfriend is seeking God's will and direction, just like you are. Not only that, but it keeps God at the center of the relationship- where he should be!
Nevertheless, relationships are emotional. You're learning to trust someone physically, spiritually and emotionally- some people find one area harder than the other. Learning to trust your boyfriend is another difficult part because you don't always know how he will recieve the information or intmacy you give him. What if he reacts badly when you pour out your heart to him? There are risks we take in love but the fact is, we have to take them otherwise we can't get close. You'll be the best judge of when you can reveal things to your boyfriend and when you feel you have established the right level of trust. But you have to be prepared for a not so good reaction- sometimes he needs to work through the things you tell him but it doesn't mean that he doesn't love you anymore. And same with him revealing personal things to you. Sharing your deepest self with each other (not physical intmacy mind you) bonds you together- it creates those sparks that keep your relational fire alive- ha, there's a cheesy sentence! It creates commitment and that must always come first.
My personal recconmendation would be that there is no secrets between a couple when they prepare to take marriage vows. In my experience, my husband and I knew everything- all the good and all the bad- about each other before we got married- and this emotional attachment, just helped to make our physical intmacy that much more meaningul. Secrets destroy a marriage- dating is the time to work through those things because it prepares you for the harder struggles that come with marriage.
Dating can be really hard because of the myrid of emotions and learning that happens between a new couple but it's worth it to jump right on into the mush and sort through all the tough stuff. Don't shy away from sharing your inner feelings with your guy- when you're at the stage in the relationship where you have established trust- because the sharing you two do, will create the bond that will last all your lifetime!!
Relationships are fun aren't they? They're exciting and new and spontaneous! The initial meeting the guy brings so many sparks and butterflies that's it's hard to keep you're head in it and not just get caught up in every sweet moment-other times, we're confused and unsure if it's right and good. It is an emotional rollarcoaster and sometimes the wildest ride of our lives because relationships have the capacity to change our lives forever!
This is why it's important to keep our heads in it, with our hearts. Dating can start out with many sparks but if that's the main attraction- it won't last for long. Some people continually chase after the feeling of a new crush because their addicted to the butterflies and that's plain unhealthy. Sparks come and go over a long term relationship- it's just natural.
Often at the start of a relationship or even a short ways into it, you're impacted with so many emotions that it's hard to think clearly. This can produce negative results- it can rush the intmacy too far or sabatoge something that has very good potential. The important thing to remember is to pray. Always pray. Pray with your boyfriend- this is essential. From the start you and your boyfriend should be in the regular habit of praying together and even if it feels uncomfortable or awkward- do it anyway! This is the most important part of your relationship. If you begin you're relationship with both of you focusing on God, you'll have the assurance that both of you are looking for God's direction and you won't have to worry so much about the situation yourself. You can be confident that your boyfriend is seeking God's will and direction, just like you are. Not only that, but it keeps God at the center of the relationship- where he should be!
Nevertheless, relationships are emotional. You're learning to trust someone physically, spiritually and emotionally- some people find one area harder than the other. Learning to trust your boyfriend is another difficult part because you don't always know how he will recieve the information or intmacy you give him. What if he reacts badly when you pour out your heart to him? There are risks we take in love but the fact is, we have to take them otherwise we can't get close. You'll be the best judge of when you can reveal things to your boyfriend and when you feel you have established the right level of trust. But you have to be prepared for a not so good reaction- sometimes he needs to work through the things you tell him but it doesn't mean that he doesn't love you anymore. And same with him revealing personal things to you. Sharing your deepest self with each other (not physical intmacy mind you) bonds you together- it creates those sparks that keep your relational fire alive- ha, there's a cheesy sentence! It creates commitment and that must always come first.
My personal recconmendation would be that there is no secrets between a couple when they prepare to take marriage vows. In my experience, my husband and I knew everything- all the good and all the bad- about each other before we got married- and this emotional attachment, just helped to make our physical intmacy that much more meaningul. Secrets destroy a marriage- dating is the time to work through those things because it prepares you for the harder struggles that come with marriage.
Dating can be really hard because of the myrid of emotions and learning that happens between a new couple but it's worth it to jump right on into the mush and sort through all the tough stuff. Don't shy away from sharing your inner feelings with your guy- when you're at the stage in the relationship where you have established trust- because the sharing you two do, will create the bond that will last all your lifetime!!
Friday, March 5, 2010
Dating and Parents!
Hey Girls,
There is a lot to getting to know a guy and having him come to know who you are. And there are so many other things involved with it too, like getting to know the parents, or dealing with conflicting life plans or just managing the drama that comes from everyone having an opinion about your relationship. There is a lot of stress that can build in the early days of a relationship.
