Am I willing?

Willing – cheerfully consenting or ready.  As I continue to read Amos, the Lord reminded me that Amos was not a “prophet”.  Amos was a shepherd that the Lord called up to prophesy.  However, Amos was willing to allow the Lord to use him to speak to Israel as a prophet.  The revelation to me through this was not that the Lord can give us the gifts that we need for a specific purpose or time.  But my revelation was that we focus too much on what we are going to do with our lives.  In most aspects of our lives is seems right to have 5, 10, 20 year plans.  The question I have is why would I do that when I am not even guaranteed tomorrow?  I am not necessarily against preparing and making plans, but I wonder if we have just put too much emphasis on doing that.  I have seen the Lord completely redirect people’s paths.  They went to college to do what they felt they were supposed to do and now they are in a completely different “career” path.  I know that what they started out doing was not wrong, it was what they were to do for that time.

We need to be willing to allow the Lord to change our paths, our minds, and our hearts.  We need to be open to something different that the Lord would have us do.  We should continue to keep the Lord as our main focus so that we can listen to His voice and follow where He leads.  I know for me, right now, I am supposed to be focused on being a wife and a mom.  I honestly cannot think of anything else I want to do, because this is what the Lord has called me to now.  I am not worried about what I will be doing in five years; I am concerned with what I need to be doing now.  The Lord could speak to me in the next five minutes and give me a different direction to go in.  So, I need to be willing to do whatever that may be.  The Lord has made me a prophet, but that doesn’t mean He won’t use me to be a pastor, teacher, apostle, or evangelist for a time.  I want my eyes to be open and my heart to be willing to what the Lord  will have for me today, tomorrow and in 20 years.

He Won't Relent

As I was reading Amos 4-5 today, the Lord brought back to mind something I was thinking about a while ago. 

Basically the Lord was speaking to Israel (his chosen) recounting all the things He had put them through to get them to return to Him, this wasn’t just a few not fun things to go through, it was plagues,  draught, famine, destruction etc.  The Lord was doing anything and everything He could to get those who belong to Him to return to Him.  They had lost their way; they had forgotten who they really were and all about serving the Lord. 

It seems that in our lives today, we have an arrogant attitude.  Honestly I know I have thought this.  The “thought” being that because I am under grace and not the law, I can get away with anything, because we have grace now and we are covered.  We think that the Lord would never put us through anything like He did to the Israelites.  However, I really think that is a definite wrong way of thinking and of living.  I believe that there is a punishment, or chastening or whatever you would like to call it that makes you feel better.  I have seen what the Lord has put me through in my own life and even heard and seen what He has done in others lives.  I know that He will do whatever it takes to get us back.  Initially, I think that is so awesome that the Lord will woo me back to Him.  Which is awesome that He doesn’t give up, however, sometimes I would not call His means of getting us back wooing.  And as I think about things that I may have seen people around me go through and have seen some of what I have gone through, I know that the Lord does not just try to woo us back.  I’ve seen Him take everything away, and I mean everything just to get someone to return to Him. 

We need to begin to live our lives in a healthy fear of the Lord.  We need to realize that just because we are saved and have our way into heaven, doesn’t mean that we can do what we want.  We have to remember who the Lord is.  He makes the sun come up each day, and set each night.  He spoke the whole earth into creation, He knew us before we were in our mother’s womb.  And He will do WHATEVER it takes to get us back, He won’t relent! 

Thanksgiver

I discovered a new word in the dictionary today.  Thanksgiver – a person who gives thanks.  The word is so weird to say, but I love the meaning.  Of course since Thanksgiving is coming up tomorrow, this is something on my mind.  But not just in the celebration of this one holiday.  I personally would like to have thanksgiving every day, to spend time each day giving thanks to the Lord for all that He has done, is doing and will do in my life. 

It is so easy to get caught up with some of the more trivial things in our lives that we do not see as a blessing.  Like the fact that we don’t have as much money, the best car, house; the list can go on and on of the things that we gripe about each day.  However, I should be thankful for what I have, whether I think it is enough or not.  The Lord could choose to take any or all of this away from me at any moment, but instead, I am richly blessed.  But the things I am truly thankful for go way beyond material things.  I am blessed to have a great family! My husband and my daughter are the best things my God could ever give to me. 

I could make pages of things that I am thankful for, so for me every day should be a day of thanksgiving.  I know I can spend time praying for things I want or “need” and I tend to neglect all the things I am blessed to have.  I want to be a thanksgiver;  I want to change my attitude.  I want to quit being so needy.  As I am thinking through all of this I am wondering how amazing this journey could be if all my prayers were only prayers of thanksgiving.  I would have a completely different attitude in my life.  I choose to begin the change, not to be negative or needy, but to be a thanksgiver.  To have a positive outlook on my life; I choose to focus more on what I have than what I do not. 

I challenge you to do the same.  As our focus becomes more about the Lord and how thankful we are, all the negative thoughts and actions can just fall away.  Let’s see a change, maybe we could start truly living life. 

Something to fight for

It just seems that I keep reading about people being upset about what holiday decorations are going up and when.  I have already put up my Christmas decor but I have not forgotten about  Thanksgiving. I personally like the Christmas décor and want to enjoy it for a while.   It seems there is worry about going from Halloween to Christmas.  In my mind I wonder why do we even put any emphasis whatsoever on Halloween?  It’s not the most desired thing for me to want to celebrate.  But at the same time, I am not here to put an end to it.  However, I just wonder why is everyone so upset about this?  I mean are you only thankful on Thanksgiving?  Shouldn’t we be thankful all the time?  I have breath in my lungs, I am healthy, my daughter is healthy and unlike a lot of people, I get to eat today.  That is the very least I have to be thankful for, I could write so much more.  I guess I have so many questions unanswered about why people are getting so frustrated with this.  Frankly, at the end of the day they are just decorations. 

For me, I would like to be more worried about how I see “Christians” act towards one another.  I would like to put more emphasis on living out life the way it should be lived.  I would like to be more worried about the fact the being called a Christian today means I am lumped in with all kinds of religions that do not reflect my beliefs at all. I could go on and on about many other things we should be fighting for.   I guess, my point is, I think sometimes we get caught up  worried about things that do not necessarily matter, when we should be more focused on the condition of the church, ourselves and on those of us around us.  At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter whether my house is decorated for Christmas or Easter right now.  All that really matters is who I am living my life for everyday.  Am I honoring God?  Am I showing those around me that I am a follower of Christ whether I speak or not?   Maybe the true question should be…. what have we become as Christ followers?   

Let Go

Letting go!  That is the word for today.  Letting go of some preconceived ideas and truly stepping out of the box that I made.  Truly relinquishing myself for what God has asked me to do.  Getting over my pride and truly forgive some of the hurts from my past.  It is awesome that the Lord never gives up on me.  He is showing me things that I know I need to forgive, things that I have “forgiven” already.  I say it that way, because I forgave with words, but I didn’t let go.  And I have let these few things overshadow some great times in my life.  And things He wants me to do now, that I have been resisting are holding me back from those great times that I could be having now.  All I have to do is just let go of how I feel or have felt and trust Him. 

Why do we hold back on God?  As I sit here now thinking about what I have been holding on to, it seems so silly.  I truly wonder why I thought it was good to keep it.  I am so grateful that the Lord is never done with us.  I am thankful that He can rock my world and change my mind so often.  When I let Him.  I am thankful to go through the pain and the fight to come out better on the other side.  The letting go feels so great and brings much more freedom and happiness to our lives.  And it brings honor and glory to God. 

I urge you to seek Him and see what you are holding onto!  And I urge you to LET GO!