Thanks through Suffering?

                We all live very busy lives. Trust me; I COMPLETELY know where you are coming from. I am constantly on the go. My plate is over course always being filled with new tasks and new adventures that need to be completed. I am someone who cannot say “No.” That two letter word is normally not in my vocabulary. I think “Yeah I can handle it. I mean I was handed this opportunity so why not take it?” I always want things to go smoothly and stick to the plan or I should say MY plan. I am a perfectionist so I think things have to go my way or no way.

                Well if I am a perfectionist and I always want things done right, shouldn’t my life be perfect with no mistakes? The answer to that question is NO. Although I wish and strive for perfection, the outcome of things don’t always lead to what I believe is satisfaction. I completely freak out when something does not go as planned or the slightness detail is out of place. Why do I spend so much time reacting to what I believe is failure?  Why do I waste so much time on the negative and not the positive? These are questions I have to ask myself daily.

                Psalms 107:1 says:

                                “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, His mercy endures forever.”

                I first want you to ponder on this verse. This 13 letter verse has SO much meaning and I have taken so much out of it from the time I read it and the times I re-read it.

                Let’s start with “give thanks to the Lord for He is good.” How often in your daily lives do you give thanks to the Lord, no matter how small or how big the thing you are giving thanks to is? I know if I look into the mirror and ask myself this question, there are not many times I do this. “Me giving thanks when things are not going my way, why should I do that?” is often what I think about. I am thinking about it in the wrong way though. God has a plan. HIS plan is what I should follow NOT my plan. Sometimes our plans don’t always line up, but that is ok because HIS plan is much greater than mine. I should give thanks to Him in my sufferings because although at the time if I do not understand why things took another path or a different route, I just have to trust in Him and listen to His words. GOD IS GOOD. That is a phrase we all hear a lot, but that is something more than just a phrase. Those words are life changing. God IS good. He wants what is best for each and every one of us so next time things don’t  go as we think they should “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good.”

                No let’s look at that the second half of the verse, “His mercy endures forever.” I think this is my favorite part of the verse for many reasons, the first reason being that God is merciful. What does it mean to be merciful? Being merciful means to be full of mercy and to be compassionate and God is definitely both those things.  Through suffering who is always there by your side? Yes your family, friends, and those who care dearly for you are always there, but God is the one who is there to pick you up when you fall and He is there with His arms wide open.  He is the one who sent His Son to die for you and me and who no matter how many times we deny Him is there to say He loves us.  This just boggles my mind.  How could the God Almighty have so much mercy on me a sinner who denies Him daily? He does because He loves us. This had me thinking about what can I do in return for God. All He asks is that we follow Him and love him. Sounds easy right? Well it is not. That is ok though because God is by our side the whole way.  

                I read this verse about a month ago and it was not until this past week that it really hit home. God has been there and will be there all the time. I am constantly fighting battles with the world and with Satan, but I do not have to do them alone because God is there by my side. I should give thanks to Him daily and when things do not go as planned I should look at the positive and not the negative. I thank God for His goodness and mercy. I know that with my battle with perfectionism is a battle that God has already won. He is perfect and He does not ask me to be. It is ok when I don’t make that grade on the test or when someone else is first place. That was not His plan for me and I just have to be patient and wait for His plan for me to unfold.

 

Keep Praising and Praying!

 

Mary

 

My best friend sent me a picture of this and I recreated it onto a sticky note. It is a constant reminder for me that it is ok that I am not perfect and I have made several copies to put in my car or binders for school. It really has helped me a lot and I encourage you to copy it and make it your own.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Restless

Many of us live very busy lives. I mean I know for certain I do. (You can probably tell since it has been forever since I have written anything). Our society is so fast paced, and we are constantly going a hundred hours a mile. I mean life is defiantly in the fast lane. While being busy keeps you out of trouble and keeps your body moving, our soul often needs rest. With all the commotion, we tend to let our hearts get really weak.

