Quiet Places

Hi everyone,

So it has been a little while since I have posted last. With the whirlwind of every day life I have neglected things. As I get older time just seems to fly by faster and faster and it hard to believe that yet another year will be coming to a close in just a couple of months. This week fall has really made its presence know finally and today was no exception. It was breezy day full brisk moving clouds and peeks of sunshine with hundreds of leaves swirling around and blanketing the ground in rays of gold, red, yellow, orange, and amber. This whirlwind of color has reminded me of how life has been lately, such a flurry of activity that I can barely keep up with all the various things that blow through my day. I have allowed myself to become depleted and weary, falling and shriveling like the leaves. But I am learning a lesson through this fall season. Before this week many of the trees leaves were just starting to turn brown and fall off, they were dry and parched. Then it rained this week and suddenly over the past couple of days the leaves have burst into radiant color and are brightening everything that they land upon. I have had the blessing to go hiking in various places this past week and I have realized what good it does my soul. With all the pressures of the world, my job, and just life in general, it had left me feeling pretty parched and jaded. But taking the time to steal away and spend time in God's creation never fails to bring back color and vibrancy to my life. I find these times so precious and crucial 
for me, to just go without distractions and immerse myself in God's presence. I am able to draw away to a quiet place and pour out my heart to Him. And that is water to my soul that makes it refreshed again just as the leaves are refreshed by the soft rain. In a bible study that I am doing currently, I am learning about walking as Jesus walked during His time here on earth. And one of the things discussed was how Jesus communicated with the Father. We find that many times Jesus withdrew away from the crowds, away from the disciples, away from the hustle and bustle of life and went to speak with the Father in a quiet place. (Matt. 14:23, 26:36, 26:44, Mark 1:35 6:46, Luke 6:12) One of my favorites is Luke 5:16 "Yet He often withdrew to deserted places and prayed." (HCSB) Or some other versions use the world "wilderness" I love this verse. Being a natural introvert I know what means to just need some time away alone to think. Jesus knew the importance of drawing away from everything to go spend time with His Father and be refreshed. Jesus spend so much time teaching, healing and ministering to others, but He still took the time to go off and have fellowship with the One who loved Him. I am discovering the joy and peace that this gives in my own life. As I am beaten down by life's demands I can withdraw away to "deserted places" and listen to Father's voice without distractions. I have found that sometimes it is even too hard inside at home with all the visuals of the tasks that need to be accomplished, it can prevent me from having my sacred time with Him. Now of course things still have to be done and we cannot choose to "escape" our responsibilities entirely, but I believe we need some time away to just focus on what it is that God's wants to speak into our lives and to just hear His voice. For some people that may be a prayer closet, a quiet neutral place in your house, on your back porch, or wherever you feel like you can just be still and listen. For me there is no better place than out in the woods. I have found a few trails close to home that have proven to be new little hideaways throughout the week. Where I can just enjoy time with Brooklyn and spend time refocusing on God and training my heart to hear His voice. Sometimes I may not always get the answers I want to hear, I may not even seem to hear anything at all in regards to a particular situation I want answers for, but it never fails that I get exactly what I need. He never fails to let me know that He is there. Just as this afternoon His beautiful sun broke through the clouds in one glorious moment, bathing all the turning trees in its glow for just a few seconds, He always shows He is there. And that is enough. It isn't always easy to go back, but I know that He will revive me for another day. Find your little get away with God. He needs to hear from you and you need to listen to Him and what He wants to speak into your life. He wants to refresh you and bring the vibrant color back to your life every day. Find those moments no matter where you are. Find your quiet place to be in complete fellowship with a Father who is interested in every detail of your life. And remember you don't have to do all the talking. Just listen, and look around and He will be there.  

"It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples." Luke 11:1 NASB

Remember the Simple Joys

Hi everyone,
This week I have to admit has been an draining one. One of those that requires so much of you physically, mentally, and spiritually that you are left running on Empty like two days ago and feeling like tossing in the towel. Every day has required a lot more of you than you thought you could handle. You feel as you are just going to break underneath all the pressure and the situations that you cannot just seem to fix. You wonder if it is worth all the strife and struggle sometimes. You wonder if you are really making a difference and doing the right thing by sticking with it. Do you give up or keep trudging forward? Having a little bit of some much needed time off this weekend I was able to realize and reconfirm some things. So jumping right into it....

You always have the ability to change your view of a situation. You may not be able to control the situation itself but you can control how you perceive it and move forward with it. You may not get everything to work according to the way you'd like it to go or the plan you may had, but you can choose how you handle the curves and continue to march forward. This weekend showed me how important is to give yourself time to sit back and contemplate how things are going and plan how you want to proceed in the future. We all need a break and a time to reset and refocus. It is not selfish to take some time to regroup and re-examine your priorities in life. You cannot be as effective and impactful as you could be if you do not do so from time to time. I took that chance and discovered something that I believe will help me in those times of chaos and disarray.

