And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
(Genesis 1:3-5 ESV)
Blessings!
You were made for more.
You were made to serve the most Holy Lord.
And to serve Him joyfully.
Have you ever had times when others snuffed out your dreams to serve?
“It’s too dangerous,” they say.
“You don’t have the money or resources,” they object.
“I really don’t think that’s a good idea,” they dampen.
“It’s just not going to happen,” they proclaim defeated.
Trust Him. Trust that He is in control and can work all things for His good. His ways are beyond understanding. What some think is impossible becomes a missed opportunity. God loves to use the impossible. He excels in using the weak.
Don’t be the discourager. Don’t be the cynicist. Let go and walk the narrow road. Encourage the young. But realize you are never too old either. Let go and let God do what He does best. Become a part of His story.
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
{1 John 4:7-12 ESV}
Blessings!
A dear group of friends and I are going to start getting together and sharing our God Stories. You know, the story of how you came to Christ. Your life story, up until now, of how you’ve been drawn to Him and walked with Him. And it’s reminded me of something.
Don’t ever belittle somebodies past.
We all walk different paths. Some of us have known God from the very beginning. Having never missed a Sunday church service. Some of us were Christmas and Easter church goers. And there are some of us who never even heard the story of God until recently.
You are no better because you’ve been a Christian your entire life.
You are no better because you had a life changing moment in your teenage years.
You are no better because you are so fresh to salvation.
We all struggle. We all have a past that was hard and has drawn us closer to our Savior. Or maybe your past/current situation has pulled you away from Christ. Don’t listen to others when they begin to dissect what you’ve gone through. God chose you for this moment. To live this life. He knows that we’re going to struggle in our faith. Every step of faith just adds to our story. The joyful steps and the painful steps.
On the other hand, don’t let your past be all that defines you. Your God Story is special, but it’s not over. Continue to grow and to stretch. Allowing your story to encourage others. Who doesn’t want to read a story full of risk and adventure and love? Step out on faith and allow Him to add a chapter to your life that you didn’t think possible. And share your story.
As of yesterday I began reading a book that has been a huge blessing! Kisses from Katie
Her past seems very normal. Typical American growing up in the church. But then she gave the pen over to the Lord and had Him finish writing her story. And He still is!
I imagine writing my God Story is going to take a bit of time. But I want to encourage you to write yours out as well. And share it with others. Encouragement is strongly lacking in our society. I can never stress enough how important it is to help lift others up. Maybe hearing your God Story will make others see His grace. His amazing, amazing grace.
Blessings!
Have you ever been to Pinterest? It is a crafters dream site! So many ideas to ignite any desire you may have to create. From baby showers to weddings to home decor and everything in between! Recipes, words of encouragement, hairstyles, etc. It’s so easy to waste hours on there.
I’m currently in the process of redecorating my home office. I have very little funds to do this so the intent is to create everything. No buying anything that doesn’t require an artistic touch. And thus was born the Chalkboard Wall Art. I saw this link on Pinterest and knew this would be the perfect project! The total cost? Around $30. And the total measurement is 60″ x 48″.
I used nine 16 x 20 canvases. They were sold in a two pack and were 40% off at Michael’s. Very cost effective.
When I got home I grabbed an old can of chalkboard paint from the garage. Each canvas then received two coats of paint. We did this outside so it dried rather quickly.
After all the canvases had dried we flipped them over and laid them out how they would be hung. Remember how cheap I am? Rather than install nine hangers in the wall and risk them being off just a little bit I taped all the canvases together. They are ridiculously lightweight. A bit of masking tape and they were stuck together!
{You can see how tall this is compared to my nine year old}
Three nails in the wall at the top and then it was hung up. We found a piece of chalk and went to writing.
Ann Voskamp‘s quote from One Thousand Gifts is a perfect daily reminder to always be thankful.
Blessings!
Recently I’ve come in contact with a non-profit that I have fallen in love with, Food for the Hungry. I was perusing their site and came across some staggering statistics.
Hunger kills Did you know every day 25,000 people die from hunger and hunger related causes? Of those, 18,000 are children. One person dies of hunger every 3.6 seconds. That is more than 17 people each minute; 1,042 each hour; which translates into 9,125,000 every single year! One in six people on the planet is hungry.
I know how easy it is to read that and to gloss it over. Or maybe you’ll pass over this entire post because it’s easier to turn away than to see the truth. But even when we see the numbers and see the images on tv we’re so immune that we don’t make the connection that the children we’re seeing may not be alive tomorrow. I see more posts on Facebook about saving animals than even comes close to saving human lives. So what can we do, as individuals, to help our fellow brothers and sisters from dying of starvation?
1. Pray
Pray for God to open your heart. To show you where you can sacrifice in order to be able to give and serve others.
2. Seek out a reputable non-profit
I hate to even have to put this but not everybody is honest about how they’re using your donations. Do your homework and go with the company you trust most. Four recommendations I have are Food for the Hungry, World Vision, Compassion and Convoy of Hope.
3. Fast
Take even one day away from food. My goodness, walk away from just one meal and realize how much we take for granted. I know food easily becomes an idol for me. So any time I feel my stomach growl my heart is drawn that much closer to those sweet children who have no pantry to walk into. No refrigerator to stand in front of. No grocery store to replenish at. God bless, some don’t even have water.
4. Do something – now
These sweet souls may not have much longer. If you feel that tug to donate then do it. Don’t hesitate. $10 is better than nothing. Do you have a desire to go overseas and help? Go out! Don’t wait for a sign from God, consider this your sign. Go! Leave a legacy worth something. Save a life.
I came across this photo on Flickr by phitar in 2006 and I pray, oh I pray, this sweet young boy is doing well. I think of his face often. And how many more little ones are there? I pray we will all step outside of ourselves and serve the poor, the needy, the helpless. Many prayers. So much eucharisteo.
Blessings!
