Faith in the Darkness

Joshua 1:9 ^" Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

In the past few weeks life has been really hard for me and my family.  First my grandma died from dementia after a two year struggle with it.  She was like a second mom to me so this loss was very hard on me.  Then my boss wouldn't let me have the time off to go to her funeral so I quit my job.  After my grandmas funeral our car started having problems and it needed 1300 dollars in repairs and we didn't have the funds to pay for it.  On top of all of this there was other medical stuff going on with my spouse and I.  Normally when stuff like this would take place I would blame God and lose hope.  This time I didn't do that.   Instead I remembered all the times it was bad before and then it turned out OK.  I choose to have faith.  Then yesterday happened.  My mom called and said that she was going to have my car fixed and we could pay her back.  I got a job later on in the day within walking distance from my house.  And we got a gig over the weekend that is going to pay 160 dollars for 2 days of work.   That will pay for the tags on my car.   I knew God would make everything better and he did. 

The Puzzle Pieces Have Come Together

I have finally finished the puzzle that I started months ago, literally months ago.  Now I just have to get poster mounts and I can put in on my wall.  And just in time because Part 1 of Deathly Hallows is being released tomorrow.  Yay! 
What else have I been up to?  I am still working on that afghan.  Unfortunately I am only about a third done with it so far, but at least I have made progress on it.  It takes some time to do an afghan of that size.

In my personal life I have just been notified that I was accepted into Grand Valley State University for next fall.  Also, I was given so much in grants and loans that I actually have 3,000 more than what I need for the first year.  This is good because I have an old car and it will probably need repair at some point.  God has been so good to me!  Also, I received a promotion at work and now I am an optician instead of a door greeter.  That is a big pay difference, better hours, and a lot better job duties!

It is evident that God is working in my life.  My faith is growing everyday as I see that God is in the details of my life.  I never imagined that my life could be this good or that I could be in this place, and its just getting better.  I am so grateful!

Not Going To Worry

Recently I feel like the world and the people that are in it have really been in a state of constant worry.  If you turn on the news, or even just talk to a group of people about gas prices, the middle east or heath insurance coverage you will get the same message that I am getting.  That message is that this world is going to hell and that we should all be scared out of our minds.  You can't get through the day without the message of fear creeping in, in someway.  I am not writing this to make people feel bad for be scared.  But I am writing this because I know there's no reason to be scared if you are a Christian.  I believe that the God that pinned my sins on a cross and has called me his, also safely holds me even while the world goes crazy around me.  What does the Bible say about worry.  “Then Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?’” (Luke 12:22-26, NIV).   It is true.  Worry does nothing good for my life.  By worrying I have never prevented anything from happening.  In fact worry actually causes health problems.  Stress can lead to heart disease, anxiety disorders, and a multitude of other problems.  But can it prevent anything.  I have never prevented anything from happening by worrying about it.  However, I did waste precious time that I could have been spending doing God's will.  The Bible also says this about worry. 
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).
 
I cannot do anything about the gas prices, the middle east, the rising cost of living, the politicians in Washington, or even the people around me.  But I can do something about how I respond to it.  Jesus calls us as Christians to respond with faith instead of fear.  Let the world see that we are not scared.  Won't that send a message.  Maybe they will want what we have if we respond in faith to this rising fear.  Remember Jesus has already won this war.One of the things that I notice about this verse is that I will have peace that transcends understanding.  What does that mean?  I think that means that I will have peace that makes no sense.  I will have peace when others are not in peace.  When it would make sense for me to worry and be fearful I will be peaceful instead.  And how do I get that kind of peace?  By praying to God instead of worrying. 

Not About Me

Wow, how fast I can forget that its not about me.  Today my blog was rising in popularity and I was really getting excited.  In just a few short hours I had gained 4 new members and none of these people were people I had ever met before.  I started thinking things like, "Wow, I must be a really good author," and "I must have a lot of important things to say."  How quick I forgot the real reason why these people joined my blog.  My last 2 posts were written about the grace and forgiveness of God.  These new followers came to my blog to see Jesus, not me.  They were not interested in how I said what I said, what interested them is what was being said.  And what was being said was that Jesus saves. 

My popularity grew because I was pointing to the cross.  I was saying look at God because he can help you.  And that is what I am going to continue to say.  Because I am starting to realise that when I am lifting my eyes towards Jesus and giving him the credit that is due him that is when life goes right.  Its all about him anyways.
1 Cor 10:31 "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

I am starting to realise that we have to move out of the way.  When I was a teenager there was this man at my church that did a lot to help me go to church camp.  I would always try to thank him and his wife and it would never fail.  Every time I attempted to thank him he would point up and say "thank God, not me."  That used to irritate me a lot that this man would not take my thanks.  Now I understand why he did that.  He was trying to get me to see Jesus.  He did not want to take the attention off from God.  He understood that if I was thanking him it was distracting me from looking at God.  He wanted me to gain a closer relationship with God.

I want to be like my friend.  I want to help get people closer to Jesus.  I don't ever want to distract someone from God.

A Gratitude Entry

So I was reading another persons blog today about gratitude and it inspired me to blog about gratitude.  That and the fact that tomorrow I will have two months free of smoking.  I just can not believe that it has been two months since I have picked up a cigarette.  I never thought that I could make it through the first 24 hours with smoking a cigarette, yet God has helped me make it 2 months.  I really think that I may never smoke again. 
Some day's when I think about the person I was 2 years and 9 months ago and the person that I am today, it doesn't seem real.  I am not that person that I was when I quit drinking.  Somehow, with Gods help everything has changed and I am so grateful for that.  That today my biggest challenge is how not to pick up a cigarette, and not how to get through the day without a drink, is something to be grateful for. 
And when little things in life go wrong, or stuff doesn't go my way, all I need to do is think about how it used to be and I can get through it because today I know that there is hope.  Today I know that I am OK and safely held.  Today I have a faith that works. 
I am also grateful because I can be a friend to others today.  Its not all about me and I don't have to be the center of attention today.  People can count on me to be there for them.  My family doesn't worry about me.  They don't have to worry that I will drop a bomb on them today.  They know that I am OK.  They know that I am doing what I need to do to take care of myself.  Now I can be there for them too. 
I am not paralyzed with fear, or running away from myself or running away from you.  I am not hiding from God or hiding from my feelings.  I am free to be me even if that person is imperfect and flawed.  I can accept my imperfections and loved myself despite them.  And I can accept you imperfections and love you despite them.  So that's what I am grateful for today!