The Lord Spoke Through The Roads

Good Morning Everyone!

Happy SaturDAY!

The other morning I was driving to work without the radio on. I usually enjoy putting on some country music in the morning or KLOVE radio. (For those of you who do not know, KLOVE radio is a Christian station that plays uplifting spiritual music and the purpose is to spread God's love and word to those who listen. I love the station). However, that morning I decided to drive to work in silence. There had been so much noise around the past few days when I have been at work and at home that I just wanted be in some quiet and even though I was driving I knew that I would be able to spend some time talking to Jesus and on this day I was able to listen and hear Him. It's amazing what silence can do.    This is what I heard in my heart that morning...

In order to get from my house to my job it takes about 10-12 minutes. The roads in the city are like a checkerboard and I travel from east to west. It's about 8 o'clock in the morning and yes there are some people out but in the scheme of things and the population of the city it is pretty quiet. I am feeling a little anxious thinking about all the things I need to do at work. I am praying to God asking Him how do I do everything for today? What is it that He wants me to do today? Then I am just thinking and asking God about my life, wondering where it's headed, wondering if and/or when certain things will happen in my life. Will I ever get to travel overseas? Will I ever be pursued by a man who is deeply in love with The Lord? Will I ever be married? Will I ever have kids? Are these things that I want and are they what God wants for me too? Am I following His path? Am I where I am supposed to be? What should I do or do you want me to do next? When will I know? How much longer? Those were just some of the questions that were flowing through my mind on this short drive.

As I continued to drive I crossed an intersection and I looked down the street to my left. When I looked down the street as I was passing the road only went a few blocks and there was a building there to end the road. I didn't think much of it until I crossed the next intersection and I looked to the left while I was passing. This road didn't end! This road was open until as far as I could see! And suddenly I had felt at peace.

In those few seconds that I passed those intersections The Lord had spoke to me through the road I was driving on and through the roads that I looked down and saw. Sometimes we are only focusing on one thing and just keeping looking straight ahead. We are wrapped up in the one thing that we are doing or that is going on in our life that we forget to look around and open ourselves up to other options or in this case roads! Roads/options that may help us, inspire us, encourage us, motivate us, change us,  allow us to meet new people, allow us to experience the many things God put on this Earth for us. When looking off the road I was on at the time down the roads to my left I began to understand this. The road that I first looked down reminded me that sometimes and end will happen. Sometimes we go a way where we reach an end. That end might be a job, a relationship, an experience, etc. But that doesn't mean that it is the end of everything because if you keep going and you look down another road you might see how open it is and that the possibilities are endless and what you never imagined happens because that is how much God loves us. When I looked down the next road and saw it kept going from the point I was at..I knew that the Lord was telling me to continue to trust Him no matter what road I was going down but to keep my heart open and my focus on Him and not my focus on that one thing that was taking over me.

How amazing it is that the Lord spoke to me while driving my car into work. I love that I can pray any time of the day or at any place and He is always there and listening. When I allow myself to do this and to open my heart I am always amazed in how He chooses to speak to me. That morning The Lord spoke to me through the roads. Look around because God is near.

"Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"- Psalm 46:10

God Bless :)

Rain

With my last post being about how beautiful the sky is I thought that today I could talk about rain. Rainy days, we all experience them. When we have events that have to do with the outdoors we hope that it doesn't rain. When we travel we hope that the rain doesn't delay us. On somebody's wedding day we hope it doesn't rain. On a birthday we hope it doesn't rain. At a sporting event we hope it doesn't rain. The list can go on and on. However, we all know that we need the rain. Rain enables the things planted in the Earth to grow but sometimes we let the interference of rain irritate us when it changes our plans. (It's not about Our plans either, it's about God's plans for us)

There's another way to look at the rain. Rain I believe is a beautiful thing. Here's why. Rain is a direct connection from the sky to the earth and something that we can physically feel on our bodies. So when it rains on the day of a special occasion maybe you can think of the rain in a different way especially if you have loved ones who passed away and you know that if they were alive they would be at the event you were going to. You can think of the rain as that person letting you know that they too are thinking of you and that they are still there with you. It's pretty powerful when you change the perspective of what it means when rain falls from the sky. Just as the rain falls to the earth to help nourish things the rain can also nourish our hearts. God loves us so much that He must have created rain to fall from the sky to show that He wants to give us nourishment, in our hearts and in the things that grow on the earth.

"You gave abundant showers, O God; you refreshed your weary inheritance"-Psalm 68:9

God Bless! :)

 

Rainbow Chasing

One of my favorite things to do is to look at God's Artwork. I love looking at the artwork He creates that we as human have no control over, such as the sky. For me, my favorite time of the day to look at His art is when the sun is setting. That is when I have seen the most beautiful colors I have ever seen. (A thought that goes through my mind is "wow these colors are so amazing and incredible that I cannot imagine the colors that the Lord has for us to see in Heaven.") Sunsets bring me to a stop. They allow me to be in awe and to praise my Creator.

I believe that sunsets are a way to help and remind us how precious life's moments are and how we should try to live and feel the moments that we are given. A sunset reminds me that I have been given that moment to feel what I am witnessing and this is something that I should take with me in all the moments of my life. Through all the days that we have been alive we have witness every morning the sun rises and every evening the sun sets. How blessed are we that God choose two times during our day to be able to watch the transition from night to day and to day from night. We are able to witness the sky changing. There is the key word, "changing." Just as the sky changes colors and transitions from day to night so do our lives. Here is a little cycle that I like to relate to our lives.

During the day there is light. We go about our daily lives doing the things we do, seeing the people we see, things are good, we feel pretty comfortable. Then as the sun begins to set we see these amazing colors and the beauty in the sky that just brings us to a stop and we are in awe. This could be compared to things in our life that we have prayed for such as a new job, a spouse, a child, a new friend, any type of blessing that we recognize. Our faith perhaps can feel so strong. We see this amazing sky and we feel so blessed. Then the slowly sun sets and night arrives. There is darkness. We all come across darknesses in our lives. My type of darkness may be completely different than another person's darkness and the definitions of darkness may vary but darkness happens. However, because of that sunset you saw before your darkness you keep having faith, knowing that in the morning the sun will rise and colors will be drawn in the sky and you will see the beautiful art that God has drawn which than will turn into the light of the day.

God loves us so much that He chose to make this a part of our daily lives. A way to remind us that if we trust and have faith in Him that the light will always shine.

*I absolutely love looking at God's Artwork and sharing it with as many people as I can. Photo's allow us to share the beauty that we witness when they cannot be there with us. I think that one of my biggest desires is to share God's Art with as many people as I can in person because I pray they can feel the excitement I feel when I'm watching the sky be painted into indescribable colors. My roommates call me "Rainbow Chaser" because of my desire to capture those moments of God speaking to us through painting colors in the sky. If you don't stop and take a look, you might miss it.

Below are some of my favorite pictures some of my friends and myself have taken. Amazing!

Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

God Bless!!

Fire Hydrants!!!

Hiiii Everyone!!

Last Sunday when I was driving home from Church I was behind a fire truck. I was stopped at a red light and was looking at the hoses on the truck. I was amazed and just curious on how everything really works. When looking at the hose I turned my eyes over to see a fire hydrant on the corner. I then was imagining putting the hose on the fire hydrant and trying to figure out how it would all work. As I continued to drive home I was noticing all of the fire hydrants on the sidewalks. It made me really think!! There were so many fire hydrants that I pass every day that I never even noticed, ever! The only time I ever probably notice a fire hydrant is when I am parking somewhere, other than that I don’t really take notice. I then began to think but wow, I can’t believe how many fire hydrants are just on my street. There are so many and to think they have all been placed there to help us incase of a fire. I thought about it as God putting them there incase there is danger. Think about it, we are so blessed that if we need it we have access to water in a bad situation like a fire. It’s almost like when God puts people in our lives when we need help too. The fire hydrants have been placed in the spots that The Lord has mapped out for them just like He has certain people in our lives at certain times to help or be a part of a particular blessing, struggle, or lesson. We just have to open our eyes and recognize and embrace what is around us!

God Bless!

Feeling Your Emotions

How often do we actually allow ourselves to feel the emotions that are in us? I struggle with this! I struggle with this when I feel as if the emotion I feel is a negative one, such as being sad, upset, or hurt. Even times when I feel so happy and excited I try to guard my heart so in case things don’t go as I planned I think I can prevent any hurt later on. Right there is my first problem, I need to let go and let God be in control of the plans He has for me. The other problem is because all of these emotions that I am feeling are building up inside of me. The Lord wants us to feel our emotions! He also wants us to know that every emotion we feel, Jesus has felt too. For example, when someone that we know and love passes away, did you ever try not to cry. People always tell us to be strong and we might even tell ourselves to be strong and not to cry because that person is in a better place. And yes although that is true let us remember the story of Jesus and his friend Lazarus.

The Death of Lazarus —John 11:1-36

11 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, 7 and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

8 “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”

9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. 10 It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”

11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”

12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” 13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

16 Then Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

Jesus Comforts the Sisters of Lazarus

17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.18 Now Bethany was less than two miles[b] from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

28 After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.

32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.

“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.

35 Jesus wept.

36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

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As we can see Jesus loved Lazarus, that was one of his best friends. So when Jesus wept (verse 35), it was not because he was sad that Lazarus went to be with The Lord, but that Jesus was going to miss his friend. When we are in a situation like this remember that Jesus knows how we are feeling and He wants us to feel those emotions, to fully feel them. We can pray to Jesus to help us feel or emotions whether sad or happy.

Several months ago it took me to physically fall on my hands and knees on the ground to feel the emotions that were built up inside of me. After having a phone call with a friend about our friend who had passed away over two years ago I got out of my car to walk into my  house. Right after I got out of my car I fell all the way to the ground. It hurt. I wanted to cry and I held it in, until I got inside of my house where my roommate was there and I just fell into her arms and cried for at least a half hour. I was physically hurt and cut but so was my heart. I held my emotions in for so long about the passing of my friend that this fall is what caused me to let my emotions out. As I sat there and cried my roommate prayed for me right there. Afterwards my heart and my body felt so peaceful, the Holy Spirit had entered my heart because I finally let go.

Our emotions can be hard to understand at times. We might not understand why we feel a certain or what makes us feel a certain and how we are to express them. Talk to God about what you are feeling. Have comfort in knowing that Jesus has felt the emotions of rejection, sadness, hope, love, and all the other emotions that we today still feel.

God Bless!!

Opening Our Eyes

Here is a little story that I would like to share:

God Will Save Me

A terrible storm came into a town and local officials sent out an emergency warning that the riverbanks would soon overflow and flood the nearby homes. They ordered everyone in the town to evacuate immediately.

A faithful Christian man heard the warning and decided to stay, saying to himself, “I will trust God and if I am in danger, then God will send a divine miracle to save me.”

The neighbors came by his house and said to him, “We’re leaving and there is room for you in our car, please come with us!” But the man declined. “I have faith that God will save me.”

As the man stood on his porch watching the water rise up the steps, a man in a canoe paddled by and called to him, “Hurry and come into my canoe, the waters are rising quickly!” But the man again said, “No thanks, God will save me.”

The floodwaters rose higher pouring water into his living room and the man had to retreat to the second floor. A police motorboat came by and saw him at the window. “We will come up and rescue you!” they shouted. But the man refused, waving them off saying, “Use your time to save someone else! I have faith that God will save me!”

The flood waters rose higher and higher and the man had to climb up to his rooftop.

A helicopter spotted him and dropped a rope ladder. A rescue officer came down the ladder and pleaded with the man, “Grab my hand and I will pull you up!” But the man STILL refused, folding his arms tightly to his body. “No thank you! God will save me!”

Shortly after, the house broke up and the floodwaters swept the man away and he drowned.

When in Heaven, the man stood before God and asked, “I put all of my faith in You. Why didn’t You come and save me?”

And God said, “Son, I sent you a warning. I sent you a car. I sent you a canoe. I sent you a motorboat. I sent you a helicopter. What more were you looking for?”

Sometimes we find ourselves so caught up in the way that we want things to happen that we miss what The Lord is trying to show us. I know that there are many times that I find myself wanting what I want and not even thinking about what God wants for me. I get so caught up in the idea of how I think something should happen that I do not even see The Lord. I get caught up on how I think I would like to fall in love, or how my day should go, or when I should do this or that. This is when we need to pray that we can open the eyes of our hearts. When the eyes of my heart are open I always am amazed at what God brings into my life and the way that he does it. It is always in a way that I never thought about myself. And that makes sense because what the Lord has planned for us is so great that we can’t imagine it in our minds until we allow ourselves to let go and let it happen and to open the eyes of our hearts.

“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law”-Psalm 119:18

GOD BLESS

Little Gifts From God, Everyday

God loves us, all of us. He wants to make us happy. He wants us to open ourselves to the love that He has to give us. Everyday God is doing little things in our lives that make us happy and smile. The challenge is for us to take notice of them. For instant, you might be having an off day, we all have them, but when that happens take notice of the things I am about to share. If you are in the car and a song comes on that you like and you recognize it, guess what? God is giving you a little gift to try and make you happy. Perhaps you walk passed a restaurant and you are able to something delicious, God is trying to make you happy. When you see a sunset and you are just in awe because you think it is so beautiful, God is trying to make you happy. He gives us all these little things throughout the day because He loves us and wants to make us happy. So whether you are having an off day or having a great day, try and take notice of the little gifts God gives you throughout the day. These are the things that make you smile or make you happy and feel good without you even controlling it, like that song that came on the radio, or the smell of food, or the colors of the sky.  You will become more aware of His presence in your life and it will begin to strengthen your relationship with Him. Appreciate and recognize these gifts. He personalizes them just for you.

“Every good gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”_ James 1: 17

GOD BLESS!!!

Just One Word

Happy Sunday Everyone!

Before the start of 2013 a good friend sent me this email called the Daily Impact Play from Fellowship of Christian Athletes that I would like to share with you. The focus of the email is to help you throughout the year of 2013. Even though it is now July you can start this today too!