You may not see things going well or being accomplished on the small scale but look at the details. Look at the seemingly insignificant things and find the beauty in them. Do not allow yourself to become numb.(Trust me I know it is easy to do!) When you go home from work or whatever you do maybe at home or elsewhere that challenges your sanity and fortitude, take the time to stop and look around you for a few minutes and see the joy found in the simple things of life. This is part of what I call the simple life. The simple basic things of life that make it work. We make things so complicated and hectic in life that we simply cannot keep up with it all. We need to go back to the basics and enjoy those things. For me it was canning chicken today and harvesting the pears from my pear tree(to which I may be nursing a few bruises from falling pears :D) and in that being grateful that I always have food to fill my stomach every day. It was doing the dishes, laundry and cleaning house and being grateful that I had clothes on my back(more than enough!), and possessions to take care of. It was looking around the property and being grateful for the hay in the barn for my animals this winter and always having been able to financially provide for them every year so I can keep them and enjoy them. Looking around and seeing the beauty in the sun shining through trees in the breeze, the fur babies laying out enjoying the sun's rays in the pasture, Brooklyn happily tromping around in a lake, a frog claiming Brooklyn's pool as his new home, going for a drive on a lesser traveled gravel road in the country, spending time with family, a perfectly blue sky and the smell of a campfire. These little things may seem insignificant in the hustle and bustle of life but when I pay attention to them I feel myself come back to life. They bring me a joy that restores my soul. They give me glimpses of God's every faithful goodness and grace. And I am reminded that He created all these things and brought all these opportunities in my life to enjoy and to bring me back to a place of peace. We need to stop, take a moment, and remind ourselves of all the little things in life that make it so good if we choose to see it through a refreshed outlook.

We also have to take that time to realign and refocus. Often it isn't enough to just open up our eyes again. We need to have a plan moving forward to prevent us from falling back into the chaos, until the next time we can't handle it anymore.  For me it was reconfirming what my goals are in life. Now goals and dreams always needs to be done with discretion and faith, knowing that God's sometimes has better plans for us than we can even imagine. But everyone still should have goals in life and improvements that they strive to make no matter what age or stage of life you are in. You need that hope and encouragement of working towards something in your mind. "I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:14 (ESV) I had to really sit back and think about what is was I really wanted to get out of life. It may not go necessarily according to my exact plan but no matter what circumstances come across in my life I can still move forward and grow in the ways I hope to as long as I do not give up. God doesn't want you to feel like you are at a dead end and like you are never going to go anywhere. He simply wants you to trust that He is not finished with you and that even if does or doesn't go like you envisioned, it doesn't matter, He has plans to restore you to a place where you will be most effective for Him. You just have to take the incentive to move forward and keeping trying. He will open and close the doors as needed. You cannot lose hope, you cannot give up. You are only at a dead end and stuck in a never-ending cycle if you choose to be. Things are never going to change and you are never going to get where you want to be in life if you decide to let them just continue. God is not limited by anything...time, money, position, status, education, health, physical ability. If it is His will for you and you do not give up and trust in Him as you keep putting one foot in front of the other, nothing can stop you. But He is going to require something from you. He is going to test your commitment. You will encounter struggles and He is going to watch and see how you handle those. And will you fall apart and refuse to keep moving forward or will you stop, learn from it, take the time to be grateful for where you are at right now and all that you have and then refocus on striving to be better and stronger?

Don't lose heart. It is not an enjoyable feeling and it is certainly not from our heavenly Father. We are not defeated. We are victorious even if our most overwhelming times. We just have a choice to make. Will you keep running yourself into the ground or take the time to refresh your focus? Will you lose sight of all the beauty in this life due to all the stress that really doesn't add anything to your life? Will you walk away from all the hopes and dreams because they just seem to hard or impossible or ask God to help guide your steps towards His dreams for you?
Start small. I have a tendency to want to change everything immediately and sometimes that is just not possible. For me it is looking around and  reminding myself of all the things I do have and how God provides for me in every day life. Acknowledging the qualities and strengths that I do possess and the areas of my life I am growing and making a difference. And then looking at the things that I need to improve in my life, things that need to be fixed and breaking them down into manageable pieces so they are not so overwhelming. Take joy in the small victories, the small changes, and the small details that make the big picture possible. Allow your heart and purpose to be restored by a God who always has it all figured out. Reconfirm your trust in Him and choose to love this life for everything it throws your way because you can do this with His help! With Him all things are possible!

 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”  Matthew 19:26 (ESV)

"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." Romans 8:37 (ESV) 

