Understanding the Past and Hopeful for the Future

Often I reflect back on my life thus far and reflect. For me, my reflection is based on how much my life has changed in the last two years. I got married, left my job I had for six years, and moved across the country. I would have never imagined my life changing so fast and so drastically! As I reflect back I have two important thoughts. First, when I was in the storm of change, everything seemed so simple and easy. I remember during those few weeks of packing, saying “goodbye” to all my friends and family, and traveling, I always saw this as a new chapter, and one that God designed for me. I remember praying and being thankful because I knew this was right for my life right now. Of course I was sad sometimes and homesick, but those feelings were surpassed by the feeling of peace I felt when I was alone in a new place with no one I knew, except my husband. It is during those times I felt peace from God by being in His will. I gained strength and courage to make every bit of this time out here an adventure and a time to grow. It is during these times of peaceful reflection that I understand God has a specific purpose for me moving away from everyone I know. To put it simply, there are areas in my life I would have never grown in, had I not married my husband and moved away from everything I knew. This brings me to my second thought during my reflections; I am so excited about what is to come! I would have never imagined all the life changes that have occurred, which makes me even more excited about everything new! 1 Corinthians 2:9 says “ But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, not the heart of man imagined, what God has “prepared for those who love him”. We will never know what our future holds. There will be great joy and sadness I am afraid. However, what I do know is God is with us. He has planned every specific thing in our life and He will be with you and me. There have been great times of happiness and times of great learning lessons and growth. There is a specific plan for each of us and we have a specific part in God’s design. We will never be able to plan everything, life will happen. In those times I hope you and I will come to a place of peace and thankfulness even when times are rough. Find strength in what God has blessed and taught you thus far so that you continue to praise and honor our King. God Bless!

God's Power Trumps Our Weakness!

I have lived in Texas for over five months now. I must say the transition is getting easier. Adam and I have found a great church and started going to a couples group as well as a women's group for me too. This has helped in so many ways. I am able to meet new people that have lived here all of their lives and also meeting people who are new like me. One thing is for sure, I know God has us both here for a reason. I have learned so much, which has been amazing, but this can also bring insecurities as well. This is the first time I have moved so far from home. The first time (and only time) I have been married, the first time I haven't had a job, I mean the list can go on!!! All of this, change, change, change and it can bring up insecurities! I would like to say that I am pretty confident, but even going to a new women's Bible study brings up insecurities within me. Even when I leave I wonder if I said all the right things too. (Whose been there!?!?) I am doing so many things that are completely new with no map to go by and so the weaknesses in my own life seem to shine so much brighter. How depressing would life be if the only outcome of change is weakness and insecurities? Thank God it is not. "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 2 Corinthians 12:9. I absolutely LOVE this verse. I know I don't need to be perfect but reading this verse allows peace to come over my imperfections and just allow God and the people around me to love me just the way I am. All those tiny voices that try to speak otherwise are gone. I believe we miss Gods blessings everyday when we focus on our weaknesses and not the strengths God has given us each day. Not everyone will like you, you won't remember everything on your grocery list, you will not always say the right thing at the right time... And guess what? By Gods grace there is always tomorrow. As long as you are actively pursuing God and striving to be better in your walk everyday that is what is important, not all the tiny things that try to take away your peace everyday. Our weaknesses should be acknowledged, prayed over, and worked on to improve. However, we should not allow a new season in our lives to destroy all the great things that come with the change! We should become humble, realizing how much we need God, and run to Him with our weaknesses and insecurities. As I am learning so much in this new season of my life, and I am learning how much God wants me to come to Him in all areas I can rest in the assurance He is with me, giving me wisdom and direction everyday. If you're like me and find yourself pondering your weaknesses and insecurities too much...STOP, rely on 2 Corinthians 12:9. Write it down on a notecard and put it in your pocket ( I have done this so many times for many different areas of my life) and pull them out and read them every time you find you need to. Rely on the Word of God and begin to walk in he confidence and security that YOU are His child, that He has chosen YOU specifically for a unique purpose. YOU are part of a very important plan. Start enjoying the work God is performing in your life. God bless you!

