Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Dentist Appointment
Danielle, I thought that you would enjoy hearing that I just came from the most encouraging dentist appointment. The dental hygienist is just the sweetest lady, and I was just amazed at how God spoke through her. After telling her that I was an art major and filling her in on my plans after graduation, she started talking to me about how exciting this time in my life is. She was truly so excited for me, and excited about seeing how God was going to work in this transition time in my life. She reminded me that "every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." She reminded me that my desire to create art is from Him and that He is going to work through that. She reminded me that God has amazing plans for my life, and He is in complete control. Her excitement was amazing. I was amazed at God's grace in speaking to me through a dentist appointment! I've been on the computer way too long blogging and facebooking, so I'm going to keep this short, but I just wanted to share :)
Friday, June 12, 2009
acts 17
sarah! i am so glad we are starting this back. thank you so much for posting the first post for the summer. i am going to try to keep up with this better, simply because i have more time this summer than i did during the semester with school.
well let me tell you lately what i've been thinking and how different verses and things have encouraged me. a friend wrote me a letter the other day and shared with me some verses in acts chp 17: 24-29ish. they are so good. i want to type out some of them because they are so great. "The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would SEEK GOD, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His children'..."
these verses seem sortof trivial at first when you read them. Paul is preaching to people on Mars Hill and is sharing this with them about God and His sovereign rule. the thing that stands out the most to me about these verses, that my friend also pointed out, is that God had appointed His people those boundaries in which He knew they would seek Him and that He knew best for them. with that said, how convicting and humbling and peaceful that we can rest in that! my mind has been restless and my heart has been wandering during all of this wedding season stuff going on with my friends. i have definitely been discontent in ways i didn't know i could be, just because i see so many married couples who are so happy with one another and i long for that so badly. but the amazing thing about these verses that then draws me to my knees in AWE is that God loves us so much that He has placed us where we are in order for us to truly seek Him and He knows in those situations and in our lives that He has sovereign rule over, we would "grope for Him" even though He is NOT FAR OFF FROM EACH OF US! anyway, i thought this was a great depiction of His love and the delight He takes in our lives and His direction for us. i just thought i would share this. i love when i get quotes and verses like this from friends and am able to share them with others. i feel like that is definitely a part of community and the Church.
i'm going to end with a tim keller quote (doesn't exactly relate to my little spill, but nonetheless, it is good!) can't wait for the next post!
"If you know what He has done at infinite cost to himself—He’s put you into a relationship so that you’ll never be rejected by Him—then your motivation when you sin is to go get Him. You want fellowship with Him. When the thing that most assures you is the thing that most convicts you, you’ll be okay because when you’re convicted of sin in a gospel way it drives you toward God. Without the gospel we hate ourselves instead of our sin. Without the gospel we’re motivated through all sorts of awful fear and pride to change and it doesn’t really change our hearts; it just restrains our hearts." — Timothy Keller
well let me tell you lately what i've been thinking and how different verses and things have encouraged me. a friend wrote me a letter the other day and shared with me some verses in acts chp 17: 24-29ish. they are so good. i want to type out some of them because they are so great. "The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would SEEK GOD, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His children'..."
these verses seem sortof trivial at first when you read them. Paul is preaching to people on Mars Hill and is sharing this with them about God and His sovereign rule. the thing that stands out the most to me about these verses, that my friend also pointed out, is that God had appointed His people those boundaries in which He knew they would seek Him and that He knew best for them. with that said, how convicting and humbling and peaceful that we can rest in that! my mind has been restless and my heart has been wandering during all of this wedding season stuff going on with my friends. i have definitely been discontent in ways i didn't know i could be, just because i see so many married couples who are so happy with one another and i long for that so badly. but the amazing thing about these verses that then draws me to my knees in AWE is that God loves us so much that He has placed us where we are in order for us to truly seek Him and He knows in those situations and in our lives that He has sovereign rule over, we would "grope for Him" even though He is NOT FAR OFF FROM EACH OF US! anyway, i thought this was a great depiction of His love and the delight He takes in our lives and His direction for us. i just thought i would share this. i love when i get quotes and verses like this from friends and am able to share them with others. i feel like that is definitely a part of community and the Church.
i'm going to end with a tim keller quote (doesn't exactly relate to my little spill, but nonetheless, it is good!) can't wait for the next post!
"If you know what He has done at infinite cost to himself—He’s put you into a relationship so that you’ll never be rejected by Him—then your motivation when you sin is to go get Him. You want fellowship with Him. When the thing that most assures you is the thing that most convicts you, you’ll be okay because when you’re convicted of sin in a gospel way it drives you toward God. Without the gospel we hate ourselves instead of our sin. Without the gospel we’re motivated through all sorts of awful fear and pride to change and it doesn’t really change our hearts; it just restrains our hearts." — Timothy Keller
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Blog Suggestion
Yesterday, I decided to post my reading list for the summer on my blog. Well, this morning, when I went to my blog I had one response. It was from the author of one of the books I had on my list! I don't know how she came across my blog, but I thought that was pretty cool. She had her own blog listed underneath her comment, so I went to check it out. Its called Flying Solo. Its a blog for single girls. I haven't read a ton yet, so I don't know how great it is. She has mentioned that she's divorced. Obviously, that sends up warning signs, but I don't know her story, so I don't know for sure that she was completely in the wrong for getting divorced. Anyways, just something to check out. http://denisehildreth.typepad.com/flying_solo/.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Hey Guys!
