tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67121731767374088732024-02-19T03:04:27.437-08:00Carving a living dreamwithout a vision we dieStephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04778325720235307526noreply@blogger.comBlogger287125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6712173176737408873.post-52154913584913381772014-10-31T16:58:00.001-07:002014-10-31T17:01:14.152-07:00What will I do with my sparkler?<img src="http://th06.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/f/2011/359/6/3/sparklers_by_wilvarin13-d4k5pbe.jpg" height="419" width="640" /><br />
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"There's something interesting about sparklers:<br />
1. They're amusing.<br />
2. They burn out super quick. (While my kids were still writing their name, the sparkler just became a smoking rod.)<br />
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David writes this: "God, teach me to number my days that I will live wisely"<br />
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And, I've come to a realization. We can choose to take out lives (which are burning like a sparkler right now) and run around and show people all the stuff we can do with our gifts and talents. We can treat them as if they are an audience to our show.<br />
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OR we can become igniters. With our sparklers (lives), we can begin to light everybody around us. So by the time our sparkler is snuffed out, we leave a world that is burring and alive. One that is writing their names in the sky because we choose to live a life to ignite others with the cause of Christ.<br />
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I choose to ignite."<br />
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(Read the complete blogpost by <a href="http://www.pierreduplessis.org/blog/" target="_blank">Pierre du Plessis</a>!)<br />
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Jesus, you know how perfect this was for my heart today. Help me to not want to run around seeking to prove myself and my work. But rather see myself in perspective and remember how short my life really is, how small I am and how nothing I am without you. Yet with You I can light everyone around me: my family, my husband-to-be, my friends, my students and my coworkers. Teach me to point others to You with simple acts of sincere love and care, dedication --doing all things to give you glory, and humility --relying completely on You.<br />
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I'm left with a reflection on the analogy: What will I do with my sparkler? Will I show it off or will I multiply the light and enjoy every second of it?Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04778325720235307526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6712173176737408873.post-83097531435641327052014-08-30T21:29:00.001-07:002014-08-30T21:50:25.865-07:00Second things -My God is not a withholder<div style="text-align: center;">
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"When I have learnt to love God better than my earthly </div>
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dearest, I shall love my earthly dearest better than I do </div>
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now. In so far as I learn to love my earthly dearest at the </div>
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expense of God and instead of God, I shall be moving </div>
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towards the state in which I shall not love my earthly </div>
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dearest at all. When first things are put first, second </div>
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things are not suppressed but increased."</div>
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C.S. Lewis</div>
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As I walked home after teaching a class, <a href="http://www.desiringgod.org/conference-messages/what-god-made-is-good-and-must-be-sanctified-c-s-lewis-and-st-paul-on-the-use-of-creation" target="_blank">John Piper</a> spoke through my earphones, reading the quote by C.S. Lewis written above. I found it so fascinating! So well-put, so wisely said. </div>
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I think like everyone, I have problems putting God on the throne in my heart and not letting anything else take his place, be it my darling Kevin, myself, my family, my career or dreams. The reason I think the words are so perfectly stated is that often I confuse the priority that these other things must have in my life. Second, right? For God must be first. But I need my heart to remember that it doesn't mean He is a withholder, as much as the Tempter wants to draw the old trick from the garden. </div>
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Yes, my King is jealous for my heart, zealous to guard it all for Himself. Yet my total surrender to His reign for my affections doesn't steal precious things from me but rather, purifies them and makes them completely beautiful. Once again, and always, when He's put in first place all else falls into place. When first things are put first, second things are not suppressed but increased. I think they become God-glorifying incense! </div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04778325720235307526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6712173176737408873.post-8988228435621017592014-08-30T21:02:00.001-07:002017-08-09T17:46:55.772-07:00How to build endurance<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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"When you feel you can't go on any longer but still go on is when you build endurance." Thoughts from Jesus as I run physically and spiritually, looking to Him.<br />
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"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." <i>Hebrews 12:1-2</i><br />
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04778325720235307526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6712173176737408873.post-92002973319766796062014-05-25T20:35:00.003-07:002014-05-25T20:42:00.327-07:00Fighting for the land<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Joshua 14:6-15 and 15:13-19 has an awesome story. The main character, other than God, is Caleb.</div>
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Caleb had received a promise from God years ago. In fact he says when it was: 45 years ago. This promise had his name on it; it was specifically designed for him, promised by God –the One who doesn’t break promises.</div>
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The interesting part is that Caleb goes to Joshua, the leader after Moses, and tells him essentially: “Give me the land God promised me.” Before that he explains that even though he’s 85 years old, he is as strong as when he was 40 and can go and war to get the fulfillment of the promise –the land.</div>
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It amazes me what he says next: “if the Lord will be with me, I shall drive them out just as the Lord said.” The “if” lets me know that he knows he cannot do it without God’s help, but with it he knows it’s a given. I love the fact that it hasn’t happened yet. Caleb can’t see the future. He just has a promise with his name on it. </div>
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Another point that caught my interest is that I had wrongly believed that Caleb got the land because God gave it to Him, in other words, that He had dropped it on his lap. I somehow missed the part that he had to fight for it. </div>
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The land was already his in light of the promise and the promise-Giver, but God expected him to go get it. It was already his but he wasn’t going to enjoy the land, taste its fruits, and see his children run and play in it and sleep under its trees until he had fought for it.</div>
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And there’s more. When Caleb goes to Joshua, he says: “So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke that day. For you heard then how the [giantlike] Anakim were there and that the cities were great and fortified; if the Lord will be with me, I shall drive them out just as the Lord said (Joshua 14:12).” The Amplified version helps us out with a fact we would miss if we’re not consciously remembering the rest of the story (found in Numbers 13:27-33): there were giants inhabiting the land!</div>
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Conquering giants isn’t easy. It’s already something to fight for the land, but what if giants are protecting it? “Oh boy, and you say the land is mine?” I would be tempted to say in Caleb’s place. But Caleb didn't think so. He fought those giants and won with God's help and asking others to help him do it (Joshua 15:16-17). </div>
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I love the fact that he couldn’t do it alone, even though he had faith that God would do it because he had a promise with his name on it. I love it because it shows a bit of God’s heart: He’s all about relationship. </div>
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I think that to fulfill His promise to Caleb God wanted Caleb first to stick to Him for help, advice and courage, among a million things he’d need from God. And secondly, He wanted Caleb to establish bonds with others. Essentially, I think God likes showing us that we can’t do it alone so that we’ll ask for help. His help most of all, but also the help of those around us. He’s a God that loves relationship, community and knows that the best stories one can live are shared.</div>
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I’m learning so much from Caleb’s story. As a way of recapping, I think Jesus teaches me these things through Caleb:</div>
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God has promises with my name on them.</div>
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Even though what is promised is mine I still have to fight to get it.</div>
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God's promise normally looks impossible, like conquering giant dwellers in the land that God said is mine.</div>
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The fight includes getting God’s help for it, sincerely believing He will come through and being willing to ask for others’ help.</div>
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This creates a story of the kind God likes: where faith, courage to take action and relationship are keys to make it happen.</div>