The changing life and the constant Bible

Life has been extremely busy lately. The last few months have been such a transition with moving to a new city, being newly married, finding a new job and so on. I absolutely love the place in life I am in right now. Many things I have prayed about, God has given to me this last year. I have my seminary degree, I found the man of my dreams, and we started a new life together. Although all of this has been a blessing and a gift from God, it still has been a transition, and sometimes a stressful one. There is one thing however, that is never changing and I rely on this on the most stressful of days: God loves me. I have found that although I am far from everything and people I knew (besides my husband) I am closer to God because of it. On most days I can not wait to have my quiet time and am quick to open my Bible, devotionals, and commentaries so that I can learn more. I never want to stop learning and because I have not found a job yet, this is the perfect time to devote myself to learning the Bible even more. Adam and I have recently started memorizing scripture. We are memorizing Psalms 86:11 “ Teach me your way, LORD, that I may rely on your faithfulness, give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.” I love this verse because we are both learning everyday what the Bible says about certain issues and we find it to relate to our life presently. It is important to understand the value of not having an undivided heart. I want to have a firm stance on all issues and never waver, no matter what circumstances will come. By memorizing this verse, my hope is that it becomes cemented within my heart during all trials. God is faithful and relying on Him when you feel alone, confused, scared or tempted will always lead you to a better place. I find peace in His faithfulness. All I know is this simple truth: The more time you spend with God, the more your relationship will grow and you will want to spend more time with Him. We all have busy and stressful lives, but make time for Him. Find a subject in the Bible you want to learn more about and research, study, read, and learn. The Bible is a direct link for our guidance, support and wisdom. I promise you won’t regret the time you’ve spend in His Word. God Bless you all.

Morning Reflections and Beautiful Challenges

On many occasions I have my quiet time, listen to devotionals, or read the Word and find a topic I really want to write about. This morning proved to be the truth, I could not wait to sit down and start writing about what I read and how it enlightened me. My husband and I are still reading Matthew. We have really enjoyed reading this book together and discussing everything Christ talks about in this book. Often we also read a secondary source on the message and background. This really helps us to gain a better understanding of the chapter that day. Today we read Matthew 22: 1- 14, which focuses on Jesus’ parable of the wedding feast. To sum this parable up, the invited guest did not want to come to the wedding feast (the Jews rejecting Jesus) angered, the king invited those in the community to come instead (the Jewish sinners and Gentile outcast). At the feast was a man who did not come in the proper wedding attire. When the king approached him and asked why he was not in the proper wedding attire, the man was speechless. The king stated in verses 13 and 14 “Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.” This last part is a depiction of hell obviously, but what symbolic wisdom can we gain from the man that came without the proper wedding garment? This is what Thomas D. Lee and David Alan Black writes in The New Testament Its Background and Message, The lesson from the rejection of the improperly clothed guest is that salvation is a gift, but it is not without standards and is not to be taken lightly. This was truly enlightening and sobering to me this morning. I would love to think my salvation I view as a gift from God and is never taken lightly and that I hold it to the highest of standards. However, I know that I fail at this sometimes. After Christ calls us into a relationship with Him, there is a change in each person. This change should continue and grow so that through our journey on this Earth we are less like our old selves and more Christ like. I believe though for some, this journey stalls and we regress or stand still for days, months, or even years. This is very concerning for Christians today. We should never continuously looks back at the bad places in life we were, but we should always continue to grow and to have the determination to grow, even if we fail. How different would our relationships be, or our life, or our world if all Christians courageously fought to be better than yesterday? This definitely sounds like a daunting task when we realize that we have work to do in our Christian walk. However, it doesn’t have to be. God doesn’t call us to be perfect, instead we are to love Him and love His Word in a way that drives us to become better than we were before we came into a relationship with him. We are called to obey His Word, and we will fail at this sometimes. However, by reading the Word and praying, I believe we will grow more and fail less. I believe that many of us forget how Holy and powerful our God is. Hell is definitely real, and those that have been called as Christians should truly be thankful and humbled and crave to be a better person than we were before. We deserve nothing, and yet we gained everything because of Christ. On many mornings as Adam and I read the Bible together, we leave the kitchen table inspired, happy, and peace filled. However, on some mornings, we are humbled and taken to a place where we as individual Christians need to take inventory of our own personal walk with Christ and deeply reflect on what we read. I am so thankful for those times. I need to be challenged and to walk deep into what God is showing me. This morning was one of those mornings. I am so happy that I can say I was challenged today, because that means I am growing. I am not perfect and never will be, however I will continue to grow and become more like Christ and less like myself. I am determined. Do not be afraid of the challenge or the realization you have work to do. Instead, be thankful that God spoke to you, and is working in your life so that you can become all that He wants you to be in this life. I pray that each of you will be determined today, and everyday, as Christ leads you. God Bless.

