An online dictionary gives several definitions of the word "worry."
(1)–verb (used without object)
-To torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts; fret.
(2)–noun
-A worried condition or feeling; uneasiness or anxiety.
-A cause of uneasiness or anxiety; trouble.
Pretty intense, huh? The phrase that sticks out to me the most: "to torment oneself with or suffer."
I just graduated from college one week ago today. And it's all well and good, until all the questions start coming.
"What's next?"
"Where are you going to live?"
"Are you moving back home?"
"Got that big job yet?"
"What are your plans now?"
And although they have good intentions behind them, these questions make me want to lock myself in a room and cry my eyes out.
I think about my future almost every second of every day. I believe the other day I counted 4 seconds after waking up before I could feel my heart beating out of my chest as thoughts of my future rushed into my head. 4 SECONDS.
And you know what I've begun to realize? The devil LOVES me like this. I'm extremely vulnerable, I am prone to lean towards negative thoughts, I think my big dreams will never happen. I keep hearing whispers in my head such as, "You're not good enough to get a real job. You'll never be as good as you want to be. Don't try anymore, you're just going to fail."
So where's the good news in all of this?
It's simple.
There's a second whisper. The one that says, "You are my child. I'm never going to let anything bad happen to you. I love you. I'll never leave you nor forsake you. My grace is sufficient for you. Peace be with you."
We just have to choose which whisper we want to hear. Do we choose to give in to the devil's negative thoughts that can so easily "torment" us and cause us to "suffer?" Or do we choose the comforting voice of our heavenly Father who loves us and wants nothing less than the very best for His children? I think the decision is easy. But it is a decision we have to consciously make.
This is what the Bible says about how the devil wants to tear us down with things like worry.
1 Peter 5:8
8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
And here is what Jesus has to say.
Matthew 6:25-34
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.
Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not much more valuable than they?
27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.
29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?
31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
The devil is looking for someone to devour...but don't give him the satisfaction. Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
So if you're like me, and are in a transitional period in your life right now, just remember that God is in control, and choose to hear His comforting whisper, rather than the negative whisper that torments us.
May God bless you all.
'Til next time,
ST
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
About Me
Hey friends out in blog land...
So sorry I have not posted in such a long time. School has kind of taken over my life...but I am getting back into the habit of daily blogs! So yay!
Well as they say...let's cut to the chase.
It dawned on me about two months ago that I've never shared my story with you all. The core part of what makes me...me. So in order to understand everything, we'll have to start at the beginning.
I've always had a love for music. When I was little, I remember listening to my mom's choir practices and memorizing the songs because they were so beautiful. I specifically remember this one time...someone was singing a song called, "It Should Have Been My Hands." Basically this song talks about how Jesus took our place on the cross and how it should have been MY hands and feet where the nails were. I latched on to this song. Sang it over and over again. And this one night, I sang it so many times, I just started crying. And that night, at six or seven years old, my parents prayed with me to receive Jesus as my Lord and Savior...and that is when I became a Christian.
Fast forward 10 years.
I'm in the height of my high school career. I'm in a great Bible Study and accountability group with some very Godly people whom I really look up to. God is doing awesome things in my life. I am a leader. Younger kids look up to me. I am completely on fire for God.
Fast forward 2 years.
I am 18 years old.
I am a freshman in college.
I am away from my parents.
I've looked at a couple of churches around here, but kinda stopped looking after a while.
I give in to peer pressure.
I start drinking.
I lose touch with my Christian friends from home.
I keep drinking.
I am the life of the party.
I don't go to Church anymore except when I'm home with my parents.
I don't read my Bible.
I start using words that my parents definitely didn't teach me to say.
I don't recognize myself anymore.
Sounds pretty awful, right? Well I didn't think so. Not until God completely wrecked me. Wanna know what He told me?
"Your brother is watching you. He wants to be just like you."