An Itchy Situation

Hi everyone,
So I am going to share with you a little adventure I had the other day that proved to me that God has a sense of humor....
I had came home from work and decided I would continue my productivity at home and retrieve some wood out of the back of my pasture(the approaching of fall means campfire time ;). Now my pasture is pretty decent size so I hop in my truck all empowered and emboldened to get my task done. I get to my spot, park at the top of the hill(as my trucks brakes were being special and I decided not risk going down the big hill haha!) and proceed to haul out my wood. Let's say it maybe wasn't the best idea to do it on a 90 degree day, hauling up a big hill by the wheelbarrow load, but I was on a role and couldn't be deterred. But with this being said I needed to stop and take a break here and there to which I decided at one point I needed to sit down in the grass to do so. Remember that because it will be an important fact of information later in the story.... ;)
Anyway as I am sitting there, feeling ever pulse in my body throbbing and trying to catch my breath, I contemplate this life that I choose. The life of hard work and labor and the satisfaction that comes from physical work, pushing yourself, and using the strength God gave you. Many people have been raised in towns and cities and may have not experienced the joys of working and playing in the great outdoors on a regular basis. And even the heat, I was so happy and grateful for the ability to live in the country and have such tasks to do. I thanked God and was fully satisfied that I wouldn't change it for the world.
Empowered even more, I continue to finish my job thinking of  all the nice campfires I could have under the stars. Several minutes later I am putting the last pieces of wood into the bed of my truck... when I feel this interesting sensation.....a crawling one to be exact.
I look down at my arms and upon first glance, nothing, so I continue, but the feeling never really leaves. Then upon further inspection I notice what seems to be countless microscopic brown dots crawling up my arms like there is no tomorrow....two words: SEED TICKS. Remember that sitting down in the grass tibit I mentioned earlier? Yeah...
The whole phrase of making "your skin crawl" took on a whole new meaning in about 2 seconds and I head for my truck to make a swift return to the house.
However, as I proceed to get into my truck I happen to look up towards my house and find another scene unfolding. I had put one of my miniature horses in the barn to keep her away from my sometimes "overbearing" horse, only to discover that somehow(I am blaming the donkey :D) she had been released and in disbelief I watch as she proceeds to take off into the pasture with my horse hot on her heels and another miniature horse and donkey in tow. Now she was having a good old time evading her pursuers however I was about ready to have a heart attack! I drive my truck back to the barn as fast as I dare try, bale out, and proceed to herd my herd back in their proper places. Must I say that is easier said then done? They were not to be so easy! They suddenly turned there game of tag into let's play keep away from the silly, sweaty and dirty human being. What seemed like an eternity which only happened to be 30mins., I had everyone back where they should be no worse for wear and I swear proud of the romp they had taken me on. I can only imagine what the neighbors thought seeing this crazy blond girl chasing her animals down every which way and itching like a dog that has fleas. Yes, in my quest to get everyone back where they needed to be I had forgotten of the urgency of my previous pickle so my success afterwards was short lived. At that point I knew I needed to just count my losses, accomplish all I needed to at that point and call it a day. I unloaded my wood(finally) and then went inside for some much needed hydration. ;)
So one heck of a scrubbing later to which I lost count at 120 tick bites(and no I am seriously not joking)….I plop down on the couch and as I begin process the events of the last 2 hours of my day,  I can't help but burst out laughing. No sooner than I had expressed my love of this life and that I wouldn't trade it for the world, it was almost like God said "let's test that theory" and unleashed creation, literally! ;D He wanted to see just how serious I was about those words and if I was going to stick with them even in less than ideal events to follow. It makes me think about how sometimes we are tested. Do we truly stand for what we say or only in ideal circumstances? Do we believe in what say only if it goes well for us? Do we still love and keep on even when we face challenges and bumps along the road? These may seem like big questions for a small incident, but the little events in life, I find can often be the most revealing of bigger concepts and the bigger picture. And I believe it goes the same when we ask God for things as well. Trust me if we ask God for patience or wisdom, He will find ways to help us grow in it, even if it isn't exactly what we expected. I believe He wanted me to see the joy and beauty in this life even when things got a little hairy, or in this case itchy! And I am pretty sure He got some amusement out of it even if I wasn't exactly feeling it in the heat of the moment! :) And even now as I am writing this I am pausing every 30 seconds, itching like crazy, haha, but I am happy to say I still love the life God has given me in this beautiful countryside filled with insects and the always entertaining clan of animals He has blessed me with. I wouldn't trade this life working in the elements of nature for anything. It has taught me so much already and I know will only continue to do so. And I hope to continue to share those insights along the way. But maybe perhaps without the ticks! :D


Oh and by the way, my little practical tibit of the week: aloe is very helpful for tick bites. I highly suggest investing in an aloe plant, or at least a tube of aloe gel! ;)

Change of Vision

Hi everyone!
So I have been thinking about this for a while now and I have come to the conclusion that the orginal name of my blog no longer encompasses the vision that I have developed. I have been pondering the title "The Simple Life" for a while now and I believe it is a better fit for the direction I am feeling led to take. For a while I have been sharing the insights that God gives me every week in matters of faith and circumstance and I want to continue that.  I will still be sharing my journey as a horsewoman and the work I believe He has given me in the field of being an equestrian, but I have also realized my desire to share with others the life experiences I receive as I strive to become a more self-sufficient and capable person with the resources He has given me. I want to teach others to use timeless skills that can help them feel accomplished in a world that is continually shifting to dependence. I want them to learn to look past all the novelties and distractions of this life and see the lessons in the littlest of details in this life God has given us. I often think of the parables of Christ and how they create a solid picture in our mind of certain aspects of our lives. I want to search out those details and share them. I want to share with others how I am learning to be a better steward of the time and resources God has given me. So this blog has essentially outgrew it's original intent and I praise God for His faithfulness in showing me the next step and what lies ahead in the future. I hope you all will continue to keep reading and receive encouragement on this continuing journey I am on. Thank you!