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However I'm struck again by the point about going to claim the land and fight when I read: "And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the Lord God of your fathers hath given you?" </div>
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The question I'm left with is, what promises has God given me that I'm being negligent to claim and fight for? </div>
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Warrior, I invite you to think on the answer as well. </div>
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If you want to read the whole story about the promise, </div>
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you can find it in Numbers 13:27-33, chapter 14 and in Deuteronomy 1:19-36.</div>
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04778325720235307526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6712173176737408873.post-86219579733001798932014-05-21T18:03:00.000-07:002014-05-25T20:40:02.819-07:00To live this way, God the only Fortress<img src="http://garryhamilton.com/wp-content/flagallery/land-and-seascapes/sea-rock-birds-large.jpg" height="484" width="640" /><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>"Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah. For thou, O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name. ... So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows."</i></span> <i>Psalm 61:2-5,8</i><br />
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Uneasy, tired, tense. Situations can sometimes make you feel that way, don't you agree? I memorized this passage because I thought how amazing it is for God to lead me to a rock that's higher than me. <i>Exactly what I want and need!</i>, I thought.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>"FOR GOD alone my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation. He only is my Rock and my Salvation, my Defense and my Fortress, I shall not be greatly moved."</i></span> </span><i>Psalm 62:1-2</i><br />
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Did you notice the part of "God alone"? It took me a little while. And then the psalmist says, "He only..."! He only is those great things I need and look for in life every day: security, safety, strength, wholeness. And I'm struggling to feel at ease, to be strong, to feel secure and safe instead of insecure and uncertain and while this is going on, God tells me: "Steph, you can <i>only</i> find these things in <i>Me. </i>And you <i>have </i>Me. You don't need to wait for anything to take them now."<br />
So, I can wait in silence and not in worry, knowing that my wholeness, my salvation comes from Him -and I have Him! He only is my Rock, my security, my strength. He only is my Salvation, my Defense. How about having God defending me? Nothing will overcome me for He has overcome the world! And He only is my Fortress, I won't be greatly moved. You know I'm dust. You know that in my humanness I fall, my heart can falter, my mind can worriedly run, my body can be tired. But even taking all of that into account, I won't be greatly moved if You are my Only Fortress.<br />
Please, Jesus, Papa, make Yourself my only Refuge, my only Rock, my only Fortress. Teach me what it's like to live this way.<br />
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Guess what, my soul? You have God! The Rock, the Fortress, the Refuge -the Only one!Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04778325720235307526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6712173176737408873.post-31114389740794528312014-03-17T20:51:00.005-07:002014-03-17T20:52:50.840-07:00The embodiment of love<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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What is it that I love the best about you?</div>
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There's no way I can pick.</div>
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All of you makes my heart tick.</div>
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The more I think about you, </div>
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the more I realize I can't live with pieces of you.</div>
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I want all of you! I need all of you!</div>
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I dreamed of your eyes in your smile,</div>
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Total acceptance and love I see.</div>
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And how I love to see that you love me.</div>
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There I can, in those eyes </div>
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that hold my gaze</div>
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and leave me amazed at a love so great.</div>
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How could I love without your lips?</div>
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The richness of love pours out from them!</div>
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Your tingling kisses, </div>
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your words of desire I can hardly believe,</div>
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and the torrent of sweetness and power</div>
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you have in your lips.</div>
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I want all of you! I need all of you!</div>
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From head to toe.</div>
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Your feet, they're wondrous.</div>
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They walk on water </div>
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and invite me to follow.</div>
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Your footprints I need. Thanks for your feet!</div>
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Oh, your hands! They assure, caress, hold.</div>
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They lift me up, protect, remind</div>
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that you know what it is to be human</div>
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and you payed the price </div>
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for me to be forever with you. </div>
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In all of your glory, </div>
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your reign of the universe </div>
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and lordship over all things</div>
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You make yourself my prize.</div>
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How small I am! Insignificant better said.</div>
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Yet so greatly loved by Love Himself.</div>
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Who knows how to count your mercies? </div>
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Who knows how to sing you praise?</div>
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Who knows how to worship you as you deserve?</div>
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Not any human, not any angel.</div>
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But we try anyway, because aghast you leave us, God.</div>
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Aghast at your love.</div>
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And your hair, it blows with the wind.</div>
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It smells like freedom! And when you're with me, </div>
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you leave your aroma with me.</div>
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It's so human and divine at the same time.</div>
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Thank you for being, fully human, fully God.</div>
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I cannot comprehend all that it's done for me.</div>
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Jesus, I love your arms. Strong, large, cozy.</div>
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You guard and protect me.</div>
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And your hugs are the best thing.</div>
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If I should remember anything </div>
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every day that I live, is that </div>
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I live by your hugs and live for your smile!</div>
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Thank you for your legs. Your lap is perfect.</div>
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Thank you for your shoulders. They're a dream!</div>
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Thank you for your chest. It's what I need.</div>
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Thank you for your nose that snuggles me.</div>
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Thank you for your ears that listen to me.</div>
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Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for each part of you!</div>
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04778325720235307526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6712173176737408873.post-23464079892177938132014-03-13T22:46:00.001-07:002014-03-13T22:54:13.205-07:00Joy today<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I’ve written before about grace
today. But “joy today” just might save my life.</div>
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I’m living a chapter in my life
in which God has made me feel that it’s autumn because I gotta let go of many
things. Sometimes I feel it’s a good thing to be pruned by the wind, like the
autumn leaves. But another side of me cringes because: <i>What will I have to give up? Will I make it out alive? And then comes
winter, what will I do then?</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE5JXkqn5Vs9iKC0M7ULtOi9ByKjjmyzEgDpQ5jazQ7QA7jevEs5zJ_NVYtZ6aGRQpdA3ccY_og1rZvWUZCV-vQYgiQRlqGj6j_SPQOO1TPT2LFdmxqg2PmLas7_Sw-rLqs_leAIU8yC8/s1600/ice+storm+in+Toronto+dec+2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE5JXkqn5Vs9iKC0M7ULtOi9ByKjjmyzEgDpQ5jazQ7QA7jevEs5zJ_NVYtZ6aGRQpdA3ccY_og1rZvWUZCV-vQYgiQRlqGj6j_SPQOO1TPT2LFdmxqg2PmLas7_Sw-rLqs_leAIU8yC8/s1600/ice+storm+in+Toronto+dec+2013.jpg" height="288" width="400" /></a></div>
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The autumn colors are glorious
but the crisp cold air of change has been making me shiver these past two days.