After I realized this, I started to cry harder than I have ever cried before. I guess you could call it weeping. I took a serious look in the mirror. Would I be happy seeing my brother living the kind of life I was living? ABSOLUTELY NOT. People used to be able to look up to me...and at this point in my life, I would have told them not to. And after a year and a half of living like this...something had to change.
Fast forward to today.
I have found an amazing Church.
I have an amazing accountability partner whom I can always talk to.
I read my Bible again.
I find pure JOY in talking to God and learning more about Him and growing in my relationship with Him.
Wanna know the best part? GOD FORGAVE ME!
Disgusting, unrecognizable me. He forgave me. I am the prodigal son...well, daughter I guess (if we're being politically correct). Here is the scripture.
Luke 15:21-31
21 "The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.[a]'
22 "But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.
25 "Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.'
28 "The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'
31 " 'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' "
I was lost, then God found me. And now we celebrate together every day. I was not worthy to be called God's child...but hey, thats where grace comes in, isn't it! Jesus died for us so that we can be called sons and daughters of God.
Even if you think you're not worthy, just remember this: You're never too messed up to where God can't put you back together again. If God can forgive me, I know He can forgive you too!
Til next time,
ST
So sorry I have not posted in such a long time. School has kind of taken over my life...but I am getting back into the habit of daily blogs! So yay!
Well as they say...let's cut to the chase.
It dawned on me about two months ago that I've never shared my story with you all. The core part of what makes me...me. So in order to understand everything, we'll have to start at the beginning.
I've always had a love for music. When I was little, I remember listening to my mom's choir practices and memorizing the songs because they were so beautiful. I specifically remember this one time...someone was singing a song called, "It Should Have Been My Hands." Basically this song talks about how Jesus took our place on the cross and how it should have been MY hands and feet where the nails were. I latched on to this song. Sang it over and over again. And this one night, I sang it so many times, I just started crying. And that night, at six or seven years old, my parents prayed with me to receive Jesus as my Lord and Savior...and that is when I became a Christian.
Fast forward 10 years.
I'm in the height of my high school career. I'm in a great Bible Study and accountability group with some very Godly people whom I really look up to. God is doing awesome things in my life. I am a leader. Younger kids look up to me. I am completely on fire for God.
Fast forward 2 years.
I am 18 years old.
I am a freshman in college.
I am away from my parents.
I've looked at a couple of churches around here, but kinda stopped looking after a while.
I give in to peer pressure.
I start drinking.
I lose touch with my Christian friends from home.
I keep drinking.
I am the life of the party.
I don't go to Church anymore except when I'm home with my parents.
I don't read my Bible.
I start using words that my parents definitely didn't teach me to say.
I don't recognize myself anymore.
Sounds pretty awful, right? Well I didn't think so. Not until God completely wrecked me. Wanna know what He told me?
"Your brother is watching you. He wants to be just like you."
After I realized this, I started to cry harder than I have ever cried before. I guess you could call it weeping. I took a serious look in the mirror. Would I be happy seeing my brother living the kind of life I was living? ABSOLUTELY NOT. People used to be able to look up to me...and at this point in my life, I would have told them not to. And after a year and a half of living like this...something had to change.
Fast forward to today.
I have found an amazing Church.
I have an amazing accountability partner whom I can always talk to.
I read my Bible again.
I find pure JOY in talking to God and learning more about Him and growing in my relationship with Him.
Wanna know the best part? GOD FORGAVE ME!
Disgusting, unrecognizable me. He forgave me. I am the prodigal son...well, daughter I guess (if we're being politically correct). Here is the scripture.
Luke 15:21-31
21 "The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.[a]'
22 "But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.
25 "Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.'
28 "The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'
31 " 'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' "
I was lost, then God found me. And now we celebrate together every day. I was not worthy to be called God's child...but hey, thats where grace comes in, isn't it! Jesus died for us so that we can be called sons and daughters of God.
