Saturday, November 28, 2009

With Everything

I was sitting in my bed late at night and since I had no school the next day, I decided to go ahead and just spend time with the Father in exulting Him in worship. So this song came on and as I sang the words, and got lost in worshipping the Father the verse in Psalms that says "Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand days elsewhere." came to my mind and it became the song my heart cried out. I realized that just the little while I was sitting there, gloryfing Him for all that He is,I was in His presence, and that's where I belong. Nothing else satisfies me the way He satisfies me when I'm just praising Him. In all of his ways, in everything He does, in everything He is, He's so glorious! So majestic! So INCREDIBLE! My heart cannot even begin to fathom it! This song is a summary of what I want in my life.

  •  I want to love people the way Jesus loved them, with pure and sincere LOVE, and that though the way I live my life and the way I love people, I want them to see Jesus in that.Father, open my eyes that I may see them the way you see them! 
  • I want nothing for myself, but everything all for the sake of the Kingdom of God. What does it mean to "lay our crowns at the feet of Jesus" ? It means that what we do now, we do not do it for ourselves. Though we recieve glory here on earth because the Father is at work in us, we give it to Jesus, because HE is the one that deserves that glory. We are NOTHING apart from Him and He chose to use us. What an HONOR! So I can do nothing else, but to give glory to He who deserves the glory, the Glorious One.  
  • I want more of HIM and less of ME.  
  • To see the day when EVERYONE will see Jesus in His reverance and beauty and their songs will join in mine. FINALLY, the day everyone will see Him, for who He is. What a beautiful day that will be. All will see His glory, all see His majesty,all we see the King come in through the courts and see Him on the throne. Hallelujah for that day. 
With everything, we will praise and worship the Living God.




Tuesday, November 17, 2009

The Beauty in Suffering

Frodo: I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened
Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring in which case, you were meant to have it. That is a very encouraging thought.



Man, just go back and read what Gandalf tell Frodo one more time...." but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”
Very often, we expect God to show up in our lives very dramatically like, in the middle of thunderous booming voices, in chaos swirling around us. But most of the time, that's not the way he chooses to show up...at all. In fact, God doesn't always make Himself obvious. Very often He will work in the subtlest of ways and allows us to go on dangerous adventures, not because he couldn't accomplish the task himself, but because he wants US to grow and he wants to use us. It may not be obvious or even what you expect, but God is ALWAYS at work in your life. Whether you realize it or not.
"But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one."
-2 Thessalonians 3:3.
That is the promise we receive once we surrender our lives to him. That even though, in the middle of our suffering and weakness, we receive strength, for HE is our strength and he is our refuge, our fortress when the enemy and his armies come to take us. Death is not taking us, no- LIFE is SWALLOWING us. We really do serve an awesome God. Even when we're surrounded by enemies, betrayed by our friends or overwhelmed by all the brokenness around us, God is that CONSTANT source of good and of love in our lives.
"What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?"
-Romans 8:31-32
Do we not realize the POWER in that?! If God is for us, for ME, then who can possibly prevail?! “There are other forces at work in this world Frodo, besides the will of evil” God is still at work. He is still on the move. Though we seem like we're being worn down by all the things crashing down on us as we take our stand, we must, must, MUST remember that the “light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5) The darkness WILL NOT overcome it. Isn't that the very thing that the blood of Jesus came to accomplish? That through his blood, we would now have power in and through the blood as well? Therefore, we too are now able to cast out the works of the enemy and all the realms of darkness he holds. now that we are co-heirs and conquerors with Christ Jesus, is that not the authority we posses?! We are no longer held in his captivity! We serve an amazing and powerful God, who goes out before us and fights on our behalf and only wants to rescue us.
The legend is true, look around-like in LOTR, evil is real. It is all around us. However,
  hope is not lost. There is good. God is guiding this world and providing a way for you to make it through. He is our path, He is our way, will we follow him? He doesn't promise that we'll be safe in comfortable along the way. In fact, it might seem to only get even harder to follow Jesus. He doesn't promise that our closest friends won't betray us, but we ARE told that we can travel a road that is based on truth, beset by evil, constructed in love and ultimately guided and protected by a good and loving God. Even so He promises to us that if we are faithless, He remains faithful. Meaning-If we choose to wander off and pursue our own desires, he will never leave us, He REFUSES to leave us. If our entire world collapses and shatters to the depths of the ground, we are still the children of a mighty, loving, caring and healing Father who will restore our hearts and bind our wounds back up again. 
THAT, is a very encouraging thought....

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Hip, Hip, HOORAY!

I was thinking the other day about how many amazing people are in my life. I kept thinking about how much I really did love all of them, and how incredibly thankful I am to have them a part of my life. I don't really know if my life would be nearly as great as it is now with them a part of it. So I have a new idea.
Everyday this month, I'm gonna post an entire blog about someone that's done something for me to which I am extremely grateful. It's just like a thank you list. Remember how I mentioned I like lists?
These people are all different, from various places I've met along the way in various cities or even right here in good ol' San Antonio. These are people I've met along the way in different moments in my life from my moment of birth, to my first day at school, through my parents' divorce and in my walk with Jesus. Though I've established that they're very different and the roles they've played have all are different as well, one thing remains a common factor:

They have all impacted my life in a way that I will forever grateful and I love them very much.

Kinda Pointless, but I thought I'd Inform

The weather right now is absolutley beautiful. I can't seem to stay inside. The moments when I am inside, my body is practically convulsing to go outside. The days are breezy, but not at all hot. You can tell it's the endings of fall and soon to be winter. If you can't tell by the actual climate, you can just look around and see the leaves on the trees. The colors are so deep and rich, they don't even seem real. It's like someone took a can of paint and poured it over the trees. So now, I'm just sitting inside drinking a cup of hot chocolate because it's been a loooong time since I've had one with a fleece blanket bundling my legs to keep them warm, and I'm sitting next to the open window and inhaling as much as I possibly can of this air.
So I decided to make a list. Of what exactly? Of random things. Things that are important but at the same time, no one really cares about. So much so, that I think I will dedicate an entire section just to lists.
Yup, I think I will.