Fear of the unknown has been enveloping my mind, causing me to think things I’m
embarrassed of. I’m afraid of the future and how I’ll fare in it. I’m afraid of
not making the right choices. I’m afraid of moving away from people that I love
dearly. I’m afraid of new things and of not being able to manage them.</div>
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Last night a red nose nestled my
pillow and a bit of tears still flowed. I cried out silently. And as I warmed
myself under my blankets, the words “Perfect love casts out fear” rang in my
head. They’re from 1 John 4:18. And I could almost hear God
tell me “hide in my love” after I had just said “I want to hide in a cabin
forever!” </div>
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This morning I was translating a
message by John Piper for my mom. And at some point I clicked on another
message I had never read and found something <i>perfect</i>. Piper is talking about using acronyms to help him remember
what he ought to. This is his description of one:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwlxkXuae3-Mvv7_dKXOUBSXNshODZR6ayxJei7ZL3_gM-0TgIlwIdcjwuDj51SNqVtVU5XOXzovYk6-1s_MpqJrOb-ASGvJJinT6FcQhOMu5VqQXQEdPZnwFX4S7RpheTXkjT5oKtaqY/s1600/The+beauty+of+autumn,+I+can+almost+see+fairies.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwlxkXuae3-Mvv7_dKXOUBSXNshODZR6ayxJei7ZL3_gM-0TgIlwIdcjwuDj51SNqVtVU5XOXzovYk6-1s_MpqJrOb-ASGvJJinT6FcQhOMu5VqQXQEdPZnwFX4S7RpheTXkjT5oKtaqY/s1600/The+beauty+of+autumn,+I+can+almost+see+fairies.JPG" height="318" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">AIMS: For Christ-consciousness
Throughout the Day</span></div>
<span style="text-align: justify;">This is what I need all day long.
Reminders of massive truth. If my mind is empty or worldly, my faith
languishes. My joy in Christ weakens. I need truth. “You will know the truth,
and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).</span><br />
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My mind needs glory: “Set your
minds on things that are above” (Colossians 3:2). I need to think on excellent
praiseworthy reality: “If there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy
of praise, think about these things” (Philippians 4:8). But my mind drifts into
banal and trivial things. And my soul shrivels. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
What shall I do? I “will call to
mind” amazing things about God (Lamentations 3:21). I will “remember” his
all-gracious covenant (1 Chronicles 16:15). I will set my mind on “the things
of the Spirit” (Romans 8:5). I will “consider his wondrous works” (Psalm
106:7). </div>
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How? Among other ways, with AIMS.
Through the day I will pause and ask, What are your AIMS? And I will answer:</div>
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<b>A </b>Alive. I will call to mind the stupendous truth that Jesus is
alive. (Luke 24:5–6)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
“Why do you seek the living among
the dead? He is not here, but has risen.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>I</b> In. I will remember the breathtaking reality that Jesus is in me.
(Romans 8:10).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
“Christ is in you.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>M</b> Mighty. I will ponder the all-comforting fact that Jesus is
mighty. (Matthew 28:18).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
“All authority in heaven and on
earth has been given to me.”</div>
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<b>S</b> Satisfying. And I will savor the sweetness that Jesus is
satisfying. (John 6:35)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
“Whoever believes in me shall
never thirst.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<o:p><i>(Taken from Desiring God Ministries, found in <a href="http://www.desiringgod.org/books/sanctification-in-the-everyday" target="_blank">"Santification in the Every-day life"</a>)</i></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I’m imagining what will occur in
me if I know and remember not just that Jesus is <b><i>alive</i></b> but that He is <b><i>in </i></b>me
and He is <b><i>mighty </i></b>and He is <b><i>satisfying</i></b>. What a life I’d live!
Definitely devoid of fear because while fear is human, He has not given me a
spirit of fear for I have become his adopted daughter. Look at this awesome verse:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father" (Romans 8:15).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
His children shouldn’t
be afraid of anything. He’s the boss of the Universe and all things! Could it
be then, that I am really afraid, not because He’s not in control, but because
I question His love for me? I think so. And the rest of the "perfect love" verse tells me so: "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love" (1 John 4:18).</div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">While His love may prune me and
send winds and storms to shake me, His love makes me strong. While in His love
He may hurt me, like he wounded Aravis’ back in </span><i style="text-align: justify;">The Horse and His boy</i><span style="text-align: justify;">, He knows what is best for me and why He does
it. He knows what I need to learn, where I need to go, with whom it’d be best
that I get there and He doesn’t want me to be afraid. He comes to comfort me!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvjDkeiW84KJNOfcJo1YLzs5LF75qh_Ylv-3YTQaUkpBIeB376sTjq-IuyFQreSRed_NENC8N8WJDzYLeiawhAWnVWYl0rWtnSolyPLnDMe9EDrv7EZvvwwUNnY_7eZosMWxR2aJrw6xk/s1600/WDPCGP03XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvjDkeiW84KJNOfcJo1YLzs5LF75qh_Ylv-3YTQaUkpBIeB376sTjq-IuyFQreSRed_NENC8N8WJDzYLeiawhAWnVWYl0rWtnSolyPLnDMe9EDrv7EZvvwwUNnY_7eZosMWxR2aJrw6xk/s1600/WDPCGP03XL.jpg" height="226" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">I just reread </span><i style="text-align: justify;">The Horse and His boy </i><span style="text-align: justify;">and if you haven’t
read that book of the Chronicles of Narnia, then this might be quite unclear.
I’d love for you to read it. If you love Jesus or wonder if God is real and
about His dealings with your life, seeing He is God, that book is a beautiful
and fun way to help us grasp the fact that God gives and He takes away, God
blesses us and gives us hardship. He does both in love.</span></div>
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And so why does joy today save my
life? Because today I remembered, as I
prayed through that acronym and my mind could see sunlight, that God doesn’t
leave the key to tomorrow’s joy in today. If I’m fretfully looking for it today
(which is all I could do, I can’t go to tomorrow yet), I won’t find it. What <i>is </i>in today is<i> today’s</i> key for joy. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ZyyGRT70ScdmYZydNCWLVm0W-jCT_qq5GmoKvNxJvTQQyqInzW3y9ZJf68olvFjAU7Dkczt7KpvW83SvC1rls8YlHOOpOJqCsGIfqFTWFP0glA5cfDuvjFF9oMXOQLKprBdsVaxBSwQ/s1600/key.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ZyyGRT70ScdmYZydNCWLVm0W-jCT_qq5GmoKvNxJvTQQyqInzW3y9ZJf68olvFjAU7Dkczt7KpvW83SvC1rls8YlHOOpOJqCsGIfqFTWFP0glA5cfDuvjFF9oMXOQLKprBdsVaxBSwQ/s1600/key.JPG" height="320" width="286" /></a></div>
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So maybe I can be very afraid
about the future, about how I’ll fare then, if I’ll be happy with my choices.