Mark 6:31 says “And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. “

I know when I am constantly busy; I sometimes don’t want to eat.  I know many of us are like that, first that is not healthy for our bodies. Not only do we forget to feed our stomachs, we often forget to feed our souls. I like this verse just for the reason. Jesus is calling us home. He is telling us to come and rest. He wants our souls at rest. Yes, we need to go out and explore His creation and do His will, but how can we enjoy it if we are restless in our hearts?

The song “Restless” by Audrey Assad came on Pandora one night, and I believe God was speaking to me through the song. I am actually listening to it as I write this entry, and I encourage you to as well. (Here is the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0B2ybZpDeM ) My favorite part in the song is the chorus, which says “I am restless until I rest in you oh God.” That is so true. We are often trying to let worldly things fill this emptiness that many people experience. In reality nothing BUT God can fill that emptiness.

As the summer approaches fast, I pray that you take a break. Go outside, get some fresh air, and just pray.  Pray that God will rest your heart and soul. Let Him take control. He is calling you home. I promise if you let Him and you rest in Him, you will experience a sense of peace that nothing on this earth can do.

With Something to Think About

So this is was something that I watched today with my Sunday School class and it goes perfect with my last blog post and I wanted to share it. I really enjoyed this video and if you have the time to watch it, I encourage everyone to. Just remember that no matter what situation you are in, it is ALWAYS going to get better. God is always there!
http://nooma.com/films/001-rain

Here it is! Enjoy!

P.S.

It is lent season. During this season I pray we all draw closer to God and prepare our hearts for the joyess Easter season.

Rainy Days

Rainy days. Aren't they just miserable. I mean I know I personally despise them. I do not like to wake up and it be pouring down rain and then get up and  have to go to school. It is probably in my top five things I do not like. The whole day I look outside just wondering when the sun will break through and clear the sky. Thankfully at some point the sun eventually does. That is when I want to jump for joy! Finally the sky is clear and all the nasty puddles and wetness is being dried up! Then hopefully there will be a rainbow!

I think we all have rainy days. Those days when everything seems to be going wrong and it seems as if nothing will get better. Trust me it will! You know why? The SON will break through the clouds of evil and dry up your puddles of weariness. Once all is dried there is a rainbow.

Isaiah 9:11 says "I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth."
After the earth was flooded, God made a covenant with Noah that He would never flood the earth again. This was also a covenant with us. I like to think about it this way. God made to flood to wipe away sin from the world and isn't that why Jesus was sent to earth to wipe away our sin? When God sent His only Son to earth to die for you and me, our sins were able to be wiped away.

God has kept His covenant with us and there has never been a flood bad as the one back in Noah's time. He kept His promise to wipe away our sins. He kept His promise to be by our side when we are going through a tough time. Next time you are having a "rainy day" just wait it out and pray because God will keep His promise and there will be rainbow and all the puddles will be dried up.

            

Role Model

Do you have a role model? Do you have that special someone in your life that you look up to? That you hope that one day you will be able to be like them? I think we all do. I know for a fact that I do.

Mrs. Donna Sharpe is my role model. Today is one year since we have lost her to the battle of breast cancer. Rather than making this day a sad day, I would like to celebrate the wonderful memories that I had with her and tell you about this wonderful lady.

If you knew her, you would have lit up and been overwhelmed with joy because she was the light of Christ. She was such a Godly-women and I am so blessed that God put her in my life. Mrs. Sharpe was my Sunday School teacher and was over all the youth at my church. She knew everything there was to know about being a Catholic Christian. She was who I wanted to be like from the time I met her.

If you had a question, she could answer it. If you had a problem, she could fix it. If you needed to laugh, she could make you roll on the floor. If you needed prayer, she was your go to lady. She was always at church and she was always putting others before herself.

Mrs. Sharpe lived her life being a teacher. She is another reason why I plan on becoming a teacher. She had such and impact on her students life's and she mostly defintly did on mine. I pray that one day I can have the impact on my students lives like she did on mine. She was so encouraging and she always knew what to say.

