Sadly, I came to the last page of my God Seeker Bible study yesterday. No, that does not mean this is the end of my God seeking journey...just the beginning! I have actually been asked to teach the Bible study at our church young adult class and I'm excited to go through it again and see others grow. So I'll be talking about it more in the upcoming weeks.
I started another Bible study this morning called Adventurous Prayer. I really want to make sure I keep challenging myself in the area of prayer and seeking God. Today's study focused on the scripture...
"Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know." Jeremiah 33:3
It is so amazing to me that Almighty God wants us to call on Him and He will answer us! It's like a movie star or the president asking you to call them and actually answering the phone...but better! If I call on Him, He will show me things that my own understanding can not begin to comprehend. How awesome is that?!
Thank you God for being so mighty and powerful to create the universe but also being so caring and sensitive to listen to little me's prayers!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
A Summer of Change
After the women's conference at the beginning of the summer, my husband, daughter, and I went on a trip to Branson, Missouri. When we arrived and saw what a beautiful lodge and setting on the lake we'd be staying at I couldn't wait for that first morning to sit on the balcony. The morning came and I enjoyed a cup of coffee and started my journey through the God Seeker study. The focus of this Bible study is Exodus 33, specifically Exodus 33:7 and the example of Moses' relationship with God and how he sought God. I needed just that example. The first chapter focused on accepting the invitation to seek God. As I explained in my previous post I have never known how to truly seek God and have a specific time and place set aside for Him so I quickly accepted the invitation.
That morning was a glorious time of digging deep into my soul and revealing my own fears and misconceptions of seeking God and crying out to Him. Sitting on that balcony I was overwhelmed by the beauty of His creation and amazed that someone so awesome wanted insignificant me to seek Him and have an intimate relationship with Him. I suddenly realized that just as I use to crawl up in my daddy's lap (sometimes still do!:) and cry or laugh or just talk, God wanted me to do the same thing with Him. His lap's even bigger though! :)
As my side of the conversation came to an end I decided to just HUSH my mouth and listen...my husband would probably say that doesn't happen very often! I just sat in silence which was uncomfortable at first but then I heard God's voice speak three things ever so softly...
1. This is a summer of change. You and your husband will learn to trust each other and Me more.
2. You are a ship but I am the sails guiding the direction where you should go.
3. Trust Me, lay everything at my feet and I will give you rest. I know what is best for you and will take care of you.
To give you a quick background to why those words were so encouraging...we had put our farm up for sell and started trying to get pregnant earlier this year. Nothing seemed to be happening in either department. I tend to be a worrier and want to try to MAKE things happen on my own and that's exactly what I was doing in both these situations. Well that's not of God...
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?" Matthew 6:25
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." Proverbs 3:5
So when God spoke those three things to me I NEEDED IT! I had kept myself so worked up I was no where close to having peace in my life. Reading it in the Word should have been enough, but hearing God's voice definitely made it real to me.
Now we are at the close of summer and I can surely say it has been a summer of total change for my family. My husband and I have totally learned to trust each other more and definitely God. We've had some trials that would have floored us with the weak faith and trust in God we had before this summer. But because we've drawn closer to Him, He's upholding us and teaching us. We are so expectant now of what mighty things God is going to do in our lives. When the day comes, be it tomorrow or a year down the road, when our farm sells and we get pregnant we will be awe-struck at God's awesome hand in our lives. In the meantime, we will continue to seek God and trust in Him completely for His perfect will in His perfect timing...
That morning was a glorious time of digging deep into my soul and revealing my own fears and misconceptions of seeking God and crying out to Him. Sitting on that balcony I was overwhelmed by the beauty of His creation and amazed that someone so awesome wanted insignificant me to seek Him and have an intimate relationship with Him. I suddenly realized that just as I use to crawl up in my daddy's lap (sometimes still do!:) and cry or laugh or just talk, God wanted me to do the same thing with Him. His lap's even bigger though! :)
As my side of the conversation came to an end I decided to just HUSH my mouth and listen...my husband would probably say that doesn't happen very often! I just sat in silence which was uncomfortable at first but then I heard God's voice speak three things ever so softly...
1. This is a summer of change. You and your husband will learn to trust each other and Me more.
2. You are a ship but I am the sails guiding the direction where you should go.
3. Trust Me, lay everything at my feet and I will give you rest. I know what is best for you and will take care of you.
To give you a quick background to why those words were so encouraging...we had put our farm up for sell and started trying to get pregnant earlier this year. Nothing seemed to be happening in either department. I tend to be a worrier and want to try to MAKE things happen on my own and that's exactly what I was doing in both these situations. Well that's not of God...
