There is something about patience that mankind doesn't quite get. I am speaking for myself, but for some reason, patience is one of the hardest things. Maybe it is modern day technology and how our culture is so fast paced. I get impatient if my internet is slow or if someone doesn't text me back right away sometimes or just waiting for things in general. When I went to Israel earlier this summer and we walked on the roads Jesus walked on and saw how far it was in between towns, I realized how much time Jesus had to just walk and think and quiet his heart and talk to His Father... and have amazing conversations with His disciples I'm sure! It took Him 4 or 5 days, and sometimes a week to walk from one town to another. It makes me wish I was there with Him walking on those dirt roads learning about life and heaven and just seeing into the soul of our maker who was the most patient man who ever lived! He wasn't in a rush, He spent time being still before the Lord and I want to apply that more to my life.
I had a lot on my mind last night and I just really wanted some answers. I asked God to show me a verse or give me something to calm my heart and direct me. I opened up to a random place in the Bible and ended up turning to Psalm 142 and 143. The beginning says, "With my voice I cry out to the Lord; with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord. I pour out my complaint before him." And chapter 143 goes on to say, "Answer me quickly, O Lord! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me... Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul." It was so amazing to me when I read those verses just because they were my feelings exactly and even though I didn't get a direct answer, I felt peace and knew that I wasn't alone because God directs my every step.
I guess it just shows me that God always answers in His own time and if I can just learn patience and how to wait on the Lord, He will never fail me or let me down. In fact the opposite, He knows exactly what I need and exactly when. I'm just so grateful that He is in control and a constant help and encouragement to me in times of trouble and peace.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
2nd Corinthians 4
I just wrote a book, but none of that was about my devotion for the day ha, so I'm gonna be quick cause I'm sweepyy... I read 2nd Corinthians 4 today and it is amazing! I just love how Paul writes, he is such an encouragement and has so much wisdom to offer in his writing. I love verses 5-6 that say, "For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." Our whole lives are just a proclamation to our king and creator! He put his light in us and we reflect it through the way we live. I heard Tenth Avenue North in concert and their lead singer was just saying some great things, but what I remember the most was him saying that we are to be like mirrors not facing ourselves but facing outwards and the glory of Christ should reflect off us into the world! Well there is a lot more but its gonna hafta wait till tomorrow cause I'm pooped.
Perfectionism
I have been a perfectionist since I was three years old and sat down on the floor for 3 hours until I learned how to tie my shoe exactly right. It can be a good thing, but for me as I've grown older, it seems like it has mainly held me back and hindered me. I am an athlete, so of course striving to do my best in everything I do and hard work is a part of every day! But tennis is a way too much of a detailed sport to be concerned with every single shot, every point, every serve, every stroke, every match being perfect. That is where my problems come in. I'm not happy with myself unless I do each thing exactly so... if I hit a winner down the line and I meant to go cross court, I get upset! And then I beat myself up over every mistake. I don't really understand why I'm so hard on myself but I am my worst enemy and it's holding me back. And confidence is another big issue. I am so afraid that I'll come across as arrogant that I'm scared to be confident. I tell myself I'm bad at tennis and tear myself down cause I don't want to think I'm good. I just need to realize that no I'm not the best player in the world, no where near, but God gave me a talent with which to glorify Him and if I am going to tear myself down, I'm making it more about myself and less about God... If I keep it up, I'll miss the opportunities altogether to point towards God. I'm coming to realize more and more that my goal and purpose in life is to glorify my creator in everything I do. So when I play tennis, there is no pressure because the outcome doesn't matter as long as I give it all I have and as long as my play and attitude and body language reflect God and His glory, then I can't lose! I feel so blessed to have such a freedom in my life, and also so burdened for those who don't know the Lord. I can't imagine living everyday without assurance of God's love and promises and without knowing eternity is waiting for me with Jesus ready to receive me to His kingdom with forgiving and loving arms opened wide! But I just found out tonight that I am going to be co-captain with one of the seniors on our team this upcoming year. I don't know exactly what to think and to be honest it scares me. But it makes me excited because I feel like God is just using me and putting me in positions that glorify himself and allow me to do that. So I'm really grateful but definitely petitioning His help cause my confidence needs a lot of work and to be captain of a team is not going to an easy task. But thankfully, God will walk with me every step of the way and I know that He is in control and I completely trust Him, so I'm just along for the ride!
