So when I picked up my old devotional the other day to read it, it screamed InTransit. InTransit deals with the waits that we all go through. And studies Joseph, David and Jesus. But the devotional I read the other day was about Abraham. Check this out.
"After waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised. Hebrews 6:15
Abraham was tested for a very long time, but he was richly rewarded. The Lord tested him by delaying the fulfillment of His promise. Satan tested him through temptation, and people tested him through their jealousy, distrust, and opposition to him. Sarah tested him through her worrisome temperament. Yet he patiently endured, not questioning God's truthfulness and power or doubting God's faithfulness and love. Instead, Abraham submitted to God's divine sovereignty and infinite wisdom. And he was silent through many delays, willing to wait for the Lord's timing. Having patiently endured, he then obtained the fulfillment of the promise.
Beloved, God's promises can never fail to be accomplished, and those who patiently wait can never be disappointed, for believing faith leads to realization. Abraham's life condemns a spirit of hastinessm, admonishes those who complain, commends those who are patient, and encourages quiet submission to God's will and way.
Remember, Abraham was tested but he patiently waited, ultimately received what was promised, and was satisfied. If you will imitate his example, you will share the same blessing."
So much of this is so true. When you're waiting, people will challenge you. Test you. Push you. Especially your loved ones for some reason. But we have to submit to God, and believe in His promises. Then we will be rewarded.
In todays world, we're used to instant rewards. Want a movie that was just released on DVD, download it instantly instead of driving to store to pick it up. Have a new book you want but no bookstore within 5 minutes of your house, just download it. Society and technology make it so much harder on us to wait for anything. Sometimes instead of waiting for God's greatness (check out Pastor Jasons last sermon on that one...www.r2live.tv Journey of a Lifetime) we settle in with the good things because we're to impatient. So we end up in a dead end marriage, job or the wrong major in school.
Sometimes we have to just be still and know that He is God.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Lessons from the trash heap
Some of you may know that Bailey and I sponsor a little girl in Haiti. Yesterday we decided to sponsor another one. I'm so excited about these little girls. My heart breaks over the children all over this world who live in constant poverty while I sit on my couch wrapped up in a blanket.
A friend of mine from high school, Tracey Wages, always posts about Compassion.com on her facebook page. So I sponsored through Compassion. I received a magazine from the company. I barely made it half way through a particular story before I started crying.
The president of Compassion, Wess Stafford, tells us about how some children grow up where no child should ever have to grow up-near the dangerous environment of the big city garbage dumps, scavenging for survival. He once took a group of Compassion supporters to Guatemala. He wanted them to experience the poorest of the poor, so he took them to the local dump. Everyone got out to talk to the children...all but one man. When asked why, he replied, "you told me Compassion's ministry is about hope and dreams. Then you bring me here. There is no hope. No dreams are possible. I see only tragedy and despair. Nothing good could ever happen here."
Later that evening there was a small banquet held with formerly sponsored children. The guy who saw no hope at the dump, was in tears when Wess approached his table. Wess asked if everything was ok. The gentleman said yes, that his was the best table in the place. At his table sat a young woman named, Aury. When she told her story it was amazing.
She grew up at the very dump site they had visited earlier that day. She had been accepted to attend the university as a business major. Wess asked Aury, "what do you know now from having grown up in that awful place?"
Her response brought tear to my eyes. And as I read it out loud to Bailey, my mom and my grandmother, I got so choked up I could barely read it.
Aury replied, "I know two things. First, I know what it feels like for people at look at you and think you are garbage. When I was very small, the dump trucks wouldn't even swerve to avoid hitting me--the drivers thought I wasn't worth the effort. If I had been killed out there among the dogs and vulture, probably nobody would have even dug a grave for me. I was already where I belonged-- garbage in the trash heap."
Aury told of the second thing she knew. "I know that NOBODY is garbage. We are all loved by God and He has a perfect plan and purpose for every life. That's what I know."
