Instructions for how God wants me to live

O Lord, who may abide in Your tent?  Who may dwell on Your holy hill?  He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, and speaks truth in his heart.  He who does not slander with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend; in whose eyes a reprobate is despised, but who honors those who fear the Lord; he swears to his own hurt and does not change; he does not put out his money at interest, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.  He who does these things will never be shaken.  Psalm 15

My prayer for you today is that you would willingly walk in the path that God has for you, and in obedience to all that He asks of you.  While it won't be easy, it will be worth it and it will bring honor to God.  May your life make much of Him!

He loves you that much

My life is living proof that God loves us so much that He will orchestrate events to remind us of that great love.  Today is one more example of that.  You see, I came home from my daughter's sock hop and these beautiful flowers were waiting for me at my door.  With a card.  This is my favorite flower.  And the only writing in the card was a message written from God.  Almost word for word what He has been telling me in my quiet times.  How is that for making His love for me real.  He is more than willing to use His children to bless the lives of others, as His hands and feet.  He can, and does, work for us in ways that we can see with our physical eyes.  I know this, without a doubt, because this is not the first time that He has done something like this for me.  I know that He will do it for YOU, too! 
And for the record, it was not my best friend, who would have know the details to pull this off.  Her car broke down today and her dad had to pick her up from work.  She is just as curious as me to try to figure out who did this.  God had to have put this on someone's heart, told them what flower to get, and what words to write down.  I don't know who He used today, and I am not racking my brain trying to figure it out, because in all reality it doesn't matter. 
The point is this...and I hope it is incredibly encouraging to you... He knows what you need, what you want, who you are, what is in your heart, and all the potential that He has given you.  He is more than willing to reassure you as many times as necessary.  He loves you...more than you can ever know.  He will do whatever it takes so that you know that great love He has for you. 
If there is anything that I know...its that He loves you more than you can imagine...enough to literally remind you in a way that you can physically see (as well as communicating that same thing to you in many other ways).  You don't have to doubt anything that He asks of you, or promises you.  He will tell you in more than one way, and will even use trusted people to reiterate the message.  And He will never ask anything of you that He has not already made the way for you to do.

Wait

Make me know Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths.  Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day.  Psalm 25:4-5

God gave me this verse this week.  Because I needed it.  I needed the reminder that the wait is always worth it... that if He asks me to wait there is always a good reason for it... that every time I have rushed ahead, it has only ended in heartbreak.  I'm not very good at wait.  But it's an answer to prayer that I get often enough, that I probably should be a lot better at it.  I am a mover, a do-er.  I am not very good at sit-still-and-know-that-I-Am-God.  But there is a very big part of life right now, that God has clearly said "WAIT".  So, He gave me this verse, which my daughters helped me to memorize, (and I shared a wee bit on FB), so that when I got to overthinking things, or trying to guess what He might have planned of which I was clearly told that I was on a need-to-know basis, and that I currently didn't need to know, I could remind myself of the verse.  Many good ones go with it to reassure of the benefits to waiting on God, but this is the one He gave me to memorize.
So, yesterday, when I would start to worry, or over-think, I rehearsed the verse.  And it was helpful!
I would love to say that I remembered that today, and repeated the process, but no.  Tonight, I was again reminded that He gave me this verse for a reason, and recalling it will help me!
I am sure there are many things in all of our lives that tend to make us ponder or forget to live in today b/c of daydreaming of the future.  I am not saying that it is wrong to contemplate the future, but that in my case, I have been given a specific wait answer so trying to lay it all out how I think it might go is not the way that God wants me to be using my current allotment of time.  I think that it might be valuable to just lift open hands (not close-fists clinging tightly to what we want) to God and give Him complete freedom... to just step out of the way and let Him write the story.  After all, what story could possibly be more fun to share with friends and family (and future generations) then the one that God writes just for us, the one where we are walking the path that He has for us and reaching our God-given potential.
My prayer for you tonight is that you would release all of your plans to God, raise open hands and open heart to Him, and give Him free reign to write your "story".  His creativity can not be beat!

True strength

You therefore, my son (or daughter), be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.  2 Timothy 2:1

Strength in grace.  I don't know about you, but I have lived a good portion of my life trying to be strong.  Too strong to get emotional over rejection.  Or too strong to let myself cry.  Or too strong to need someone else.  How'd that go for me?  Not all that well.  I was trying to be strong in my own power and that doesn't work.  I need to find my strength in God and His amazing grace for me through the sacrifice of His Son.
Kind of like the snowflake.  A single snowflake, while pretty, accomplishes nothing and melts almost as soon as it touches something.  But a blizzard can shut down an entire city, or cause road damage, or bridge damage, or even cause floods.
I think one of the most important parts of being part of the church, is to be PART of the church.  To be involved and to learn and grow while helping others to learn and grow.  Using your experiences to truly be there for someone in the middle of their own.  To be strong together in God's grace.  There is power, might, and strength to be found in the body of believers...because of Who backs us.  We are children of the King.  Flawed, yes.  Human, yes.  But empowered and backed by the Creator of the universe.
That is strength.  And it is available, without limit, through a relationship with Jesus Christ Himself.
I love the song on KLove right now that says "Our God's not dead, He's surely alive.  He's living on the inside, roaring like a lion".  That's where the strength is...in our living God, who is inside us.