Even if you think you're not worthy, just remember this: You're never too messed up to where God can't put you back together again. If God can forgive me, I know He can forgive you too!
Til next time,
ST
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Heartbreak
Have you ever had your heart broken?
What causes heartbreak? In every case, it has to do with love. A boy not loving you anymore and breaking up with you...or a girl who you want to love you so badly but she doesn't give you the time of day...or a parent ignoring you when you need advice...or a child ignoring you when they think it's "their way or the highway"...
...all of these things cause heartbreak.
Here's how heartbreak is defined in the dictionary:
heartbreak (ˈhɑːtˌbreɪk)
— n
intense and overwhelming grief, esp through disappointment in love
Disappointment in love. INTENSE and overwhelming GRIEF. When love is given, but not returned. And heartbreak SUCKS doesn't it? Ladies, I think we can all say that we've all become best friends with Ben and Jerry after some boy didn't call us. Heartbreak makes us do crazy things like watch depressing movies, cry our eyes out on the phone to our friends, eat insane amounts of junk food, and sleep all the time, never wanting to leave our houses.
So how do you think God feels? John 3:16- "For God so loved the world..."
And yet people all over the world are denying God, ignoring Him, or forgetting about Him completely.
Jeremiah 2:32 (New International Version)
32 Does a maiden forget her jewelry,
a bride her wedding ornaments?
Yet my people have forgotten me,
days without number.
There's this line in a song by Hillsong that has stuck with me lately. It says, "Break my heart for what breaks yours."
As Christians, this is what we want, to have the heart of Christ. And lately, my heart has been breaking. I have this amazing joy in my heart that God has given me. And I see people in my life who are HURTING, who have nothing but sadness in their lives. And it makes me want to sob. I want to give them this joy that I have. To take away their sadness; to take away their pain.
Human beings will ALWAYS let you down, whether they're your friends, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, you name it, they will let you down. But Jesus will never let you down.
I want nothing more than to see these people come to know Christ and have a relationship with Him, so that they can have something to be happy about in a world full of sadness. And God wants nothing more than to have His children return the love that he showed by sending His Son Jesus to die a horrible death on a cross to save us from our sins. I pray that we Christians can share Christ's love with the world and take away the heartbreak that God feels when His children don't love Him back.
Do you have any INTENSE and overwhelming GRIEF in your life that you can't seem to get rid of on your own? I know someone who can take it all away :) His name is Jesus Christ and he LOVES you more than you know!!
If anyone who reads this wants to know about how you can have a relationship with Jesus, or just need someone to pray for them, leave a comment on here, or email me at sarah.travis714@gmail.com , or if you know my phone number, call me, or come to church with me! I want you to know that you don't have to live in a world of always being heartbroken and always let down, you can have a relationship with a living God who will always carry you and never let you down!
Jesus loves you, and so do I.
Until next time,
ST
What causes heartbreak? In every case, it has to do with love. A boy not loving you anymore and breaking up with you...or a girl who you want to love you so badly but she doesn't give you the time of day...or a parent ignoring you when you need advice...or a child ignoring you when they think it's "their way or the highway"...
...all of these things cause heartbreak.
Here's how heartbreak is defined in the dictionary:
heartbreak (ˈhɑːtˌbreɪk)
— n
intense and overwhelming grief, esp through disappointment in love
Disappointment in love. INTENSE and overwhelming GRIEF. When love is given, but not returned. And heartbreak SUCKS doesn't it? Ladies, I think we can all say that we've all become best friends with Ben and Jerry after some boy didn't call us. Heartbreak makes us do crazy things like watch depressing movies, cry our eyes out on the phone to our friends, eat insane amounts of junk food, and sleep all the time, never wanting to leave our houses.
So how do you think God feels? John 3:16- "For God so loved the world..."
And yet people all over the world are denying God, ignoring Him, or forgetting about Him completely.