Sometimes I feel so convicted by my needs and wants. Like buying a car last week. Granted its not a new car. And I paid cash for it. But I sit here and think of what that money could have done in a country like Haiti or Guatemala. How many kids and families could I have feed for that price?
Then I realize, they don't need a lot of materialistic things to get by. They need hope. They just need a chance. And that's what I, as a sponsor, can do for them. I can't build them a new church. Or a new hospital. But I can love 'the least of these' like God has called us to do. And show them the love of a Savior.
Let them know us by our love.
A friend of mine from high school, Tracey Wages, always posts about Compassion.com on her facebook page. So I sponsored through Compassion. I received a magazine from the company. I barely made it half way through a particular story before I started crying.
The president of Compassion, Wess Stafford, tells us about how some children grow up where no child should ever have to grow up-near the dangerous environment of the big city garbage dumps, scavenging for survival. He once took a group of Compassion supporters to Guatemala. He wanted them to experience the poorest of the poor, so he took them to the local dump. Everyone got out to talk to the children...all but one man. When asked why, he replied, "you told me Compassion's ministry is about hope and dreams. Then you bring me here. There is no hope. No dreams are possible. I see only tragedy and despair. Nothing good could ever happen here."
Later that evening there was a small banquet held with formerly sponsored children. The guy who saw no hope at the dump, was in tears when Wess approached his table. Wess asked if everything was ok. The gentleman said yes, that his was the best table in the place. At his table sat a young woman named, Aury. When she told her story it was amazing.
She grew up at the very dump site they had visited earlier that day. She had been accepted to attend the university as a business major. Wess asked Aury, "what do you know now from having grown up in that awful place?"
Her response brought tear to my eyes. And as I read it out loud to Bailey, my mom and my grandmother, I got so choked up I could barely read it.
Aury replied, "I know two things. First, I know what it feels like for people at look at you and think you are garbage. When I was very small, the dump trucks wouldn't even swerve to avoid hitting me--the drivers thought I wasn't worth the effort. If I had been killed out there among the dogs and vulture, probably nobody would have even dug a grave for me. I was already where I belonged-- garbage in the trash heap."
Aury told of the second thing she knew. "I know that NOBODY is garbage. We are all loved by God and He has a perfect plan and purpose for every life. That's what I know."
Sometimes I feel so convicted by my needs and wants. Like buying a car last week. Granted its not a new car. And I paid cash for it. But I sit here and think of what that money could have done in a country like Haiti or Guatemala. How many kids and families could I have feed for that price?
Then I realize, they don't need a lot of materialistic things to get by. They need hope. They just need a chance. And that's what I, as a sponsor, can do for them. I can't build them a new church. Or a new hospital. But I can love 'the least of these' like God has called us to do. And show them the love of a Savior.
Let them know us by our love.
Monday, August 9, 2010
I'm so in love....
Ever notice how when you're in a brand new relationship the first few months are the most romantic and memorable ones. You start off talking 3 to 4 times a day. You want that persons voice to be the first voice you hear in the morning and the last one you hear before falling asleep. You can't stand the thought of being without them. You want to spend every waking moment possible with them. And you can't even imagine the thought of not being together forever. There will never be another person like this. They're perfect for you.
And for a while everything is right with the world. But then you get comfortable, start spending time apart and start hanging out with your friends again. You're still together but don't need to be constantly with each other. You still talk everyday, but sometimes its only for a few minutes while you're on break or on the way home. The romance isn't there like it used to be. You both figure we're together now so we don't have to do those little things anymore.
Then you start picking apart everything they do. They didn't act like they should have (or the way you thought they should have). They didn't give you the answer you wanted to that important question that meant a lot to you. They didn't call when they said they would. They're hanging out more with someone else other than you. Your friends start telling you they knew from the start that they weren't right for you. They start telling you every single fault about that person. And all these thoughts start creeping into your head like, "maybe they don't love me anymore," or "maybe I'm just not good enough for them," or "maybe its just not the right time," or better yet "maybe we should be just friends."