I find this a little tricky subject matter because I wasn't a fan of dating (most of it was long distance anyway- which sucks!!!). So I invite any comments or suggestions about this topic and things you'd like me to blog about to give me some ideas- jog my memory a bit..haha.
So, I thought I'd start at the beginning, dealing with the parental influence in the dating relationship. After all, there seems to be a definite trend now where young people live with their parents far into their 20s. Now, I believe that dating rules do change once you graduate high school. Sorry all you teen girls out there but rules are stricter for you! And when you're older, you will understand. Such as 'be home at 11' or you're parents have to meet the guy (and know the two of you as friends first) before dating can start.
But then, 18 rolls around, legally you're an adult but I think that until we move out of our parents house- we do have to live by their rules. It only make sense. We're not on our own yet and they are still caring for us, so they are still responsible. It's their home so we are under their 'house rules', their moral guidance. The Bible firmly tells us to honour our father and mother. Ephesians 6:2-3 "Honor your father and mother"—which is the first commandment with a promise— "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth."
Okay, so we're older now. An adult but still living at home and attempting to maintain a relationship with a guy we really like and feel that God has in mind for us to be with. He meets the parents (and hopefully you're parents have been praying for the right guy for you so their feelings towards him confirm yours) but what if they don't approve? All I can suggest is a lot of prayer.
As a teen, you're parents do have control to forbid you to date but I believe that with maturity comes a level of responsibility. You're responsible for your actions but you also have to respect your parents. A lot of difficulties with parents can be dealt with through prayer and honest discussions, and sometimes you just have to respect them for a time so they can learn to trust you. Even with the little things, like if you're parents won't let you stay the night at your boyfriends (without his parents there) and you're like 20! Sometimes strict rules like that can really suck but in an example like that- just bring your boyfriend to your house. After all, we know to avoid temptation so going away for a weekend alone with your boyfriend (as awesome as it may seem) is probably a bad idea in the long run. Parents have a tendency to know these things, having learned from their own mistakes.
Yet dealing with parents is tough because often when they do impose limits and rules on your personal life, it really sucks! How can you get to know your significant other if your parents keep interfering? The more you bring the guy around to your home, when you're parents are around, the more comfortable they can get with him. Same goes for you and his parents. It is important that both families support your relationship because you don't want to have the strife that comes otherwise.
Then there are those girls who are already living on their own, and totally responsible for themselves. You've removed yourself from your parents and so all these decisions come right down to you. You're on your own. Yet your parents will still have influence over you. Their opinions do count for something and while you don't necessarily have to do what they say, you do still need to act respectfully toward them.
What about when our parents are wrong? Or when his parents are wrong about you? It's sooo tempting to tell your significant other to rebel against what their parents say because you know in your heart that it's wrong. How can you honour your parents then? Or say you're parents aren't Christians, and give you harmful advice or don't respect the fact that you want to date another Christian? The truth is, the Bible still tells us to honour them. Although Ephesians 6: 4 does say "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." Parents have a responsibility in how they instruct and treat their children. So what do you do? First and foremost, we have to obey God. And he will tell us in our hearts how to deal with these difficult situations.
Sometimes our parents just do not understand the way we are and how we deal with things in the relationship because they are not directly involved. This is tough because you want them to trust you because you think you know the circumstances better than they do- and maybe you do but on the other hand, you're parents think that they know best. It's difficult dealing with this. Yet for me, the question comes to mind that if there is so much trouble with the relationship or with something you want to do with your boyfriend between you and your parents- maybe you and God need to have a long chat. God does not want discord in the family and he wants you to have a fruitful life/relationships as well, so he knows best.
After all, the key to any successful relationship is keeping God at the center of it.
In essence, if you are living by the support of your parents, than you do fall under their guidance (they're accountable). If you are on your own, taking care of yourself, your decisions are your responsibility (you're accountable). In both situations, avoidance to sin is vital and listening to God is first. If God really wants you to spend your life with that guy, trust him to make it happen.
There is a lot to getting to know a guy and having him come to know who you are. And there are so many other things involved with it too, like getting to know the parents, or dealing with conflicting life plans or just managing the drama that comes from everyone having an opinion about your relationship. There is a lot of stress that can build in the early days of a relationship.
I find this a little tricky subject matter because I wasn't a fan of dating (most of it was long distance anyway- which sucks!!!). So I invite any comments or suggestions about this topic and things you'd like me to blog about to give me some ideas- jog my memory a bit..haha.