But I can only know that true Joy is found in Jesus and He only gives
tomorrow’s joy key tomorrow. But He has promised to give me today’s joy key
today.</div>
<span style="text-align: justify;">All in all, I hope reading this
has helped you a little in dealing with fear, finding joy and remembering that
He who is in you is alive, mighty and satisfying. Let’s swim in His love, as
autumn leaves fall. </span><br />
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04778325720235307526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6712173176737408873.post-34227661365001769782014-02-15T20:44:00.000-08:002014-02-15T20:49:51.430-08:00Rethinking Valentine's day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<img height="426" src="http://static-mb.minutebuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/cute-hug.jpg" width="640" /></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
Valentine's day has left an echo on facebook and all around, like the chocolate in my bag. I just read two blogposts written by Jarrid and Juli Wilson that I loved. They have food for thought and I want to share them with you.</div>
Look at this:<br />
"My wife and I have come to the realization that the only way our marriage will last 'until death do us part' is with constant and relentless pursuit, no matter the time and day. This means that we encourage ourselves to treat every day like its Valentine’s Day." -<a href="http://jarridwilson.com/my-issue-with-valentines-day/#more-4035" target="_blank">Jarrid Wilson</a> {I love it! It sounds like treating every day like it's Christmas. I'm so blessed that my honey actually thinks this way and prays to do it always.}<br />
<br />
"Sometimes love doesn’t come delivered to the door covered in glitter with flashes of bright red and pink. It doesn’t always smell like roses – especially if you choose to serve at a shelter or two. It may not come in a heart-shaped box of chocolates, but I can assure you that it’s the sweetest thing you’ll ever experience. Love goes beyond personal preference and convenience. It’ll always cost you something, but it’ll just as surely will give you back everything you could ever hope for in life as well." -<a href="http://juliwilson.com/2014/02/11/love-isnt-like-a-box-of-chocolates/" target="_blank">Juli Wilson</a><br />
<br />
I don't know you, but I had to make a conscious effort to think of others this Valentine's and not of myself. That's why this is worth remembering.<br />
<br />
Dear Jesus, please help me and every person who reads this to discover the wonder of serving others, being there for them, giving out of our hearts to them, loving them like You do. Please shoot love to the proper place in our priority list. And thank you that as we take time to care for your own, the people around us, in all ways that we can, you bring into our hearts that rich fulfillment found in loving someone more than ourselves. We ask for your help because <i>we</i> can't do that on our own. We want to rediscover the power and transcendence of love! A little love can go a long way. Thank you for creating such a wonderful bomb {love} to change the world with and for inviting us to be a part of it with You! I love you!<br />
<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04778325720235307526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6712173176737408873.post-42969013149610143802014-02-03T17:20:00.000-08:002014-02-03T17:22:09.608-08:00Better than you dare think<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">"Give what you have; to someone it may be better than you dare think." </span>-</i></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Henry Wadsworth Longfellow</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It could be as simple as a smile, a heartfelt hug, a touch on the shoulder, a happy disposition, a "Have a nice day", "I hope you get better". Things we do that we think are too ordinary to make a difference. They do make a difference.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">By Marcie Dixon</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I was going through a very tumultuous time, listening to a lot of heavy metal music, which seemed to express the anger, frustration, sadness and turmoil that I felt inside. One day I went into a diner to be alone in my darkness and despair.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Hopelessness and depression were overwhelming me. I had been asking myself what was the point of my life and my future and had come up with a big fat zero. Dark and negative thoughts and feelings had been swirling around me like a whirlpool of thick, black darkness, threatening to suck me into its vortex. I wondered what would happen if I just let myself fall into it, if I gave in to it, if I just let it take me away. I had been toying with the idea of taking my life.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I wondered if God—if there was one—would care enough to stop me. What would He think—if He existed—if I took my life? I knew one thing: I would be free of the relentless pain and torment that was going on in my heart and mind.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">When the waitress came, I ordered a coffee while doodling on the back cover of one of my school notebooks where I had drawn a mosaic of sorts—faces, symbols, objects, expressions; most of them dark, lonely, melancholy, and fearful. They came from within, from the feelings in my heart, as well as the expressions of the music I listened to. In the midst of all of the art confusion I had drawn a small flower, hardly noticeable amid everything else.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The waitress returned with my coffee and set it down in front of me, giving me a warm smile that seemed to reach out and embrace me through the fog of depression that had engulfed my soul. It was like a small ray of warm sunshine on an otherwise overcast day. But I had grown so used to hiding what I felt deep inside that my reflex action was to shift my view down to my notebook. I felt embarrassed and a bit surprised that someone was focused on me. The waitress glanced down at my scribbling and said, “I see you are an artist.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As I took a sip of coffee, she paused for a brief moment, her eyes skimming across the doodles. Then pointing to the tiny flower, she exclaimed, “Oh, there you are! Such beauty can't be hidden even amidst all this!” She smiled again as I looked up at her. And then she was quickly off to wait on another table. I marveled that she had noticed that tiny flower so quickly. To me it seemed nearly buried in the midst of the mass of confusion of images. I looked at the little flower. Was that really me?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Finishing my coffee, I gathered my things to leave. I was digging into my bag for some money for the bill when the waitress returned, placing a beautiful long-stemmed rose on the table in front of me. I was shocked! But before I could react, the waitress quipped, “Remember, you are that rose to someone.” She then reached down, touched my hand and said, “The coffee is on me,” and disappeared to take care of another table.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As I walked out onto the street, the sky didn’t look so gray and gloomy anymore. It felt crisp and fresh. What just happened in there? I wondered. A total stranger, who knew nothing about me or what I was thinking, had pierced my bubble of darkness with warmth and kindness and hope. Was that God? Was He there after all, and did He care about me? All I knew was that I felt different and the heaviness I had felt in my heart was gone.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Maybe there is a God after all. Maybe He does care and have a purpose for my life. I couldn’t say for sure, but that day I decided to find out if He did have a purpose for me. A tiny seed of hope grew from that experience and became a turning point. Eventually I found Jesus and His love and hope and comfort. That waitress’s encouragement to me started me on my journey which led me to Jesus and His eternal love.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>"There are so many all around us who feel about as small and overwhelmed by life as that tiny flower. When the darkness is so great, even a little light can do miracles! A little word can be a lifeline that leads to hope for a lifetime."</i> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-Maria Fontaine</span><br />
<br />
This is a post that stayed a draft since 2010. I was looking through drafts today and found this to be a great encouragement. I was just thinking how I want to do some things that require money that I don't have. "That's fine" this story tells me, "You need to wait to have money to do some things, but making a difference is not one of them, you can Give what you have."<br />
<br />
<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04778325720235307526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6712173176737408873.post-55057418853298481572014-02-03T16:38:00.002-08:002014-02-03T17:22:36.412-08:00The leash: A reflection about a healthier Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last Sunday I had a very vivid picture of what it means to have an unhealthy relation to someone else's emotions.<br />