When God Shows Up

Hi everyone, 

Yesterday morning I went hiking just Brooklyn and I. It may not always be as fun going alone but I got to have a nice quiet time in creation and have prayer time. What started out as a simple prayer flowed into a much more involved in-depth time with God. Something about the peace of nature just brings out a well of thoughts in you. Anyway one of my requests was that He show me how to see Him in the little things in life. To see Him in every situation and not just on grand scale and to reveal the things I needed to work on. And for Him to show up in my life in way that people will see it cannot be from me but has to be from Him. 

Of course I had no idea He was going to start right away as in that very afternoon with a particular situation that led to some frustration until I though about it later that night. And then I realized, there He was in that situation wanting to see how I would react. Now I don't think I exactly passed the test with flying colors unfortunately, selfish human nature is stubborn, but I could feel Him at work. And it opened  my eyes to the fact that I have never really made a conscious decision to stop and  "see" God in every situation. I mean there are times when I've felt God, or noticed His work in a particular instance from time to time, but I've often seemed to look for Him on the grand scale of things rather than in the day-to-day motions of life. And have I missed out. Because He is a God of details and just as He made each of us with our unique make-up that makes us who we are as individuals, He is at work in the very details of our every day lives. We just have to learn to notice it. Every day we are faced with tasks, decisions, issues, encounters, and choices. Sometimes those decisions involve only us and sometimes they involve others including us. But they always involve God because He is the One who gives is this life. He sees all that we do and can make anything a learning moment for us if we just train ourselves to be attentive to His lessons. When Jesus had His ministry here on earth, He often spoke in parables and the disciples often questioned his stories and the meaning behind them. Jesus would explain and I imagine the disciples would have their light bulb moment of understanding as it all came together. Did they over time come to see God in the simplest things in life? Could they look at a field, a flock of sheep, or certain people in their lives without seeing Christ in those moments? 

And I think we often mistake that God is just in the good things. When everything is going great and our way. But yet He is even there still in the not so comfortable things. The situations throughout the day that test our patience, our forgiveness, our humility. The times that inconvenience us or don't go our way. The times that don't seem fair. He is right there waiting to see what we will do and how we will respond. And I for one need to learn to become more quick to step back and choose to find Him in the situation instead of just plowing ahead in my own fleshy nature. Remember if you ask God to reveal to you what it is you need to work on, He will take you up on that offer. You just have to learn to recognize it, because it will not always be a neon sign with your name on it saying to pay attention. It can be the littlest details in our lives and these details can be so important to our character. Our attitudes and actions in the littlest of circumstances reflects how we will choose to react to larger circumstances. The little issues we have will only be magnified when we are in a relationships or work/public settings, where someone else can see what we are doing and point it out. The care we give towards the little things in our lives will be evidenced when we receive larger things in life. If we aren't trustworthy or dedicated to what we have now, how do we think we will with more? “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much." Luke 16:10 (ESV) We are really not that complicated. We are all human and all deal with sinful human nature that wants seeks its own. But as born again believers we must think outside of ourselves and make the choice to see things as Christ does. He is at work everywhere and He uses the experiences in our lives good and bad to show us His will and purpose for our lives. 

When Jesus used parables He often used examples of things from people's every day way of life. Money (Matt. 25, Luke 15,19), sheep (Matt. 18, 25), crops/plants (Mark 4, 11), baking (Luke 13), interactions with other people (Matt. 21, 22, Luke 10, 15) .....what if we recognize the same concept in our lives at work, home and in public? What does God have to show us if we just pay attention and seek Him out in all things? (Matt. 7:7)  It will reveal some very wonderous things and some very convicting things as well. Because when God shows up it is a life changing experience. When we come to Christ, are baptized, become members of church etc... those are what we would call life changing experiences in our relationship with Christ. But we have to remember too that the seemingly little things have the potential to be life changing too. They can affect us greatly in our walk with Christ if we choose to see them as the God encounters that they are. The way we treat our family members, how we accomplish tasks in the workplace, how we react to those in a store or restaurant. And granted we are going to mess up sometimes and it is in those times that we need to especially acknowledge God's grace, seek His forgiveness and strive to be better. And we must extend this same grace to others as well. Because when we rely on God to reveal to us the way we need to adjust our lives to follow Him better people will see the difference. And it is my prayer that they will see a lasting difference that only point to Him. 

Choose to see God in all situations big or small. Choose to see Him in the every day aspects of our lives and to act upon the truth that we know in the good and the bad. In the fair and unfair. In the beauty and the pain. Because He ALWAYS has a plan even when we can't see the big picture. Be faithful in the small so that we may prove to be faithful in the big. And never forget....when you ask God to show you things, He will and you will soon realize that He was there all along. Keep the faith. 

 ^"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:6

Renewal

Hi everyone, 

Still working on my blog post and will hopefully have it later in the week but I wanted to share a little article in the link below that I came across from a online Bible study I started this past week.

I have all these wishes and hopes for my life and honestly the waiting game is very hard for me sometimes. To the point where recently I have become very discouraged at times and questioned....should I even be praying for this? Am I wasting my time on something that isn't going to ever happen? Do I need to come to grips with "reality" and move on? And to be honest reading this article made me come face to face with something that I honestly needed to think about. Am I praying for these things with the intention of giving them fully back to God and to help glorify Him or am I just wanting them for me and my own comfort? Am I praying with selfish motive or with Kingdom-building intent?