So, I thought I'd start at the beginning, dealing with the parental influence in the dating relationship. After all, there seems to be a definite trend now where young people live with their parents far into their 20s. Now, I believe that dating rules do change once you graduate high school. Sorry all you teen girls out there but rules are stricter for you! And when you're older, you will understand. Such as 'be home at 11' or you're parents have to meet the guy (and know the two of you as friends first) before dating can start.
But then, 18 rolls around, legally you're an adult but I think that until we move out of our parents house- we do have to live by their rules. It only make sense. We're not on our own yet and they are still caring for us, so they are still responsible. It's their home so we are under their 'house rules', their moral guidance. The Bible firmly tells us to honour our father and mother. Ephesians 6:2-3 "Honor your father and mother"—which is the first commandment with a promise— "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth."
Okay, so we're older now. An adult but still living at home and attempting to maintain a relationship with a guy we really like and feel that God has in mind for us to be with. He meets the parents (and hopefully you're parents have been praying for the right guy for you so their feelings towards him confirm yours) but what if they don't approve? All I can suggest is a lot of prayer.
As a teen, you're parents do have control to forbid you to date but I believe that with maturity comes a level of responsibility. You're responsible for your actions but you also have to respect your parents. A lot of difficulties with parents can be dealt with through prayer and honest discussions, and sometimes you just have to respect them for a time so they can learn to trust you. Even with the little things, like if you're parents won't let you stay the night at your boyfriends (without his parents there) and you're like 20! Sometimes strict rules like that can really suck but in an example like that- just bring your boyfriend to your house. After all, we know to avoid temptation so going away for a weekend alone with your boyfriend (as awesome as it may seem) is probably a bad idea in the long run. Parents have a tendency to know these things, having learned from their own mistakes.
Yet dealing with parents is tough because often when they do impose limits and rules on your personal life, it really sucks! How can you get to know your significant other if your parents keep interfering? The more you bring the guy around to your home, when you're parents are around, the more comfortable they can get with him. Same goes for you and his parents. It is important that both families support your relationship because you don't want to have the strife that comes otherwise.
Then there are those girls who are already living on their own, and totally responsible for themselves. You've removed yourself from your parents and so all these decisions come right down to you. You're on your own. Yet your parents will still have influence over you. Their opinions do count for something and while you don't necessarily have to do what they say, you do still need to act respectfully toward them.
What about when our parents are wrong? Or when his parents are wrong about you? It's sooo tempting to tell your significant other to rebel against what their parents say because you know in your heart that it's wrong. How can you honour your parents then? Or say you're parents aren't Christians, and give you harmful advice or don't respect the fact that you want to date another Christian? The truth is, the Bible still tells us to honour them. Although Ephesians 6: 4 does say "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." Parents have a responsibility in how they instruct and treat their children. So what do you do? First and foremost, we have to obey God. And he will tell us in our hearts how to deal with these difficult situations.
Sometimes our parents just do not understand the way we are and how we deal with things in the relationship because they are not directly involved. This is tough because you want them to trust you because you think you know the circumstances better than they do- and maybe you do but on the other hand, you're parents think that they know best. It's difficult dealing with this. Yet for me, the question comes to mind that if there is so much trouble with the relationship or with something you want to do with your boyfriend between you and your parents- maybe you and God need to have a long chat. God does not want discord in the family and he wants you to have a fruitful life/relationships as well, so he knows best.
After all, the key to any successful relationship is keeping God at the center of it.
In essence, if you are living by the support of your parents, than you do fall under their guidance (they're accountable). If you are on your own, taking care of yourself, your decisions are your responsibility (you're accountable). In both situations, avoidance to sin is vital and listening to God is first. If God really wants you to spend your life with that guy, trust him to make it happen.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Good Busy or Bad Busy?
Hi all,
Are you too busy? How often does it happen that you have to say no to a friend or an event because you're just too busy and don't have the time? The Bible tells us not to the lazy and slothful but when does activity become too much?
I think the story of Martha and Mary is a good portrayal of this (if you know of any other verses on busyness, let me know). Luke 10:48-42 says, "As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, 'Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!' 'Martha, Martha,' the Lord answered, 'you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.'"
Martha was busy, full of activity, working hard- she didn't have time to visit. Yet Mary was relaxed, leaving the work for a time to be with Jesus. Jesus only was able to visit them now and then; Mary knew to take full advantage of the short time they had together. Sometimes I wonder if we rush about doing so much stuff and miss what is really important. What about when a friend calls us up and asks to go out that same day? How often do we just have to tell the person that we can't, we're too busy! And even more importantly, how often do we tell that to God? I'll go to church next week when I don't have so many social events on the weekend or I'll make personal time happen with Jesus tomorrow or the next day, today I just have to finish my project.
