Bird Song | |
What do you know?Have you ever heard that saying "write about what you know"? As I was sitting in front of a laptop screen that was void of inspiration, that phrase was flitting through my mind. "Write about what you know. Write about what you know." But what exactly does that mean? There's not a lot that I really know. There aren't many things of which I'm completely sure and have no doubts about. As I thought about it, though, I realized that I know a few more things than I thought. And I got a little excited about it.I know.... that in my flesh is no good thing (Rom. 7:18) that my old self was crucified with Him (Rom.6:6) that my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19) that my work for the Lord is not in vain (1 Cor. 15:58) that all things work together for good (Rom. 8:28) that my Redeemer lives and will stand again on the earth (Job:19:25) "Whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me." (2 Tim. 1:12) That's what I know for sure. What do you know? My Times Are in His HandsOne of my current favorite verses is Ps. 31:15, "My times are in thy hand..."It seems to sum up my week. I'd been having some trouble applying to the college I'm planning on taking some online music classes from, and there was the temptation to worry. "What if I can't take classes? What if this sets me back a whole year?" You probably know how your mind can zoom around in a million different directions when you're worried. But this verse was a huge comfort. If God wanted me to take classes, then He would make a way. If not, then He obviously had something in better in mind, because I know He wouldn't hold back any good thing from me. So, my part was to wait. Just wait...and pray. It's difficult to mentally stop rushing around and trying to concoct "Plan B", and instead trust for an unknown future. On Thursday, I got a call from the college, and the problem was worked out, allowing me to be accepted. I was so thankful! The Lord knew what would happen throughout the whole ordeal, and that was enough. I didn't have to know what would happen; it was enough to know that my times are in His hands, and that nothing was really out of control. I'm quite sure that this isn't the last time I'll face a situation like that, but maybe the lesson will stick. My times are not in my hands -- they're in His. Backwards Thoughts My younger sis and I love to walk on our quiet country road, especially in the evening. There’s just one problem, though – when we’re walking back towards our house, the sun is squarely in our eyes. And that’s not very pleasant. So, a while back ,we decided to walk backwards until we reached the point where the sun wouldn’t be in our eyes. Kind of crazy, isn’t it? It’s hard enough to walk backwards, but it’s even worse trying to think backwards. Have you ever tried to do that? Much of the Christian life seems backwards to me. To my mind, greatness should involve having servants and being important, but no. Greatness is found in being a servant. I would think that exalting myself would mean praising myself, showing others just how good I am. Nope. Exaltation comes when I humble myself and show how good the truly Great One is. To be first, I would elbow my way to the front of the line…but if I want to be first, I have to be last. And, if I want to keep my life, I should cling to it tightly – it makes sense to me. But if I want to save my life, I have to lose it first. Just some thoughts. Why do I hold so stubbornly to my own way and think that any other way is “backwards”? Maybe I’m the one who needs to turn around. Because I do want to have a useful life—I do long to make a difference in the world for God. Don’t we all? But, just maybe, if more of us would be willing to die in little ways, the non-glamorous ways, the “serving the least of these” ways, if we would be willing to exalt God and go last, if we would be willing to lose our lives for Christ, we would see more of a difference. After all, with even small deaths to self (which simply means saying “Okay, Lord, Your way, not mine) fruit – usefulness – is the result. Maybe we would see God do “exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think!” More than we could imagine! But who is willing to think backwards? Come Away!Well, I don't have a lot of time, but i do want to post a couple of things . . .first of all, I was awarded the "Against the Flow" award by dragonfly1010. Thank you! (I'm sorta in a hurry, so you can see it on the side bar. )I award Grace4God and Anna93 The other thing . . .just a couple of verses. "Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away. For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come . . .Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away!" Song of Solomon 2:10b-12, 13b Spring is coming! We are all delighting in the newness, the warm weather, in everything that comes with spring. But what about in your spiritual life? I, for one, want to leave my winter and my rainy days. I'm ready to rise up and grow closer to the Lord, to delight in Him more. What is keeping you from having fellowship with the Lord? Accept the invitation to "come away" and leave it behind. Have spring in your own life! Blessed Against My Own InclinationsDoes anyone else ever feel that all of their posts start with something like, "Whew! I sure have been busy lately!" ? Many of my posts seem to start out that way, and this one isn't any different.School has been going quite well this year. I'm focusing on the few things I have left to finish (Government, Economics, and English), and spending most of my time at the piano. Plus, I have so much time to spend in the different ministry projects the Lord has brought my way: Good News Club, Bright Lights, and a music class (which is starting a week from tomorrow). At this time last year, this is not where I was expecting to be. My plans were to graduate early and to be in college right now . . .but the Lord had other plans for me. I strongly felt that the Lord wanted me to spend this last year at home, with my family, and focusing on serving Him. It was hard! I wanted to do His will, but it felt like all of my friends were starting college. I knew that I had the ability to graduate early, and I struggled with wondering what people would think if I didn't. "What if they don't think I'm smart enough or mature enough?" I felt like I would be "proving" myself if I went to college early. But now, I see how much better God's plans are than mine! He's opened up so many different ways to serve that I would not have been able to do if I had been in college this year. I've loved being at home with my favorite people in the world -- my family. And, even now, my college plans are coming into place, and turning out to be better than I could have hoped. (More about that later.) There's a quote by William Wilburforce (one of my heroes) that neatly sums up my situation; I hope it will encourage you, too! "a gracious hand lead us in ways that we know not, and blesses us not only without, but even against, our plans and inclinations." ~William Wilburforce The Walk for Life -- Passing the TorchWhew! This past week has been hectic . . .and it doesn't seem like things are getting any slower. Besides school, piano, college planning, church, and going to a firing range and shooting a Glock 9 millimeter (Long story. My new favorite hobby!), there was one major high point of the week.On Thursday, my family and I went to Atlanta (our state capitol) for the Walk for Life rally. You see, Thursday was January 22, the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. We went to march silently with thousands of other people in remembrance of the over 50 million unborn children that have lost their lives in the great American holocaust. The main speakers at the rally were Archbishop Wilton Gregory, and Dr. Alveda King, niece of Martin Luther King, Jr. There were many moving moments, like when Dr. King led everyone in singing "This Little Light of Mine." The moment that has remained with me is Archbishop Gregory's speech. He spoke to the young people in the crowd, urging them to take up the fight and to be a voice for the voiceless. That's what I want to do. I can't do much. I'm not an a position of influence, but I can pray. I can resolve to never give up the fight, to be faithful to stand wherever the Lord has placed me. We as young people desperately need to resolve not to compromise. It's time for us to raise our voices for truth.I know that so many of you already try to do that. So, I guess I want to encourage you -- don't give up! Be faithful! Don't let the light go out. A New Year!It's nearly over. The year, I mean. With all of it's happy and bad memories, funny and painful moments, this very interesting year is just about gone.At the beginning of this year, I made a sort of resolution to use my time more wisely. The Lord had strongly convicted me about all of the precious hours I wasted on things that didn't really matter, and so I decided to try to fill my time with better things. Did it work? Well . . .I'm not as far as I want to be. Sometimes, I still look over a day and cringe at all the things I should have done. But I have grown! The Lord placed many ministry opportunities right in my lap this year. He gave me the chance to help start a Bright Lights group (a discipleship group for girls), to be involved in many things at church, and now just recently, to start a music class for younger children! (More about that one later.) He's also shown me that true ministry starts at home, in being faithful in the small tasks that no one sees. So, what's next? I have a whole year laid out before me, fresh and new. 365 days are waiting to be filled with . . . who knows? I don't, obviously. But the One who has all of my days written in His book does. And by His grace, I want to plunge forward with enthusiasm -- living each day for His glory! The Faithful OneWell, my dear blogging friends, I have officially finished the first week of my last year of school. Yes, I am a senior! Quite honestly, I'm not sure if I'm celebrating or sighing. I actually like school.No doubt about it, though, this has been a year of changes . . . and the year isn't over yet. The changes in my school work load have been nice. There are only a few more classes that I'm required to take to graduate: Government, Economics, and one more English. I love English, am intrigued by Government, and, well, I haven't decided about Economics.  