Snowball Bushes

Ever since I was a little girl I have admired my grandparent's yard. They are Ah-mazing gardeners; their yard is incredible. One of my favorite plants in their yard is the snowball bush; it is so beautiful. If you have never seen a snowball bush, let me just tell you it's appearance preceeds it's name. It's this huge bush with these great blossoms that look like snowballs (hence the name). Anyways, this year, as my grandparents prepared their yard for spring, the snowball bush was not blooming and my grandmama told my grandad to pull it up, get rid of it. However, my grandad, being himself, did not do what she told him to do, he waited a few days and then... well he never got around to pulling up that bush.

Here's the funny thing: last weekend when I came home from school I noticed that the snowball bush had suddenly blossomed into this beautiful, full, bush. My grandad was sitting out on the front porch so I stopped by to say hi and compliment him on the beautiful landscaping. He told me it was a funny thing because a few days before my grandmama had told him to pull it up, and when he didn't, what do you know? It bloomed.

So I had this thought, how many times do we cut ourself short of what God has planned for us? How many times do we feel like nothing is going to happen, like we are dying at the roots, when in reality God is getting ready to allow us to bloom.

A few weeks ago I was definitely ready to ruin what God was going to let blossom in my life. I was afraid that what my summer was not going to bloom and I was ready to change my plans, but all of the sudden, God just really started working and I now am beginning to see the blossoms of the plans God has for me. What is even better is that if a plant blooms, then you can pretty much be sure its going to bear fruit. I am so excited to see the fruit that God is going to produce in my life this summer.

So all of this is to say I'm changing this blog a little. In the past I really have just randomly written whenever I felt inspired by God to do so, which has definitely been the correct way to do it, but I feel like God is inspiring me to do things a little different now! I want to use this blog to document what I know God is going to do this summer. I hope you will continue to read and follow along. Its going to be a great adventure.

I Know God is For Me.

Last Thursday, I literally felt as though I was being kicked around like a soccer ball by the enemy. I hate to give in to saying that when one thing goes wrong, so does everything else, but often times that's exactly how it feels. I was really stressed out by school and I was worried about some things going on at home and on top of that, I was really discouraged because I'm desperate to see people won to Christ in my home town, and it just doesn't seem like that is happening sometimes.

So between classes, I sat out in the hallway of Cherry Hall and began to read my Bible. I read Psalm 8, a Psalm in which David is just really discouraged. He asks God how long He will reject him and how long it will be before David is able to see God's face again. He admits that he has been wrestling with his thoughts and sorrows in his heart, and that the enemy has just really been triumphing over him. However, in verse 13 David says, "But I trust in your unfailing love, my heart rejoices in salvation, I will sing to the Lord for he has been good to me!" This verse encouraged me, but still I was pretty much overtaken by the troubles I was facing, so I did all I knew how to do: I kept reading.

I went back a few pages in my Bible to the story of Job. I mean if you ever start feeling sorry for yourself, start reading the story of Job. This guy went through Hell on Earth if you know what I'm saying. So I started reading Job and Job had these friends (with names I am not able to spell) who really just put him down. They constantly told him to curse God and die, just give up and forget God. But Job didn't do that, but he was tempted. In the last few chapters of the book of Job, Job is getting discouraged, and God gets kind of upset with Job and his companions.

God speaks to Job and asks him "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Who marked off its dimensions? Who shut up the sea behind doors? Who said this is how far you may come and no farther? Have you ever given order to the morning or shown the dawn its place? What is the way to the abode of light? Have you entered the storehouses of snow? What is the way to the place where lightning is dispersed?"

The questions go on and on, but I want to get to the point. Our great God controls the universe and everything in it right down to how far the sea may come. When I read these verses I was absolutely blown away at the awesomeness of our God. Who on earth are we to be scared of our problems? We should trust him that he know what he is doing, and above all we should know that He is for us. God, the ruler of the universe, is FOR US. He wants us to succeed. We are his children, He loves us, He died for us. If you finish out the story of Job, you will find tat God blessed Job in the latter part of his life. He gave him ten fold what he had before. His daughters were the most beautiful, he had the most cattle, he lived to see his great-great grandchildren. He was a blessed man.

God wants to do that for me and you, but we must learn to trust him, to trust that he wants the best for us and that nothing on this earth can separate us from him. Romans 8:37 says "No,in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither DEATH nor LIFE neither ANGELS nor DEMONS neither the PRESENT nor the FUTURE [nor the PAST] nor any POWERS, neither HEIGHT nor DEPTH, nor ANYTHING ELSE in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God."

I know God is for me.

Broken for the Anointing

Well, I have about 10 minutes to blog. But it's ok, what I have to say is very simple and short. Let me start by declaring that this week has been absolutely crazy! I started this week out ready to hear something from God and by Tuesday I had the answers that I needed from Him. However, He has continued to talk to me. Its crazy.

Today God is speaking to my heart about being broken. So many times in my short life of 18 years I have found myself absolutely broken and after so many times of turning to God I sometimes forget how comforting His words and His presence truly are. I think that in these times of forgetfulness is when God truly does break me even more. But I have come to find there is encouragement in being broken.

Before Jesus was crucified He was in the house of Simon and a woman named Mary came and broke a box full of precious ointment to pour on Him. Everyone in the house was so upset because the the box was such a nice box, and more than that the oil was very very expensive. But God did not scold the woman. He knew what was happening, she was anointing Him for his burial.

But I want to think about the box that was broken. It is often referred to as an alabaster box, alabaster is very rare and special and expensive, yet in order for the precious oils to be released from this box it had to be broken.