Jeremiah 2:32 (New International Version)
32 Does a maiden forget her jewelry,
a bride her wedding ornaments?
Yet my people have forgotten me,
days without number.
There's this line in a song by Hillsong that has stuck with me lately. It says, "Break my heart for what breaks yours."
As Christians, this is what we want, to have the heart of Christ. And lately, my heart has been breaking. I have this amazing joy in my heart that God has given me. And I see people in my life who are HURTING, who have nothing but sadness in their lives. And it makes me want to sob. I want to give them this joy that I have. To take away their sadness; to take away their pain.
Human beings will ALWAYS let you down, whether they're your friends, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, you name it, they will let you down. But Jesus will never let you down.
I want nothing more than to see these people come to know Christ and have a relationship with Him, so that they can have something to be happy about in a world full of sadness. And God wants nothing more than to have His children return the love that he showed by sending His Son Jesus to die a horrible death on a cross to save us from our sins. I pray that we Christians can share Christ's love with the world and take away the heartbreak that God feels when His children don't love Him back.
Do you have any INTENSE and overwhelming GRIEF in your life that you can't seem to get rid of on your own? I know someone who can take it all away :) His name is Jesus Christ and he LOVES you more than you know!!
If anyone who reads this wants to know about how you can have a relationship with Jesus, or just need someone to pray for them, leave a comment on here, or email me at sarah.travis714@gmail.com , or if you know my phone number, call me, or come to church with me! I want you to know that you don't have to live in a world of always being heartbroken and always let down, you can have a relationship with a living God who will always carry you and never let you down!
Jesus loves you, and so do I.
Until next time,
ST
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Concern
Have you ever had a time where God taught you something that was blatantly obvious? As if He were standing right in front of you telling you this?
I had one of those experiences yesterday.
In the world of modern technology, many people keep up with their friends and relatives via facebook, twitter, myspace (? does anyone actually use myspace anymore??)...etc.
So yesterday, I had conversations with several people and through these conversations we discovered many things that needed serious prayer, such as friends finding a relationship with Jesus, or a loved one to be relieved from stress, or prayers of thanks when God answered a family member's prayer. So, what did I do? I updated my Facebook status to say simply, "praying hard."
Here's the crazy part.
Within maybe 30 minutes of my posting this Facebook status, I had a few friends contact me asking if I was all right. Wondering if everything was okay with me. If something were wrong that they needed to be worried about.
Why is it that if someone's status says they are "praying hard" people automatically find that to be cause for concern? Like, do we only pray hard if something is really really wrong? I don't think God gave us prayer so that we could only use it when something goes badly, but He gave us prayer so we can have constant communication with our Father.
Here is what the Bible says about prayer:
1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18
16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually;
18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
The King James Version of the Bible words verse 17 as "pray without ceasing." God doesn't just want us to talk to Him when things are bad, He wants all of our talking, the good stuff too! What kind of Father would only want you to tell Him bad things? A good Father wants to share in our JOY too!
So, pray continually, pray without ceasing, about EVERYTHING! We should be praying hard ALL the time!
How great is it that our Heavenly Daddy WANTS to talk to us all the time? SO great! Be encouraged!
Until next time,
ST
I had one of those experiences yesterday.
In the world of modern technology, many people keep up with their friends and relatives via facebook, twitter, myspace (? does anyone actually use myspace anymore??)...etc.
So yesterday, I had conversations with several people and through these conversations we discovered many things that needed serious prayer, such as friends finding a relationship with Jesus, or a loved one to be relieved from stress, or prayers of thanks when God answered a family member's prayer. So, what did I do? I updated my Facebook status to say simply, "praying hard."
Here's the crazy part.
Within maybe 30 minutes of my posting this Facebook status, I had a few friends contact me asking if I was all right. Wondering if everything was okay with me. If something were wrong that they needed to be worried about.
