Waitin' Ain't Easy

I'm over here today.



God, do you know how old I am?

And in the deep recesses of my mind I heard a chuckle. (I kinda think if He numbers the hairs on my head He’s probably noticed that thirty something birthdays has passed by) But back to my story…

When I’m talking to God I try not to be selfish. I pray for the needs of others, family, friends, country and world… But, I admit, sometimes I do have those moments when I go before God and there’s only one person on my mind. In the words of country singer Toby Keith,

I wanna talk about me

Stop by Laced With Grace to read the rest of this post.

God's Transportation

You are God’s transportation
His voice to the world
You are the vessel he uses
To bring hope to the world

To tell them of God
And the son that he gave
Jesus Christ who died
For the sins of the world

You are God’s transportation
But are you in use
Or parked at the roadside
Your mouth tightly closed?

God wants to use you,
To carry his word
But the world will never know
How Jesus died and rose again
If your voice is not heard

You are God’s transportation
So promise him now
That you’ll tell about Jesus
Who died, rose again and now is on high

Inspired by Pastor Monvella McIntosh's sermon God's Transportation

How are you using your youth?

19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you.

20 I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare.

21 For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. Philippians 2:19-21 (NIV emphasis mine)

The above verses stood out to me recently as I did my daily Bible reading. It made me stop for a moment, reflect and evaluate myself.

Often times in life we get sidetracked and caught up in our own wants, needs and interest and forget our main purpose in being here… fellowship with and service to our heavenly father.

I was impressed by what Paul said about Timothy in verse 20 (I have no one else like him,…)

Timothy was a young man who didn’t use his youth as an excuse to be self absorbed. He was more concerned about the work of Christ than his own welfare.

What would the Paul in our lives say about us?

Timothy used his youth in service to God. How are you using yours?

Photo credit: Microsoft clipart

Lost... Are You Blindly Following?

I have to start this post with a disclaimer. I am really not as ditsy as the following is going to portray me to be, really I’m not. That being said…

As I turned the key in the lock I could hear the phone ringing. With a sense of embarrassment I went to answer. My friend didn’t even give me time to say hello. “What happened? I was so worried! In another ten minutes I was going to call the police!” My answer, truly I had no idea what had happened.

It was after 10:00p.m about two weeks before school reopened. Two friends and I had been decorating our classrooms. I live five minutes away from school in one direction and one of my friends lived less than ten minutes away from school in the other direction. She mentioned to us that she had some extra materials at how home that we could have and since she would not be coming out the next day we decided to go to her house and get it.

Three people, three cars, five minutes drive, simple huh? You’d certainly think so.

Instead of going to my friend’s house the way I’m familiar with I decided to follow her. Keep in mind that I am directionally challenged especially at night. The problem…? My friend went an unfamiliar route, she drove much faster than me and she had no idea I was following her.

If you’re picturing this in your mind you can probably guess what happened next.

She lost me.
I took a wrong turn.
I got totally lost… in.the.dark.

By the time I had driven around for about thirty minutes praying and anxiously darting in and out of corners, I came to the beginning of the street I usually took to her house. However, by that point I was so frazzled that every corner seemed dark and unfamiliar oh, and did I mention that I didn’t have my cell phone? Finally as I noticed the gas tank nearing E I said, “You know what Satan, you win this one. I’m going to the one place I’m sure I know how to find, MY HOUSE!”

Why this long story? Because I’ve also been there in my Christian walk, blindly following when I should have been paying attention and listening to His voice speaking to me. Those times I have ended up a bit hurt, a bit bruised but a whole lot wiser.

As I reflected on my experience of being lost 5 minutes from home I heard my heavenly father saying to me; “My daughter, I will always be home to you. When you stray, lose your way always know that I am your refuge, your hiding place.”

Book Review - Redefining Beautiful

What is your definition of beautiful? Have you ever look in the mirror and seen someone you thought less than attractive looking back at you? If you answered yes to that question then Jenna Lucado’s book Redefining Beautiful was definitely written with you in mind.

Redefining Beautiful encourages young ladies to stop defining themselves by the world’s ideas of beautiful and see themselves as God sees them. Beautiful in this book is defined as, what God sees when God sees you.

This book is interspersed with examples from Jenna’s life and is written in an easy to read, down to earth format that teen girls will enjoy reading. Jenna discusses a variety of topics from deodorants, to sunburns, Facebook addictions, friendships and boys, just to name a few. This book can be used for individual study or for group discussions.

I often give books to teens as gifts and I would not hesitate to give this book as a gift.

After the Tears

Have you cried recently? I have. It doesn’t matter if our tears were over a skinned knee, a bruised ego, a wounded heart, a friend’s betrayal, the loss of a loved one or simply a very bad day. They matter to God. They matter so much that he kept them tears in a bottle.

You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my
tears in your bottle.You have recorded each one in your book. Psalm 56:8

There will be times in your life when things will not go the way you want it to. At times the tears will flow. That’s okay. Let them. I’m a firm believer in the healing powers in tears. However what do you do after the tears?

You’ve trusted God with your tears. Show Him that you trust Him to work out whatever situation you’re going through.

A good friend wrote this poem. I hope it encourages you as much as it did me.

Don't Give Up!
By Jackie C. Pinder

Are you feeling tired and discouraged?
Don't give up!

Do you see darkness instead of light?
Don't give up!

Have your friends turned their backs on you?
Are you feeling all alone?
Don't give up!

Remember Jesus has promised to
see you through
So…. don't give up!

He has promised to keep you,
comfort and guide you
So please, don't give up!
The sun will shine again
The son will show his face again
Oh, my sister, don't give up
Dry your tears, lift your chin up
Trust Him today
He won't turn you away
Just don't give up!
Let it go, turn it over to him
You'll discover His way is sure
You mustn't give up.
Lean on Him
Trust Him,
Hold on to Him
Love Him
Just, don't give up!
Please NEVER GIVE UP!!

Thoughts on being a girl

What do you love most about being a "girl"?

by Davina, Jess, Ruth, & Sabrena

What do we love about being girls? Hmm... let’s see…

1. Pink

2. Makeup

3. GIRL TALK!

4. No goatee

5. Not having smelly feet.

6. No extra unwanted hair.

7. We get nicer clothes

8. Chocolate solves almost all of our problems.

9. We’re allowed to be crabby at least once a month

10. We can get out of gym when we have cramps really bad.

11. Watching “Chick Flicks” with our closest friends.

12. We can hug all of our friends, talk about clothes and shop as much as we want without guys thinking it’s unusual.

13. If guys cry they get called a big girl’s blouse. If we cry we get hugs! (Ruth’s from England in case you never heard that term)

Girl Talk Magazine Dec 04/Feb 05

(I was looking through an old issue of Girl Talk when I came across this. )