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Zephaniah 3:17
“The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”
My friend just showed me this verse and I love it! It is just so amazing that we have a God who is a warrior and fights for us but at the same time rejoices over us with singing. It is such an awesome picture of God’s love to us. I picture Him fighting for me, a mighty warrior taking all risks to protect his princess and then holding me in His mighty arms singing of His love for me! It blows me away. I don’t understand His love for me, not at all, but I’m so grateful and I can’t imagine going through life without the knowledge of a sovereign and loving God taking every step with me. Thank you Jesus for fighting for me and rejoicing over me!
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Bucket List!
1. sky diving
3. skinny dip22. ride a camel61. ride a helicopter over alaska 62. go whale watching in alaska67. visit the holy land68. ride a boat on the sea of galilee71. see a meteor shower75. get baptized in the jordan river81. ride on a train
2. drive a hot car
4. ride in a hot air balloon
5. parasail
6. missions trip to africa/india
7. zip line in the rain forest
8. travel the world (specifically italy, france, switzerland)
9. go back to Israel
10. learn a new language
11. run a mile in 6 minutes
12. win big south conference
13. kiss in the Eiffel Tower
14. live in another country for a time
15. figure out my passion and make it a career
16. find my soulmate
17. go camping again
18. swim with dolphins
19. play in the rain again
20. learn to drive stick shift
21. play hide and seek in a vineyard
23. learn to play guitar
24. play at wimbledon
25. go to all the grand slams
26. visit every US state
27. go white water rafting in the grand canyon
28. plant a garden
29. tell people about Jesus! (ongoing)
30. make a difference in someone's life (ongoing)
31. watch a sunset/sunrise with someone i love
32. go to a club
33. bungee jump
34. go snow skiing
35. run a marathon/half marathon
36. surf
37. see the great wall
38. go spelunking
39. scuba dive
40. do 100 consecutive pushups
41. watch the sunset out the front of a plane
42. fly a plane
43. learn how to play golf
44, throw a surprise party for someone
45. learn how to cook really good
46. do random acts of kindness (ongoing)
47. pay for someone behind me in drive thru
48. serve the homeless
49. learn sign language
50. paint a big canvas and not care if i mess up
52. pet a giraffe
53. climb to the top of a tree
54. sleep on the beach
55. kiss in the rain
56. get a henna tattoo
57. eat fish and chips in Ireland
58. build a tree house
59. dance at a ball
60. wakeboard
63. go rock climbing
64. have a family and children
65. make a scrap book
66. read the whole Bible
69. be more confident in who i am and who God made me!
70. sleep on the grass under the stars
72. go to a drive in movie
73. sleep in a hammock
74. pick as many different kinds of fruits as possible
76. fire a gun
77. milk a cow
78. ride/drive a motorcycle
79. ride in a submarine
80. find a four leaf clover
82. go inside a lighthouse
83. mountain bike
84. be a waitress
85. keep a blog
86. see lots of snow
87. go cow tipping
88. kiss under water
89. get a massage
90. get a manicure/pedicure
91. ride in a blimp
92. make pickles
93. go to texas
94. buy cowboy boots
95. fly a kite again
96. go to a midnight release of a movie
97. kiss under mistletoe
98. talk in a british accent for a day
99. swim in the dead sea
87. go cow tipping
88. kiss under water
89. get a massage
90. get a manicure/pedicure
91. ride in a blimp
92. make pickles
93. go to texas
94. buy cowboy boots
95. fly a kite again
96. go to a midnight release of a movie
97. kiss under mistletoe
98. talk in a british accent for a day
Romans 8
"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." Romans 8:1-4
This morning in Sunday school, a guy named Joe taught on Romans 8. It helps that this is one of my favorite chapters - one of the best in the whole Bible I would say, but his teaching was really great too. Just to think that because we are covered by the righteousness of Christ, we have no condemnation of our sins. We don't have to live in guilt or sin! We still will sin of course but we are no longer enslaved to unrighteousness. Joe told us about a serial killer, Jeffrey Dahmer, who became a Christian after brutally killing almost 20 men. Now what is your initial reaction to hearing that someone so sinful, who murdered 20 people, can be accepted by Christ just like everyone else? Some people think it isn't fair, but in all honesty, are we really any different than Jeffrey Dahmer? We have the same hatred and desires in our sinful hearts, but Christ still loves us and accepts us. We should rejoice in the fact that someone so lost was found by Christ, because I'm sure all of heaven was rejoicing on that day Jeffrey became a Christian. But also, it is so scandalously amazing that our God offers a way for murderers, liars, and sinners to be freed and live in eternal life! Some of us have heard that Christ died for our sins so much that it has lost its shock! We have become desensitized to the scandal of the cross and the gift that our Savior so freely gave to us that he took on our trash and dirt and traded it for his purity and perfection! Our God gave his only Son 'in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering' for us! That is cool to think about too, he is fully man but not with sinful flesh like us. Jesus Christ is the second Adam and where Adam failed the test, Christ passed and freely gave it to us! Joe said that Adam lived in perfection at the beginning of the world, he didn't need anything, he wasn't lonely or cold or hungry and he failed. But Christ went into the wilderness for 40 days, he was hungry and cold and hot and utterly alone, and he was tempted, but he passed!! And Jesus' life was just a passing of every test, but not for himself, for us!! It just amazes me so that we have such an awesome and powerful God and I am so eternally grateful to be clothed in His robe of righteousness!