Psalm 5:11-12

But let all who take refuge in You be glad, let them ever sing for joy; and may You shelter them, that those who love Your name may exult in You.  For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O Lord.  You surround him with favor as with a shield.  Psalm 5:11-12

The book of Psalm can be so much to so many people.  It is a very versatile book.  I think because it is so full of true emotion.  Nothing seems to be held back.  When you are happy, you can find many psalms that encourage, uplift, are full of thanksgiving and cheer.  When you are struggling, there are many psalms that speak of struggles and God's power, and who God is for you in your time of need.  When you are angry and struggling to control the rage, there are psalms for that as well.  But I think the reason I return to this book, all 150 chapters of it, is because it is so full of who God is to me, in the middle of ALL my times.  No matter what my emotion is, there are promises of truth that I can cling to or celebrate with.  I think it is my all-time go-to-book!
There is so much comfort right here in today's two verses!  Refuge, joy, shelter, love, blessing, favor, shield.  What an amazing God we serve!!!  He truly has provided all that we need, in Himself.  There is no need to search high and low for it.  It is all available in a relationship with Him!  And there for us to read, and reread, in His Word.  He is our refuge.  All joy is found in Him, true joy!  He is our shelter and our shield.  He will never, ever stop loving us, or blessing us, or showing us His favor.  He is the One and only True God!  And never stops accepting people as His children! 

Psalm 3:3-6

But You, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the One who lifts my head.  I was crying to the Lord with my voice, and He answered me from His holy mountain.  I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustains me.  I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me round about.  Psalm 3:3-6

     What makes you quake in your boots?  Or sends a shiver down your spine at the mere thought of it?  What can you let go of, by putting it into the all-capable hands of God the Father? 
     He is your shield...your greatest weapon in every life battle you will ever face.  You don't ever have to face a single thing by yourself.  He is always right there with you.  He is your glory.  His glory shines through you, and as you focus on Him, His glory reflects on you. 
     Every single time that you cry out to Him, He hears AND He answers!!!  There is not a single thought, cry, even attitude, that misses His notice.  He sees and hears every single one.  And when we ask, He always answers.  Not always as we think He should, but as He knows is best for us (individually).
     He knows every time we lay down and sleep, every time that we lay down and attempt to sleep but our brains won't stop running long enough for us to drift off, and every second that we missed of sleep so we could keep going with whatever else was preoccupying us.  He is aware of it all.  He knows every single detail, because He wants to...He wants to be involved with us, in our lives...and because He is God.  Each morning that we wake up, and start a new day, is a gift from God.  He doesn't have to keep allowing us to have fresh starts, but He does.  Each new day is a privilege from our Father who loves us deeper than we can grasp.
     What we do with the time He gives us is completely up to us.  We can literally waste time in fear.  And I call it a waste, because there are so many moments that there was so many better things that I could have been doing with my time, rather than letting my brain wonder about "what ifs" and "how do I's" and "I can't do this, I am scared".  Instead of focusing on Him, and the immense power that lies within Him to control everything if I just let Him, I was living scared.  That's not how He wants His beloved children to live.  He has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of sound mind! He doesn't want us to be slaves to fear, but to be free in Him...freed up by handing it over to Him and leaving it in His hands, and going on to do the things that He wants of us.
    So, again, I ask you...what fear is holding you back?  What can you relinquish to Him so that you are freed to move forward to your God-given potential?

Limitless

Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession.  Psalm 2: 8

     I have heard this verse used in many different ways, but just want to focus on the ask part and the sheer fact that God's resources and abilities are far beyond our human capacities.  I think I sometimes forget that He is not human, He is God.  He is not limited by the things that limit us.  LIMITLESS!  That is something that I know in my brain, but often forget in my heart. 
     I have been learning not to put Him in that human shell of limitations and to remember that He is God and therefore capable of sooooooo much more!  Then, after reminding myself of that once again, I have to remind myself that all I have to do is ask. 
     I am human.  And boy do I need help from my Daddy God, a lot!  I do not have it all together.  I fail others and myself.  I mess up.  I speak when I should remain silent, and sometimes even remain silent when I should speak up. 
     He is always right there with me, just waiting for me to remember to ask Him for help so that He can in turn release His angels and power to assist in whatever the issue or problem or need is.  Always! 
     He never answers back that He can't do it.  Because NOTHING is impossible with God. 
     He never tells me to come back later because He is too busy to talk to me.  He is always available to me.
    He never has technological issues that prevent Him from helping.  He is not limited by the things that we are limited by. 
     I cannot have too high of expectations for my relationship with Him, because my human brain cannot fully comprehend how much He wants our relationship and all the potential He knows our relationship has.  I often forget, and have to be reminded, that He delights in His children, and that that includes me!  That He wants to talk WITH me, and that He is more than willing to listen.  He doesn't even mind when I talk out loud merely for the sake of thinking things through.  He doesn't get frustrated when I mess up the same way I already have.  He just greets me with open arms, wraps me up in them, and helps me have the courage to try again. 
     He is getting me excited for what life can be like WITH Him at the wheel.  There is no other relationship that compares to the one we can have with our God.  No human relationship can come anywhere close to the fulfillment we find in Him.  And I am beginning to believe that the only way for me to truly reach my potential, is by Him being in charge and directing me, and writing my story.