Are you living your heart's desire?

Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this:
 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.

 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; Psalms 37:3-7

Why do we settle?  I mean, why do we brush aside what we know we are born to do...what truly makes us happy?  Is it often money, social status, survival, or insecurity of our gift that holds us back?  Is there something that makes your heart sing when you are doing it, yet it isn't your career or even something you do on a regular basis?  Do we not trust God, I mean truly trust?  Do we lack patience, or the ability to just be still?  Could it be a lack of fully committing to the Lord as we should?  These are all questions we must ask ourselves if we are indeed not partaking in our talents and desires of the heart! Let us break this down a little, bit by bit, to pull everything out into view and have clarity on these passages.  

Trust!  Now that is a tough place to start, as it tells the truth on us and where we are in our walk with the Lord.  Trusting God has it handled (our problems, provisions, and everything in between) even when we often think He needs our help.  Trusting can often be most difficult if you are someone like me...a doer!!! You know those people, always trying to do something either for themselves or someone else to help fix the situation.  Now granted, trusting God doesn't mean we should just sit around and wait for the Lord to deliver our food, rent check, and all else to our door wrapped in pretty packaging.  

But maybe, we trust God will sustain us if we choose to take a job that makes less money, but is more family friendly, and following more closely to the meaningful job we desire.  Does it mean we will be driving a Porsche to teach preschool at the local church?  Probably not, but if this is the area that fulfills you on a daily basis, couldn't it be said that the sports car isn't more important than your After all, scripture is very clear in Matthew 6:19-21 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  Of course, I realize if you are struggling financially, we often have to work in jobs we are not overly fond of to make ends meet.  But I am speaking about your life career which should be your heart’s desire.

And lastly, is it your insecurity in your gifts that hold you back from your own success?  Do you feel as if maybe you aren’t good at what you love to do?  Let’s be frank here, people usually do NOT like to do things they aren’t good at…like me and bowling!  I am terrible at bowling; therefore you will not see me signing up to play in a league in this lifetime.  This doesn’t mean bowling isn’t a great sport for some people, but based on my talent and ability (usually gutter balls); it would not be something I would choose.  This pretty much I would say is the rule of thumb for most people.  We naturally gravitate toward what we know and what we are happy doing; which is most likely something that turns our crank!!! I love to write, but so far it isn’t paying the bills…but it makes me happy, fulfilled, and content in my life; even if my life isn’t picture perfect.  You get my drift, right? So…what are we going to do with this???

We have a couple of choices, I suppose.  We can sacrifice the worldly things (within reason) to gain happiness through our hearts desires.  We can try to do a little of both, which is where I find myself these days.  I write on the side, perusing my dream to be an author and writer; and work as a Nanny and complete administrative work and sales calls for my husband’s company.  Will you see me sporting a Mercedes 500sl anytime soon?  Nope, but you will see me with a smile on my face, as I finally understand the scripture about God giving me the desires of my heart.  I love to write, write, and write some more; for adults and kids, or anyone who will read it for that matter.  I trust He knows my future and how this will all play out in my life.  I will exhibit patience as His perfect plan unfolds, and commit myself to Him once again as content.  I will “do” what I should, and let Him take care of the rest; rather than trying to make something happen out of nothing.  And I can’t wait to see my Heavenly Father to make my “rewards shine like the dawn!”  I choose to trust, wait patiently, and commit…won’t you? 

Are You Hiding From God?

Genesis 3:8

New International Version (NIV)

⁸ Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

Adam and Eve were hiding from God because they had just committed the first sin, thus the fall of man...and the beginning of problems for all of mankind from then until now and into the future :(  No one was ever exempt from sin except Jesus Christ, and no one will ever be until the end of time. Let's talk about how this shows up in everyone's lives young or old.

We are in the middle of trying, and I use that term lightly, to potty train my son who is two and a half now. By the time my daughter was his age, we weren’t even using pull-ups at night, she was completely and totally trained and wearing her big girl panties. Not him! He is just as stubborn and smart as his Sissy, but he wants no part of going on the potty. Believe me, I have tried to bribe him with little stuff like candy skittles, to a motorized Ford F150 riding toy. He totally does NOT care one bit if he walks around with poopies in his diaper. And before I go on, let me tell you this is my words coming back to bite me in the bottom. I was so cocky about having my daughter trained that I was so critical of those which took longer to train their tots.