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?" Matthew 6:25
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." Proverbs 3:5
So when God spoke those three things to me I NEEDED IT! I had kept myself so worked up I was no where close to having peace in my life. Reading it in the Word should have been enough, but hearing God's voice definitely made it real to me.
Now we are at the close of summer and I can surely say it has been a summer of total change for my family. My husband and I have totally learned to trust each other more and definitely God. We've had some trials that would have floored us with the weak faith and trust in God we had before this summer. But because we've drawn closer to Him, He's upholding us and teaching us. We are so expectant now of what mighty things God is going to do in our lives. When the day comes, be it tomorrow or a year down the road, when our farm sells and we get pregnant we will be awe-struck at God's awesome hand in our lives. In the meantime, we will continue to seek God and trust in Him completely for His perfect will in His perfect timing...
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Seek-N-Find
"And you will seek Me and FIND me, when you search for Me with ALL your heart."
Jeremiah 29:13
After 23 years as a Christian I just recently discovered what it truly means to seek God. To me seeking God just meant praying. My prayers always consisted of the same ol' recipe...
A dab of repentance
A dash of thanking God for blessings in my life
A heap of requests ( more like demands)
Yes, God answered many of those prayers and has always provided for my family. Yet, I wasn't searching for God with all of my heart...only searching for ways He could do things for me. Through these routine prayers, I never felt like I had "found" God and knew Him. God is my creator, my Heavenly father, and the ultimate friend. I should be able to converse with Him and recogize His voice when He's trying to speak to me just like I can with my earthly father and earthly friends.
As I talked about in my first post, I purchased and started a Bible study called God Seeker and it opened my eyes to what truly seeking God is. It's not just repeating the same old prayer whenever is convenient to my busy schedule. It is creating a specific place and time to meet with God, to get into His word, to praise Him, to humble myself and cry before Him, to boldly come to His throne expecting mighty works on my behalf, to learn to trust and rely totally on Him...but most importantly...to LISTEN to His voice. A family member of mine gave me this plaque that I have placed in my "tent of meeting." (I'll explain the "tent of meeting" soon!) It is a reminder to me to MAKE time for listening to God and not to let the worries and stresses of the world drown out God and His voice.
Before Jeremiah 29:13 truly became real to me, I wasn't seeking God and when I did "have to pray" I almost dreaded it. That was because it was a one-way conversation on my part and neither God nor I was getting anything out of it! Now that seeking God has become real to me and part of my everyday life, I look forward to it and dread when that time comes to an end!
It is now very late and I'm going to head to bed. I do so with anticipation though of my morning "tent time" with God! (Promise...I will explain all the tent talk soon!)
Jeremiah 29:13
After 23 years as a Christian I just recently discovered what it truly means to seek God. To me seeking God just meant praying. My prayers always consisted of the same ol' recipe...
A dab of repentance
A dash of thanking God for blessings in my life
A heap of requests ( more like demands)
Yes, God answered many of those prayers and has always provided for my family. Yet, I wasn't searching for God with all of my heart...only searching for ways He could do things for me. Through these routine prayers, I never felt like I had "found" God and knew Him. God is my creator, my Heavenly father, and the ultimate friend. I should be able to converse with Him and recogize His voice when He's trying to speak to me just like I can with my earthly father and earthly friends.
As I talked about in my first post, I purchased and started a Bible study called God Seeker and it opened my eyes to what truly seeking God is. It's not just repeating the same old prayer whenever is convenient to my busy schedule. It is creating a specific place and time to meet with God, to get into His word, to praise Him, to humble myself and cry before Him, to boldly come to His throne expecting mighty works on my behalf, to learn to trust and rely totally on Him...but most importantly...to LISTEN to His voice. A family member of mine gave me this plaque that I have placed in my "tent of meeting." (I'll explain the "tent of meeting" soon!) It is a reminder to me to MAKE time for listening to God and not to let the worries and stresses of the world drown out God and His voice.
Before Jeremiah 29:13 truly became real to me, I wasn't seeking God and when I did "have to pray" I almost dreaded it. That was because it was a one-way conversation on my part and neither God nor I was getting anything out of it! Now that seeking God has become real to me and part of my everyday life, I look forward to it and dread when that time comes to an end!
It is now very late and I'm going to head to bed. I do so with anticipation though of my morning "tent time" with God! (Promise...I will explain all the tent talk soon!)
Saturday, July 25, 2009
My 1st Blog...