A New Journey and the Differences in it!

I am so excited that everything has settled down just enough for me to update! Life has been absolutely crazy the last few months. I married Adam in February, but since my school contract did not end until May I decided to stay in Georgia while he was in Texas until May. I packed all my apartment slowly and was able to spend some quality time with my friends and family before the big move. It was great to have that time with everyone and mentally prepare for the move. It really made the transition much easier then I believe it could have been. In May Adam flew back, we went on our delayed honeymoon (to the beach!) and headed to Texas a few days later. I have been in Texas for almost three weeks now and it has been a blast. I flew out a couple of times after we were married, but now that I am settled in I am able to really start living life out here. I found a really great gym that I go to, Adam and I go to a great church, and I even have a Starbucks not far away!!! Life is good! There are some challenges however. I live close to Mexico and even speaking English to other people can be difficult. I am getting used to the language barrier, the culture differences, and other challenges of moving to a new area. I have taken all of these “challenges” as something good, and not bad. I believe God has a reason for Adam to be transferred out here, and me to come and live out here. I love a good adventure, and I definitely found one with the love of my life. I know there is something for me out here, and I know God wants this time with me alone, to really grow in what I am to do in the future. When I started this blog I was very clear that I was in a “transition” period, I knew I was to go and to complete seminary and after that, I had no idea. I was at peace with that, because I knew I had to work, go to school, and grow. Now that I have finished seminary and I quit my job to move, I know this is the time for growth and movement in my life. I have only been married 4 short months, but already I know a few things. First, lean on God for everything!!!! I am hundreds of miles from my family, which I am very close to, and all I have right now out here is God and Adam. By praying, reading the Word, and meditating on sermons and devotionals, I have not been too effected by the move away from family. It has also helped me see things clearly and to not get too caught up on the little things from day to day. In other words, I have peace. Adam and I also started reading the Bible together and we started in Matthew. It has been great before he goes to work every morning, he reads a chapter and we both discuss what we gathered from the chapter over breakfast. Although this is a short time of discussion, it still helps both of us to focus on the right things through the day. The Gospels are really great to do this with because Jesus is very clear about many things that each of us can instantaneously take with us and meditate on. We both are still growing as individuals and definitely growing as a husband and a wife, and this is perfect for us. Some days we skip it and we read the chapter by ourselves, but this has been really great for both of us, and it fits in our mornings perfectly. I recently have felt a desire in my own prayer time to focus on judging. Not necessarily judging people, but circumstances, situations, and new environments. Especially moving in with my husband in a very different city, and in a totally different state, I mentally judge, or compare many of the new things I am experiencing. I believe we all compare or judge something different from what we are used to doing. Perfect example, the gym, I love the gym and was excited to join this new one. It has everything! New classes, a whole track, pool Crossfit room, the whole nine! Yet as I was using some of the machines and weights, I immediately thought “these aren’t as new as the ones I worked out on, there very different.” It’s almost laughable now, but that was my first thought. In hindsight, it is so much better than the one I came from but the negative aspects is what I thought of first. It goes further though. Early this week Adam and I were reading Matthew 15 and it focuses on the traditions and commandments with the Pharisees and scribes and they were complaining to Jesus that the disciples were not following the traditions of washing hands before meals. Jesus was teaching that following the commandments, which are in the Word of God, is what they should focus on, not the traditions. Jesus states in verse 6, “So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. You hypocrites! Well did Isaish prophesy of you, when he said: “”This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”” This verse really made me think. I do not want to be the type of person that finds the negative or the difference in everything. I have really focused this week on changing my mind set to focus on the positive and not the negative. Anything you want to change that is a mental change is so hard because much of the time, you do not really realize your are doing it until you focus on changing the habit and then it seems like you are having to work on it all day long. I take the challenge though. I love to work towards being better. I love working hard, it motivates me to continue growing. It may not be easy and it hasn’t… but I know God is working in me to change some of the habits in my life. This is where I am at three weeks in. Its been a great three weeks so far, and I know this summer is going to be great. I’m excited about this new stage in my life and this new journey I am on. I am not sure what is around the corner, but I do know that has I continue to focus on God and continue to learn I am doing exactly what I need to do. All the other stuff will fall into place!If anyone is starting something new, get excited about it, allow God to lead and direct your path. Allow God to show your aspects of yourself that you need to evaluate. There is a lot of growth with change, allow it to be a joyous time! Until next time!