STOP! Breathe. Take a moment to be still. The world will not end if you don't complete every task or fulfull every obligation. I know it seems sometimes that the things we have to do are so vitally important that nothing can get in the way of getting them done but it's really not true (I mean, sure sometimes there are exceptions to this but overall...) because God should have the control. He's got the whole world in his hands remember? He will help you to complete every task when it needs to get done. He knows best. After all, we need to lean on him for strength and not on our own abilities. God knows what is essential to doing better than you do!
1 Timothy 6:7 says, "After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it." And the Bible tells us more than once not to "... not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?" (Mathew 6:25). Okay, so based on this, we need to relax and not stress about our basic needs because God knows what they are (so overtime at work? you have to be kidding). Neither should we continually strive after things. Our busyness shouldn't be about getting more stuff or gaining the ability to get more stuff- it all stays behind anyway.
Work is not a bad thing though. God created work by telling Adam to care for the garden and there are other verses throughout the Bible that discuss blessings because of doing work. Such as Colossians 3:23-24 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." So being busy because of our working lives is not a bad thing as long as we don't get consumed by it so it becomes first and foremost concern in our lives.
So where is the line between good busy and bad busy? I think it really has to do with time management. Do we still have time to be by ourselves (personal time) ? Time to journal, worship, talk to God? Time for family and friends? If an average day allows you to do all these things- I'd say it's good busy. But if you're day looks more like a hurried routine- wake up-work-sleep (eat if you remember) than that's a bad busy. Obviously there is variation between the two and everyone should know what is the right level of busyness for them (without stressing them out).
No matter what though, it's really important that we remember who we are busy for- God, and that all our worldly positions will stay behind when we die but it's our relationships with people that will last forever.
Are you too busy? How often does it happen that you have to say no to a friend or an event because you're just too busy and don't have the time? The Bible tells us not to the lazy and slothful but when does activity become too much?
I think the story of Martha and Mary is a good portrayal of this (if you know of any other verses on busyness, let me know). Luke 10:48-42 says, "As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, 'Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!' 'Martha, Martha,' the Lord answered, 'you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.'"
Martha was busy, full of activity, working hard- she didn't have time to visit. Yet Mary was relaxed, leaving the work for a time to be with Jesus. Jesus only was able to visit them now and then; Mary knew to take full advantage of the short time they had together. Sometimes I wonder if we rush about doing so much stuff and miss what is really important. What about when a friend calls us up and asks to go out that same day? How often do we just have to tell the person that we can't, we're too busy! And even more importantly, how often do we tell that to God? I'll go to church next week when I don't have so many social events on the weekend or I'll make personal time happen with Jesus tomorrow or the next day, today I just have to finish my project.
STOP! Breathe. Take a moment to be still. The world will not end if you don't complete every task or fulfull every obligation. I know it seems sometimes that the things we have to do are so vitally important that nothing can get in the way of getting them done but it's really not true (I mean, sure sometimes there are exceptions to this but overall...) because God should have the control. He's got the whole world in his hands remember? He will help you to complete every task when it needs to get done. He knows best. After all, we need to lean on him for strength and not on our own abilities. God knows what is essential to doing better than you do!
1 Timothy 6:7 says, "After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it." And the Bible tells us more than once not to "... not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?" (Mathew 6:25). Okay, so based on this, we need to relax and not stress about our basic needs because God knows what they are (so overtime at work? you have to be kidding). Neither should we continually strive after things. Our busyness shouldn't be about getting more stuff or gaining the ability to get more stuff- it all stays behind anyway.
Work is not a bad thing though. God created work by telling Adam to care for the garden and there are other verses throughout the Bible that discuss blessings because of doing work. Such as Colossians 3:23-24 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." So being busy because of our working lives is not a bad thing as long as we don't get consumed by it so it becomes first and foremost concern in our lives.
So where is the line between good busy and bad busy? I think it really has to do with time management. Do we still have time to be by ourselves (personal time) ? Time to journal, worship, talk to God? Time for family and friends? If an average day allows you to do all these things- I'd say it's good busy. But if you're day looks more like a hurried routine- wake up-work-sleep (eat if you remember) than that's a bad busy. Obviously there is variation between the two and everyone should know what is the right level of busyness for them (without stressing them out).
No matter what though, it's really important that we remember who we are busy for- God, and that all our worldly positions will stay behind when we die but it's our relationships with people that will last forever.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
God Will Be Faithful!!!
