Hard Times

2 Corinthians 1:3-7 (Good News Translation)

³ Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the merciful Father, the God from whom all help comes!⁴ He helps us in all our troubles, so that we are able to help others who have all kinds of troubles, using the same help that we ourselves have received from God.⁵ Just as we have a share in Christ's many sufferings, so also through Christ we share in God's great help.⁶ If we suffer, it is for your help and salvation; if we are helped, then you too are helped and given the strength to endure with patience the same sufferings that we also endure.⁷ So our hope in you is never shaken; we know that just as you share in our sufferings, you also share in the help we receive.

Why is it we think if we are a Christian it means we won’t have hard times, struggle, or experience sadness in our lives?  I find myself in the hardest time of my life and I have had more sad days then I would like to think about.  I am currently separated from my husband, my two year old niece has brain cancer, and I worry about how all of this will affect my twin girls.  My life is far from easy or happy right now, yet as I draw closer to my Savior I am overwhelmed with peace, joy and freedom!  I can’t even begin to express in words how it feels exactly.  I find myself joyful!  I can tell you that I spend my days looking forward to being in God’s Word, singing in my kitchen songs of praise, and feeling over whelmed by the peace I have during this storm.  

Psalm 29:11 (Good News Translation)

¹¹ The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace.

Isaiah 41:13 (Good News Translation)

¹³ I am the Lord your God; I strengthen you and tell you, Do not be afraid; I will help you. 

I am not saying that God is a genie in a bottle and will solve all my problems like I want Him to.  Because I do not know if my marriage will work out, I do not know if my niece will survive brain cancer, and I do not know what affect all of this will have on my girls.  What I know is that I have a Savior who is willing to comfort me IF I seek Him.  See God gave me free will and I can do whatever I want; however, that can come at a price.  If I make the choice to not follow His ways, then I will suffer the consequences of my own will.  How many times have you asked your child not to do something that you know will cause them harm only to have them do it anyways?  Do you love them less because they didn’t listen? Did you remind them of what you said because you didn’t want them to get hurt?  Our Father loves us no matter what!  Our consequences are gentle reminders of what He tells us not to do for our own good.  He is the Creator and this is His story,

Isaiah 41:4 (Good News Translation)

⁴ Who was it that made this happen? Who has determined the course of history?  I, the Lord, was there at the beginning, and I, the Lord, will be there at the end.

When I make the choice to seek Him, be obedient to His word, and live my daily life only to be pleasing to Him, then and only then will I experience the peace He promises me.  It is a choice I have to actively make daily.  It is similar to deciding to eat healthier or exercise.  It is an active choice and there are benefits, but when you stop old habits come back.  The same is true about seeking God and being in His word.  When I stop seeking Him and being in His word, then my old selfish, bad choice making self comes back.  I am a mess without God!  

Matthew 22:37-38 (Good News Translation)

³⁷ Jesus answered, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.³⁸ This is the greatest and the most important commandment.

So today even though I found myself sad thinking about my precious niece and missing my husband, I took comfort in the overwhelming peace I felt.  I am grateful God is ALWAYS willing to meet me where I am emotionally, physically, and spiritually.  I am thankful I do not have to be perfect for Him to love me.  

Colossians 1:13-14

³ He rescued us from the power of darkness and brought us safe into the kingdom of his dear Son,¹⁴ by whom we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven.

You Invite Me In - Meredith Andrews

http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=JC22FCNU

Eternity

I would like to start off by saying there is only one way to our Heavenly Father and that is through His son Jesus Christ.

John 14:6 (NIV)

⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

You have to ask Jesus into your heart, 

Romans 10:9-10 (Good News Translation)

⁹ If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised him from death, you will be saved.¹⁰ For it is by our faith that we are put right with God; it is by our confession that we are saved.

1 Corinthians 15:3-4

³ I passed on to you what I received, which is of the greatest importance: that Christ died for our sins, as written in the Scriptures;⁴ that he was buried and that he was raised to life three days later, as written in the Scriptures

There is no amount of work you can do, you can’t be nice enough, loving enough, forgiving enough, or good enough.  There is NOTHING you can do to have an eternal life by yourself.  The ONLY way for an eternal life is through Jesus.

John 3:15-17 (Good News Translation)

¹⁵ so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.¹⁶ For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life.¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to be its judge, but to be its savior.

Without our Savior we are not truly FREE! Only He can give us the peace we truly crave.

Galatians 5:1 (NIV)

¹ It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

As I move forward and discuss my thoughts, know this is the basic understanding I operate from.  I share my thoughts as I learn more about God and hope others are blessed and encouraged during this journey.  I am a baby Christian who wants to have a deep and intimate relationship with my Heavenly Father.