The Harvest

Life has changed quite dramatically since I have last posted. To let you know a little secret, I felt my life for the past few years was a transition period or stepping stones to a bigger picture. I was in graduate school for Christian Leadership, I was working full time as a teacher, and I was patient, at least most of the time. When I truly felt I should apply and attend seminary, I knew I would be waiting. I understood that my direct instruction was to attend seminary and work full time. I also knew that after graduating I would have a better idea of what to do with my degree. Well four years later, I just graduated from seminary, and I just married the love of my life. I am also moving across the country with my husband as he starts his new job!!!! This ways my next step. I can not describe how I knew that life for the past few years was a transitional time, or why I knew all would work out after graduating. I just know that when you are truly in tune with what God’s direction is for your life, and what His will is for your life, you find peace in the journey. This journey was not always easy for me. My job is not exactly the easiest, and sometimes I thought I would be single forever. But I waited and I truly had faith in that tiny voice I heard years earlier. Now I still do not know what I will be doing. Other than moving to Texas with my new husband, nothing else has been revealed. But I am at peace with that. I am so excited about this new stage in my life and I am ready for it!!! I am finishing up teaching and will be packing up to move in two months. I will continue to pray and to ask God for guidance in what opportunities I have out in Texas. I am a newlywed and I am moving and starting a new career. That is enough to drive some people crazy. But every time I think about the struggles or how stressful life may be without the security of my family and friends and just the overall familiarity of life, I then turn and think, ‘I am going to get so much closer with God’. I know He will be there for me. He knows exactly who I am and what I will need. He will sustain me and He will provide for me. He is my true joy and happiness. What is funny is although this is the end of this waiting game, there will be another one right around the corner. Life is like that. What is important to remember, (and I have to remind myself of this a lot ) is to enjoy the journey. Enjoy waiting and the dullness that may come with it. Give praise for those dull and boring days, and be thankful that there are days to rest. I can not believe how drastic my life has changed. I had to wait 31 years for this to happen, and I would have waited another 31 if I had to for this season of harvest. Some of the pieces to my puzzle of life are fitting together. I am no longer scattered and flipped up side down in some areas of my life. There are many areas in which I am still figuring out how to go. I find peace in that. I am not perfect and I never will be. Philippians 3:13 is a verse I love during this time: “But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead. I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.” This is what I hold on to. There are many mistakes and failures that I could remind myself of when thinking of the new adventure to come. I could remind myself of how weak and insecure I am, and how I am not worthy. But I know better than that. I know who I am in Christ Jesus and He knew who I was (good, bad, and ugly), the minute He called me into relationship with Him. Do not think you are ever less than worthy for God’s calling on your life. You have an important job to do for His kingdom and His glory. Find strength in the understanding that you were picked specifically for a certain calling, and God will equip you with what ever you need. As I end this entry, I don’t know how wise or uplifting it is. I know that I had the urge to update and to say I am quite excited to share all my amazing experiences of being a new wife, living in a new state, and working out life (and what I am going to fix for dinner every night!). I wanted to start a new blog, but this is still the perfect one, it has just shifted as the roles of who I am in life have changed. Peace and blessings! Lora

