Celebrating YOU!!

Today this blog reached 70 followers! 70! Wow! Most of you know me from school and work, and I want to just tell you from the bottom of my heart: Thank you for reading this blog!

So many of you have inboxed me telling me personal stories about how each blog has spoken to you and encouraged you right where you were in your own situation. You have no idea how much that means to me!

With school keeping me so busy, I can't respond to every message, so I wanted to post it here to make sure that all of you know how much your encouraging words inspire me! I've been brought to tears reading about how some of you needed to hear the exact words that the Lord laid on my heart to blog.

Everyone is facing their own battle (It's Just a Chapter!). Everyone has trials to go through, but when you realize that you are not alone and He is fighting for you, you find strength to carry on (All Is Well!)! It's my prayer that you will find strength to keep pressing on toward the crown of life!

James 1:12 says "blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him." (We Win In The End!)

It is my humbled privilege that He is using me to encourage others. It's only His grace that keeps me standing, but just as it is written in 2 Corinthians 12:9, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness," His grace is all I need!

He wants to combine His grace with your weakness, your lowest of lows because of your trials, to prove His perfect power!

I'm reminded of part of an old Hymn that says:

"To God be the glory,
For the things He has done,
With His blood, He has saved me,
With His power, He has raised me!"

His power made perfect in my weakness has raised me, so what can I say, but:

                           TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

Give Him your weakness (Withholding Nothing!), and let Him combine it with His grace (He's got plenty, John 1:14), to prove His perfect power in your situation! 

His power will raise you up, too! 1 Corinthians 6:14

Are You Sure About That?

One of the things this year that our church is praying for is "fruitfulness"....are you sure that you want to be fruitful?

Sure, it sounds great, but it's not really that simple.

John 15:1-2 says, "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. . .every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit."

That pruning thing isn't fun. One definition of "prune" is to reduce or cut away, removing dead parts, to stimulate growth.

Over time an apple tree will put on more bark than fruit. The only way to restore the production of fruit is to convince the tree that it is dying. It is only after the tree is severely pruned that it will start producing fruit again.

When Jesus healed the blind man (Mark 8:24), he saw men as trees. That's because God sees our lives as trees. It takes more than just watering and fertilizing to be fruitful, He has to prune us, too.

We love the watering part of this fruitfulness thing, the bucketfuls of blessing in living for the Lord, but no one wants to face the pruning part. The pruning part is painful. No one wants to be cut down so severely that they feel like they are dying.

Pruning is painful and usually involves losses. But when you find yourself enduring losses, remember that the Gardener is working on you. There will be a gain from it.

Because of your pain, your losses, your pruning, you will find fruitfulness!

You will get what you are praying for, but it won't come easy...the Gardener has to prune first!





Reference: "The Point of Low Points" by Rev. Ken Gurley

Withholding Nothing

We sang a song in church about surrendering all to God, withholding nothing. We sang "withholding nothing" over and over again. It hit me this morning: withholding nothing means giving Him everything, both good and bad.

God wants us to surrender our lives to Him, all the "good" things we can give Him, but He also wants us to give Him our hurts!

Matthew 11:28 (NIV) "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

You don't have to get things in order in your life to surrender to Him, He wants you just as you are, with all your problems.

1 Peter 5:7 (ESV) "Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you."

He cares about you, even when you are full of anxieties! He wants you to surrender all to Him, withholding nothing!

We live for God day after day, trying to do what's right and be a witness for Him. Yet, we keep our problems thinking we can figure it all out or it's not really that bad, continuing to carry around those burdens. But the same God that heals the sick and raises the dead cares about us and wants to take care of our problems! You see those things as problems, failures, mistakes, issues, but He sees them as potential. He can take what you think is a mess and make it a miracle!

Giving your life to God means giving every aspect of your life to God, your successes and your failures. Give Him glory for the successes and trust Him with your failures.

Don't just give God your time, talents, and tithe, give Him your troubles, too! Withhold nothing! He can handle it!!

Dream On, Baby!

One definition of dream is, "an unrealistic fantasy." Being a realist, it's difficult for me to call my life goals, "dreams." They have always been attainable, measurable, easy-to-plan-out goals, so there was no "dreaming" involved.

Despite my minimization of dreams, I've had a quote on my bedroom wall for years saying, "Dream until all your dreams come true." I've always liked the idea of dreaming, but I didn't think I was "allowed" to do that anymore. Dreaming is for kids, immature adults, and extreme optimists, right?

Don't get me wrong, I used to dream about wonderful things or doing great things. But when they didn't come true it was such a let down, that I decided to avoid the feeling of failure and stick to realistic goals for my life. 

Until recently, it was going great: set a goal, attain the goal, feel accomplished, and repeat. It was when I lost control (like I described in my first blog), that I realized that a dream God gave me as a teenager never died. 

Why would He bring that dream back up? I was crushed when it didn't happen the first time. I was devastated when it didn't happen the second time. Why would He remind me of this dream? 

Because it wasn't just a dream. It was God's Will for my life. It seemed unrealistic because without Him, it would be. It didn't work because I was trying to do it my way, instead of letting Him bring the dream to pass His way. At 13 years old, it's hard to know what to do with such a big dream. 

