My Journey Through the Word!

I mentioned a couple posts back that one of my goals was to go through the Bible in one year or less. Along the way really meditating on what I am reading and learning about while taking copious notes to help me absorb all the rich knowledge and wisdom also doing my best to live out what God has shown me each day. I am happy to say that I am on Day #11. These last 11 days has been an incredible time of just eye-opening information and wisdom. I look forward to stories I have heard before and seeing them through the perspective I have now through all of my years of biblical studies classes. Also, I seem to just relish in the new stories that I had never heard before and really getting a beautiful image of who our Creator is and and how He used people in the Bible. I feel so honored that I get to see their lives just unfold and see their Author of their life stories just beautifully illustrate their purpose and His will for their lives.

Through these last 11 days it has inspired me to take a deep look at myself and meditate on what God wills for me and how I'm doing at being more sensitive to His calling and desire for my life. I have learned so much and look forward to each day I get to spend in the Word. I have come away with a refreshed appreciation for the privilege I have by just being able to openly spend time in the Scriptures while other parts of the world have to keep it a secret and risk their lives preserving God's Word. I am humbled by that fact and just come to God in awe and thanks for His mercy and grace on me as well as my brothers and sisters across the globe who share His Spirit.

Please pray for me as I take this journey through Scripture, that it would never become just a routine but that it would fill me up everyday and allow me to break down the walls around my heart so that I may grow in Him more and more. Pray for all those I come in contact with that I would display the Joy of Him in my life and the courage to share His mercy. Pray for growth and maturity and continuing to attempt to be in God's will each and every day!

Love & Blessings to all who read this!

It Was Love At First Touch....

Thanks to my amazingly kind, giving, and wonderful boyfriend...as a belated Graduation gift, I picked up my new iPhone 4 yesterday! After several years of waiting, I'm happy to say I'm a proud and very excited iPhone owner! :) Sadly, the hardest part was picking which 6 GB out of my 28GB filled iPod (Athena) to transfer to my new phone without overloading it. That was a rough filtering process, but after about an hour-I'm satisfied with my musical stylings of my amazing new phone! Now I'm just awaiting my pretty blue case and my scratch proof frosted screen shield to come in (hopefully in a week) so that I won't have to carry around my new phone like it's a newborn child!

My favorite free app so far would be my Bible App where I can look at any translation and it helps you set up one of dozens of reading programs to get you through the bible in a year or discipleship programs and so much more! It'll be my new best friend! :) What an awesome thing! Thanks for listening and sharing in my joy of my new amazing gift that'll help me to do so many things more efficiently and give my Max (my awesome 12 inch, 5 yr old laptop) a bit of a breather!

Goals-To Get Started You Must Have A Destination

As I write this I just am amazing on how quickly the month of june has gone by and how july is already around the corner! This whole concept of time has flown by much quicker than I remember it when I was younger. The Lord has really brought to my attention just how precious each day, each hour, and each moment is and how important it is to rely on Him in these short spans of time. As most of you know, I am a constant "goal-maker." I make goals for every school year, golf season, and every summer. It's a habit I've had most of my life and it's my way of doing my best to fulfill a purpose the Lord has for me. Well for this summer my goals are as follows (but not limited to by any means lol):

1. Drink the recommended amount of water per day (easier said than done)
2. Trust God whole-heartedly with my finances and giving. I've always struggled with this one but sure enough the moment I began doing it and letting go of what control I thought I had, the Lord blessed and abundantly provided
3. Give away anything I don't use or need or have any intention of using. (I've found boxes of clothes I'll never wear again and electronics that are just gathering dust. Goodwill and I have become closer)
4. Do my best to see God in every situation and to also trust Him in every situation
5. Instead of tapping into my default settings and worrying about all the "what if's" in my life, I'm praying instead...how theraputic!
6. My ultimate goal-I'm going to read the Bible in a year (or less). I'm on day 6 and have already learned so much

Please pray for me as I continue to work through these and live my purpose that God has intended at this point in my life! So many things have been happening and I just am seeking God's will and design for all things! Any encouragement and accountability would be greatly appreciated! :)

What Are You Waiting For?

I have become more than complacent over the last couple of years than I care to admit. With my spiritual growth and search for wisdom that is. It has just come to my attention how lukewarm I have become in regards to spiritual life and how difficult it is for me to make it a priority. This is not easy for me to admit, nor am I very proud of this however, it deserves to be said and it deserves to be rectified.

Through the last few weeks I have been slowly working through Francis Chan's book Crazy Love. It has punched me right in the stomach some days and has really forced me to really examine myself as 2 Corinthians 13:5 says, "Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine." I have found that I am guilty of being lukewarm and of not going outside of what I feel to be comfortable. I've done what I can to be "godly enough" and acceptable enough to see the Lord when He decides my time is up, but I have come to really ask myself, "Is that really helping anyone or is it just pleasing yourself?"

I have let a lot of people down but most importantly I have let down the one person in my life that has been with me through thick and thin, death and life, joy and pain, growth and setbacks....Jesus. I have not given Him the attention, love, and worship that He deserves and I have come to find that I cannot change on my own but only through His Spirit. I can only learn how to love Him more and more genuinely with His help. My prayer is to love Him more and to want to love Him more. It won't be easy because I'm such a faulty human being but with the Lord's help, anything is possible.

This is a prayer from Francis Chan's book and it spoke volumes to me today and it will be my prayer that will guide me to the place where I need to be:

"Jesus, I need to give myself up. I am not strong enough to love You and walk with You on my own. I can't do it, and I need You. I need You deeply and desperately. I believe You are worth it, that You are better than anything else I could have in this life or the next. I want You. And when I don't, I want to want You. Be all in me. Take all of me. Have Your way with me."

Amen.