It all started with a nice walk with my dog, Charles. We walked near my house, which is perched at the top of a hill. Some dogs came along and attempted to claim the front of our house as their territory. This wasn't something Charlie would allow. I shooed the dogs away and as they left, Charlie ran after them with all his might. The strength of a well-fed 1-year-old lab took me extremely quickly down the hill trying to stay on my feet. Soon enough the inevitable happened. I fell flat on my face in a mixture of concrete and dirt. I know it was the latter as well because some of it was on my mouth and nose.<br />
I'm happy to say my bruises are no longer dark purple and it's a miracle nothing was broken or sprained. Yet, there was a question that made me think, "Why didn't you let go of him?" my sister asked. "Oh, I did! Once I was on the floor!", I responded at first. But then I felt a little glimpse of realization. Aren't my relationships with people sometimes that way? If my loved one is sad, and if I choose to attach an unhealthy emotional tie between me and him or her, my spirits will come tumbling down, no matter how great of a day I was having. Similarly, it can happen with happiness, and fear, and jealousy and all kinds of emotions.<br />
The problem is that I let others guide my emotions, when<i> I</i> should be in charge. Just like with Charles, I was supposed to be in charge!<br />
It's a weird phenomenon I'm still learning about but I know there are healthy and unhealthy responses that we can have to others' emotions. And it's tricky for me to get rid of some of these habits. Yet, I've taken it to Jesus and asked for his help and I can say He has been working!<br />
For instance, if X is having a terrible day and chooses to look at the negative side of everything, before I would say, "Poor X! He's in a bad mood again." Finding out why was my mission, and then I would try so hard to revert X's mood. This wouldn't work most of the time of course, and if it did, it was short-lived. And the situation with X would continue, which would sadden me and make me unhappy for days until magically X had a happier day cause he finally decided to look at the bright side of life. This is taxing. Not the way I want to live.<br />
Now, when X is having a bad day I'm not happy for it, cause I love X. But I know that X has a choice: to get himself out of the pit. He knows I'm here if he needs me, but if he doesn't want to come that's his decision. I'll still pray for X. Yet I'll be having a merry day because I choose to. I might be saddened that X doesn't want to join me, but my joy cannot be lost because of X. The joy of living is much too precious to tie it to the emotions of a mortal which I have no control over. I know I have to be mature enough to accept that every person makes decisions and I cannot make them for them. They have a choice and I have my own.<br />
And the choice I have to consciously make every moment is to tie my joy to Jesus, and not anything of this world, including people.<br />
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<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04778325720235307526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6712173176737408873.post-29969917723514749132013-11-24T10:52:00.001-08:002013-11-24T10:53:16.350-08:00Don't raise good kids<a href="http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/don-t-raise-good-kids" target="_blank">Don't raise good kids</a>, by Jon Bloom<br />
This will surprise most people.<br />
I don't have any kids, but I was this good kid. The worst part is when God's grace isn't something one receives freely, but something one doesn't know is there because frankly, why do you need it when you're "pretty good"? Or so it seems. Until reality hits. That was only some years back, a step-by-step process. And that's why lately I've been all about grace: seeing it's there, accepting it, taking it, enjoying it, praising God for it, and by God's grace, giving it as well. And I continue to need to notice it's there, for me.<br />
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<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04778325720235307526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6712173176737408873.post-58744023804227463842013-11-08T08:56:00.000-08:002013-11-08T09:08:16.455-08:00Actually, a tree ablaze<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I want to dedicate this post, authored by Ann Voskamp and posted on her blog this early November day, to my best friends because I know we've all battled and fight daily to <a href="http://www.aholyexperience.com/2013/11/how-the-hidden-dangers-of-comparison-are-killing-us-and-our-daughters-the-measuring-stick-principle/" target="_blank">let go of the measuring sticks</a>.</div>
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“The world isn’t a forest of measuring sticks. The world is a forest of burning bushes. Everything isn’t a marker to make you feel behind or ahead; everything is a flame to make you see GOD is here. That God is working through this person’s life, that God is redeeming that person’s life, that God is igniting this work, that God is present here in this mess, that God is using even this.”<br />
“Walk through life with a measuring stick – and your eyes get so small you never see God.”<br />
<span style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.aholyexperience.com/2013/11/how-the-hidden-dangers-of-comparison-are-killing-us-and-our-daughters-the-measuring-stick-principle/" target="_blank">(Read more...)</a></span><br />
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From, <i>How the Hidden Dangers of Comparison are Killing Us </i></div>
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<i>… </i><i>{and Our Daughters} : The Measuring Stick Principle</i><br />
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<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04778325720235307526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6712173176737408873.post-69917064141514576192013-08-24T21:02:00.000-07:002014-05-25T20:43:27.393-07:00Fill in the blanksWhen did I start seeing ________ as commonplace and stop seeing ________ as a holy place?<br />
When did I start seeing <span style="color: #b45f06;">breathing</span> as commonplace and stop seeing today as a holy place?<br />
When did I start seeing <span style="color: #b45f06;">daily chores</span> as commonplace and stop seeing this minute as a holy place?<br />
When did I start seeing <span style="color: #b45f06;">laughter</span> as commonplace and stop seeing this moment as a holy place?<br />
When did I start seeing <span style="color: #b45f06;">mom and dad walking in through the door</span> as commonplace and stop seeing today as a holy place?<br />
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04778325720235307526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6712173176737408873.post-23543439830624926802013-08-13T16:12:00.002-07:002013-08-13T16:14:12.160-07:00His houseI'm so excited about a treasure I found right after writing the post below, <a href="http://carvethedream.blogspot.mx/2013/08/oh-how-i-long-to-feel-accomplished.html" target="_blank">"Oh, how I long to feel accomplished!"</a> Check it out, it's <a href="http://biblia.com/books/asv/2Co5.1" target="_blank">2 Corinthians 5:1</a><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>"For we know that if the earthly house of our tabernacle be dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens."</i></span><br />
It makes me think of the reality of earthly things vanishing away. All worldly things will lose their value, will be destroyed. And what if the house I devote my life to build is made with such materials, the kind that are dissolved? It's meaningless, like the Wise one from Ecclesiastes cries out.<br />
And I love the verse before that one.<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>"While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal."</i></span> <a href="http://biblia.com/books/kjv1900/2Co4.18" target="_blank">2 Corinthians 4:18</a> I think that sums it up.<br />
But I can't help but go back to the first verse I quoted. The house, it's a building from God, not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens.<br />
Yes, isn't it all a work of His grace? We'll get to Heaven not cause we deserve it, but because Jesus paid for it. God will reward all we did for Him, yet isn't it He who "works in us to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose?" <a href="http://biblia.com/books/niv2011/Php2.13" target="_blank">Philippians 2:13</a> And yet we get to call His House, Home. What's a greater thrill than that?<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>"And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever."</i></span> </span><a href="http://biblia.com/books/kjv1900/Ps23" target="_blank">Pslams 23:6</a>Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04778325720235307526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6712173176737408873.post-90847818781765131192013-08-13T15:17:00.004-07:002013-08-13T15:21:41.265-07:00Oh, how I long to feel accomplished!Oh, how I long to feel accomplished! The question is where.<br />
There are times when I look at other's lives and I say "Theirs is so full of achievement, going and doing and accomplishing." And I can't help but think that if they're doing so much then what do I have to show for it. "On top of it all, they get excelent grades in school."<br />