So you stop talking to them. Ignore their calls, their emails, their facebook comments, and sometimes maybe you even change your number to avoid them. When someone starts talking about them, you shut down completely. You don't want to hear anything about that person because they hurt you. Or didn't treat you like you thought they should.
Isn't that how we treat Jesus???
In the beginning we are totally sold out to God. We're telling everyone we know how awesome the new love of our lives is. How much He loves us. How much He talks to us. We pray every morning, noon and night. We read His word more than anything else. We constantly feel loved. And everything is right in the world.
Then our friends and family start putting these doubts in our head. "Well where was Jesus when that happened?" "Why did God kill this person? I thought He could heal anyone." "Why did God not answer that prayer? Did He not know how much that meant to me???" So we only pray maybe once or twice a day. We maybe read His word once a week. And we only think of Him in passing.
And eventually we put God out of our lives for good. We can't stand for anyone to even talk to us about Him. Anything in our lives that reminds us of Him we throw away. I mean He didn't answer that prayer we really needed. He wasn't there for us when we needed Him. So we change our number so to speak. We ignore His calling. We let another woo us to them.
You know what? After Pastor Jason's sermon yesterday, I decided to fall totally and completely in love with Jesus again. I want those first few months feelings every month. Every day. I want Jesus to be the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing before I fall asleep. I want to talk to Him more than 3 to 4 times a day. I want every day to be the first day of our relationship. I want to draw little hearts around our names on every piece of paper I see.
Jennifer
Loves
Jesus
Together Forever
And for a while everything is right with the world. But then you get comfortable, start spending time apart and start hanging out with your friends again. You're still together but don't need to be constantly with each other. You still talk everyday, but sometimes its only for a few minutes while you're on break or on the way home. The romance isn't there like it used to be. You both figure we're together now so we don't have to do those little things anymore.
Then you start picking apart everything they do. They didn't act like they should have (or the way you thought they should have). They didn't give you the answer you wanted to that important question that meant a lot to you. They didn't call when they said they would. They're hanging out more with someone else other than you. Your friends start telling you they knew from the start that they weren't right for you. They start telling you every single fault about that person. And all these thoughts start creeping into your head like, "maybe they don't love me anymore," or "maybe I'm just not good enough for them," or "maybe its just not the right time," or better yet "maybe we should be just friends."
So you stop talking to them. Ignore their calls, their emails, their facebook comments, and sometimes maybe you even change your number to avoid them. When someone starts talking about them, you shut down completely. You don't want to hear anything about that person because they hurt you. Or didn't treat you like you thought they should.
Isn't that how we treat Jesus???
In the beginning we are totally sold out to God. We're telling everyone we know how awesome the new love of our lives is. How much He loves us. How much He talks to us. We pray every morning, noon and night. We read His word more than anything else. We constantly feel loved. And everything is right in the world.
Then our friends and family start putting these doubts in our head. "Well where was Jesus when that happened?" "Why did God kill this person? I thought He could heal anyone." "Why did God not answer that prayer? Did He not know how much that meant to me???" So we only pray maybe once or twice a day. We maybe read His word once a week. And we only think of Him in passing.
And eventually we put God out of our lives for good. We can't stand for anyone to even talk to us about Him. Anything in our lives that reminds us of Him we throw away. I mean He didn't answer that prayer we really needed. He wasn't there for us when we needed Him. So we change our number so to speak. We ignore His calling. We let another woo us to them.
You know what? After Pastor Jason's sermon yesterday, I decided to fall totally and completely in love with Jesus again. I want those first few months feelings every month. Every day. I want Jesus to be the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing before I fall asleep. I want to talk to Him more than 3 to 4 times a day. I want every day to be the first day of our relationship. I want to draw little hearts around our names on every piece of paper I see.
Jennifer
Loves
Jesus
Together Forever
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