In my desire to no longer be a “sketchy” Christian I have rearranged my day to include time with God.   For how can I know Him if I don’t spend time with Him, but where do you start when God is so big, The Bible seems so foreign, and even the most basic of common biblical terms confuse you?  The beginning of course :)  So grab a cup of coffee and join me in my journey…

The More I Seek You – Kari Jobe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4crRPpqoW4&feature=related

Some people strive to be a star, to be in the spot light, to be the best at church, school, career, and home – to be “perfect”.  For me I strive to be ordinary.  I am learning that my life is far from ordinary!  I come from a broken home, from a dysfunctional family, and I have a world of “scarring moments” in my life.  I have stories upon stories of neglectful parents, feelings of rejection caused by family and relationships.  I have made lots of mistakes and bad choices in my life. I fell in love and got married, have marital problems, been to lots of counseling, and on the verge of divorce.  I have been pregnant and had complications, struggled to be a good mom and protect my kids from today’s sick world.  I have suffered the loss of loved ones too precious to me that it crushed my soul.  As I think about my life I can’t help but to think I am just like everyone else…ordinary.  I am not saying we are not unique because we are and our God created us that way on purpose!  He surely could have made us all the same because after all He is the CREATOR and we are His masterpiece.  What I am saying is that being or feeling ordinary gives me comfort because I am just like everyone else, I have issues, problems, and far from “perfect”.  I enjoy being behind the scenes, going unnoticed and on some level I enjoy being invisible or blending in.  It is an easy place for me to find comfort because I have such a dynamic family.  My stepmom is the daughter of Zig Ziglar, my older sister shines in the spot light with her energy and talents, my little sister is super mom while spreading the news about Jesus through missionary, and my brother is a technical guru with an outstanding personality who is great with people.  So being ordinary and invisible is easy to do in this crowd.  The problem is God didn’t create me to be ordinary; He created me to be UNIQUE!  

Psalms 139:13-16 The Message Bible

^13-16 Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
      you formed me in my mother's womb.
   I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking!
      Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
      I worship in adoration—what a creation!
   You know me inside and out,
      you know every bone in my body;
   You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
      how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
   Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
      all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
   The days of my life all prepared
      before I'd even lived one day.

So let’s dive in and explore how my desire to be ordinary is far from ordinary.  

Definition of SKETCHY

1: of the nature of a sketch : roughly outlined

2: wanting in completeness, clearness, or substance : slight, superficial <the details are sketchy>

3: questionable, iffy <got into a sketchy situation> <a sketchy character>

Have you ever felt like you are a sketchy Christian?  These days I am finding myself to be one for sure.  I know the gist of God, I believe in God, and even on some days I can even say a few scriptures about God.  However, I am learning that I do not KNOW God and that has affected my choice making ability greatly in life.  I have been Christian enough to rely on God in the hard times, but not knowing Him enough to lead my life daily and again I find myself in constant misery because of my lack of knowledge in the One who promises to love me and free me.

Romans 1:28-32 (NIV)

²⁸ Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. ²⁹ They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; ³¹ they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. ³² Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

Now I am not saying I fit all of these categories because I do consider myself to be a kind, tender hearted person.  The problem is that because I have not taken the time to learn about God I have set myself up to not have an intimate relationship with Him.  Think about your best friend for a moment, did that happen overnight?  Did you just have that deep, intimate relationship with her automatically or did it take time to develop?  If your best friend is anything like mine, then you understand my point.  I am blessed to have a few best girl friends that I can count on no matter what and they are very special to me.  But my BEST of best friends is one I have known for 26 years and we have been through everything imaginable.  She is the friend I don’t have to talk to every day and know that she still loves me and would be there in a moment’s notice.  She is the one that I have not one secret from because I know she accepts me for me no matter what.  She is the one who can finish my thoughts, sentences, or knows exactly what I am thinking with just one look at me.  She has held my hand and just sat with me while I cried through soul breaking moments. Yes, she is my best, best, best friend in the world and I cherish every year we have been friends.  I tell you this because have you ever considered that God desires to be your best, best, best friend in the world? 

Psalm 91:14-16 (NIV)

¹⁴ “Because he^[b] loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him;
   I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
¹⁵ He will call on me, and I will answer him;
   I will be with him in trouble,
   I will deliver him and honor him.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him
   and show him my salvation.”

I have found myself over the past few days in awe of God.  He has comforted me during my storm and given me such a peace and joy that I can’t even put into words.

Romans 15:13

¹³ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I no longer desire to be a “sketchy” Christian to rely solely on my pastor to teach me, my friends to teach me, or my family to teach me.  Nope! Today I want to be the one who digs into His word and let Him teach me all about who He is and what He desires for me.  Just like I look forward to hanging out with my best friends I am finding that I am looking forward to hanging out with Him.  These days I find myself grabbing a hot cup of coffee and snuggling up with my Bible.   I am so humbled and grateful to know that my Heavenly Father wants to meet me just where I am and be my best, best, best friend!

So I end my thoughts for today with this song.

“God I Look to You” Bethel Live http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWasM-Wj3Xo&feature=related

God I look to You
I won't be overwhelmed
Give me vision to see things like You do
God I look to You
You're where my help comes from
Give me wisdom, You know just what to do

I will love You Lord my strength
And I will love you Lord my shield
And I will love You Lord my rock
Forever all my days I will love you God

Hallelujah our God reigns
Hallelujah our God reigns
Hallelujah our God reigns
Forever all my days Hallelujah