What do I have to show for my life? It isn't a hectic schedule. Sometimes I feel it is, but not until I see all the extracurricular activities people in my school do. Why do I feel inferior? I'm happy with what I've chosen. I rather put my heart into my studies so that I make the most of the time I have to <i>learn (which is amazing!</i>).<i> </i>I've chosen to grow in my walk with Jesus more intentionally, and spend time with my family, who I won't be living close to forever. On top of it, I know Jesus is helping me to grow in helping others. And if I'm too busy building a CV at the cost of these things, then what do I want the "accomplished life" for?<br />
The earthly standards to judge a life are as important as dust, cause that's what we are and where we will go. Yet living for Jesus and caring for what God cares about...that lasts forever.<br />
And in Heaven, God won't ask me how well did the world think I did, during any period of my life. He'll see how much love I gave, how much I obeyed Him, how much I lived to bring Him glory and not myself.<br />
I may want to feel very accomplished here on Earth, yet I gotta choose... between being accomplished here or in Heaven.<br />
Frankly, I believe Heaven is a far better option.<br />
"Wise choice," says the still small voice.Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04778325720235307526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6712173176737408873.post-33024818429996255622013-08-11T18:41:00.002-07:002013-08-13T16:14:48.362-07:00Grace todayI love writing about what Jesus is doing in my life. I just feel I ought to, for my own sake and the sake of my memory and treasuring what He's doing. I feel that writing about it is part of honoring what He's doing. Maybe that's why so many people that know Him keep journals. There's something far too special and rare about living your life with the God of the Universe to take the things that come, the epiphanies, the ideas, the mental pictures, lightly. I think there's a new revelation of Jesus waiting for me in every day. His endlessness brings me joy! Just the thought of it, cause I can <i>always</i> go back for more.<br />
Yesterday was a wonderful day and the reason to remember it more poignantly is because Jesus showed me a misconception I've held on to too tightly in my life. And He just exposed it and blasted it away with His word! I love how He <b>does the work </b>so that I can "be transformed by the renewing of my mind." (<a href="http://biblia.com/books/esv/Ro12.2" target="_blank">Romans 12:2</a>) I just gotta <b>let Him</b>!<br />
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Concerning the Torrents of Worries about Tomorrow<br />
I absolutely loved the time I've spent here. "I don't wanna leave this place without feeling totally alive and taking every bit of it back with me." The trip will end in a week. I'm already thinking about it.<br />
"It's not a bad thing for you to want that, Steph, but it's not an accurate depiction of reality", God says.<br />
"Oh gosh, am I crazy?", I think.<br />
"You want your batteries charged and you want that to last you next year or at least the next couple of months."<br />
"Well, such happy days ought to multiply my joy elsewhere too!", I feel like I'm clutching something.<br />
"I give you your daily bread every day, day by day." I know I've been trying to save food like an ant for the winter.<br />
"Bread in this case represents grace for life's burdens, trails", He goes on to explain. "Grace to fight, grace to win, grace to lose, grace to give, grace to be."<br />
"And guess what?", He adds. "You have it today, and you don't have to worry about tomorrow, I'll take care of that."<br />
Isn't it so easy to want to have grace for all of our lives all at once? It'd bring such peace, I wrongly reason. Wrongly because what I need each day is relationship with Jesus, and if I had all <i>that </i>bread in the <i>pantry </i>I wouldn't go to Jesus. I'd lie to myself and believe the lie about my sufficiency. After all, I can live from what's in the pantry. I'd totally forget my complete need of Him (the Person) and die inside. Whereas if I let Him, as He wants, hand me the grace for the day each morning, each moment, I'll have sweet communion with Him. I'll hang out and <i>be </i>with the Person of God and that will be enough.<br />
I love the fact that God has already placed the grace to fight, to win, to lose, to give, to be in every day. All the elements to overcome are in each day. So that is why worrying about tomorrow is futile in the greatest of ways. Through worrying I'm hoping to find a better solution to a possible problem, except that solution to the problem I'll <i>actually </i>encounter, will be solved <i>that </i>day with God's grace <i>for</i> the day! I'm not God. Yet I'm His adopted daughter.<br />
So when worries come, cause they do, I'll hold them out to God, the Creator and Giver of daily Grace and tell Him, "This is not for me to worry about, You'll supply the grace, the tools for any difficulties that could come up. I ask you now to take these fears and tie them to the bottom of the sea and help me to live <i>today </i>like your trusting daughter who lives to know you better every day."<br />
I love what God told me, "As you turn to me for wisdom on how to live today, you'll worry less and less about tomorrow." That's the way I want and need to live. When? Today.<br />
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04778325720235307526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6712173176737408873.post-16847266025826993402013-07-19T10:10:00.003-07:002013-07-19T10:13:37.325-07:00What does gratitude mean for me today?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I sat on the bed waiting. I ended up putting my legs against the wall, just for fun, and thanked Him. So much has happened and it has all been directly thanks to God. So much beauty, fun and things I had been hoping and praying to do <i>have </i>happened, <i>are</i> happening or are <i>in the verge</i> of happening. And Jesus is the reason behind it all! The only thing that saddens me is that I don't always realize and live like it.<br />
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This rainy day, I read a post by Peter Amsterdam on gratitude. It has made me think how I lack a passionate and deep cry of thanks to Jesus, as well as consistent sincere thank you's for the everyday wonder of living life, for this particular day and stage of my life. Giving thanks to the Maker is part of really living. I know it! I've experienced, yet why don't I do it always?</div>
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The truth is I don't deserve it, yet I'm guilty every day of taking it for granted. "Oh yes, I'm just engaged to the most awesome guy in the world." "Ah yes, I get to see amazing things take place in my best friend's lives, and I get to share some of life's greatest joys with them, in person...and be there for their sorrows" "Um, of course I can move everything in my body and enjoy great health, I'm young!" </div>
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See what I mean by taking things for granted? What comforts me is that the more I reflect on my attitude of late and the more I dwell on all that I have to say thank you to God for, I just become more grateful by the minute<i>. Thank God!</i></div>
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Finding myself taking things for granted made me imagine how I'd feel if everything was all gone, ALL... and then I got it back again! That's gratitude! That's a tight, earnest hug for God, who gives it all. </div>
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The District of Columbia police auctioned off about 100 unclaimed bicycles Friday. “One dollar,” said the 11-year-old boy who was bidding on the opening bid for the first bike. The bidding, however, went much higher. “One dollar,” the boy repeated hopefully each time another bike came up.</div>
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The auctioneer, who had been auctioning the stolen bikes for 43 years, noticed that the boy’s hopes seemed to soar whenever a racer-type bike was put up.</div>
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Then there was just one racer left. The bidding went to eight dollars.</div>
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“Sold to that boy over there for nine dollars!” said the auctioneer. He took eight dollars out of his own pocket and he asked the boy for his one dollar. The youngster, he turned over his money in pennies, and nickels, and dimes, and quarters, and he took the bike, and started to leave. But he only went a few feet. And carefully parking his possession, he went back, and gratefully threw his arms around the auctioneer’s neck, and he cried.</div>
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We should ask ourselves, “When was the last time I felt gratitude as deeply as this boy?”</div>
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Thomas S. Monson, “Think to Thank,” Ensign, Nov. 1998, 18.</div>