Why blog? A year ago I didn't even know what a "blog" was. After the birth of my first child a few years ago I got into making hairbows and dresses to sell...my attempt to make enough money so I could be a stay at home mommy which I longed to be. Needless to say you can't very easily make a "living" on hairbows, or at least the small volume I was producing. Someone mentioned starting a blog to advertise my creations. I did, even made it real cutsie and everything, but I just hated taking time away from my husband and baby so that blog went quickly by the wayside. Hairbows and dresses just didn't rank high on my priority list.
Then a good friend of mine told me that she had a blog. She gave me the site, http://sippycupsandfingerprints.blogspot.com/, and after reading it one time I was hooked. I began to "stalk" her as she puts it! :) Her posts focused on her children, family events, and most importantly her relationship with God. I can honestly say that her blog has challenged me to become a better wife, mommy, and to draw closer to God.
I longed for an outlet like she had with her blog but wasn't confident enough in my technological capabilites. I started journaling but that didn't last long...too boring seeing my chicken scratch on white paper. Besides, was that really making a difference in anyone's life like her blog had done for me? I was hungry for something more, something that would minister to me but more importantly to others.
Then this past June my bloggin' friend and I got the chance to attend a local women's conference. This day served as a huge turning point in my life! Don't get me wrong...I'm not a new Christian...gave my heart to Jesus when I was seven years old but I had been dry for so long and needed to be refreshed. This conference was it! We listened to a couple of speakers as well as an awesome concert by Natalie Grant. For me, the best part of the day was a session with a lady named Kristen Sauder (http://www.furtherstillministries.org/). It seemed as though she was speaking right to me in plain English focusing on one simple passage where it appears that John is telling Jesus and God what to do. WOW! How many times had I done that in my prayers?! I was so touched and even got goose bumps! You know it's good when that happens! :) I immediately went to her table afterwards and purchased a Bible study she'd written called God Seeker. One of the best purchases I've ever made!
So it's now obvious to see where the name of my blog originated and what many of my posts will focus on. BEING A GOD SEEKER! I have experienced the most wonderful change in my life and feel closer to God than ever before. I can't contain the joy that has washed over me in the past few months so I thought I'd give this bloggin' stuff another try. God is definitely at the top of my priority list (unlike the hairbows and dresses were) and devoting a blog to challenging myself and others to always seek after Him is such a small token of gratitude to my Heavenly Father.
In posts to come I hope to share some of the experiences I've had, lessons I've learned, God's whisperings and shouts I've heard, and pray I can make a difference in someone's life...
Then a good friend of mine told me that she had a blog. She gave me the site, http://sippycupsandfingerprints.blogspot.com/, and after reading it one time I was hooked. I began to "stalk" her as she puts it! :) Her posts focused on her children, family events, and most importantly her relationship with God. I can honestly say that her blog has challenged me to become a better wife, mommy, and to draw closer to God.
I longed for an outlet like she had with her blog but wasn't confident enough in my technological capabilites. I started journaling but that didn't last long...too boring seeing my chicken scratch on white paper. Besides, was that really making a difference in anyone's life like her blog had done for me? I was hungry for something more, something that would minister to me but more importantly to others.
Then this past June my bloggin' friend and I got the chance to attend a local women's conference. This day served as a huge turning point in my life! Don't get me wrong...I'm not a new Christian...gave my heart to Jesus when I was seven years old but I had been dry for so long and needed to be refreshed. This conference was it! We listened to a couple of speakers as well as an awesome concert by Natalie Grant. For me, the best part of the day was a session with a lady named Kristen Sauder (http://www.furtherstillministries.org/). It seemed as though she was speaking right to me in plain English focusing on one simple passage where it appears that John is telling Jesus and God what to do. WOW! How many times had I done that in my prayers?! I was so touched and even got goose bumps! You know it's good when that happens! :) I immediately went to her table afterwards and purchased a Bible study she'd written called God Seeker. One of the best purchases I've ever made!
So it's now obvious to see where the name of my blog originated and what many of my posts will focus on. BEING A GOD SEEKER! I have experienced the most wonderful change in my life and feel closer to God than ever before. I can't contain the joy that has washed over me in the past few months so I thought I'd give this bloggin' stuff another try. God is definitely at the top of my priority list (unlike the hairbows and dresses were) and devoting a blog to challenging myself and others to always seek after Him is such a small token of gratitude to my Heavenly Father.
In posts to come I hope to share some of the experiences I've had, lessons I've learned, God's whisperings and shouts I've heard, and pray I can make a difference in someone's life...
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