Lately, Ive been feelin the financial crunch. Its been 3 months since Christmas, and up until recently, we've been playing catch up financially. The crazy thing is, we didn't even spend that much during Christmas! We spent within our means, but for some reason, we just got behind. I don't like playing catch up. It's annoying and it makes me worry (worry is an over statement actually. I've gotten much better with really depending on God for our finances. Sometimes, I just try to make sense of our budget and that's when I stop depending on God and my mind takes over).
This past month, its been a real struggle tithing. Tithing is a big chunk of our income and its hard to give that money sometimes. Since we've been a little behind with our finances, it has been even harder to tithe. But I did it anyway. It was painful, but I did it. And you know what, Jesus came through AGAIN. I don't get why I forget this, but I do. John has gotten numerous opportunities to preach which has provided extra income and money opportunities just keep popping up.
#KeepTrustingGod
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Time is short
There's been so much going on lately..spiritually, emotionally, and mentally, that forgive me if I use this time to expose my feelings. And again, forgive me if I don't make sense. A lot of the time when I try to express my feelings, it comes out a jumbled mess (can I get an AMEN!) Haha! And I'm not really sure where this post is going. I'm just going to tell you what's on my mind.
Lately, a lot of people have died and it has me bothered. I'm still young and death seems a long way off, but what I've realized is that my tomorrow is not guaranteed. Yes, I knew this before, but it never really sunk in because I'm young, healthy, a safe driver, I don't do anything crazy like bungee up..how could I die? But the reality is, we never know when our time is up. Freak accidents happen no matter how hard we try to protect ourselves. I think of Final Destination...no matter how many times you cheat death..it will always get you in the end..you can't escape it...it's inevitable.
It makes me realize how precious our time here on earth really is. We take it for granted..I take it for granted. I know there are days I wish time would go faster when I should really relish the moment because I won't get it back. Our time is so short. I talk to people older than me and they say that life has just passed them by. It has flown by faster than they could have imagined. I look at my own life and realize that 29 years has gone by so fast. How did I get here??? I feel like I have only been alive for a few seconds in the grand scheme of things. Time is short.
Having this new perspective of 'time is short,' I've realized lately that some things on this earth just aren't worth stressing about. My son's first birthday invitations are NOT a thing to stress about although I spent an hour staring back and forth between two options (ridiculous). I'm a firm believer in the saying 'pick your battles wisely,' because most of the time, in the end, it won't matter anyway. But in the process you stressed yourself out, maybe got someone else stressed out, treated people badly because you were stressed..I mean, it's not worth it. We need to be careful.
Another thing is, and I know there are people out there because I can be one of them sometimes, there are people out there who keep brushing Jesus aside. They tell God that they are not ready to commit 100%. Maybe in a few weeks they will be ready, but not right now. Dawgs, you might die tomorrow and when you stand in front of Jesus in heaven are you going to try and tell Him you WERE going to get it right with Him in a few days if He had only let you live a little longer..He's probably going to laugh at you. The time is short..get it right, right now. Nothing else on this earth matters, but Jesus. That is the prize..nothing is bigger than Him.
I get frustrated at times because I think we as humans make things so much more complicated than things need to be. I was telling my husband today on the way home from church how I really appreciated my naive faith I had when I was kid. I trusted Jesus and that was it. Nowadays, it's so much more complicated because I know too much. But it is my fault for letting my human nature make it complicated. However, there is something to be said about the simplicity of child-like faith. We just gotta go with the flow and trust God along the way.
Another thought...something else that has been weighing heavily on my mind is the idea of doing EVERYTHING for the glory of God. EVERYTHING people...EVERYTHING. Not some things...EVERYTHING. I've had to stop and think lately, is what I am about to do glorifying to God..would He be okay with this? And honestly, sometimes that gets annoying, but we need to have that mindset.