Think about the most famous dreamer in the Bible, Joseph. God gave him those dreams about where he was going and what he would become, and he was so excited about it that he shared it with his family. ...and they encouraged him and helped him bring those dreams to pass, right? NOPE. They contemplated killing him and then sold him as a slave instead!

He was betrayed and then lied on and left wondering what in the world just happened? I am so very sure that at some point, he thought, "why would God give me those dreams and then let me be betrayed and lied on?" 

But even if that thought crossed his mind, he didn't quit dreaming. He did two really important things on the way to his dreams: 1. He didn't get bitter, and 2. He trusted God, believing that somehow all things would work together for His purpose.

Dreams aren't cheap, they cost a lot. You gotta give up things that mean a lot to you, like pride, or a flawless reputation. Forget what others think when you find yourself face down in the altar crying out to Him. Forget who is watching when you feel the Spirit nudge you to shout for the victory over all your trials. You have to give up the comfort of being in control and let God have control.

To keep your dream alive, you have to get over the whispering of the enemy and not let it make you bitter. Quit trying to figure out all your trials and just know that each one you make it through leaves you that much closer to your dream. Joseph trusted God even when things looked like they would never get better.

Dreams don't happen without sacrifice. The bigger the dream, the greater the cost will be. Jesus dreamed of the world's curse being lifted and the earth being filled with the knowledge and the glory of the Lord. He laid down His life for this dream to come true.

Dreams without God are unrealistic. That's why it is a dream and not a goal. That's where I messed up. I thought I could accomplish this dream on my own. He's such a merciful God. Even after all my mistakes, He's still waiting with open arms reminding me He hasn't forgotten that 13 year old girl's dream.

Psalm 46:10 says "Be still, and know that I am God"

I have to "be still" or quit trying to be in control. I have to just "know" that He is God, meaning trust Him, rest in the assurance that He has the power. He will bring it to pass in spite of all that I did to mess it up, because He is the One in control. If, no, when it happens, it will be obvious that it was ALL Him. 

Ephesians 3:20 (ESV) Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,

The dream can only happen when we let go and let Him work within us. My version of this verse is: God is able to bring to pass more than our biggest dreams, if we let Him have complete control!

The second part of that verse says "according to the power at work within us." His power is immeasurable. He has all power, but what will come to pass is based on how much of His power you allow to work within you!

Imagine what can come to pass if you give Him complete control! ...actually, you can't imagine it! It will be far more than you ask or think (or dream)!

Then when He brings that dream (that impossible, how-could-You-use-me thing) to pass, it will be completely for His glory...isn't that what our life is all about anyway? 1 Corinthians 10:31 ...Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

So forget average (setting and accomplishing goals), and dream on, Baby! (:

What Jesus Didn't Heal

One of my favorite songs mentions how Jesus is the Healer of my scars. I love that part. Medically, a scar represents a wound or injury. Something traumatic happened, and even after it was healed, it left a scar.

For years, I've heard that song and smiled thinking that Jesus not only heals the wound, but He will heal the scar. He will remove any evidence of a wound! 

Then I was wounded. He healed me. But there are still scars, little things that remind me of my healed wound. 

Why do I still have scars? I kept thinking about that song and praying that He would heal my scars and asking Him to take away anything that reminded me of the wounds. He healed my wounds and took the pain away, so why did He leave me with the scars?

Then it hit me: if He takes away my scars, He takes away my reminder that He healed my wounds. Without the wound and the pain, all that's left is the scar to remind me of the healing. It's not that He can't heal a scar, He left it for a purpose. 

If I didn't have these scars, it would be easier to blend in with everyone else. It would be easier to be accepted by society. It would be easier to deny that I was ever wounded. It would be easier to pretend to have always been strong, if I didn't have these scars. But, that's the average person. 

I'm not ever going to be average. I've got some scars, but I'm ok with my scars. These scars keep me from forgetting where I came from. These scars prove to myself and others that I'm not perfect. I have made mistakes. These scars remind me of the wounds that thrust me into the position to chase after Him and not settle for average.

These scars also remind me that Jesus heals. These scars remind me to live a testimony of His healing power. These scars keep me from pretending to be someone that I'm not. I'm not ever going to fit in with my scars, but now I understand why. 

Jesus Himself had scars after His resurrection. If He was raised from the dead, why wouldn't He be completely healed without any scars? Jesus used His scars to prove His crucifixion and resurrection to His disciples (John 20:19-31). 

Psalm 147:3 (KJV) He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. 

Jesus still heals. Even if your wounds are emotional. I think this verse says that He heals the broken heart AND binds up the wounds, because He knows that with a broken heart, there are other wounds. He won't just heal your broken heart and ignore your other wounds. He will heal you completely, if you give it all to Him completely.

So after you allow Him to heal you, don't let anyone tell you that you shouldn't have scars from that healing. Testify about your healing when someone points out your scars.

There's a great quote from Pilgrim's Progress in part 2 which says, "My marks and scars I carry with me, to be a witness for me that I have fought His battles who will now be my Rewarder."

Hey, my scars also remind me that: WE WIN IN THE END! (: