Journey

Show me your ways Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Psalm 24:4-5 NIV

Vacations and trips are so much fun. I love being able to plan where we are going and the journey we are going to take to get there. Some of the roads are familiar. Some roads offer detours. Some have delays. Some of the roads are new and exciting.

The days leading up to our journey are filled with excitement of all the things we hope to experience. We have planned what we would like to do, and we've planned how long it will take us to get there. The packing of the clothes and food make the journey seem more real, and sleep the night before barely comes.

We have joy every time we see a new state sign making our destination even closer. When we finally arrive we are overjoyed! Each day of our journey brings us something new to see and learn about. We sometimes plan to much and not get much time to relax, but enjoying the new sights is worth it.

There are times when our journeys haven't been much fun. One time before we even began our journey the brakes went out in the van we were taking and we had to cancel one of the activities we were going to do. The disappointment on everyone's face as we drove by the amusement park knowing we couldn't go in was not the best journey.

There have been times when the journey to get where we were going took longer than expected because we ended up stuck in snail pace traffic. Also, there was the time when I caused the traffic to be delayed by totaling our travel trailer across three lanes of the interstate.

On this life we are all on a journey. A journey to run the race that has been set out before us. Sometimes the journey is fun and exciting.We are loved, we have a great family, we have great friends, our jobs are working out well for us... Other times the journey hasn't been much fun. We get sick, our loved ones pass away, our friends betray us, we lose our jobs...

God has a journey He would like us to follow, we need to allow Him to teach us the right journey we are supposed to be on. Will you allow Him to guide our journey?

Humans

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27 NIV

Have you ever just sat and people watched? I'll admit it, I have. I mean what else am I supposed to do while I wait for my family to finish riding a roller coaster. There is quite a crowd waiting around these rides, so I'm not the only one.

Humans are interesting. We come in all different shapes and sizes. We come in an array of colors. We each have our own distinctive look, even if someone looks like us there is still a different look about each of us.

We were also created to be able to think, to reason, and to choose. Face it everyday we get up with choices to make: What will I wear? Do I have time for a shower? What should I eat for breakfast? Do I have time to pray or why even bother it doesn't do any good anyway?

My choice is to have an authentic relationship with my Lord! He has been there for me even before I was placed in my mother's womb. He knew who my parents should be. He knew when I should be born, even if my mom and dad weren't quite ready. He knew which schools I should attend. He placed me in the right church at the right time, so I could hear his message of love and forgiveness. He help me realize that I have to choose to have a relationship with Him. There was nobody else who could make this choice for me.

I chose to follow Him and make Him my Savior in the back of that small church. I can remember the exact location. The sun was shining in the big front windows. The church was empty. As I stood there I claimed His name as my name, and I KNOW He's made a difference in my life.

So humans, each of you have a choice to make as well. My hope is that you have already chosen to follow the ONE who created you. He can and will make a difference in your life just trust Him to work through your life. Think about it this way, How is everything working out for you without choosing Him? Do you have a peace and a comfort knowing that no matter what happens God's got this? Maybe it's time...

If He, Then Why Don't We?

And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than the sparrows. Matthew 10:30 NIV

Have you ever just looked at your hairbrush and wondered if there is that many hairs in my hairbrush, how do I still have hair on my head? Or when you've worked hard on a meal and made sure your hair was back, but still some how one hair made it into the food? Then of course there is always that pesky little hair that ends up in your mouth and no matter how many times you've pulled it out some how it's still ends up back in your mouth.

When you're at the beach building that beloved sandcastle, did you count each grain of sand that went into it? Or did you walk along the shore counting each grain of sand you've stepped on? Did you remember to count the sand that gets washed back into the ocean with each wave or each new grain that is brought with it?

Camping at night away from the city have you looked up in the sky and counted each star you see? What about the ones you can't see? Do you know how many planets are out there or moons?

Even if you have counted each of these things, it is hard to know the current number because they constantly change. There is someone who always knows. He knows the number of hairs on our heads. He knows the number of grains of sand there are not just at one beach but all over the world. He also knows how many stars, planets, comets, asteroids, and moons there are in the entire universe.

So if God knows all this, then why is it we don't seek Him when we need to know something?

A couple weeks ago, we experienced an unknown. Our church had a big decision to make. We had a plan and we hoped it was God's plan, but we weren't completely sure how the vote was going to turn out. We prayed and sought God and trusted in Him. But sometimes God's plans are a little different. This time though God's plans were the same! By His grace His kingdom will grow at our church again.

This week I had a plan. Last Tuesday I contracted a cold, and my plan was to give it the ten days to run it's course before heading to the doctor. By Monday though I knew my plan of waiting was not going to work, so I called and it's a good thing I did because my cold turn into bronchitis.

Because I trust God more than my plan, I was able to get the help I needed to get better. Sure there are times when I still think my plan is better than His, but sooner or later I finally give it to Him. Because if God knows so much more than me, then I should trust in Him.

What Do You See?

But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7 AMP

"Oh, look a car."

"Uh, a truck."

I hear over and over as we're walking to the school from the two-year-old I care for. He just loves vehicles, so as he sees them I say, "Yes, there's a red car," or "Yep, that's a black truck." It's very common for me to look at a vehicle and notice the color first. Maybe it's because I am a teacher and I want the kids to learn their colors or maybe it's just what I do. I do the same thing with animals, "oh look there's a brown dog or a black and white cat."

My husband and son will usually look at a vehicle and know what type it is, the year it was made, and then carry on a conversation about that particular vehicle and how much they like it. It is what they notice.

