January jumblings

It's amazing that God uses so many different people and ways to convict me.
Last night I was listening to my 10 year old sister pray. She diligently went through a mental prayer list of all of the prayer requests she had recently heard about. Naming them one by one and in detail, she prayed for each individual request, whether it be something about someones kitchen being fixed or someones sick grandmother. Then she thanked God for the different blessings she had received throughout her day and repented for individual sins she had committed. The best part being that it was obvious she was sincere about everything she said and that her faith is deep and genuine.
How I pray that the Lord will teach me to have the faith of a child and to pray like that!

School, school, school!

Well, right now I am studying for the 2 tests I have tomorrow. Complaining about tests is not an option when so many people don't even have the opportunity to go to school and learn. Though it can be hard at times, I have to remember to thank God for blessings like the opportunity to get an education.

Creativity of Children

The way that God made the minds of children work is fascinating and beautiful to me. There is so much imagination and innocence in the mind of a child.

Just the other day I was babysitting my two favorite little boys to babysit (the oldest is 6 now and I've been their main babysitter since he was less than a year old) and I gave the youngest (age 3) a banana because he was hungry. We had previously been playing trains with their rather large "Thomas the Tank Engine" train playset. Well, I went to check on something in the kitchen and when I got back to their room and the 3-year-old said "Oh, no! James is stuck in mud! Oh, no!" I looked, and low and behold, there in the middle of the train track was James the engine stuck in the "mud" (aka a banana)!

Now, most people probably would have thought this was a bad thing, but I thought that it was a fairly clever idea to use a mushy, sticky banana as mud. There are a lot of worse things he could have used.

Point being: God created us to use our minds and imaginations and think outside the box. Too often I think we get "stuck in the mud" of life and don't take the time to see what is really going on around us. We take what God has given us for granted and we use our minds, but we don't challenge them to be creative and imaginative.

So, don't be a stick in the mud (or a tank engine). Enjoy the imagination God has given you!

One of "those" days...

Wow, it's been quite a while since I posted on this blog. I guess I just haven't made the time to sit down and type out life on the Internet. There's always that odd feelings lingering over me when I type posts for a blog because it's like the world has access to my personal thoughts. Well, I think I will try to start posting a little more regularly and I will try to forget how public these posts really are. God has been teaching me so many things over the past months and I regret not typing those things out so that I could look back and reflect on them. So, here you are. My second attempt at keeping a regular blog journal...

Persecution produces promise!

A week away from Internet entertainment actually wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it was going to be. I stayed so busy that I guess it really just didn't hit me like I thought it would, but I did realize that I got much more accomplished since I wasn't playing around on the computer.

It was a tough week. Just one of those where I wondered if I am doing what God wants me to do. Persecution hit hard this week and it was a challenge, but then I remembered that persecution is what has been promised to true believers and that made me rejoice! Funny enough, PQ talked about persecution on Sunday.
One thing I have thought about is that persecution and perversion are not the same thing. Persecution is when you are being attacked for your faith, but being bombarded by the perversion all around you is an entirely different thing. School and work this past week was especially bad. Satan was attacking because I was focusing on spending more time with God.

My prayer for this week is kindness. Kindness towards everyone I come in contact with, and not just outward kindness. I need the kindness exhibited by Jesus.

Self Evaluation Time

PQ preached a great sermon this morning (as usual), but this one has really convicted me to change and I am the only one who can allow God to change me. Sitting back and doing nothing while saying, "Yes Lord, I want change" is not doing me any good at all (or anyone else for that matter). I need to be moving forward in my walk with God and it's up to me to let that happen. PQ made a great point by saying, "Do you feel hopeless? If so, then you're not building character." Sadly, I have to agree with that statement. Lately I have not been building character and it's time for a change. This week I'm starting with a fast from the Internet. I will not be playing online, checking facebook, talking on messengers or webcams, making blogger posts, or doing anything that I don't have to do (I have to check my e-mail for school purposes, but I won't be spending extensive time with that). This fast starts at 12:00am on Monday, 5 February 2007 and ends at 12:00am on Monday, 12 February 2007. I have realized that I have let the Internet become an idol and that just can't be. When something starts to hinder your spiritual life or you spend more time with it than you do with God, then it is an idol. So, here goes my one week Internet fast... then I'll move on to some other form of torture such as no chocolate or sweets for a week... what am I getting myself into?

"For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised." Hebrews 10:36

Oh, school!

School is so overwhelming right now. There is just so much to do and so little time to do it in with a part time job and 16 credit hours for this semester, not to mention coaching cheerleading and 2:22 Bible Study. The comforting thing is that this is what God has planned for me at this time and He has me where He wants me to be. I'm just having trouble being content in His current plan for my time. I'd much rather be finished with nursing school, have my degree, be married, and out in the mission field somewhere... but then again, I am in the mission field. The field of America where the battle is just as hard as the one in a faraway land. May I be content and rejoice where the Lord has put me at this time and glorify Him in all that I say and do, being a light to those around me whether they are fellow brothers and sisters in Christ or lost creations!