Why is it that if someone's status says they are "praying hard" people automatically find that to be cause for concern? Like, do we only pray hard if something is really really wrong? I don't think God gave us prayer so that we could only use it when something goes badly, but He gave us prayer so we can have constant communication with our Father.
Here is what the Bible says about prayer:
1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18
16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually;
18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
The King James Version of the Bible words verse 17 as "pray without ceasing." God doesn't just want us to talk to Him when things are bad, He wants all of our talking, the good stuff too! What kind of Father would only want you to tell Him bad things? A good Father wants to share in our JOY too!
So, pray continually, pray without ceasing, about EVERYTHING! We should be praying hard ALL the time!
How great is it that our Heavenly Daddy WANTS to talk to us all the time? SO great! Be encouraged!
Until next time,
ST
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Never Give Up
Have you ever had a friendship where you contact the other WAY more than they contact you?
Or a relationship where you feel as though you're putting all the work into it, and getting nothing in return?
I feel like this a lot.
I think everyone has experienced this in some way, shape, or form.
A parent who gives everything to their children only to be ignored when they try to talk to their kids.
A friend who stops texting someone just to see if their friend will contact them first.
A child who wonders if their sibling will ever initiate a conversation.
It's heartbreaking, isn't it?
I know in my situation, it makes me want to cry every time I think about all the effort I put into trying to talk to this person, only to have NONE of my efforts reciprocated.
It doesn't ever change how much you love that person, though. For some crazy reason, we will still keep contacting them, with the hope that one of these days our efforts will pay off and we will finally get the attention of the one person we want to talk to the most.
Looking at my relationships with the people I love helps me understand God's relationship with His children. And how sad He must get when we don't talk to Him, or even acknowledge that He's there.
Here are some instances in scripture where God is forgotten by his children:
Jeremiah 2:32
32 Does a maiden forget her jewelry,
a bride her wedding ornaments?
Yet my people have forgotten me,
days without number.
Jeremiah 18:15
15 Yet my people have forgotten me;
they burn incense to worthless idols,
which made them stumble in their ways
and in the ancient paths.
They made them walk in bypaths
and on roads not built up.
And here is a verse where God is crying out for His children to return to Him:
Jeremiah 4:1-2
1 "If you will return, O Israel,
return to me,"
declares the LORD.
"If you put your detestable idols out of my sight
and no longer go astray,
2 and if in a truthful, just and righteous way
you swear, 'As surely as the LORD lives,'
then the nations will be blessed by him
and in him they will glory."
God is BEGGING that His people return to Him...and promises that He will bless his children if they return to Him.
See? Our Heavenly Father wants so badly to have a relationship with us. He wants us to remember Him, to WANT to talk to Him, to realize how deeply He loves us and wants the best for us.
Sometimes we want to give up on our friends or people in our lives who don't seem to contact us as often as we contact them...but just remember, God never gives up on us, so why should we give up on people?
Until next time,
ST
Or a relationship where you feel as though you're putting all the work into it, and getting nothing in return?
I feel like this a lot.
I think everyone has experienced this in some way, shape, or form.
A parent who gives everything to their children only to be ignored when they try to talk to their kids.
A friend who stops texting someone just to see if their friend will contact them first.
A child who wonders if their sibling will ever initiate a conversation.
It's heartbreaking, isn't it?
I know in my situation, it makes me want to cry every time I think about all the effort I put into trying to talk to this person, only to have NONE of my efforts reciprocated.
It doesn't ever change how much you love that person, though. For some crazy reason, we will still keep contacting them, with the hope that one of these days our efforts will pay off and we will finally get the attention of the one person we want to talk to the most.
Looking at my relationships with the people I love helps me understand God's relationship with His children. And how sad He must get when we don't talk to Him, or even acknowledge that He's there.
Here are some instances in scripture where God is forgotten by his children:
Jeremiah 2:32
32 Does a maiden forget her jewelry,
a bride her wedding ornaments?
Yet my people have forgotten me,
days without number.
