We had a wonderful retreat this weekend. I was amazed once again at how God worked everything out. Each of the testimonies flowed seamlessly into each other even though we had not even talked about them to each other. My testimony seemed to go good. I can't tell you what I said completely which is why I videotaped it. But based on the comments, I know God used me! And that humbles me completely. That God would use a broken vessel like me is beyond my comprehension!
I came away from the retreat with God's faithfulness ringing in my ears. Also, it is very evident that God will use whatever circumstances we are in to bring glory to Himself. Whether it is physical pain, emotional pain or Spiritual pain, God can & will turn it into something good if only we let Him!
Monday, March 23, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Things I'm Learning
I hope that I never stop learning. So here are some things I'm learning now in my life.
1. I need balance in my life. The only way I can have that is if I spend time daily with my Savior! When my life is centered on Jesus Christ, only then can the rest of my world be balanced! When I neglect my time with Jesus, then my whole day is off. It is such a simple thing to spend a little time in prayer, Bible study & praise, yet it has often been the lowest priority of my life.
2. Fear will continue to rule my life until I come to the point that I trust God. Period. I need to trust Him with everything & leave the outcome to Him. When I say "I believe God will take care of me but what if ______ happens? I'd just die or I don't know what I'd do." then I'm putting conditions on God & Satan is going to use that as a constant threat. Instead, I need to say "I trust God." then now matter what happens, I know God is Faithful and will work it out for good. I don't have to dwell on the what Ifs. We will never be in a situation where God will not offer us His courage! As Beth Moore says "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the judgement that there is something much more important than that fear." TRUST!
3. I've got to be me! I need to stop worrying about what other people think about me or think I should be doing. God made me unique! As long as I am following His plan for me, then I am being who & what I am to be. I may not please everyone, but then neither did Jesus. When I worry about what others think to the point it is affecting what I do, then I'm obsessing on myself! So, I'm unique! My marriage will be unique. My kids will be unique! The way we do school will be unique! And that's ok. I don't have to be like everyone else. Besides, if I was, this would be a boring life!
4. When God asks you to step up & give your testimony, the enemy is going to attack. On March 21st, I am giving my testimony on dealing with chronic pain & depression to the women of my church at our spring retreat. I didn't want to do it. I didn't volunteer at first, but felt God impressing on me to step up. Now as the date approaches, I feel under the attack. Satan has been trying to discourage me. Some of it mental (no one wants to hear your story, you can't talk in front of 50+ women, etc...) and some of it is physical (I've been fighting headaches, neck pain, insomnia, body aches, depression). BUT God will see me through! I just have to trust. So I push through knowing that God will be praised & maybe He will use me to help someone else.
5. The one thing I've hated (CHANGE) is actually happening in my life & I'm growing to love it. I hate change! We all do. Whether it's a job change, a location change, a loss of someone, or just a routine change, we just don't like it. We want stability. We want everything to stay the same so we can cope. I'm finding that the only stability in my life is Jesus! He is my rock! My whole world may be changing, but Jesus never changes! So as things change around me like my kids growing up, my hubby traveling a lot to different places sometimes at last minute, my family changing as my Mamaw ages & her health deteriorates, My body changing as I age & slowly go gray, I know that God will never change & He has a hold of me & I can just go along for the ride....singing His praises all the way!
So, this is just a little of what I'm learning! I hope I keep growing & learning & enjoying life!
1. I need balance in my life. The only way I can have that is if I spend time daily with my Savior! When my life is centered on Jesus Christ, only then can the rest of my world be balanced! When I neglect my time with Jesus, then my whole day is off. It is such a simple thing to spend a little time in prayer, Bible study & praise, yet it has often been the lowest priority of my life.
2. Fear will continue to rule my life until I come to the point that I trust God. Period. I need to trust Him with everything & leave the outcome to Him. When I say "I believe God will take care of me but what if ______ happens? I'd just die or I don't know what I'd do." then I'm putting conditions on God & Satan is going to use that as a constant threat. Instead, I need to say "I trust God." then now matter what happens, I know God is Faithful and will work it out for good. I don't have to dwell on the what Ifs. We will never be in a situation where God will not offer us His courage! As Beth Moore says "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the judgement that there is something much more important than that fear." TRUST!
3. I've got to be me! I need to stop worrying about what other people think about me or think I should be doing. God made me unique! As long as I am following His plan for me, then I am being who & what I am to be. I may not please everyone, but then neither did Jesus. When I worry about what others think to the point it is affecting what I do, then I'm obsessing on myself! So, I'm unique! My marriage will be unique. My kids will be unique! The way we do school will be unique! And that's ok. I don't have to be like everyone else. Besides, if I was, this would be a boring life!
4. When God asks you to step up & give your testimony, the enemy is going to attack. On March 21st, I am giving my testimony on dealing with chronic pain & depression to the women of my church at our spring retreat. I didn't want to do it. I didn't volunteer at first, but felt God impressing on me to step up. Now as the date approaches, I feel under the attack. Satan has been trying to discourage me. Some of it mental (no one wants to hear your story, you can't talk in front of 50+ women, etc...) and some of it is physical (I've been fighting headaches, neck pain, insomnia, body aches, depression). BUT God will see me through! I just have to trust. So I push through knowing that God will be praised & maybe He will use me to help someone else.
5. The one thing I've hated (CHANGE) is actually happening in my life & I'm growing to love it. I hate change! We all do. Whether it's a job change, a location change, a loss of someone, or just a routine change, we just don't like it. We want stability. We want everything to stay the same so we can cope. I'm finding that the only stability in my life is Jesus! He is my rock! My whole world may be changing, but Jesus never changes! So as things change around me like my kids growing up, my hubby traveling a lot to different places sometimes at last minute, my family changing as my Mamaw ages & her health deteriorates, My body changing as I age & slowly go gray, I know that God will never change & He has a hold of me & I can just go along for the ride....singing His praises all the way!
So, this is just a little of what I'm learning! I hope I keep growing & learning & enjoying life!
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