A Year Later and A Little Wiser

It has been over a year since I've last blogged and so much has happened in my life. God has done some awesome things for me. I have had some very valuable lessons that I have benefited from. I now know that I am truly blessed and the only thing that stops me is me. I have determined that this year I will blog more often. I can't wait to see what happens. We serve an awesome God!!!!

Looking Ahead

As I look back at 2010, I see all the ways that God has truly blessed my life. There are things that God has allowed me to do that I would never thought would happen. There are places He has allowed us to go to that I never thought would take place anytime soon. And overall just looking at His mercy that He gave to us each and everyday. There are times that I've taking my life for granted and was rudely awakened by the death of someone my age. I realize that life is too precious to think that God owes me anything. I owe Him my everything. For every sunrise and sunset that I get to see that someone else has missed. For every breath I take on my own without the help of a machine. For every time I can stand up and walk about, knowing that someone has lost the use of their limbs. I am truly grateful for all that God has done. And I look forward to the new things that He is going to do in my life this year.

Dealing with us first

Trying to figure out things can be hard but having other people figure things out for you can be worse. Everyone wants to give you their take on what you should do with your life. How many people are willing to walk in another's shoes for a day, a few hours? Not many. But everyone seems to feel that they can have a say in someone else's life and not vice versa. The one thing that people fail to realize is that in order to help another in their life, the person must first help themselves. So many times you see people who have so many issues going on in their lives trying to tell someone else how to get out of their mess and they are still in theirs. In Matthew 7:3-5, it talks about judging others. We can't take the speck out of our brothers eye until we remove the log out of our own. In other words, we can't critique someone else's issues and problems until we deal with our own first.

Be Yourself

In the past couple of months I have learned a lot about myself that I never noticed before. I'm seeing what kind of person I am when I'm alone, with others and just in general. I've learned how people tend to have two sides to them. The side they let only a few select people see and the side that everyone else gets to look at. It is truly a shame when you can't be yourself at all times. I happened to be privy to that kind of show for the past couple of months and it made me take a hard look at myself. I didn't want to become like this person I knew who in front of "church people" acted church like and godly and then in the confines of their own home acted "ungodly". And no one was none the wiser except for me and God. And it was sad.

How many people do that in their everyday walk with God?? They act a certain way around some and a different way around others. In Romans 12:1-2, it talks about presenting our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God and not being conformed or similar to the world but being transformed or changed by renewing your mindset. As long as our mindset is to please the people of this world and not God, we will never grow into what He wants us to be. We shouldn't be concerned with whether or not someone will be offended by our faith in God. And we may lose a few friendships that we have obtained along the way but in the end it really doesn't matter. If the people you've surrounded yourself with don't stick around then maybe they weren't meant to be a part of your life anyway. Jesus came to save the lost not put on show for some and another kind of show for others. He came just as He was holy and righteous. Jesus changed the world, it didn't change Him. As for the person, I confronted them on their behavior and stepped back for them. Not because I thought that this person was so bad but because I learned that what I was there for I did and there is nothing else left to say or do. The choice is now theirs. Just like it is for all of us.

Into the Light

Sometimes you think to yourself that you finally got it right. Everything is where it's supposed to be and all is right with the world. Then something happens that causes you to realize that you weren't where you thought you were. That is what happened to me. God will at times in your life show you things that need to be worked on. Things that if He didn't cause situations to arise would be missed all together. He shows us these things to let us know that we still have a lot of growing to do. That in order for us to move into the next level He wants us to be in we have something that needs to be fixed in us. Not everyone can take this process. It's a really hard stage to be in but we have to ultimately remember that it is for our good and not to harm us.

I realized that through my situation that God is trying to show me there is some deep hidden things that I have covered up for so long. It's stuff that if the situation and circumstances never came about, they would still be hidden. God longs to show us all where we really are in Him and where we need to be. It's up to us to look at what He's showing us and it's up to us to decide what we're going to do with the things He's showing us. Ultimately, the choice is ours. In my case, I had to come to realize that not trusting people is almost like not trusting God. Not everyone is out to get me or hurt me because of the things that I've gone through in my past. Even though God never said not to be vigilant and aware of my surroundings, He never said to be leery about everybody. I had to learn and I'm still learning to give people a chance.

In His Timing

God has an amazing way with the prayers that we pray. I remember a prayer that I prayed many years ago for God to send my husband and I a godly couple for us to hang out with. A couple where we would be able to fellowship together, have a similar walk, and where we would be able to vent and be real with one another. For quite some time we never saw that type of couple. It was always the type that wanted you to do things for them but didn't want to do anything for you and to buy things for them because they said that they couldn't afford certain things but had money the whole time. So we backed off and God worked on the right friendship for us unknown to us. Not that it was an easy thing to do because when you need to vent to someone a husband or wife isn't one of the first candidates that come to mind on certain subjects. So we waited and waited and practically quit looking.

It was when we quit trying to find it on our own that God was able to maneuver that couple into our path. It is all about His timing, not ours. We try so hard sometimes to make things happen when we feel that God is taking His good ole' sweet time with the stuff we trust Him for and with. But it's in the waiting that you develop the things you need to usher along the prayer request. We can truly say that when we look back God used our prayer request to grow us into the people we needed to be for a godly couple to fellowship with and to share our lives with. We needed to have some stuff change about us first before they would come. A lot of growing took place. A ton of wounds were healed. And now we can go into this new found friendship with a clear conscience and free from past hurts. God is so awesome in the way He does things. It's all about the timing!

Seasons

As we watch fall change into winter, it makes me think of the changes we go through in life. The seasons of our lives sometimes depend on the circumstances of our lives. If everything is going well and all is right in our world, our season is one of joy and tranquility. If everything is going okay but you have some bumps in the road that you can overcome, then you are going through your blessed season. If everything is falling apart all around except you then you are having a trials and tribulation season. We all go through these seasons. Some more frequently in the trials and tribulation season than the joy and tranquility. But whatever season you are in right now, know that God is in that season with you. In the good and the bad remember that God created both for a reason.