And now, a friendly reminder...

Isn't crazy when God just reminds us in the most unusual ways, that He is God, and our job is to praise Him? So, I'm eating my delicious, gummy, peach rings from Bass Pro, and I look at the Nutritional facts. At the very bottom of the label was a little saying.

"Take time for family and pray. Always give praise."

What a random place to share that we are to praise God

"You who fear the Lord, Praise Him!" Psalm 22:23a

Hold Fast

It is the end of summer. I can't help thinking about the title of my last post when I write that. The end of summer is really just the beginning of school. The beginning of my Senior year in college, the beginning of new friendships, more homework, coffee house chats, and oh so much more. Usually, I write an end of the summer post. I tell what I did, and what I learned, etc... I really don't want to look back over the summer. Yes, some amazing God things happened. God grew me a lot. Still, I would have to say that it was the hardest summer of my life. So, instead of my usual "End of the Summer List" I'm just going to share a bit about what taught me.

My verses for the summer were:
Ephesians 6:10-20
Phil. chapter 1, especially verse 20
Proverbs 3:5-6
Nahum 1:7

And oh so many more.

I would have to say the thing that God taught me the most the summer was just how we have to hold fast to His Word. There were times that the only thing I was able to do was hold fast to a verse that God reminded me of. I really can't explain it, but God just grew me in how I needed to hold fast to His truths and promises.

As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience. - Luke 8:15

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. - Hebrews 10:23

The End is not the End...

Last weekend, I was at the end of my rope. I didn't see anyway that I could make it through this next week. I was in dire need of some good God time, because I was only getting Him in small spurts between chasing kids. I was tire, and just kept telling myself, just make it to August 3rd. I was so incredibly focused on the end of my summer missions service. I figured that I would deal with my lack of God time, lack of emotions, etc... August 3rd, which was the official end of my summer work. I knew that this wasn't the best thing, and it was Christa prioritizing logically, not letting God have control. I told Becky that I didn't have time to spend a lot of time with God, because I was so busy dealing with other people. She told me to ask Him for time. Well, I didn't, but He gave it to me anyway. I got sick.

I was sick the whole week of camp (and I still am). I feel like I just slept the whole week away. I would go to bed at 10, with my meds (which make me sleep a lot), sleep until 8, and then have a couple of hour naps during the day. Hoewever, each of these times before I went to sleep, I had some really good time with God. The week was kinda hard. This was the first camp all summer that I dealt with teenagers. I felt more like a mother than a camp counselor.
"You are not allowed to leave the cabin wearing that shirt. Those shorts are way too short. Keep your hands to yourself! You know the rules."

However, like I said, I did get to spend a lot of great time with God. One day I was reading My Utmost for His Highest. It talked about how we focus on the end of something that God has called us to, but that is not the end in God's eyes. The end is our obedience. When we are obeying what God has called us to, then that is the end. I had to focus not on August 3rd, but on my obeying God. Obedience is the end.

When the time comes that all you can do is say, "God, I need You." He is still there. He is still God.

Seeing Eternity

This past week in Bible School, God impressed on my again what I had shared in the last post. One night we were talking about John the Baptist. The question was, "Why would John wear weird clothes, eat bugs, and live in the desert?" One kid replied, "Cause he knew that he was going to heaven!"

Sure, John did those things, because he was obeying God. He was fulfilling prophesies from hundreds of years before, and with God's strength John was able to live an uncomfortable life. However, just as the boy said, John knew he was going to heaven. He knew this world was not his home, and things here are only temporary. His eyes were set with an eternal focus.

So often we focus on our problems here on earth, when we need to remember that this world is not our home. We have the promise that these troubles will soon pass away. Because of Christ, we will get to put our troubles behind us and spend forever praising Him!

"It will be worth it all, when we see Jesus. Life's trials will seem so small, when we see His face!"