Jeremiah 18:15
15 Yet my people have forgotten me;
they burn incense to worthless idols,
which made them stumble in their ways
and in the ancient paths.
They made them walk in bypaths
and on roads not built up.
And here is a verse where God is crying out for His children to return to Him:
Jeremiah 4:1-2
1 "If you will return, O Israel,
return to me,"
declares the LORD.
"If you put your detestable idols out of my sight
and no longer go astray,
2 and if in a truthful, just and righteous way
you swear, 'As surely as the LORD lives,'
then the nations will be blessed by him
and in him they will glory."
God is BEGGING that His people return to Him...and promises that He will bless his children if they return to Him.
See? Our Heavenly Father wants so badly to have a relationship with us. He wants us to remember Him, to WANT to talk to Him, to realize how deeply He loves us and wants the best for us.
Sometimes we want to give up on our friends or people in our lives who don't seem to contact us as often as we contact them...but just remember, God never gives up on us, so why should we give up on people?
Until next time,
ST
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Perfection
Have you ever had a day that is just "one of those days?"
The kind of day where nothing goes right? At all?
I had one of those days yesterday. Not only did I make a big stupid mistake at work, but I had a really bad stomach ache all day, and then the cherry on top from this day from you-know-where was that I had one of those happy yellow envelopes tucked ever so obviously underneath my windshield wiper.....A parking ticket.
With every bad thing that kept happening, I felt like I was shrinking smaller and smaller. Ever felt like that? Like the whole world has you under a magnifying glass and everyone is just staring at you...mocking you.
Now what's one way to make an already bad day worse? Letting your bad day continue into the next day. Again...this happened to me. This morning I had the task of watching the very thing I messed up at work. I had to see my mistake again and again. If anyone in this world is not feeling perfect these days, it's me. I even had several of my friends and coworkers beat this phrase into my head, "Don't worry, everybody makes mistakes, nobody is perfect..." ...But nothing seemed to make the horrible feeling of imperfection go away.
So what do I do when I have these less than perfect days? I started to think about something to write about. And in God's always perfect way, He told me to start writing about my awful past two days. And then He gave me this scripture.
Psalm 18:30
30 As for God, his way is perfect;
the word of the LORD is flawless.
He is a shield
for all who take refuge in him.
How awesome is that to think about? The word of the Lord is flawless. FLAWLESS! His way is perfect...even when I'm not. ESPECIALLY when I'm not. BECAUSE I'm not.
And I love the second half of that verse. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. So...when I'm having my horrible days where I feel a go-zillion miles away from being perfect, I need to realize that God IS perfect! All the time! 24/7! And He wants to shield me from that feeling of imperfection! Wow!
As today went along...I started to feel better. I started to take comfort in knowing that God is perfect and that is enough for me. And to make things turn a complete 180 degrees in the other direction, things at work started to make me laugh. I found even the slightest little thing to be absolutely hilarious. Everyone loves a good belly laugh. Well, I had about four of them in my last couple hours at work.
Want more proof to how flawless God's word is?
Proverbs 17:22
22 A cheerful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
My crushed spirit the past couple days left me feeling like dry bones...but when I laughed today and had a cheerful heart...I felt cured. I felt like me again. God is so good.
Don't worry. God is perfect. His ways are perfect. And that's enough for us. We don't need to be perfect. Take comfort.
Until next time,
ST
The kind of day where nothing goes right? At all?
I had one of those days yesterday. Not only did I make a big stupid mistake at work, but I had a really bad stomach ache all day, and then the cherry on top from this day from you-know-where was that I had one of those happy yellow envelopes tucked ever so obviously underneath my windshield wiper.....A parking ticket.
With every bad thing that kept happening, I felt like I was shrinking smaller and smaller. Ever felt like that? Like the whole world has you under a magnifying glass and everyone is just staring at you...mocking you.