And just like Hannah in 1 Samuel, instead of sadness and disappointment, I am beginning to find more hope and perseverance in continuing to pray for these things. Because I am learning that anything He chooses to give me down the road in this life is His gift anyway, that I need to entrust Him with and I need to be patient in the waiting period of my life. I don't need to be disheartened. He has a exciting plan in store and He is at work in ways I can't even see. And I am not alone. We are all waiting for different things in our lives, we just have to understand that God isn't holding off on answering our prayers because He wants to torture us. He is simply in the process of answering them in the most perfect way possible, even if it isn't the exact way we in our finite minds imagined. His ways are always best and I am going to keep on praying and believing and hoping, ever grateful that He still gives grace to this impatient and imperfect human being when she stumbles and falls. He always picks us back up and calls us His own. 

https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/the-miracle-of-waiting-faithfully

Care too Much?

Hi everyone, 

So a couple of things hit me over the course of this week that ultimately have become intertwined with one another. It is amazing how God brings about truth that speaks into our lives. Truths that are self-evident in our lives.(Get my reference ;) So recent events had caused me to think about how I come across to the people in my life and who God brings across my path. In this particular case it was people I know, but it was a situation where I was left wondering afterwards if I had come across the wrong way and the more and more I dwelt on it the  more and more it bothered me. Now I have the tendency to worry a little too much about things that aren't really an issue and there is a fine line between caring too much about what people think vs. God, but this caused legitimate worry. And I had to make sure that it wasn't an issue. Afterwards I began to think about it more in depth...why did I care so much? It probably wasn't a big deal but why was I so concerned about what image it may have projected? And like a waterfall after hard spring rains,  it all came crashing down....because I cared. CARED. Now that may seem as insignificant word but I think that word holds such great meaning. I want the people that I come in contact with on a regular basis to know that I care. I care about them, I care about how I treat them, I care about how I respond to them, I care about how I come across to them because I would never want to come across anyway than the warmth of Christ. I definitely do not always succeed but at the end of the day I want that to be my ambiance towards everyone I come in contact with. Obviously we have people who are near and dear to our hearts, but that warmth should go our to everyone.So as I sat down and thought about more in depth why I care so much it didn't stop there...I began thinking about how I came across in my day to day life to everyone, and then I began to think about all the suffering people in this world and honestly I broke. I found myself praying desperately on the behalf of people I didn't even know, begging for the ability to take people's suffering away, pleading with God that I wouldn't reach the end of my life leaving people with the impression that I didn't care. There are always those people that get under our skin but instead of being angry maybe we should choose to see them through God's eyes of compassion. A verse came to my mind that has just spoken to me recently and that is Psalm 126:6 "He who goes out weeping, bearing seed the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him." (ESV) Now let me tell you right now, this verse is SO critical for our work as laborers for Christ. We should be different than most people in the world today. 

 I can be a pretty emotional person. This is no news to the people who already know me. At the same time I often hate to show emotion because I have grown up in world that often says showing emotion, crying(weeping) is a sign of weakness. I have battled with this for so long and I still do, but what I felt this past week as I hit a breaking point, wasn't weakness. It was empowerment. Because I felt the love of God for me spill over in love for other people. I felt alive, not ashamed. And Psalm 126:6 confirms it. If we want to reach people, if we want to show people we care, if we want to show people the love of God, if we want to save souls, we have to show people truly matter to us. Now this doesn't mean we go out sobbing everywhere, but honestly if our heart doesn't break over those around us then we need to consider the state of our heart. Our hearts need to ache for the lost. They need to be concerned about how we love each other and how we show the love of Christ through us. We need to care MORE. God does not shine as noticeably through a complacent heart that acts like everyone is to be ignored if they don't somehow "contribute" to our lives. He shines through a heart that is raw and open and seeks to show others a little bit of light in a ever darkening world. I don't want to apologize anymore for worrying about being too "nice" or "caring" too much. Let it be said I was too nice. Let it be said I was too caring. Because there are plenty of times when the devil succeeds in snuffing out people's joy. Plenty of enough times when he convinces people that no one cares. I want to fight that. Which means that I have to become more broken on a regular basis. I cannot be come numb to others as often fall into in my selfish human nature. I have to go to the feet of God every day and ask for a renewed love for the people of this world. Insight on how I can show those around me that I care instead of being blind to there feelings. Because if we go out with hearts weeping for souls, we will come back with shouts of joy of the people we are able to give hope to. People notice compassion. They need to see the difference in us. They need to see the outpouring of God's love bestowed upon us flooding out to those around us. Our cups need to run over.

So yeah that second point that is supposed to intersect with this one...we'll  have get to that next week so I don't make this a mile long. But just think about when we get heaven...may we bring in with us shouts of joy of all the people we showed the love of Christ, through tears of compassion and sore knees bent in prayer, and a heart that said "I couldn't of cared more" in the world that even now chooses to care less and less. 

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35

What is Love?