So, do ya'll get the emails saying that someone has commented on our blog? I might be the only one since I started the blog, I'm not sure. But someone other than people who are a part of the blog commented. How cool is that? We know that our blog has been an encouragement to at least one person. And Danielle, since our blog is your comment thing on your facebook page, I'm guessing more people than that visit our little blog. Therefore, we need to keep this going. We need to keep it going, not only for ourselves, but for the few people who might have been encouraged by what we were saying. I really enjoyed this blog, and I want to get it started back. For real this time. I also want to follow through with what I say, and not just say something but not follow through.
So where do I begin? I don't have a devotional, a song, or even a Bible verse. But, I have the lie that I've been believing lately, and the truth that God is revealing to me. So, this isn't anything new, I've been struggling with it for a while. I'm an art major. An art major doesn't lead to a specific job. I hope I can get a job at an art gallery in Charleston, but that's not guaranteed. Other than that, it feels like you have to go to grad school to get a job with an art major. I've been looking for jobs on-line, and it seems like I'm not even prepared for a secretary job. Here's the beginning of the lie I'm believing, that I'm a smart girl, but because I chose to be an art major, I have nothing that I am capable of doing. This lie leads me to think about the job that I'm sure I'm prepared for, the job that I am convinced I was created for: being a mother. Then I think about my age, 23. For as long as I can remember, okay, maybe that's an exageration, but since eighth or ninth grade, I've thought okay, I have this many years to wait until Ann became a wife, and this many years to wait until Mom became a wife. I'm now two years past the year that Ann became a wife, and maybe a year away from when she had her first child. I'm still five years away from when Mom became a wife, and seven away from when she became a mother. And here's what I begin to think. Mom says to this day that she wishes she could have had more children. But she didn't get started until she was 29 or 30 because she didn't get married until she was 28. I want 4 to 6 children. So I start to think, I'm running out of time. I need to have a year to date, then I need to have a year to be engaged. Then I need two years at least, just to be married. Okay, so if I meet my husband tomorrow, well then I'll be at least 28 before I can have a child. I'm running out of time!!!
So those are the thoughts, the lies, that are running through my head. I struggle with them on a daily basis. I guess I'm just putting it out there. And as I write it, I'm sorry I like to begin sentences with and, I begin to believe it more, and I begin to panic.
But, I also like to begin sentences with but, I also know what God has been reminding me of lately. The desire to be a mother, the desire to have children, and to create a family, is a desire that glorifies God. Its a desire that God created. When I begin to make it more important than him however, when I think that it isn't going to work out, I believe that God doesn't have control, then it becomes an idol. However, when I believe that it is a desire that comes from God, then I know I don't have to worry about it. I know that He will work it out in His timing and His way. The wondeful thing is, that if I leave it up to Him to fulfill, well then two children are just as great as six, and its okay if that's all I have. Its a desire that comes from Him, so I don't have to worry about it. He'll glorify Himself. He doesn't need my help. That doesn't mean I'm going to meet a guy tomorrow, it means that its okay if I don't.
So I started it back. Your turn :)
So where do I begin? I don't have a devotional, a song, or even a Bible verse. But, I have the lie that I've been believing lately, and the truth that God is revealing to me. So, this isn't anything new, I've been struggling with it for a while. I'm an art major. An art major doesn't lead to a specific job. I hope I can get a job at an art gallery in Charleston, but that's not guaranteed. Other than that, it feels like you have to go to grad school to get a job with an art major. I've been looking for jobs on-line, and it seems like I'm not even prepared for a secretary job. Here's the beginning of the lie I'm believing, that I'm a smart girl, but because I chose to be an art major, I have nothing that I am capable of doing. This lie leads me to think about the job that I'm sure I'm prepared for, the job that I am convinced I was created for: being a mother. Then I think about my age, 23. For as long as I can remember, okay, maybe that's an exageration, but since eighth or ninth grade, I've thought okay, I have this many years to wait until Ann became a wife, and this many years to wait until Mom became a wife. I'm now two years past the year that Ann became a wife, and maybe a year away from when she had her first child. I'm still five years away from when Mom became a wife, and seven away from when she became a mother. And here's what I begin to think. Mom says to this day that she wishes she could have had more children. But she didn't get started until she was 29 or 30 because she didn't get married until she was 28. I want 4 to 6 children. So I start to think, I'm running out of time. I need to have a year to date, then I need to have a year to be engaged. Then I need two years at least, just to be married. Okay, so if I meet my husband tomorrow, well then I'll be at least 28 before I can have a child. I'm running out of time!!!
So those are the thoughts, the lies, that are running through my head. I struggle with them on a daily basis. I guess I'm just putting it out there. And as I write it, I'm sorry I like to begin sentences with and, I begin to believe it more, and I begin to panic.
But, I also like to begin sentences with but, I also know what God has been reminding me of lately. The desire to be a mother, the desire to have children, and to create a family, is a desire that glorifies God. Its a desire that God created. When I begin to make it more important than him however, when I think that it isn't going to work out, I believe that God doesn't have control, then it becomes an idol. However, when I believe that it is a desire that comes from God, then I know I don't have to worry about it. I know that He will work it out in His timing and His way. The wondeful thing is, that if I leave it up to Him to fulfill, well then two children are just as great as six, and its okay if that's all I have. Its a desire that comes from Him, so I don't have to worry about it. He'll glorify Himself. He doesn't need my help. That doesn't mean I'm going to meet a guy tomorrow, it means that its okay if I don't.
So I started it back. Your turn :)
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