Thoughts for the Night

New things are always hard. Always challenging. Always tiring. And almost always, completely worth it. This new season of my life is definitely hard and definitely worth it. I already see my schedule filling up rapidly and new lessons are already being written on my heart. Seasons such as this tend to make me more sensitive to God in every situation. (Mostly because I am more aware of my need for God in every situation)

One of the things I dread most in life and desire most in life is starting over. I truly hate and love new beginnings. They are hard because no one has any idea the things you've done or have experienced; therefore, you start at the bottom. The bottom is hard, stretching, painful, and sometimes even tearful. But the bottom is the best place to start because it leaves more room for adventure, learning experiences, and growth. God has the picture in clear view and I choose to see what I want so I want to choose to see whatever God has in store for the moment. Completely incapable of seeing the "big picture," the only thing we can do is submit to the plans of the One who can not only see the picture but who has also created it. God is teaching me so much about submission and the beauty it truly is. Faith is produced out of submission to the Lord. And since God's heart for us to embrace our journey, then I truly believe He desires us to be placed in situations that require faith, and a comfort that only He can provide.

In the book, Reckless Faith by Beth Guckenberger, she shares a stretching story about a small orphanage in Monterrey, Mexico. The orphanage was quite poor and had actually run out of food. They were so low on resources that they had nothing to eat for the evening meal. The director of the orphanage, Edgar, knew He could call a local ministry and have them bring food to the table within minutes but He saw an opportunity for a lesson of faith. He sat all the children down and shared their situation and asked them to pray and ask God to provide their meal for them. You see, Edgar understood that whoever they asked to provide their meal would be the one the children looked up to and had faith in. Through their prayers God provide a feast of the best cuts of meat for them, when they hadn't had meat for over a year. Can you imagine the capacity their faith grew to that day? I want that faith and am being challenged to allow myself to be up against the wall so God is the only One that can provide for me, the only one that can get glory. If I just stay in situations that my hands can fix then I am only living by my flesh, but if I live my life in reckless abandon of myself, my flesh may be uncomfortable but God is getting all glory.

Well there are all of my scattered thoughts for the night.

Much love.

We need to stay in the presence of the Lord if we want to reflect God. If we want to reflect people...then we keep trying to reinact what others are doing. I truly believe that Holy Spirit wants to move in us as actively as Jesus is God!haha I'm not sure how else to say that. The Holy Spirit wants the freedom in our will to move and breathe. I am truly excited about what God is doing in us right now and how humble He is to really teach us about who He is and not get impatient with us. He is on the move we just need to make room for Him.

Watching this video really opened my eyes to the truth of seeking His face and being a reflection of Him. I'd love if you all would watch it as well.

The Seeker's Journey

Much love.

"God in His nature is humble. Without humility a god of infinite power would use His resources to impress rather than to transform. Without humility God would find no value in us, nor would He be concerned about our well-being. The realization that God, in all of His power and knowledge and wonder, is more humble than any of us is virtually beyond comprehension."

--Erwin McManus

It really makes me stop. Where is my heart at on the humility scale? How willing am I to care for others before myself? It's a somber thought that breaks my heart. God cannot use me unless I am humble but I generally try too hard to be humble to actually let Him show me what it means. God's grace is so beautiful.

Truth

Sometimes I wonder where the truth is at. Or more specifically why we feel the need to hide the truth. Most of us will say, "we don't want to offend anyone." Well, there are whole church movements started by false profits that have altered the truth because 'they don't want to offend anyone.' Why would we as the body of Christ want to follow in the steps of those preaching lies? Now, there is such a thing as being conscious of your audience. We need to be aware of who we are talking to when it comes to those who don't know God's love, who have chosen not to follow in His ways. They are held at a different standard...a whole other view point all together. But today I am talking about the church. Why do we feel as though we are going to offend our brothers and sisters in Christ by speaking Christ's truth into their lives?

For example: When we hide the truth of the Holy Spirit living inside of us we are keeping much needed knowledge and wisdom from those who are to be walking in the guidance of the Holy Spirit. With this particular 'subject,' keeping the truth to ourselves may very well cause fear in the lives of those around us. People truly fear the Holy Spirit purely because they have not been taught who He is. He is not a good feeling during worship or a heart-felt word, He is living and breathing inside of each of us that receive Christ as our own. He's not some mystical being that is irrelevant to today's times. He speaks every chance we give Him. He is God. Inside of us.

Now, I could go on and on about the truth of the Holy Spirit but I think you already get my point.haha I just want to challenge you, as a member of the Church, to speak out in truth. Not just a version of the truth, but the raw truth of who God is.

I don't say any of this to push buttons or to call anyone specific out. I want to say this in love, for us, as the Body, to not leave room for complacency...even if that means being uncomfortable.