This morning in Sunday school, a guy named Joe taught on Romans 8. It helps that this is one of my favorite chapters - one of the best in the whole Bible I would say, but his teaching was really great too. Just to think that because we are covered by the righteousness of Christ, we have no condemnation of our sins. We don't have to live in guilt or sin! We still will sin of course but we are no longer enslaved to unrighteousness. Joe told us about a serial killer, Jeffrey Dahmer, who became a Christian after brutally killing almost 20 men. Now what is your initial reaction to hearing that someone so sinful, who murdered 20 people, can be accepted by Christ just like everyone else? Some people think it isn't fair, but in all honesty, are we really any different than Jeffrey Dahmer? We have the same hatred and desires in our sinful hearts, but Christ still loves us and accepts us. We should rejoice in the fact that someone so lost was found by Christ, because I'm sure all of heaven was rejoicing on that day Jeffrey became a Christian. But also, it is so scandalously amazing that our God offers a way for murderers, liars, and sinners to be freed and live in eternal life! Some of us have heard that Christ died for our sins so much that it has lost its shock! We have become desensitized to the scandal of the cross and the gift that our Savior so freely gave to us that he took on our trash and dirt and traded it for his purity and perfection! Our God gave his only Son 'in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering' for us! That is cool to think about too, he is fully man but not with sinful flesh like us. Jesus Christ is the second Adam and where Adam failed the test, Christ passed and freely gave it to us! Joe said that Adam lived in perfection at the beginning of the world, he didn't need anything, he wasn't lonely or cold or hungry and he failed. But Christ went into the wilderness for 40 days, he was hungry and cold and hot and utterly alone, and he was tempted, but he passed!! And Jesus' life was just a passing of every test, but not for himself, for us!! It just amazes me so that we have such an awesome and powerful God and I am so eternally grateful to be clothed in His robe of righteousness!
Why blog and some struggles
Well I've never written in a blog before. I have a good friend who showed me his for running and it inspired me to make one for tennis and life and everything. I love God and writing and tennis so why not? I don't know exactly what I'm going to end up blogging about or if I'll even have time to post much anyways, but I figured its worth a try.
I just started writing about a tennis tournament I played in this weekend, but I don't think that is what I want to focus on, so I deleted it.
You know what has been on my mind a lot lately is devotions and quiet time and prayer. It is one of my biggest struggles. I don't know why it is that I seem to put everything else before my time with God, but it is so frustrating. I think it is probably one of my weaknesses Satan knows about and tries to exploit. I grew up Catholic so spending time in the Word and praying doesn't come as second nature for me unfortunately. I thought maybe if I posted things I've studied and read, it would help me be more consistent. I have such a passion for God and His Word and growing closer to Him, I just get so frustrated that I let myself be so easily distracted. So I am going to try that this week and we will see how it goes!
I just started writing about a tennis tournament I played in this weekend, but I don't think that is what I want to focus on, so I deleted it.
You know what has been on my mind a lot lately is devotions and quiet time and prayer. It is one of my biggest struggles. I don't know why it is that I seem to put everything else before my time with God, but it is so frustrating. I think it is probably one of my weaknesses Satan knows about and tries to exploit. I grew up Catholic so spending time in the Word and praying doesn't come as second nature for me unfortunately. I thought maybe if I posted things I've studied and read, it would help me be more consistent. I have such a passion for God and His Word and growing closer to Him, I just get so frustrated that I let myself be so easily distracted. So I am going to try that this week and we will see how it goes!
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