Hi everyone,
So I am going to try and keep this post short and simple today if I can manage to pull it off. For some reason lately the "what is love?" question has been popping up in my mind. What is love truly? You watch the sappy movies, the relationships around you, the hookups and the breakups, the families, the books, the cards...ask anyone about love and you are more than likely to get a tale of warm and fuzzy feelings and emotions that make us feel good. The love that involves us the receiver. But as I look around I see a lot of people who are unhappy and unfulfilled and they are just waiting for the right kind of love or the right kind of person. They feel distant from their family, their friends, their spouses, and they feel as they have been cheated. They feel as if the spark they once had is gone. But I ask do you really know love truly at all? I thought I did until I realized I wasn't living like it. So I am going to share with you right now what love is and what I wish I had the chance to say to everyone who is struggling and doesn't understand why they are empty.

Love is Patient
Love is Kind
Love doesn't envy
Love doesn't boast
Love isn't conceited
Love doesn't act improperly
Love isn't selfish
Love isn't is not easily angered
Love doesn't keep records of wrongs
Love finds no joy in sinfulness
Love Rejoices in truth
Love Bears all things, Believes all things, Hopes all things and Endures all things.
Love NEVER ENDS    (1 Corinthians 13:3-8)
Love is Sacrifice (John 15:13) (Ephesians 5:25)
Love is Redeeming (1 Peter 4:8)
Love is Unafraid (1 John 4:18-19)
Love is Obedient (John 14:15)
Love is Unifying (Colossians 3:14)
Love is Forgiving (Proverbs 10:12)
Love is Sincere (Romans 12:9-10)
Love is Continual (Proverbs 17:17)
Love is Comforting (Zephaniah 3:17)
Love is Compelling (2 Corinthians 5:14)
Love is for those who don't deserve it (Luke 6:35)
Love is Boundless (Psalm 36:5-6)
Love is Light (1 John 2:9-10)
Love is Action (1 John 3:18)
Love is as Strong as death (Songs of Solomon 8:6-7)
Love Stands firm (Psalm 89:2)
Love is Deep (1 Peter 1:22)
Love is a commandment (Matthew 22:37-39)
Love is better than life (Psalm 63:3)
Love is Unconditional (John 3:16)

Now if you really ponder on those things and read those verses you are going to see a different picture than what the world chooses to raise you with. Some these verses make it clear of the true love that the Heavenly Father showed us by sacrificing His Son for us. So yes we are created to be loved. But when you read these verses the mass majority of them have a challenge for us. And let me tell you it isn't all warm and fuzzy. Love isn't about what we get, it is about what we give. This world says that it ok for us to give up on love if we just aren't feeling it anymore with someone. We can use people, get what we want, and then leave when we don't "feel it" anymore. The Bible says love, even when you don't feel like it. Love is not just a feeling. It is an action, a choice, a promise that even when circumstances aren't going our way we choose to love anyway. Love is not about having a good time and then ditching when things get tough. Love is about putting someone else ABOVE yourself and your desires. Love is dying to your own wants and wishes and paying attention to others. Love is saying I'm sorry, I forgive you for the 15th time, I am going to hold my tongue instead of making a smart remark, I waited up for you, I showed up at your door when you were having a hard time, I made you dinner, I put down the phone for you, I shut the TV off for you, I cleaned the house for you, I put the kids to bed for you, I gave up drinking for you, I gave up watching trash on the internet for you, I gave up the job promotion that would take me away from you, I love you enough to stop before it goes too far, I will love you in sickness and health, for richer and poorer, I will love you when you are old and gray, I will love you when you mess up, I will love you when you forget things, I will love even after we have a fight, I will love you even if at some point one of us wants to walk away....I LOVE you! That is love. The feeling of love does not always last and we have thousands of broken relationships, homes, and friendships to prove it. But the decision to love can always be made with lasting resolve. God loves us unconditionally beyond what any human being could. He knows we are not perfect and despite all the horrible things people have done in this world, He choose to still love us. And we are to do the same. We face repercussions for our actions just as people should, but instead of being bitter we must conquer that with the action of love. Because we may not feel it all the time, but if we choose to act in love I believe we will find ourselves seeing things in a new perspective over time. Love cannot be about what we are getting all time. It has to be about what we are giving. Within the bounds what is honorable and of God's righteousness, we are to give of ourselves to others, placing them above ourselves. And that is beautiful lasting love. When we stand strong even if no one else will because we have the love of a Savior who laid his life down over 2,000 years ago that is love that lasts. This is the love we are to imitate and that is the love that I want to have. That is the love that I won't settle less for. That is the love we been given, what are we going to choose to do with it?

“This is how God showed his love among us:  He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.  This is love:  not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ”  1 John 4:9-11