A lot of times when I first see people I recognize their color. It's not because I'm racist, it's just how my brain works. I don't turn away, I just acknowledge the way God made them. After all we were all made in His image. "So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them." Genesis 1:27 AMP

I'll admit there have been times when I've first seen someone and I just get this unsafe feeling about him. I know I shouldn't judge him, but I felt uneasy. Maybe God was giving me a sense that this person was unsafe to be around. I can remember at least a couple times having this feeling. The first man I felt unsafe around ended up pulling a gun out on the church property. Luckily, it wasn't when anyone was there so no one got hurt. The second man I felt unsafe around ended up calling us and left threatening messages. Luckily, we were safe that time too.

Every time I see someone, I try not to judge him/her by the way he/she looks. I admit I'm a bit shy, so I don't usually run up to him/her with open arms but I do try to be nice. In America, we have a hodge podge of people. People of every race and nationality.  So please forgive me if I notice your color first, trust me though when I say I try to look past that and look at your character because the heart is what really matters. I try to see someone as God sees him/her. My hope is we can all do the same.

Where is Your Jesus?

And surely I am with you always, the very end of the age. Matthew 28:20b

Last Sunday, my husband was straightening up a couple things at church and lo and behold he found a baby in a crate. This baby doll was used as our baby Jesus in the last play we did back before Christmas. We had inadvertently left him at church all this time, poor baby Jesus.

Leaving this baby at church got me thinking "where is my Jesus?"

Do we think of Jesus being at church?

When my oldest son was little he was very concerned when a pastor was moving to another church, he didn't know where God was going. When we would go to church we would tell him we were going to God's house and in his little mind, the pastor must have been God because he was always there when we went to God's house. Luckily, we were able to straighten our confused son out.

Sometimes we go to church seeking Jesus, we want Him to be right there waiting for us. The good news is He is right there waiting for us, but there is even better news: Jesus is right where you are! He is always ready to hear your prayers and help you through a tough situation, all you need to do is talk to Him.

My Jesus is in my heart, He is with me every where I go, helping me through my days, through every decision, through my anger, through my temptations...Jesus is always there.

So where is your Jesus? Is he at church? Is He sitting beside you? Is He carrying you through the tough days? Or is He in that dusty Bible hidden on the shelf?

Don't forget about Him, because He won't forget about you.

How Long Would you Wait?

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchman wait for the morning, more than watchman wait for the morning. Psalm 130:5-6 NIV

The parking lot was full when we arrived, we had hoped it was for another business rather than restaurant we decided to go to. Instead we entered a waiting room filled to the max with people, no one wanted to wait outside since it was a cold day. We put our name in and prepared for the forty-five minute wait for a table.

As I look around at the different couples, families, or friends waiting I sang (in my head) the song that was on the radio when I had gotten out of the truck. I figured I was in for the wait might as well praise God and since I was on a date with my husband I resisted the urge to pull out my cell phone and check on the rest of the world.

As time went on the people around me grew more restless. One lady from a group kept wandering over to the hostess to see where her name was on the list. She had a device like the rest of us, but I guess knowing where her name was brought her comfort. Another gentleman kept insisting that if he had to wait another five minutes he would leave and go to McDonald's. I was proud of one mom instead of having her child glued to an electronic device she had a bag full of trucks and found a place so her young son could play with them. One family after waiting almost to the time promised by the restaurant  handed the device back to the hostess and said, "We're leaving my daughter is starving."

Funny how each of us waited.

There are times when we have to wait on the Lord. We pray and pray every day asking Him about a certain situation and still we get no answer. We get antsy, we keep wandering to God and checking how close am I to having this answer; I mean my name should be moved up on the list. Or we say if God doesn't answer me right now, I am seeking other options. Or we sit back and patiently wait finding some way to occupy our time like maybe reading the Bible. Or when the answer hasn't come yet, we throw in the towel and just forget about God even though He was about ready to give you the answer.

The thing is God answers come in His timing not ours. Sometimes the answers come quickly, other times we have to wait awhile, and still other times God says "No, not now". God doesn't live in the "Give it to them now mode". God is all knowing, all powerful, and always present. We are the ones who need to hope and trust in Him because believe it or not He knows what is best for us.

This is the Day the Lord has Made

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24 NIV

So the awaited day has arrived, we now have our 45th President of the United States. Now some of us are rejoicing and some of us are mourning. It's pretty much the same every time a new president is sworn in. In modern times though, we get to hear about how someone feels right away.

The thing is we have a choice in the way we respond. We can chose to rejoice in the fact that we live in a country where we get to make a choice. We can rejoice that it's a new day and the sun has come up, at least here. We can rejoice because we have a job. We can rejoice because a son or a daughter is coming home.

I rejoice because I can freely chose to worship God and believe in the things that are written in the Bible. I believe that the Bible is God's word and I will try to do what He says in it. There are times when His word is the only thing that has brought me comfort. There are times when the right verse comes to me in several different ways throughout my day, He is speaking to me.

Maybe you chose not to believe in God, and God has allowed you to do that. He gave each of us the power to make our own choices. Sometimes though a person's choice gets shoved in his/her face. Others bully him/her because it's not the choice they have made. If we are allowed to chose then we should accept the choice someone has made. Sure we may grieve that person's choice, one thing I do though is fervently pray for that person because even though it may not be the choice I would make, I pray that it is the best choice for him/her and if it turns out not to be; I pray that he/she may learn the right choice for him/her quickly.

So today let us come together and support each other's choices, don't badger or bully each other, and decide to pray for each other. Because as our new president says "Let's make America great again." Let us rejoice and be glad in that.