Now what's one way to make an already bad day worse? Letting your bad day continue into the next day. Again...this happened to me. This morning I had the task of watching the very thing I messed up at work. I had to see my mistake again and again. If anyone in this world is not feeling perfect these days, it's me. I even had several of my friends and coworkers beat this phrase into my head, "Don't worry, everybody makes mistakes, nobody is perfect..." ...But nothing seemed to make the horrible feeling of imperfection go away.
So what do I do when I have these less than perfect days? I started to think about something to write about. And in God's always perfect way, He told me to start writing about my awful past two days. And then He gave me this scripture.
Psalm 18:30
30 As for God, his way is perfect;
the word of the LORD is flawless.
He is a shield
for all who take refuge in him.
How awesome is that to think about? The word of the Lord is flawless. FLAWLESS! His way is perfect...even when I'm not. ESPECIALLY when I'm not. BECAUSE I'm not.
And I love the second half of that verse. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. So...when I'm having my horrible days where I feel a go-zillion miles away from being perfect, I need to realize that God IS perfect! All the time! 24/7! And He wants to shield me from that feeling of imperfection! Wow!
As today went along...I started to feel better. I started to take comfort in knowing that God is perfect and that is enough for me. And to make things turn a complete 180 degrees in the other direction, things at work started to make me laugh. I found even the slightest little thing to be absolutely hilarious. Everyone loves a good belly laugh. Well, I had about four of them in my last couple hours at work.
Want more proof to how flawless God's word is?
Proverbs 17:22
22 A cheerful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
My crushed spirit the past couple days left me feeling like dry bones...but when I laughed today and had a cheerful heart...I felt cured. I felt like me again. God is so good.
Don't worry. God is perfect. His ways are perfect. And that's enough for us. We don't need to be perfect. Take comfort.
Until next time,
ST
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Vinegar
Has anyone ever done or said something to you that just made you want to scream? Like the kind of angry that leaves you gripping the handles of your desk chair so hard that you feel you could rip them off without even trying?
It's so hard to resist the urge to tell people "how you really feel" and just rattle off all the reasons why you want to punch their lights out. It's hard to comprehend why a person would choose to do things in a way that hurts your feelings so much, when you know that you yourself would handle the situation VERY differently. Ever had anything like this happen to you?
It happens to me all the time. It happened today. But you know what phrase constantly comes back into my mind?
"You get more flies with honey than you do with vinegar."
Anyone's parents ever told them this cliche phrase before? Believe me, mine have. Plenty of times.
The Bible has it's own rendition of this little phrase in the book of Romans.
Romans 12:17-21
17Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,"[d]says the Lord. 20On the contrary:
"If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."[e] 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
God says it's His job to avenge wrongdoing. It's our job to always show the love of Christ to everyone we're around at all times. Even if it means being the person who has something horrible done to them, and just taking it. Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good. I think we all could use a little of this in our every day lives. I know I could.
Overcome evil with some good today.
Until next time,
ST
It's so hard to resist the urge to tell people "how you really feel" and just rattle off all the reasons why you want to punch their lights out. It's hard to comprehend why a person would choose to do things in a way that hurts your feelings so much, when you know that you yourself would handle the situation VERY differently. Ever had anything like this happen to you?
It happens to me all the time. It happened today. But you know what phrase constantly comes back into my mind?
"You get more flies with honey than you do with vinegar."
Anyone's parents ever told them this cliche phrase before? Believe me, mine have. Plenty of times.
The Bible has it's own rendition of this little phrase in the book of Romans.
Romans 12:17-21
17Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,"[d]says the Lord. 20On the contrary:
"If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."[e] 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
God says it's His job to avenge wrongdoing. It's our job to always show the love of Christ to everyone we're around at all times. Even if it means being the person who has something horrible done to them, and just taking it. Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good. I think we all could use a little of this in our every day lives. I know I could.
Overcome evil with some good today.
Until next time,
ST
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