Be Patient, Life is Good

Hi everyone,

It has been an interesting week this past week with its fair share of highlights and not-so-shining moments. Ending with something that I still battle hard with from time to time....and that is patience. I have times where I am so content with the way life is and then other times when I feel like I am at a stand still while everybody else is living life and passing me by. The things I hope and desire for seem to be being reached by everyone else I know but me. This week it has particularly hit me hard as reach the closeness of being  the big 25. Which is apparently supposed to be a big deal as you officially turn a quarter of a century old, why I don't know?? Anyway, there have honestly been times this week where I have wondered what I really have to show for it? Now of course as He usually does, God chose to give me a little kick in the pants and insight when I least expected it. And that came through on my ride with Sam this morning. So my Sam is a pretty easy going boy, quiet and steady, save for the few random boogie monsters that jump out at him in the form of beeping automatic gates that open by themselves. ;D Anyway it doesn't matter how long ago we last went for a ride, he almost always level-headed and chill. Almost too chill. Sam likes to take life slow when we ride outside. He is never in a rush to get somewhere, he would rather mosey along and take his time looking at everything and wandering about to explore every path that possibly could be taken. This is a stop-and-smell-the-roses horse if I ever have seen one. Now on this particular morning I found myself in a rush, rush mode. I just wanted to get somewhere, and then on to the next thing and the next. I felt like I constantly had to prod him to move faster with him continually choosing to not cooperate until I had a light bulb moment and in that moment God spoke to me. "Stop and see what this little horse is trying to teach you right now. You are in such a rush for what? Slow down and enjoy this time." God was using my little horse to teach me something. Here I was so bottled up like a soda can that has been shaken too much, ready to explode, that I was not enjoying what I had going on right then. I was busy worrying about the next stage in my day and not taking in the moment. So in that moment I made the decision to stop fighting and just to relax and enjoy the rest of my time. I soon realized that I have been fighting just like I was this morning, all week. Wondering why I am not at the various stages of life that I think I should be at, at almost 25? Feeling like I have to hurry or it will be too late for me. The frustraion of wondering why me? Why do I have to feel like I am struggling to run through water when everybody else seems to be on the shore? Life should not be wasted but it certainly should not be rushed either. I am reminded that everyone's story is different and I cannot judge where I am at in the journey of my life based off of where someone else is at in theirs. Which I've realized is what I have been doing this past week in all the other 20 somethings I can think of. I am not a failure because I am not where I think I should be in my life right now or where other people think I should be. God has a purpose and a plan and I have to remember to trust Him and be patient. Now that is SO much easier said than done, but I think we have to condition ourselves to look at what we already have instead of what we don't have. If I had progressed into a different stage of my life than where I am at right now, I probably wouldn't have my awesome job, a little house to take care which I love, my animals, the ability to take Sam out and go riding in the first place, and all the skills that I now possess and am continuing to learn. We have to get out of the mindset of "well I am not here yet", or "or I haven't accomplished this yet", and look at what we do have or what we have come from. I am still learning that it isn't wrong to desire and hope for certain things in our lives...the family of our own, the property of our own, the dream job, the business of our own...but if we aren't there yet it isn't because we suck at life. It is probably because God is saying it isn't time yet. Or on the other hand maybe it is and we just need to stop chomping at the bit so much, focus on Him, and let Him do the work. Anything can change in instant. And once again I have to trust that God's will is perfect and best even if it is not always what I envision. My job is to do His will and accomplish His purpose for me, not me accomplishing my purposes. We have to understand that we may not get everything we want right when we want it or maybe not at all, but that doesn't mean that life can't be good. And I want you to know that even as I right this I still struggle. So if you share in this you are not alone. Sometimes it is sooo hard to wait and trust that it is all going to work out as it is supposed to. If you are like me, maybe there are even times when you have asked God to take away your hope and desire in a particular area if it is never meant to be. But then I realize that if this was the case then we would be more like robots than real humans beings and this is not what God wants for us. "...I came that that they may have life and have it abundantly." John 10:10 (ESV)  He wants us to feel emotions, to love, to desire the good things He has ordained in life, because He wants us to realize how much we really need Him and need to trust in His love for us. And every time I fall at His feet exhausted from endlessly pushing and prodding like I do sometimes to Sam, I see all that I am missing. I see all the goodness and blessings before me. That gives me hope. God does not withhold things from us because He wants to be this dictator that looks down upon us here on earth and enjoys watching us struggle. He wants us slow down, look up and understand that He has our best interests in mind. He wants to protect us, grow us, and give us the present of life, to open every day as we go. Life that does not have a set of hard fast rules as to how it should exactly go, where we should be at such and such point in time, what we should have at such and such age, but rather taking day by day, walking hand in hand, letting Him show what He has for us. (Jer. 29:11) Because life would be boring if we already new all that lied ahead. Life would maybe not even seem worth living in our minds, but in His there is always a purpose for good. So I will keep trying to be still (Ps. 46:10) and wait on His perfect timing, while dedicating my time to what He has right now for me. Because the every day details may need our attention before we are ready for other things. (Luke 16:10) We are not failures, we are "more than conquerors" (Rom. 8:37). Our relationship with Christ ultimately makes us whole and is all we need in this life. In this world it is easy to lose sight of that in the hustle and bustle of everyone around us, but we must come back to it in order to be truly happy in this life. I still need to work on my patience but I am grateful for a God who is ever so patient with me and for my sweet little horse, who shows me how truly blessed I am to have him in my life and to remind me to take it slow.... life is so good. :)

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
   

 neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9

Dreams in Disguise

Hi everyone, 
I have been thinking lately on one of the things that many human beings have in common. And that is dreams. Most of us have aspirations and goals that we would like to achieve in life. Things that we want to do someday, places we want to see, milestones that we want to reach. We often have this picture in our heads of where we see or would like to see our life go. There is a reason why there is the "American Dream" because we live in a country that encourages dreams, is home to dreams, and gives the freedom to make those dreams happen. Now dreams are a fine thing but I have been opened to a new outlook on this matter. A matter that can greatly affect the health of our spiritual life. When I look back at all the "dreams" I have had in the past, I have been led to ask myself some important, honest questions and to examine myself, my motives, and my commitment to following God. 

