Planning a wedding

It's been 2 months since we got engaged (woo hoo!) and it's so amazing how fast everything happens. We've chosen locations, colors, food, who's in the wedding, I even have my dress! It is so crazy how it can suck you in so fast! Daily I am trying to not let it consume all of my thoughts, as I still have real life to pay attention to. Dave and I have made it a point to continue to spend more time together investing time into our relationship instead of constantly staying in "Wedding Planning Mode". So far, it's worked, and I'm loving it. I'm still tempted every once and a while to drive to Reno on a random Tuesday night and make it official there instead of participate in this wedding maddness, but I remind myself constantly how worth it this will be. Ahhh! I'm getting married!!!!

As for that picture, well, I just saw it and laughed, so I hope you can too. :)

The Expenses of Sin

Too often we live our lives trying to cover up our sins, to ourselves, to others, and most of all, to God. The Word clearly shows us that no man who covers up his sin can prosper, as we see so clearly in the life of David. David's sin, and his trying to cover it up, lead to serious tragedy...more than once.

I don't understand how we go to spend time with the Lord, and serve the Lord, thinking that He doesn't see right through us? Don't we see and feel the Spirit of God prompting our hearts to repent and to be made pure? We have have doubted His Word, and His promises, and we have failed to renew our hearts before God every day the anointing of His Spirit, so much so that we have become spiritually stale. God knows all this, but instead of admitting it, we cover it up and pretend that all is well and go our way from His holy sanctuary holding tight to our doubts, fears, and sins.

But beware my brothers and sisters - Sin is expensive! God may forgive and restore you, but the consequences of your sin may involve not only you but others who are innocent. Perhaps its results may continue for years to come, or for eternity. Seeds may be scattered beyond your recovery. A bitter harvest may be reaped in the lives of other people because of your departure from a living faith and true obedience to the Living God.

When you refuse to admit your sin and failure, God cannot be revealed through you to others, and they may be lost for all of eternity. Oh the sin of unbelief has desprate consequences, not only for yourself, but for others!

In 1 Samuel 21:1-13 when David fled to the temple in Nob, he came to Ahimelech and told him that Saul had sent him on a special mission, and he could not tell why he was there, but that he needed food and supplies, when really he was on the run. The consequence for this lie resulted in the death of all but ONE man in the city of Nob, all because of David not wanting to tell the truth and why he was running away from Saul.

You guys, it's not worth it. The things we do and try to get away with. Are these things really worth the price we will pay? The consequences even effect innocent people that we love. This is heavy on my heart, I find myself guilty of this in many ways, and I ask that you would seek the Savior to ask Him to cleanse your heart and remove all of those things that are costing us more than we know.

This is Not Easy

Sometimes in our lives there are people that are close to us that we love, that aren't making the right choices in their lives. This is so hard. As I grow up I realize that this is happening in my life more and more each day. It is so hard to remain hopeful and for me to rest in the fact that God our Father will look after them, no matter what thieir decision. For me to remember that He will not be far from them when they hit the bottom with nothing left. To remember that it is not my job to make their decisions for them, but to just do my best to guide them in the right direction then go on to love and pray for them constantly.

How helpless I feel at this point, as I sit here and see so many of my friends, family, and loved ones are flirting with things in the world that are going to be of no benifit to them in Eternity. What great things they could be part of, what an amazing work they are missing out on. Not just the work of the body of Christ, but the work the Lord wants to do in their very hearts! This, above all, saddens me the most. How amazing it is that the Lord would even choose us, let alone use us, and they do not even acknowledge that.

How my heart is burdened for these who are so dear to me. How many tears I have shed after the endless thoughts and prayers for them. After the sleepless nights in a row worried about them. I wish they could know just how sweet the mercies of the Lord truly are. I believe that if they have really tasted and seen how good He is, that nothing else would ever come in the place of satisfaction apart from Him. Apart from Him not only do we have nothing, we ARE nothing.

Lord Jesus, please capture their attention, use any circumstance you need, just bring them back under the shadow and covering of your wing. How capable you are Lord, of even more than this. How I love you for it and ask that you would grant your grace upon me, and those who's burned you have placed on my heart to carry. Remind me to lift them up at every moment possible, and to never jugde out of any sin that is in my heart. You see us, how much we need You, how far we have fallen short...Oh Father, please have mercy upon us all....

Desire to Capture His Heart

In the pursuit of becoming a woman after God's heart, I have come to many a hard obstical, but many moments of peaceful smooth sailing. Many long dry seasons, then for the full bloom of His blessing. Many valleys that seem to go lower everytime, and then the mountain top, that only seems to get higher and higher.

In all of this, I have learned and continue to learn that nothing good comes easy, not without persistant hard work. But not just hard work, it takes falling on your face to see how fast you get back up and keep going. The Word says in Proverbs 24:16 "A righteous man may fall seven times, yet he will rise again"

I was so blessed to read what I believe to be truly inspired words by a man named Alan Redpath in his book "The Making of a Man of God; Studies in the Life of David". (This is the book that I am using, along with the Bible, to teach a girls bible study.) It says this:

"God's choice of a man of God is conditioned upon heart response, not head response. I do not ask you if your heart is perfect, or if it ever goes astray-God knows how prone we are to wandering and sin. But I ask you to pointedly, praying that the Spirit may really challenge you with the questions: Is your heart resting upon Jesus Christ? Do you have a believing heart? Does it meditate upon God's Word and desire and seek after holiness? Is it a grateful and humble heart, ever thankful to Him? Is it eternally fixed upon God, or is it a fickle heart, flirting with the things of the world? comfort in the Scriptures? Does your heart

That the Spirit may literally pull from under your feet any false basis of assurance in your salvation is my prayer for you. May He never let you rest until you have an assurance based upon what your heart has received of the grace and character of Jesus Christ, not simply what your heart believes. One who believes with his head only, without evidencing grace, love gentleness, humility, and other tokens of the indwelling of Christ, has no right to be say he is a Christian. God's choice is contrary to all human reason (1 Cor. 1:27-29), and is based upon the response of a man's heart."

This has convicted my heart so much. He is SO faithful to meet us right where we are at, and to tell us JUST what we need to hear!

I hope you were blessed by that, I know I was!
Reminds me too of Psalm 15. How I wish I could honestly say I live accordingly.

Something That is Real

Have you ever noticed that God does not always give you what you want? But do you also notice that He does give you what you need!

Over half the time, we do not really want what we are asking for. He knows what we need, and He will give it in His time.

How do we get to a point to where we can ask for the things that God wants to give to us? Our desire should be "Lord, I want what you want for me!" And that is how we will recieve all that is necissary for our lives.

We might never know what exactly that is, or how we can ask it, but He does, and He is faithful! It is not a thing that we want, what we truly want deep in our hearts is Jesus! What we want is Him, nothing else. He is our every breath, and our every move. He is everything! There is nothing in the world that could even come close to satisfying us as He does. He sees our hearts better than we do, and this is the cry of them!

We need to realize that the cry in our hearts for something real, something deeper, something other than what you've got, is the Lord. You need Him to have life. If you're without Him, you're without everything. Do not let that be your life.
Live a life that is complete in Christ, that is full of trials with hope and blessings in abundance. Try it, and you'll see what I mean.