I enjoy the home economics part, but world economics can be a little much to digest. Entering my senior year has made me stop and reflect a little. Looking back, I see how the Lord has grown me in so many areas; in school work, of course, but in my attitude and maturity as well. I remember staring at a page of math problems in about 1st grade and crying in frustration -- but I also remember that a few grades later, I prayed over my math instead. Not to say that I never cried over an algebra problem ( there were several, in fact!), but I had learned to go to the Lord even in simple things. Sometimes I look at the past and feel that I've grown immensely. I mentally pat myself on the back for my maturity and feel ready to tackle any challenge. At other times, usually following those back-patting moments, I stumble in some area and fall flat on my face. Suddenly, I feel about ten years old again, want to hide under my bed, and don't think I've grown in the least. What a comfort to know that, regardless of my fluctuating emotions, the Lord is faithful. He is the One who works in me "both to will and to do of His good pleasure". I love 1 Thessalonians 5:24 - "Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it." Simple and sweet. God called me, and He is the One who will tend to all the details of my life. Praise the Lord, my faithful God! Being StillWell, I had an entire blog written out and ready to post, but, for some reason, I want to post this instead.One week from today, we will be starting back to school. I've been busy with that, trying to get my books and schedule organized, and on top of that, I've been studying to help teach a Bright Lights lesson, and also getting my piano teaching schedule organized. (Have you noticed that "schedule" and "organize" are two important words in my vocabulary?) With all of that, plus a few other things, I've been . . .well . . .frazzled. This morning, it seemed very appropriate that I read about Mary and Martha! In the Scripture, it said that Martha was "cumbered" and "troubled" with all of the work she had to do. Those words, sadly, describe me pretty accurately. The things I'm working on are all good and useful, but I've become so caught up in them that I've missed the "why" behind them. I'm doing them to serve my Lord, but I've become so busy serving Him that I miss speaking with Him! So, today, I took a little time and hid away. I simply sat down quietly and experienced the verse from Psalm 46 (I think!) - "Be still and know that I am God". What a time of refreshment! I need to remember that I am not the One ultimately in control of my life. I think of the verse in Proverbs that says, paraphrased, that a man may plan, but the Lord directs the outcome. Sure, it's good to plan, but, in the end, I need to know that God will work all things together for His purposes. Instead of worrying, I need to rest in the knowledge of Who God is. Instead of rushing around, I just need to . . .be still. Some ThoughtsYesterday, I learned something that reminded me of how blessed I am as God's child. Did you know that Muslims have 99 names for their god, but that not one of those names is "Father"? They view God as one Who should be feared and obeyed, but not one who can be loved. Just think of it; God is all-powerful and all-knowing. His holiness, His power, His love, are all too much for me to understand; they overwhelm my tiny mind! But though I can't comprehend all that God is, I can know Him. My relationship with God is like a Father and His child. Through Jesus, I can come to God boldly and pour out my heart before Him, and know that He hears . . . and cares. Doesn't that make your heart sing? The Lord of all earth and heaven loves you as deeply (and certainly, more perfectly) than an earthly father loves his child. What joy! Well, I just wanted to share my excitement - it was too good to keep it to myself! God is good, isn't He? "O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever." Psalm 136:1 |
About Me Home My Profile Archives Friends Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows. LinksCategoriesBright LightsGood News Club Musings, contemplations, and thoughts My favorite posts Pictures Poems Random Ramblings School Days The Proverbs 31 Challenge Various reviews Recent EntriesCollege -- for Real!Mind Food What do you know? Busyness... My Times Are in His Hands FriendsTOSPUBLISHERHSBCompanyBlog Eyebright purpleprincess mandygrace TheLordsDaughter Rose inkblotter whatever magg93 drgnfly1010 Grace4God vintagegirl OldFashionPonderings crochetcrazy Bekka jennylove CountryKell TheInsider GraceElizabeth LittleAntie Hannah13 PinkPrecious 1ofhis Anna93 AlwaysDreaming jumpingmonkey swordwieldingmaiden WaitingOnHim LindsayLeanne  
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