Hey Girls,
Have any of you been praying about something for a really long time? Asking God repeatedly for something and then time goes by and you keep waiting and waiting...I think a lot of us are probably in that situation because part of trusting God is waiting on his timing and not acting on our own. It's tricky sometimes to know the difference.
God's faithfulness is an important theme for me, and I guess it always has been. Before I met my husband, I spent YEARS praying for God to bring the right guy into my life. Ya, we dated amd married quickly but we didn't meet quickly. I spent a lot of time by myself, watching my friends have relationships or seeing other happy couples- kinda tortureous really. But then one day- it just happened. God proved his faithfulness. Genesis 2:18 says "The Lord God said, 'It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.'" (Women included I'd say). What I wanted, God had designed from the beginning of creation so it was up to me to trust him and wait on his faithfulness. (just a side note for you single girls- have you ever thought that maybe you were meant to be alone? I believe God does call some people to be single- with a specific purpose though. If you have a heart for marriage- than keep praying your man to you).
God will be faithful to us. Sometimes it is just really hard to wait and not to doubt. Doubt is a terrible thing- one of the worst forces against us. We just can't let any doubt in.
Here are some verses to hang onto:
Psalms 36:5 "Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies."
Psalms 86:15 "But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness."
Psalms 37:4 "Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart."
Psalm 89:33 "...but I will not take my love from him, nor will I ever betray my faithfulness."
Galatians 5: 22-23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control..."
Lamentations 3:22-24 "Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."
I hope these verses are encouraging to you. They are definately encouraging to me.
God's faithfulness lives in us everyday through his Holy Spirit. We just need to continually pray for patience to wait on his faithfulness to come to fruitition. That's what I am doing. We all probably have some BIG things in our lives that we continually seek God for (financial blessing, prayers for family members, life direction, healing etc.) and we can try to take these things into our own control but let me tell you, it won't work out and you'll end up with a pile of stress. As much as you think you have the solution to your own problems- you don't! (unless of course, it's a God given solution). God has the solution. He always does. No matter what problem we have, God is BIGGER! He loves his creation. He can certainly take care of us better than we can take care of ourselves.
So, no matter what you're praying for, we're all in this together, waiting on God to reveal his faithfulness to us. And he WILL be faithful girls! Now, let's be faithful ourselves and not doubt God's ability to take care of us.
Have any of you been praying about something for a really long time? Asking God repeatedly for something and then time goes by and you keep waiting and waiting...I think a lot of us are probably in that situation because part of trusting God is waiting on his timing and not acting on our own. It's tricky sometimes to know the difference.
God's faithfulness is an important theme for me, and I guess it always has been. Before I met my husband, I spent YEARS praying for God to bring the right guy into my life. Ya, we dated amd married quickly but we didn't meet quickly. I spent a lot of time by myself, watching my friends have relationships or seeing other happy couples- kinda tortureous really. But then one day- it just happened. God proved his faithfulness. Genesis 2:18 says "The Lord God said, 'It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.'" (Women included I'd say). What I wanted, God had designed from the beginning of creation so it was up to me to trust him and wait on his faithfulness. (just a side note for you single girls- have you ever thought that maybe you were meant to be alone? I believe God does call some people to be single- with a specific purpose though. If you have a heart for marriage- than keep praying your man to you).
God will be faithful to us. Sometimes it is just really hard to wait and not to doubt. Doubt is a terrible thing- one of the worst forces against us. We just can't let any doubt in.
Here are some verses to hang onto:
Psalms 36:5 "Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies."
Psalms 86:15 "But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness."
Psalms 37:4 "Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart."
Psalm 89:33 "...but I will not take my love from him, nor will I ever betray my faithfulness."
Galatians 5: 22-23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control..."
Lamentations 3:22-24 "Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."
I hope these verses are encouraging to you. They are definately encouraging to me.
God's faithfulness lives in us everyday through his Holy Spirit. We just need to continually pray for patience to wait on his faithfulness to come to fruitition. That's what I am doing. We all probably have some BIG things in our lives that we continually seek God for (financial blessing, prayers for family members, life direction, healing etc.) and we can try to take these things into our own control but let me tell you, it won't work out and you'll end up with a pile of stress. As much as you think you have the solution to your own problems- you don't! (unless of course, it's a God given solution). God has the solution. He always does. No matter what problem we have, God is BIGGER! He loves his creation. He can certainly take care of us better than we can take care of ourselves.
So, no matter what you're praying for, we're all in this together, waiting on God to reveal his faithfulness to us. And he WILL be faithful girls! Now, let's be faithful ourselves and not doubt God's ability to take care of us.
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