Striving After The Wind

This morning during my quiet time with God I was reading in Ecclesiastes. Solomon had so much wisdom as to what was lasting and what was fleeting. I was very convicted about how easy it is to hold on to material things and even abstract ideas that are worthless and perish in the end.
I love how Solomon always credits God for everything in this book. Consider the following verse:

"Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God. For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart" (Ecclesiastes 5:18-20, ESV).

He says that God is the one that gives us the power to enjoy what He has given to us. We cannot even enjoy the little blessings without God granting us the ability to do so! We are utterly and completely dependent on Him.

As you go about your day, remember to thank God for the gift of the ability to appreciate and enjoy the little things.

So much, but not much.

A lot has been happening around here lately, but it's just day to day events, not really "blogworthy."

I finished out finals strong and came out with 6 A's. I credit it all to the Lord, because without Him I would have never made it this far in my education and would not have been able to do so well in my classes. There were so many times this semester (and every other) when I was unable to concentrate, but God granted me the discipline to continue studying. There were also a lot of tests that had questions I didn't know the answers to, but He helped me choose the best answer. Prayer is one of the greatest blessings He has given us!

Lately, I have been enjoying the weather, organizing, and finishing some things that have to get done before nursing school starts. I have been relaxing, hanging out with friends and family, spending time with my Paul, watching movies, and reading books. I am so thankful for this break!

"Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment" (Ecclesiastes 7:9, ESV).

Five down, one to go!

I've almost made it through finals week. Just one more final tomorrow and I'll be finished. Lord, please give me strength to finish out the semester strong!

God is so good!

Okay, starting at the beginning. Not quite a month ago I got a call from the nursing school that I am transferring to this summer. They wanted to interview me for their "most prestigious" scholarships (2 different ones) and so we set up an interview time and I went in. Well, it turns out that one of their scholarships pays for tuition & fees, and the other pays for tuition, books & fees. To be eligible for the first one you need to have an interest in teaching at a nursing school & I do not, so that basically put me out of the running for one of the two.

I had about a 45 minute interview where I talked to the dean of administrations and she asked me about leadership qualities, honors, financial needs, etc. I was the last of seven people that were interviewed for these two scholarships (it was only a select few because one requirement to be eligible was that your GPA had to be 3.9 or higher). I was told that I would get a letter in the mail by May 1st to let me know either way if I would receive one of those scholarships. I have been praying ever since then that if it was God's will that I would receive the scholarship, but that it would go to whoever would be able to benefit His kingdom most.

Well, I have been checking my mailbox ever since and nothing has come. Yesterday (which was May 1st), there was still nothing. I wasn't worried, but just anxious to see what the response would be. I have been praying for trust that He will provide.

Today is dead day, so I was sleeping in. At about 9:30 the phone rang and it was the dean of administrations calling to inform me that I have been chosen to be a recipient for the scholarship that pays for books, tuition, and fees!

I am soooooooo excited and thankful! God is so faithful to provide for His children, and even if I hadn't received the scholarship, He would still be faithful and it would all be within His righteous and sovereign plan.

THANK YOU, LORD, FOR YOUR PROVISION!

"'Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
'Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble' " (Matthew 6:25-34, ESV).

The God of Order

Tonight I went to a refreshing women's night at church and learned not only how to decorate a home, but also how to organize one. I learned a lot of great tips for how to run a home once I have one, but I have to confess that after hearing all of that, it's so overwhelming that it makes me think I might want to live in my parents' home forever! Well, I won't take the easy way out. I'll get married to some sinful man, raise a bunch of sinful children, pray for sanctification on my sinful soul, and run a do my womanly-wifely-motherly full-time job of running a home. ;-)

"For God is not a God of disorder but of peace" (I Corinthians 14:33, NIV).

It was very good to hear encouraging words on order and the orderly God that we serve. This verse is in context of talking about the church, but I think that it can also apply to our every day lives. It is evident that God is orderly when we look at his methods for how he does everything. He had an order for creation, order for genealogy, and order for His plan of salvation.
When our lives have order, they run much more smoothly and we are better able to glorify Him.

Weddings, weddings, weddings!

There comes a time in every young woman's life when she starts to feel like every Saturday is spent at either a bridal shower, a wedding, or both... ok, well, maybe that doesn't happen to everyone, but it's how I felt from about April-October of last year and how I'm starting to feel again this year!
In the past couple of weeks, four of my friends have announced their engagements (four different weddings), and today I went to both a bridal shower and a wedding later in the day. Over the next month, I will attend at least two weddings.

These recent events have lead me to the following conclusion: my friends are growing up (notice how I won't admit that I might be part of the supposed-to-be-adultish people)!

It's a strange feeling when the kids that you've grown up with start getting married. I hear it's worse when they start having kids, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

"Let marriage be held in honor among all" (Hebrews 13:4a, ESV).

This The Power of The Cross

"This the power of the cross
Christ became sin for us
Took the blame, bore the wrath
We stand forgiven at the cross."
-Keith & Kristyn Getty