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I'm sure you have something precious, priceless, meaningful to thank God for today.</div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04778325720235307526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6712173176737408873.post-19178763689898891222013-07-19T09:57:00.002-07:002013-07-22T09:54:01.594-07:00What to Do When You May or May Not be a Control FreakAnn Voskamp invited <a href="http://www.markbuchanan.net/" target="_blank">Mark Buchanan</a> to her farm's porch and I would love to share with you what she shared <a href="http://www.aholyexperience.com/2013/07/what-to-do-when-you-may-or-may-not-be-a-control-freak/" target="_blank">here</a>:<br />
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“Like a city whose walls are broken down, is a man who lacks self-control.” (Proverbs 25:28)<br />
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I was in a coffee shop the other day and a mom announced to her little guy – maybe 2 and a half years old – that it was time to leave.<br />
Little Guy didn’t want to leave.<br />
At first he ignored her, then he defied her, then he assailed her.<br />
To her credit, she remained calm.<br />
She spoke quietly. She stood her ground. She didn’t bargain.<br />
In the end, magnificently composed, she carried Little Guy out the door, a wild banshee of a boy, thrashing and wailing as he went.<br />
It got me thinking about the difference between control and self-control.<br />
These two things – control and self-control – stand at opposite ends of the maturity spectrum.<br />
The toddler was a live-action reel of a fierce effort to control his mother.<br />
And he was a spectacle of immaturity.<br />
The mom was a breathtaking portrait of impeccable self-control. And she was the epitome of maturity.<br />
Toddlers brim with the impulse to control (even as they bungle the execution). A 3-year-old will resort to wild-eyed tantrums, incessant whining, ear-piercing screams, coy manipulation, and flat-out demand to try to get their way: to control their parent, or sibling, or playmate, or the situation at hand.<br />
But as the toddler’s attempts to control things escalate, his ability to control himself deteriorates. His need to be in control makes him more and more out-of-control. The results are not pretty.<br />
This all looks different in adults – usually.<br />
Of course, we’ve all met 28- or 33- or 59-year olds (sometimes in the mirror) who, in an increasingly desperate effort to control people or situations, throw tantrums, power up, make threats, emotionally blackmail, withdraw into icy silence, and so on.<br />
But most of us, by age 19 or so, have an epiphany of sorts: that the louder we shout, the less others listen.<br />
That the more we manipulate, the further others back away.<br />
That the more we toss a fit, the more others look at us and think, “What a sad strange little man,” or, “What a drama queen.”<br />
That’s the epiphany.<br />
But what we do with it matters a great deal. It determines whether we really grow up or not.<br />
The truly wise become deeply humble. They realize that the only kind of control the Bible endorses – indeed, commands – is self-control.<br />
The New Testament has 16 separate exhortations to be self-controlled. It’s a major theme.<br />
So the wise heed that, and work with the Holy Spirit to get a grip on themselves. They receive the comfort, the rebuke, the strength, and the instruction of God himself to discipline their thoughts, emotions, attitudes, and actions.<br />
They give up trying to control others and step up being in control of themselves.<br />
The lovely irony is that the self-controlled exert wide influence. People listen to them. Heed them. Seek them. Follow them.<br />
In other words, the self-controlled accomplish the very thing the controlling desperately want but only ever sabotage.<br />
Here’s what I’ve learned: Every impulse to seize control — is the Holy Spirit’s invitation to practice self-control.<br />
Every nerve jolt to freak out, melt down, start yelling, fly into rage or panic is a divine cue to slow down, breathe deep, start praying, and lean into God.<br />
Every instinct to control something is God’s nudge to control myself.<br />
I don’t always get it right. When I don’t, I not only lose self-control: I lose influence. I lose respect. I lose dignity.<br />
When I do get it right, I gain all around.<br />
Lord, help me get a grip on myself.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>"Every impulse to seize control — is the Holy Spirit’s invitation to practice self-control."</i></span></div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04778325720235307526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6712173176737408873.post-25754931227095480232013-06-11T08:11:00.000-07:002013-06-11T08:16:01.497-07:00He and I are gonna live a great story together<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/67984674?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&color=D5DE59" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="400"></iframe><br />
Guys you gotta give yourself this gift, watch this <a href="http://theaterchurch.com/media/voices1/living-a-great-story" target="_blank">video</a>.<br />
You know what my thoughts are as I finish it? Well, some are these (the truth is I'm thinking many more, enough to reflect on every day from now on and I really want to!):<br />
Jesus wants me.<br />
What makes my heart light up, He knows cause He made me that way, just that way.<br />
And He wants to do it with me.<br />
And He wants me to believe who He says I am and be fearless cause He's my Dad and Lion of Judah.<br />
And we're gonna write a story together, He and I.<br />
That's the plan. Not the ones I have in the night and then forget about in the morning. That's the plan that He laid out before I was born<span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1)</span>. Crazy huh? Could I be that important to be so well-thought of? So important that my journey is something God has personally reflected on, designed and brought to life?<br />
I just have to believe Him so that we can live the story that He has made me for from the beginning.<br />
And you know what? I love being me. And the best part is that God really wants me to love that, and even better than that, He loves me being me even when I hate it.<br />
I love having a Papa like that.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(1)</span>Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. (Psalm 139:16)<br />
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<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04778325720235307526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6712173176737408873.post-79270877570819758182013-06-08T21:04:00.002-07:002013-06-11T08:15:36.868-07:00Papa's hands<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Something shook inside of me as I read this God-made declaration. When He opens His hand...<br />
He gives me all I need.<br />
I look on and imagine the care with which He made that flower, yellow and bright. It's pure planned beauty, how it's gonna live, grow, bloom, fulfill its flowery purpose. And when He cupped me in His hands as I was in my mom's belly He planned, He knew how He'd provide. And as I look around me tonight, from the clothes I'm wearing, the stacks of books on my shelves, the decorations that flood memories into my brain and the picture of He who stands before a lighthouse reminding me Who's the light, I just see I'm blessed more than ever. And it's not about just having the bare essentials. This having what I need on God's terms is having what God wants His daughter to have. Why worry, wonder, fear, when that's the case?<br />
"When He opens His hands" ...it still hits me. I hope it always does, I pray it does! He has some very big, all-powerful loving, strong hands. And He's my papa. And yours too<a href="http://www.fathersloveletter.com/text.html" target="_blank"> if you so decide</a>.Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04778325720235307526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6712173176737408873.post-50242077131083337492013-06-03T16:21:00.001-07:002013-06-03T16:22:34.700-07:00Open my eyesOpen my eyes.<br />
Because if you open my eyes, I can see Your reality.<br />
I'll be able to see what's indispensable, what's important and umimportant. And will be able to devote my life to the indispensable, loving you ardently and in complete abandon.<br />
Open my eyes because then they'll let me see that it's not worth living for anything less than love, and that Your plans are worth giving anything for.<br />
With eyes open, I'll be able to really trust you like a little child, cause I'll be able to see You for who you really are: Love.<br />
Please open my eyes every day so that little by little I can live in this state of awareness of You. I just ask to see You. Cause if I can see You then I can see everything that matters seeing. Not the future, not even Your plans, just You who has me so crazily in love with Him and to whom I owe all things to. And my, it's crazy, you are nuts about me!<br />
And so I believe that if I can see You a little more each day my life will never be the same and I will experience what it truly means to live, living as true lovers do: exploring and discovering something new about their Beloved each and every day.<br />
I love you, Jesus.<br />