So, my son now tries to hide to do his business, as many kids often do. But today he went into the pantry, pulled the doors behind him, and began to do his “thing.” When I opened the doors to inquire as to what he was doing, knowing full well he was pooping, he said no and pulled the doors back closed. Of course, as adults we don’t hid in the closet to poop our pants, but we do often try to hide our mistakes from others and God. Why I’m not sure, because most of the time we are often found out anyway, and God already knew. It truly is impossible to hide from God, as His word says He is omnipresent; meaning He is everywhere at all times. We can never ever leave His sight, which is great should we need His protection, guidance, or any other host of things God does to help us along. However, when we have made a mistake, or even worse, knew we were doing something wrong but did it anyway; this is when we as adults are like Luke trying to hide in the closet so no one can see us. I am thinking this is because we often want to do something so bad, and we don’t want to risk someone stopping us, even if it would be for our own good and protection. Just as Luke doesn’t want me to stop him from pooping his diaper, we don’t want to be stopped from our sinful nature. And as always, there are often consequences for our actions which everyone ends up seeing anyway. So hiding is really a waste of our time. What we need to try to do is think about those things we would not want to be caught doing if Jesus returned that very moment; things we would want to hide and do anyway.

For Psalms 139:7-12 says, "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me,your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you."

Our God is an awesome God, and He is always there to see the good, bad, and the ugly; whether we like it or not, it can’t be changed. What we can do is change ourselves to live a life out of the darkness and into the light of Christ; a life filled with moments that never have to be hidden from our friends, family, or God in our minds. Stopping and thinking about our actions throughout our day, and making every moment count. No more hiding from the Father, besides it is often scary in the dark! Make it an amazing week as we share the Thanksgiving meal with family and friends. And don’t forget to thank and praise the One who will always supply us with our daily bread and living water!

A God of Second Chances

Matthew 6:15
New International Version (NIV)But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.


Have you ever noticed we are always the first to expect someone to give us a second chance, but are often quite slow to offer a second chance to others?  Why are we so sure we should be given that next chance, but don't want to extent the same when someone has hurt us?  Now, let's go deeper still, what if that person is a repeat offender or even worse...your enemy. OUCH!!! I learned a little something at church on Sunday during service, something that I had never explained to me quite like this in regards to one of the most well known stories in the whole bible.  Something I think is well worth repeating, makes a whole lot of sense, and may help out the next time we are dealing with a tough situation.

Everyone knows Jonah was the prophet who was defiant to Gods orders, ran the other way, got swallowed by a whale, lived in there, got spit out, and eventually went to do what he was originally called to do...and then was very mad at the idea that God would give Nineveh a second chance and not destroy it.  Hence the reason Jonah didn't want to go in the first place, he didn't want the Ninevites to get a second chance because they were cruel, sinful, awful people.  They would go to battle with another nation, and cut of all prisoner's heads and make a pyramid out of them.  They didn't just battle to gain land and leave it at that...they were brutal in how they killed with no conscience.  So Jonah did NOT want to go there.  He didn't want to tell them about God and His saving grace and mercy.  He wanted God to pour out His wrath on them, so justice could be done in the eyes of Jonah.  But, God had other plans.  So kicking and screaming, and even saying he would rather die than to be part of the Ninevites being saved, Jonah continued to resist.  And as you know, he stayed in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights, in which time Jonah prayed...God had the fish vomit him back up and onto land.  Bonus you might say...but not in Jonah's eyes.  After all this, he STILL did not want to do it God's way, but out of obedience Jonah preached to the people of Nineveh who in turn did repent, fast, and God relented, not destroying the city and it's people after all.  And you would think this is a very nice way to just wrap it up, tie a bow on it, and all was good!  NOT SO MUCH!

Jonah 4:1-4 says, "But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?”  You see, Jonah prayed while in the belly of the whale over his disobedience to God and putting others on the ship in harms way...and God heard his prayer and showed mercy and forgiveness; but Jonah didn't want God to do the same for the Ninevites.  Seems selfish, but this is where I learned a little history on the story, and then had it put into an example from today that gave me a whole different prospective (Thanks Pastor John Ulrich)!