How much time do we spend absorbed in our plans, our wishes, and our desires for our lives? 

How much time do we spend wishing for the next stage or accomplishment in our lives that we fail to see what God has for us right where were are at? Our plans can easily get misconstrued as God's plans. We expect God to put us where our "dreams" are. But maybe His dreams are smack dab in front of our faces and we choose to have "selective seeing". And the time we waste convincing ourselves that we always have to get somewhere when He actually needs us to do something right now, right here. When I graduated college I had all these plans and wishes. I could see exactly where I wanted my life to go. Needless to say it didn't go at all like I pictured. I fought it for a while and then learned the hard way to become at peace with being back where God wanted me to be. Now as I look around at my life and all that has happened in the past three years, I wouldn't change a single thing. The people, the places, and the things I have right here, mean the world to me. There are many things I truly believe I would never even be doing right now if it wasn't for God wrecking my plans.  


And I am asking you to come and let Him wreck yours. I was so certain my dreams were within His will, but somewhere along the line my will overshadowed His. It is only until we  come to a place of complete surrender and truly leave our desire out of it from a pure love for God and what He wants us to do that we can truly see what He wants. If we truly love Him we will abandon all of self just to do His will. This is much harder than it seems and you may find out, as I have. It really makes you come to grips with if you really love Him "with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." Deut. 6:5 (ESV) Because it isn't always going to be what we want to hear. It may not be the state or the country we wanted to live in. It may not be the exact career path we wanted to take, it may not be the house with the picket fence we wanted to live in, it may not be the spouse and children we wanted after college, it may not be at all what we imagined. But if it's what God has for us, it is the best we can possibly have. I am continually learning that God's timing is perfect. His plans are perfect. (Ps. 18:30) He sees the bigger picture. Have you ever had to keep a secret from someone? You knew something that they didn't and it was this exciting thing in store for them and it just wasn't the right time to tell them yet? Perhaps they were going alone in their daily lives completely unaware of what was in store. Imagine the joy of the person finally being able to tell them of the exciting news at the right and perfect time, not to mention of the joy of the receiving person. I believe God has much joy when He share us His plans at the just perfect moment He has set for us. Now the question is how do we react? Do we react with joy, recognizing His perfect timing or do we complain about how it isn't the way we wanted things to go? Do we thank Him for His wisdom and protection in our lives or do we angrily stomp off like a child and pout? If I had went through with my plans I am convinced I would probably be in a heap of discontentment and struggle right now. And in coming back to a life I thought I didn't want has turned out to be the biggest blessing in my life so far with so much hope for the future. I have new dreams. But I am trying to make sure they are God's dreams. Often we can see dreams as these big grandiose plans that noticeably change the world.  Or they can be dreams that what we think, will make our lives the best they can be. We often see our dreams as something we are ever chasing after, trying to achieve, when what if they are right here, right now, underneath our noses? Now it isn't wrong to have plans or things to aspire to, but I think the problem is when we become so absorbed in those plans that we fail to see the happiness and purpose that we have right in front of us. God may have a job for us and we are too busy with our head in clouds about the next  step in the 5 year life plan. We need to stop using the days as a means to accomplish what we want. We need to use them to accomplish what God wants. We need to stop using the days to forward our big plans and spend the time forwarding God's plans. "Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" Matt. 16:24  
I look around and see so many people just living to make it through the day. They live unintentionally. And I have been guilty as well. I have gotten so focused on what I want my life to be 5-10 years from now that I have forgotten about where I am right now. I am not thinking about how I can live "intentionally" right now, which will actually prepare me for what God really has in store for the future, not the one I have conjured up in my head. My plans have to fully die so that His can grow, otherwise mine will always distort the truth because that is just pure human nature. We as individuals can want something so much, for what seems like all the right reasons, that we can utterly convince ourselves that something is the "will of God" when it not. We have to be careful and seek His understanding daily and constantly die to ourselves and get to the point where we truly want His will even if it nothing that we would have chosen or wanted to choose for ourselves. (James 1:5) When we have ideas that pop into our heads we must test them against Scripture. We can not base them off of feelings alone. We have to pray and continually seek out God's guidance to make things clear to us. And to recognize that every day that we get to live and breath is a dream. Every moment to make a difference in someone else's life is a dream, every chance we get to teach the next generation is a dream, every laughter and moment we get to spend with loved ones and friends is a dream, every little accomplishment that God gives us the strength to achieve is a dream. And there a hundreds perhaps thousands of little dreams to come true around the corner if we simply learn to enjoy the life He has set before us right here, right now. Don't spend so much of your life chasing the pie in the sky when it might just be disguised amongst all the mundane details of every day life. Look around you and pay attention to those details, embrace them and love them and I am certain God will show you the plans He has for you! (Jer. 29:11) And you can trust that they will be the very best! (Eph. 3:20) So, won't you let Him wreck your dreams and help you to recognize the ones right He has right before you? ;)


"My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God." Proverbs 2:1-5