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The Power of One Word  Monday, December 31st, 2012  READY: “I’m asking God for one thing, only one thing” - Psalm 27:4aSET: Get One Word for 2013…but be careful! It might change you. Since 1999, we started the simple discipline of developing a One Word theme for the upcoming year. That is right-One Word. Not a phrase, not a statement, just a single word. To this point, it has been nothing short of life-changing. If you have the competitor mindset like we do, you have done your fair share of goal-setting at the start of each New Year. We want to accomplish much and maximize the opportunities given to us. However, as time goes by, we begin to feel guilty as we fall short in our ambitious plans. At one point, we became so frustrated with the whole resolution process, that we even tried boycotting resolutions. That didn’t work either. It just made us feel guilty about being a slacker who didn’t set any goals. In both cases, we always wound up feeling defeated, which is tough to handle as a true competitor. For us, this One Word exercise has become a focal point throughout the year. It helps bring clarity into a very complex world. The discipline of developing a One Word theme has stretched me in all areas: spiritually, physically, mentally, emotionally, relationally and financially. God has transformed me in many ways through this exercise, and we promise that through it God can bring truth and revelation into your life, as well. There is a reason why we say, “Get One Word for the year…but be careful.” The “careful” part is serious. You know the phrase, “Be careful what you pray for.” It is like when you pray for patience and all you get is trials, problems and situations in which you need to practice patience. Well, the same goes for One Word. We guarantee that as soon as you find your word, the battle will begin. Do not approach this exercise half-heartedly. You will get slammed, we promise. This exercise is not for people who want to pick a nice, comfortable word that will have no significant impact on their lives. It truly is a discipline for those who want to press in and see God do great things in and through them. It is for those who want to live life to its fullest. No retreat. No regrets. It will also be a process of teaching, correcting and molding, as God will certainly bring you to a point of brokenness in relation to your word. But when you are soft in the Creator’s hands, He can form you into His vessel! You will be a changed competitor. Many athletes and coaches try to approach One Word as just another goal, but this is not a question of whether or not you will “win” at your One Word for the year. Your goal should be to live out the adventure God has for you and to learn from the lessons along the way. It is simply a matter of yoking with the Savior. You can’t look at it as a task item on your to do list. You must see it, rather, as a journey-a great journey of victories and defeats, all of which are brought to and laid at the feet of the Christ. It has been our experience that God quickly reveals His plans for the year regarding a your One Word. That word (be it a discipline, fruit of the Spirit, character trait, attribute of God or even a person) will brand you for the year! Be careful with your One Word. It will change the way you compete, think, act and live! Once you’re finished, be sure to share your experience with others-your teammates, spouse, children, friends, staff and church members. You’ll be blessed as you watch them adopt and grow in their own One Word. GO: What is God saying to you this past year? What area does God want to take hold of in your life and use for His glory? How does God want to position you for the upcoming year? How can your One Word impact you as a competitor? WORKOUT: Psalm 27:1-14 Luke 18:22 Mark 10:21 John 9:25 OVERTIME:  “Dear Lord, as I start 2013, I ask that you will make it a life-changing year. I want to live for You alone. Reveal Yourself to me as You show me what my One Word theme will be. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I realize that it is a journey of learning not a task to accomplish. Through this process, I desire to know You better. Strengthen me as I live out my One Word every day. In Jesus’ name, amen.” ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dan Britton, Jimmy Page and Jon Gordon have been doing One Word since 1999. They have together written their newly released book called One Word That Will Change Your Life. Dan and Jimmy serve as Vice Presidents for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. They have been best friends and accountability partners after meeting each other at an FCA meeting in 1989. Jon Gordon’s bestselling books and talks have inspired readers and audiences around the world. Jon is an active supporter and volunteer for his local FCA. Discover your One Word today at GetOneWord.com ————————————————————————————-

After receiving this email it didn’t take me very long to ask myself what God has been asking of me, and that is to TRUST him, in ALL situations. The word  that I choose for 2013 is “TRUST.” In the beginning of the year I was constantly reminding myself throughout the day to Trust The Lord with whatever was going on in my life. I would stop and take a moment and remind myself  of my word, “trust.” However, there have been many times where I have struggled and I have forgotten to go back to remembering my word, until someone reminded me. When you choose your word, share it with people around you , people you see or talk to everyday. Explain the significance of it and share this email with them too. That way when you do get caught up in the world, God will use these people as an instrument to remind you of your word. It’s can be pretty powerful when someone reminds you of your word. It helps you to remember that we are on God’s time.

Some examples of words that some of my family and friends have chosen have been the words, gentleness, kindness, dream, patience, tolerance. Depending on who you are and where you are at in your life will help you determine your one word.

I pray that if you choose to take on this challenge that the ONE word you pick will change you and help you become a better-version-of -yourself while strengthening your relationship with God. The word “trust” for me throughout this year of 2013 has been changing me more than I ever imagined. When you have the chance listen to this song, “Trust in Jesus,” by Third Day.

Trust In Jesus-Third Day < Click to listen to it!!

(This is a card that I made that I keep in my wallet as a reminder)

“Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding”- Proverbs 3: 5

One word, just one word has the power to change you.

GOD BLESS!!