With A Very Thankful Heart

Wow I am totally going to have to get better at posting!! Almost a year later and here I am. Life has changed dramatically and I couldn’t be any happier. First of all, I only have one more class of graduate school and I will have my Masters in Christian Leadership. This has been something I have been working towards for so long. I knew God was calling to get my Masters in this area. I also knew that while I was taking these classes, I would not know what doors it would open in my life. I just knew that all I was responsible for at this moment was to take the classes and finish. After which I would be given further direction. So here I am at the door of a new adventure once I finish this class I start in January! I am so thankful for the opportunity to get my masters in this area and the many lessons I have learned along the way. In a few months my life will be changing forever, and not just because of my masters degree. It is also changing because I AM GETTING MARRIED!!! Yes, it is true. Not only am I getting married to the man of my dreams but I will be moving half way across the country with him. This is something that I am very excited about. I know God has a plan in all of this and I know finishing my masters will play a key role when I get out there in May. I am a teacher at the moment and once I get my degree, I know it would have been hard to leave and go into another profession in the same town, because I would be unsure of the outcome. However, moving across the country, not have my teacher license in that area will give me a better mind set to leave what was known and travel into the unknown. Such an exciting adventure ahead!!!! I’ve always had faith in God and knew what He was working in my life behind the scenes would always benefit me. However, many times it was hard to accept the place I was at. It was lonely and boring sometimes. I was unsure of who I was and what my life would hold. I always had faith and continued to live life and pursue the dreams God had placed in my heart. I am quite certain had I got married in the beginning stages of getting my masters, I may never have finished. God truly knows what is best and His timeline is better than our own. I was in church yesterday by myself and the chorus of a David Crowder Band song hit my heart, “He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree, Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy. When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory, And I realise just how beautiful You are, And how great Your affections are for me.oh how He loves us so, oh how He loves us,” How He does love us and realizing that yesterday while singing this song in church made me feel so incredibly thankful and blessed. I believe we all have seasons, and some seasons are for sowing, and some are for growing, and some are for the harvest. I know we have all heard this before, but this is very much true. The growing season is the hardest part, because most of the growth after you sow your seeds aren’t seen for a while. Its waiting and being patient. I have to say I was not always the most patient person and I am still working on that. However, I always knew that something would happen and it would lead my life in a different direction if I just continued to follow the path God had for me. I am thankful for the harvest season I am in right now. I think it is important to recognize when God has brought the harvest, and be in a state of thankfulness and love to the God of everything. This next year isn’t going to be easy (I’m sure many blog posts will be centered on this). I am a family girl and I love my family with all of my heart and this will be the first time I will be away from them. There will be days that are tough; however, every time I think about that, I am given this sense of how much more I will rely on God and how much closer we will be. Although every season is not always the best when we are in them, it is important to give thanks for the growth each season brings because each season does bring growth, even if we do not see it! God works in all of our lives for good! Hold to that understanding and be happy for each day God has given you. Happy Thanksgiving ! Lora