Okay, I think my brain's empty now. Thanks for reading! :)
Lately, a lot of people have died and it has me bothered. I'm still young and death seems a long way off, but what I've realized is that my tomorrow is not guaranteed. Yes, I knew this before, but it never really sunk in because I'm young, healthy, a safe driver, I don't do anything crazy like bungee up..how could I die? But the reality is, we never know when our time is up. Freak accidents happen no matter how hard we try to protect ourselves. I think of Final Destination...no matter how many times you cheat death..it will always get you in the end..you can't escape it...it's inevitable.
It makes me realize how precious our time here on earth really is. We take it for granted..I take it for granted. I know there are days I wish time would go faster when I should really relish the moment because I won't get it back. Our time is so short. I talk to people older than me and they say that life has just passed them by. It has flown by faster than they could have imagined. I look at my own life and realize that 29 years has gone by so fast. How did I get here??? I feel like I have only been alive for a few seconds in the grand scheme of things. Time is short.
Having this new perspective of 'time is short,' I've realized lately that some things on this earth just aren't worth stressing about. My son's first birthday invitations are NOT a thing to stress about although I spent an hour staring back and forth between two options (ridiculous). I'm a firm believer in the saying 'pick your battles wisely,' because most of the time, in the end, it won't matter anyway. But in the process you stressed yourself out, maybe got someone else stressed out, treated people badly because you were stressed..I mean, it's not worth it. We need to be careful.
Another thing is, and I know there are people out there because I can be one of them sometimes, there are people out there who keep brushing Jesus aside. They tell God that they are not ready to commit 100%. Maybe in a few weeks they will be ready, but not right now. Dawgs, you might die tomorrow and when you stand in front of Jesus in heaven are you going to try and tell Him you WERE going to get it right with Him in a few days if He had only let you live a little longer..He's probably going to laugh at you. The time is short..get it right, right now. Nothing else on this earth matters, but Jesus. That is the prize..nothing is bigger than Him.
I get frustrated at times because I think we as humans make things so much more complicated than things need to be. I was telling my husband today on the way home from church how I really appreciated my naive faith I had when I was kid. I trusted Jesus and that was it. Nowadays, it's so much more complicated because I know too much. But it is my fault for letting my human nature make it complicated. However, there is something to be said about the simplicity of child-like faith. We just gotta go with the flow and trust God along the way.
Another thought...something else that has been weighing heavily on my mind is the idea of doing EVERYTHING for the glory of God. EVERYTHING people...EVERYTHING. Not some things...EVERYTHING. I've had to stop and think lately, is what I am about to do glorifying to God..would He be okay with this? And honestly, sometimes that gets annoying, but we need to have that mindset.
Okay, I think my brain's empty now. Thanks for reading! :)
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
That's how I feel about you.....
A few weeks ago, I went outside for a run. I don't like running in the cold, so I have been mainly sticking to the treadmill, but it was an unusually warm January day, so I figured I'd take advantage of it. After all, I prefer running outside instead of running on the treadmill. It's so much more refreshing. Anyway, as I was running, I was 'talking' with God. As I was 'talking' I told God I was brokenhearted for my son who had been sick for a few weeks. He had a really bad cough (so bad, at times, he couldn't catch his breath) and for the past few days he had a fever. I told God that I would gladly take his sickness. I asked God to take the cough from my son and give it to me. I couldn't bare to hear my son cough anymore. It broke my heart.
Then, God showed me something (as He often does...using my son as an example of His love for us). He showed me that He feels the same way about me as I do about my son. He loves us so much that He ALREADY took our illnesses away. He ALREADY healed us.
This is something I always knew, but I have a new perspective now that I have my own child. For me, having a child is the ultimate example of God's love for me. I didn't really understand it until now. I mean, I always knew God loved me, but I didn't comprehend how much. Now, I get it...and it's awesome...
Then, God showed me something (as He often does...using my son as an example of His love for us). He showed me that He feels the same way about me as I do about my son. He loves us so much that He ALREADY took our illnesses away. He ALREADY healed us.
This is something I always knew, but I have a new perspective now that I have my own child. For me, having a child is the ultimate example of God's love for me. I didn't really understand it until now. I mean, I always knew God loved me, but I didn't comprehend how much. Now, I get it...and it's awesome...
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