To put it simply, we are boxes that carry the anointing of the Holy Ghost and sometimes we have to be broken to allow this anointing to flow. Many times I do not realize why I have to go through certain things in my life over and over again, but this story reminds me that every time I am broken it is a chance for the anointing to flow in my life.

Psalms says that God is near to those who are broken hearted and of a crushed spirit. So when you find yourself in a situation that breaks your heart or crushes your spirit, draw close to the Lord, allow Him to comfort you and allow the anointing of the Holy Ghost flow through your life, you just never know what God is wanting to do with you.

God Substitutes

That's right, you saw that title correctly. "God Substitutes." What on earth could I be talking about? Well, God has really been dealing with me lately concerning idols. Yeah, "God Substitutes" is just a nice way to say Idols. So what exactly has God been dealing with me about idols? I have found, my blog-reading friend, that there are things in this life that we, as humans, have made our idols that we may not have before recognized as idols. These are things like food, Internet, friends, things that God may have very well meant for our good, but we have put before Him. This is bad, this is idolatry.

I don't want to sound preachy, so I'll begin by letting you know that the reason this has been on my heart is because I have been struggling with it myself. I was starting to feel really bad, kind of distant from God and I knew I had to do something about it. So of course I immediately went to praying and... fasting? What? Giving up food? I didn't even realize it at the time I decided to fast, but guess what, food has become my idol. This is the first point I want to make: many of us have made food our idols. You know what? Some people might think that if a person is not overweight then he or she does not have a food-idol problem, but these people are very wrong. I mean just ask yourself, would you be willing to give up an entire day of food to get closer to God? Of course you would! But would you be able to go through with it? Let me tell you, fasting is much easier said than done.

Another question: when was the last time you heard your stomach growl? Yeah, its not a feeling that we as Americans get very often. And just think about it, as Christians how on earth can we have compassion towards those who are starving if we don't even know what it feels like to be a little hungry?

Second point: the Internet. Yep, I said that! We have made the Internet our idol!!! Well, let me not say "we" because I don't really know you and how much time you spend on the Internet, maybe you're not as bad as me... but maybe you are. Lets just be really really honest right now. How long were you on the Internet before you came to read this blog? I mean, I know you didn't get online simply to read this and get off... you're doing other things too. But the Internet is not bad! Please don't mistake me when I say spending time on the Internet is making an idol out of it, the Internet can be used for great purposes (like blogging!) but when we spend excess time online, more time on Facebook than we do in prayer, its a bad thing. Its an idolatry thing.

And what about your friends? Are you spending more time with them than you are with God? I know I have for sure. And that really saddens me. Of course I love my friends, and my family too (I include them as friends), but in the book of Matthew Jesus says that we should love God so much it looks like we hate our friends and families! That is a lot of love, and quite honestly, I don't think it looks like I hate my family.

I guess what I'm trying to get at here is that if a person feels separation from God, perhaps it is because he or she has sin in his life that is getting in the way. These sins are not ones that we would typically see as bad things. Food, the Internet, our families, can all get in the way of our relationship with God. I am definitely working on putting God first this week, it needs to become a lifestyle for each and every one of us. I hope you will join me.

He Makes All Things New

The birds are chirping, flowers are blooming, and trees are budding. Spring is definitely in the air, and everyday I am reminded of the magnificence of God's creation. There is something absolutely spiritual about taking part in the beauty that God has painted around us with his very own words. I know he spoke the trees and flowers and cool breezes into existence, and it takes my breath away. I feel like everything he has created has a message He wants me to hear. Perhaps that is why it's been a while since I've blogged, I have so much to say about what God is telling me through his creation.

First, let me say the absolute best part of Spring is the fact that God makes all things new. When the winter season starts, as humans, we greet it with joy. Winter brings holidays like Christmas and New Years, but after they are over and the snow keeps coming and keeps coming, winter gets tiresome. I know in my own personal life, Winter is so... blah. I feel like nothing happens during the Winter, that I just go about existing, and that's it. But something about Spring revives me. There is so much promise in Spring. Promise that Summer is coming. And there is reassurance. Reassurance that no matter how long and dark the winter has been, God still makes all things new, He has a plan. And doesn't the lengthiness of winter make us appreciate the warm weather all the much more? In the same line of thought, don't the hard times we go through in our lives make us appreciate the new place to which God has brought us?

Through God's creation we also see His perfection. Just the way that everything in nature works together shows how incredible God is and how detailed He is in his creation. However, God shows His perfection in other ways too. There are these really beautiful trees on campus here that I just love. They just bloomed and have these great white flowers all over. But these trees stink really bad. I mean, they smell horrible. And it causes me to wonder, why would God create such beautiful trees and make them stink so bad? The thought hit me: to show His perfection.
As Christians, we believe that God is the only perfect being. Jesus Christ was the only human who was ever without sin. When God created us He didn't create us to be perfect because then we would be as good as Him. Instead He created us all with little things that make us imperfect. Therefore, I am lead to wonder why He wouldn't put imperfections in his other creations? Our imperfections, the imperfection of all creation, shows God's perfection.

I just want to take time to say we really do serve an incredible God. His creation is awe-inspiring, it stirs up emotion in me every single day. I just love Him so much, He is a great God. And you know, if He pays so much attention to the change of seasons, the trees blooming, the grass turning green, birds laying eggs, how much more does He care about us. He created us in his own image, to be like him. Of course he has great plans for us. Of course He loves us and wants whats best for us!