One of my favorite memories was when we were on a church retreat. My friends in my room woke up an hour earlier than we thought we had to go get breakfast from Mrs. Sharpe's room. So we all run down the hall and start banging on the door and laughing because we were excited for the day. When Mrs. Sharpe opens the door she is still in her PJ's and ask if everything is ok and that is when we realize that it was not time. Mrs. Sharpe being the amazing lady she was let us come in and eat and does everything for us. I know this seems small, but this is one of the many ways Mrs. Sharpe put others before herself. She could have told us to go away and she could have slept an hour more after the long day we had before, but this is Mrs. Sharpe we are talking about so she was there to help.

I pray that one day I can be like Mrs. Sharpe. I have a long way to go, but she has taught me so much I know the path I can go down. I know that she is watching over us and is praying for us. Although I miss her terribly, I know she is in a better place. I pray that we all can be like Mrs. Sharpe because she truly lived her life for Christ. I love you Mrs. Sharpe.
                    

Last year a few days after Mrs. Sharpe's birthday, I decided to donate my hair to Locks of Love.  This is the best thing I have ever done. It was all for Mrs. Sharpe. Together let's help those fight cancer!

Minus Me

I would first like to thank my best friend. She is what has lead me to write this entry and she is the one who taught me this lesson. Thank you Emily for everything you do! You are my right hand girl and I am SO blessed that God has put you in my life.

 

Our society has become about me, me, me. Everything we do we have to ask "Well what is in it for me?" Everyday we constantly worry about ourselves. We have to make sure we get everything we want out of the situation. Well how about we "minus me" from our lives.

Let me explain what "minus me" is.  "Minus me" is when you take time out of your day and you spend that time for others. Say maybe instead of worrying about something you have to get done, text or call a friend you haven't talked to in a while, maybe iron your sister's clothers, or help your mom with dinner. Think if we all took a little "minus me" time everyday, something great could happen.

Now lets take "minus me" time a little further. What is we spent that time for God. We are constantly asking God for things. What if instead of our prayer time always being about us, we open our hearts to God. What if we ask God what He thinks and what does He want us to do?

This week I pray we all take some "minus me" time. Start small then work your way up. First start by letting God do His job and let Him do the talking. It is not about us. It is about Him.

Matthew 6:6
          "But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."

Pop the Bubble

How many of you live in a bubble? I bet you are thinking, "What is she talking about?" Well let me explain...

Many of us worry about our close friends, family, and ourselves. We live in our own little "bubble" and stay in that "bubble." What I am trying to say is, we have grown to just want to get by and worry about getting through the day. We are scared of letting people in our "bubble" and we are clueless to what is really going on in the world.

If you go to school or work, this will help you grasp the concept I am trying to get across. You know the people that are by themselves either at the lunch table or desk, they don't really talk to anyone outside work, or have any real close friends that you know of. We all know these people and we all have been around them at some point and time. You may say "hey" or "have a nice day” but have you ever really sat down and talked to them?

You may be thinking it is only one person and I am sure they have tons of friends and are just shy. How about you ask yourself this...."Are they a Christian" "Do they know our Savior" "Have they accepted Christ into their life’s"? Have you ever considered that?

Our society has come to keeping our religion on the down low. No one speaks up and we tend to keep our relationship with Christ to ourselves.  2 Timothy 4:2 says,

"Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching."

Why are we not preaching the Word! How often have you spoken up and talked about religion? Have you sat down with the person you work with or go to school with? Do we encourage our fellow brothers and sisters or do we just keep to ourselves because religion "cannot" be spoken in the work place?

I am writing this post because I have dealt with being in my "bubble" all my life. The past couple of weeks God has been talking to me and telling me to wake up and speak up.  Everyday I run across someone that I could share the Word with. Everyday God gives me the opportunity.  With all these opportunities, how many do I actually take?

As you read this, I pray that we pop our bubble and get out into the world! I pray that we “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation"(Mark 16:15) Together we can change the world. All it takes is that one step and that one step starts with you.