Occupied and Learning

Walking through the fire!

2009-06-15T08:28:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure of who all heard the message at Lifechurch.tv this weekend, but I, for one, was completely blown away! Our guest pastor was a great man named Jentezen Franklin. If you haven't heard of him, look him up. He was teriffic...I had the chills the entire time.

His message was "God is Able". This was exactly what I needed to hear. All too often I get wrapped up in my own feelings of 'my sister is selfish and will never get saved' or 'why are my parents jerks?' and I forget that everything is in God's timing. Even though I have not seen much change in my parents or sister, I have seen a huge change in me. With all I have been through in my past (and it is much believe me), I look at where I am now and thank GOD that he brought me through and I don't stink of the crap that I walked through!

Jenetzen said it nicely when he said, "Just because you've gone through the fire, doesn't mean you have to smell like smoke".

There are so many days I find myself reaching for anything to cover up the smell of my past, but only God is ABLE to change my heart and spirit. No matter how much I try to wash off the scent of my sin, God listens to just one of my prayers and says "It's done".

Anyone on the outside doen't necessarily know about my entire past, and that lets me know that I don't smell like it anymore...at least on the outside, but I do ask God everyday for my thoughts and actions of the day before. I thank him everyday for being my Rock, my Master, my Salvation, my Redeemer, and my Father.

There are many incidents that I cannot change. I cannot change a person or many people. But our God IS able and he will do all in his very own way that will have the greatest impact. All I can do is Love, Pray Hard, Spread the Word, and Pray some more.

God is so Good!

2009-05-12T09:29:00.000-07:00

From Cure for the Common Life by Max Lucado...

Many discover their "what." They may luck into "where" to use their "what." But "why?" Why did God pack your bag as he did? Accountant, how do you explain your number sense? Investor, you read the stock market like Bobby Fischer reads the chessboard...Linguist, foreign languages paralyze most tongues, but they liberate yours. Why? And homemaker, you make your household purr like a Rolls-Royce. For what purpose? So people will love you? Pay you? Admire you? Hire you? If your answer involves only you, you've missed the big reason.

Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me. -Romans 15:17-18

I often wonder about the talents God has given me and the strengths he has allowed me to possess. All too commonly I allow myself to use those personality traits to better myself; to lift myself up. I stay in my comfort zone also. I know that I have so much to offer in Christ's glory, but I hold back because I'm scared of failure. The biggest mistake I am making is not risking to make one. All people have talents, but how many people invest in theirs to shine the glory on the Master?

Where do I go from here?

2009-05-07T12:59:00.000-07:00

I have a confession to make...and it's not something I feel guilty about or want to hide from anybody. I think I'm called to Missions. Specifically Missions dealing with children. I dont just look at pictures of starving children...I look, I see, I cry (hard) and I pray (even harder). I cant stand to be in my own skin anymore without doing something about this new found conviction from God and yet I have no idea where to begin. I want to go. I want to see. I want to cry because it brings a release. I'm not sure what to do other than pray, but I feel so useless when I go to my house, eat a fresh, hot meal, drink my cold drink (not water...no no...of course not that since it doesn't taste good)! I can't believe how easy my life has been and up until these past couple of weeks, I thought I had some tough times! I'm ready to learn. I'm ready to dive in. More importantly I'm ready to be sent out to do what I believe God wants me to do. How I get there...well...that's another ball game.

2009-05-06T13:58:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple pictures of the family. We had a friend (Abby Coyle) take them and she did an amazing job! Ava is 7 months old now and she is a very happy and bouncy baby. We couldn't be more pleased that God gave her to us.

Greyson is 4 yrs old and he is so crazy! He makes up words all of the time and surprises us evryday with his acknowledgement of Christ and all he has done for us. We love him very much.

LifeGroup Change

2009-05-06T13:33:00.000-07:00

Chad and I have both been praying about switching to a new LifeGroup. We (together) feel like its time for a change, and I also have a few thoughts on my own:

For me, a LifeGroup should be a group devoted to Christ through fellowship and prayer (among many more things...but these were the basics). I looked up the word fellowship and this is what I came up with...

communion, as between members of the same church; friendliness

I also found the synonyms for the word...

comradeship, camaraderie, friendship, society, intimacy

These words would describe my LifeGroup if it were created by God...but I feel that it is not the case. Our group does not join in life together. There is gossip and backstabbing. Intimacy, if it ever existed, is a thing of the past. I'm sad to say that I am not only ready to go, but am looking forward to getting involved or starting a group where God is the center. Are there any LifeGroups out there that actually revolve around God and the principles he has set forth? I am ready to have a group that prays for one another and truly loves one another.

Please pray for me and Chad as well as the group that we will be leaving. It's time for many changes in our lives, and we are both ready to get started! :)

First Blog Entry!

2009-05-06T11:03:00.000-07:00

This is my very first BLOG entry! I knew I would have to start someday to stay conencted with family and friends...and now I am actually doing it! Hmmm what to say...? I guess I just want to thank you for reading and try to keep up please; I can be very random and I speak as I think. :) I love to ask for input and hope to recieve much.

I feel as though I should keep a personal and public journal. My personal journal will be for me and only me and my other for those of you who can relate to the way my life is being led. I will post pictures of the fam soon!