Quick Announcement that does not warrant a creative title because it is now past midnight.

This is just a quick announcement for anyone who is interested- a new story has been written and you can find it on the left hand side of your screen if you are interested in reading it. It's up to you (granted it's always up to- it's up to you to read this announcement!) So, if you wanna read it, much like the other story, it is a fictional, modern take on a Bible story. God picked the story this afternoon for me to write on (He brought me to the passage, and I said Okay, after flipping around a little more, unsure if this was the right passage He wanted me to come to.) But finally it is finished, and posted, and now, I am going to sleep because it is like 2 hours past my bedtime (I am so not a night owl). So, enjoy the story!

The Moments Before the Awkward Ostrich Made an Appearance.

So, despite the fact that I really need to get in bed so that I can be well-rested in the morning, I am going to write this blog post! I told myself that I had to learn all of the different types and classifications of joints and the parts to the synovial cavity before I could write this, and I did, so here we are. Here we go (because every blog post is a journey!)... 

Tonight, I went to Wesley, like usual. I am a big Wesley fan, and love going- I like going places where God shows up (and recently, that's been about everywhere haha). But, before it started, I was standing talking to a couple of friend's of mine while we saved our little row of seats for our group. Out of the corner of my eye, this girl caught my attention, and I noticed that she was crying. She was sitting in her seat alone crying, and I could tell that it didn't seem to be tears of joy either. She had a an expression on her face that show she was distressed in someway, but obviously, I didn't know the details.

Smaller than that Speck of Dust on Top of Your TV

Wow! I must say that God is good- God is really, really, really good. Actually, if I am quite honest, God is better than good; there is not a word in any human language that could accurately portray the goodness of God because that is simply how good He is. God is supreme, God is loving, God is just, God is forgiving and merciful, God is compassionate, God is righteous, God is ultimately perfection, God is omnipotent and omnipresent, God is, well, God. Since early (as in like 1am early) January 14^th, God has been doing some absolutely incredible things in my life. I know that date because a) I have calendar b) I know what clicked within me that early morning, but that is all much too long of a story for here and now. But God has continued to amaze me over and over and over and over- each day brings something new that He either wants to teach me or something that He does to show me His goodness and power. I am constantly reminded at how little I am and how BIG my God is.

I just finished up doing the curriculum for my next SWAT weekend, and I’m not totally sure what I thought the curriculum was going to be like. I think I honestly might have taken the mindset of, the students need this more than I do, which means I won’t put my whole heart and soul into it. But God took care of that attitude on the first page when I realized that actually this Bible study directly pertains to my life right now and that there were themes and information and such that I desperately needed in my own life.

I can say that I’m not sure that I have ever truly studied the book of Job. I have read through it at least once, and I think halfway maybe two or three times. The book of Job shows us God’s sovereignty and his justice. It shows that God is in control over all things all the time, period end of discussion. And as Job said in Job 42:2, “I know that you [God] can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted.”

            As I continue through life, I uncover more and more of the lies that have been planted by the enemy that I have believed. I remember last February; I uncovered the lie of “not being good enough.” And destroying that lie has brought immense freedom, but I will be honest that the lies are becoming harder and harder to directly point out. That may be because as you destroy lies, as long as you stay rooted in Jesus Christ and place your relationship with Him at the top of your priorities, the lies are destroyed and stay that way. But I also think, that the lies become harder to point out because the enemy then begins to disguise them and make them harder to see at first glance. Like the night that I realized that I had prayed for God to make my prayer ineffective in order to learn humility- that is a load of crap, and that is not a prayer that God would want me to pray, that is a prayer the enemy wants me to pray because the enemy wants me to be ineffective.

            Tonight, I realized that I believed the false notion that for God to act in specific situations in my life, that there were things I needed to learn and be better at before He would show up. See, at first glance, that sounds all good right- that God would reveal Himself and do BIG things after I learn a lesson He wants me to learn (kind of like a reward for doing something good)- except that I believed that everything in the situation depended on me and what I did, and possibly even what other people do, and that is where the lie is. I thought, “Well, God isn’t acting in the situation because I still haven’t learned something. God isn’t acting because I haven’t prayed enough or spent enough time in the Bible or cried out to Him enough or poured myself at His feet enough.” But, let’s be quite honest, when God wants to act in a situation, He will act, as it says up above, nothing can thwart God’s plan! God has a plan in store for specific situations in our lives, and nothing will mess those plans up. Maybe it is a part of His plan that there is a something I need to learn first, but over all, God will act when God wants to act, not because of what I do or don’t do. I do not control God, and I will never control God because I am not God and I am not bigger than God. Compared to God I am smaller than that speck of dust on top of your TV. God is God and God will be God, and He is in control of all things. So, don’t live life with the belief that it all depends on you because in actuality, nothing depends on you- it all depends on God! Without God, I wouldn’t have salvation; without God, I would have nothing; Without God, I am nothing. 

The death angel, a messed up sandwich, and would could have been a very dark house.

I got this from my dear friend, Cheryl Krichbaum's facebook post, and thought it was really really good and worth sharing on here! Enjoy!!!

Me: God, can I ask You a question?
God: Sure

Me: Promise You won't get mad ...
God: I promise

Me: Why did You let so much stuff happen to me today?
God: What do u mean?

Me: Well, I woke up late
God: Yes

Me: My car took forever to start
God: Okay

Me: at lunch they made my sandwich wrong & I had to wait
God: Huummm

Me: On the way home, my phone went DEAD, just as I picked up a call
God: All right

Me: And on top of it all off, when I got home ~I just wanted to watch my new tv & relax. BUT it wouldn't work!!! Nothing went right today! Why did You do that?
God: Let me see, the death angel was at your bed this morning & I had to send one of My Angels to battle him for your life. I let you sleep through that

Me (humbled): OH
GOD: I didn't let your car start because there was a drunk driver on your route that would have hit you if you were on the road.

Me: (ashamed)
God: The first person who made your sandwich today was sick & I didn't want you to catch what they have, I knew you couldn't afford to miss work.

Me (embarrassed):Okay
God: Your phone went dead bcuz the person that was calling was going to give false witness about what you said on that call, I didn't even let you talk to them so you would be covered.

Me (softly): I see God
God: Oh and that tv, it had a shortage that was going to throw out all of the power in your house tonight. I didn't think you wanted to be in the dark.

Me: I'm Sorry God
God: Don't be sorry, just learn to Trust Me.... in All things , the Good & the bad.

Me: I will trust You.
God: And don't doubt that My plan for your day is Always Better than your plan.

Me: I won't God. And let me just tell you God, Thank You for Everything today.
God: You're welcome child. It was just another day being your God and I Love looking after My Children...