I need you to help me see. I'm human and humans can't see like this on their own. Yet your love is all-powerful, and I know that truly I'm asking it to do what you can't deny yourself, to be yourself, Love. You're dying for me to see.<br />
<img height="426" src="http://www.bigpicture.in/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Self_Love2__Eyes_by_my_goddess.jpg" width="640" />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04778325720235307526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6712173176737408873.post-11000594852595777672013-05-11T21:31:00.001-07:002013-05-11T21:31:10.033-07:00My purposeThe purpose of my life isn't to become a better me. I've tried that for very long. The purpose of my life is instead to love the One who gave me all, and on the way I'm sure His love, all-powerful as it is, will do the big work (which I can't do) of changing me.<br />
To love!<br />
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Happy me with my Kevin sweetheart, happy to love the God who gave us all!</div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04778325720235307526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6712173176737408873.post-21559509255298275932013-03-19T16:07:00.000-07:002013-03-19T16:07:14.618-07:00Dare, dare, dare, my heart!<br />
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You could — you could dare not to take yourself so seriously; dare to take yourself as Beloved.<br />
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Dare to not to give yourself a lecture, but dare to give yourself grace. His Grace is always the most amazing of all.<br />
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And you could dare not to honk if you’re happy, but honk to be happy, dare to realize joy isn’t a function of what happens, but of what you think. Joy is a function of how you thank.<br />
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So go ahead — Dare to be brilliant — just seek the light in everything. Dare to believe joy is revolutionary: it goes straight against the way this dark world spins. Light is always a radical thing in a dark world.<br />
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Dare to Give Big because this is how you Live Big. Dare to believe that it’s only your own sacrifices that show up at your funeral.<br />
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Dare not to quit when you’re tired, but dare to quit when you’re done.<br />
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So just do it, because this is you how you get things done — dare to regularly stop the work of your hands and give God your knees because you believe God can do more than you. Dare to believe God doesn’t want your perfectionism — He wants our praise.<br />
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Dare to be grateful for every good thing. And dare to know it’s all good. That’s what God does: God works everything for good.<br />
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Dare to never make pain invisible but dare to say injustice is intolerable. This takes courage. This takes Christ.<br />
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Dare to give up clarity — because God gives a call. Dare to give up life road maps — because God gives a relationship.<br />
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Dare to live without answers — because God gives His hand.<br />
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Dare to live by faith — not by feelings, formulas, facts or fences.<br />
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Nothing is impossible with God.<br />
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<i>Written by Ann Voskamp and posted on her <a href="http://www.aholyexperience.com/2013/03/daring-greatly-to-fully-live-right-where-you-are/" target="_blank">blog</a></i><br />
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04778325720235307526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6712173176737408873.post-53370101743978214672013-03-16T21:48:00.001-07:002013-03-16T21:48:06.643-07:00The means for my journeyI'm in the middle of discovering wonders in "The Pursuit of God" by Aiden Tozer. And as I read through this paragraph:<br />
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"Paul confessed the mainspring (the driving or motivating force behind something) of his life to be his burning desire after Christ. 'That I may know Him,' was the goal of his heart, and to this he sacrificed everything. 'Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but refuse, that I may win Christ.'"<br />
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The thought came. So simple, I might be the last person to think of it! Still, let me share my excitement. Imagine this: You're wanting to <i>know </i>God, to know His essence. And you look and take ahold of everything that can help you do that. You find books, great books of men and women who've known Him. They surely will have something to share with you that will be a treasure for <i>your </i>journey. And then you find 27 books, manuscripts, written by men that <i>knew Him </i>while He was on Earth and shortly after! These men write about Him, (How can you not after meeting Him?) and what they have to say is what you need, just what you need. And then there's 39 more, underneath the dust.<br />
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Sometimes I get extremely familiar with that Book, and I forget what it holds. I see pages and look at words, the names of the books that compose it are all too familiar to me. And I forget about the treasure. I read past things. So I'm beginning to wake to it, my need is awakening me. The Bible is not just the book I sang songs about as a kid, it is my. very. life. because it's my means to live, live fully. Anything else is not really living.<br />
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04778325720235307526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6712173176737408873.post-13496121121753170902013-01-25T21:44:00.002-08:002013-01-25T21:44:47.379-08:00We are fragile, but He is not<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I just read "What do if you wake up feeling fragile", a short article by <a href="http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/what-to-do-if-you-wake-up-feeling-fragile" target="_blank">John Piper</a>. Don't you feel this way sometimes? I didn't wake up this way today but felt like that some minutes ago. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This is for me, but maybe it's for you too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There are mornings when I wake up feeling fragile. Vulnerable. It’s often vague. No single threat. No one weakness. Just an amorphous sense that something is going to go wrong and I will be responsible. ...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Instead of letting me sink into a paralysis of fear, or run to a mirage of greener grass, he has awakened a cry for help and then answered with a concrete promise.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here’s an example. This is recent. I woke up feeling emotionally fragile. Weak. Vulnerable. I prayed: “Lord help me. I’m not even sure how to pray.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">An hour later I was reading in Zechariah, seeking the help I had cried out for. It came. The prophet heard great news from an angel about Jerusalem:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of people and livestock in it. And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst. </i>(Zechariah 2:4–5)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There will be such prosperity and growth for the people of God that Jerusalem will not be able to be walled in any more. “The multitude of people and livestock” will be so many that Jerusalem will be like many villages spreading out across the land without walls.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But walls are necessary! They are the security against lawless hordes and enemy armies. Villages are fragile, weak, vulnerable. Prosperity is nice, but what about protection?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">To which God says in Zechariah 2:5, “I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the Lord.” Yes. That’s it. That is the promise. The “I will” of God. That is what I need. And if it is true for the vulnerable villages of Jerusalem, it is true for me a child of God. God will be a “wall of fire all around me.” Yes. He will. He has been. And he will be.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And it gets better. Inside that fiery wall of protection he says, “And I will be the glory in her midst.” God is never content to give us the protection of his fire; he will give us pleasure of his presence.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This was sweet to me. This carried me for days. ...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This has been my deliverance every time since I was first marking my King James Bible at age 15. God has rescued me with cries for help and concrete promises. This time he said: “I will be to her a wall of fire all around, and I will be the glory in her midst.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Cry out to him. Then ransack the Bible for his appointed promise. We are fragile. But he is not.</span><br />
<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04778325720235307526noreply@blogger.com2