Jonah didn't want to go help save the Ninevites because they were the enemy of Israel and a horrible people.  It would be like being called to go to Iraq back in the 90's and preach to them; knowing they were a Muslim nation, had little respect for human life, and there was a man there called Osama Bin Laden who was out to terrorize your nation, your people, your family and loved ones.  But God was asking you specifically, and no matter how hard you tried to ignore Him, it was impossible.  Puts a little different prospective on it now that it is in reference to something that we can relate, and get our blood boiling over.  How would you like to have to go over, be a part of the reason God shows mercy and relents His wrath on a people who would end up running planes full of innocent people into buildings filled with innocent people causing mass casualties?  Now you see my point...this is how Jonah felt. He knew he was helping to save a people that would turn around and inflict harm to his own.  But why was this God's plan you may be thinking?  

God's plan and purpose is so far beyond our possible thought process, we truly couldn't begin to understand.  He sees from beginning to the end of time, and everything in between.  He knows all details, and what will be the best in the end for all mankind.  He ties everything together in complete perfect, with every human soul and all else on earth in mind.  He gives second chances, and third chances, and if I really sat and thought about it I would not want to try figuring out what number of chances I have already used up.  For this reason, we are called to give others chances too.  Not of course if our lives are at risk, such as abusive, being taken advantage of, or otherwise.  But to the best of our capabilities, even when it is our enemy, or someone who has required what seems like an infinite number of chances.  After all, I'm sure we are all running quite a tally with the Lord on the number of chances we have required.  Our God is a God of second chances, and likewise we are called to extend the same to others, even those which we find most difficult.  Those are the ones that truly define us as Christians, as the body of Christ, as the light in a dark cruel world.  

Oh, and I'm sorry this is so long but there was a ton of explaining to do, that wasn't posted on the weekend, but I had some computer issues :) God's timing right?

Pressing on Through the Loss

⁷ But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in^[a] Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. ¹⁰ I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.¹² Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³ Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Phil. 3:7-14 

Over the last week you have either watched the terrible devastation left by Hurricane Sandy on the East Coast, or you have lived it.  I have prayed and prayed, felt heartache, sat wide-eyed at the pictures and video, and gave thanks for what I have after watching many who now have nothing but their lives.  And a few thoughts have come to mind over the last week that I felt I would share.

First of all, I have so much to be thankful for, even if I feel it might be less than I wish I had.  Often it is all in prospective, and I know what I have would be more than enough for those who have lost nearly or all of their possessions.  My house isn’t fancy, I often buy my clothes at Kohl’s or even Wal-Mart, and I drive a Chrysler minivan; but I am blessed.  I have food on my table, a table to put food on with a roof over it, and warm clothes along with all the necessities for a decently comfortable life.



Secondly, my family and I have our health.   So many children and adults are suffering from cancer or some other illness/disease that has no cure, and pain is an every second reminder of how short their time is on earth. 

And lastly, I have the hope of Christ and eternity in the presence of my Lord and Savior.  It is so hard for us here on earth to keep in mind that this life is but a blink of the eye when compared to eternity.  Things here often feel unbearable, like we truly couldn’t make it another second, and yet as time goes by…we do survive.  Whether it is the loss of a parent, child, or spouse…or the burning down or washing away of our home and personal possessions we have spent a lifetime collecting with memories attached; it is often hard to move on forward. 

Today’s scripture calls us to press on, toward our goal; thus winning the prize.  It tells us to forget what is behind, and strain for what is ahead.  If you are like me, forgiving is easier than forgetting…I just don’t forget easily!  And to strain forward, that would mean it was very difficult to move ahead.  The definition of straining is to exert or tax to the utmost, or to stretch beyond a proper limit.  I would feel safe to say the people of New York and New Jersey feel taxed to the utmost, and stretched beyond their limits.  Many have lost some, most, all, and several even their life or the lives of those they loved most.  Forget it, strain forward…quite the tall order.  I will ask everyone reading this to please pray as thousands try to deal with the pain and loss and strain forward.  My hope is as they hit their knees under the weight of their loss and despair, they will look up toward a God who knows their pain, loves them unconditionally, and can comfort those who feel inconsolable.