Best Friend and Perfect Lover

So.. I know I just wrote, but I just want to write about how much of a blessing it is to have the people I have in my life and how much each of them means to me. God has truly blessed me with true friends and a family who cares. There may be times that are super hard, but we get through them, all of us. We hold each other’s hands and bull doze our way through. God has been showing me some incredible things and teaching me some amazing things. He has shown me His beauty in a new way and has blessed me by painting those incredible pictures for me to ponder on. He has been my strength and has carried me when I couldn’t walk. He is my man, my lover, my healer, my shelter, my helper, my all. He gives me perseverance and guides me on the path of righteousness. When I stray He speaks words of wisdom into my ears as I listen. He calms my spirit and makes me feel free. He has truly been my Best Friend. Okay, that’s it! I wanted to acknowledge God’s never ending beauty and love because I don’t think I do that enough. He is my Perfect Lover and Best Friend. “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

Frustration in Patience and Compassion

  For the past month, I have been struggling a lot with patience and compassion and not going off the edge when opportunities to be those things come my way. I mostly struggle with patience, specifically with my family. It is so easy to get frustrated with your family because you know they aren’t going to just leave you. If you live with them, you are with them whenever you come home. They are a safe place to let your feelings out freely. I think I have been getting a little too comfortable doing this and I always realize it after the fact. It tends to eat at me, but it is hard to not let things get to you when you know things are coming and you try to avoid them, but they keep coming right at you.

  I have been praying for patience and compassion. I’m sure you have heard that when you pray for patience God gives you opportunities to be patient or when you ask for compassion, He gives you opportunities to be compassionate and so on… God has definitely been giving me an over amount of opportunities to be patient and compassionate. I know it says in 1 Corinthians 10:13: “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is faithful, and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape so that you are able to bear it.” I know that it isn’t an over amount, but the right amount because God is giving me these opportunities and He won’t give me anything I cannot handle. This is sometimes hard to take in because I know I can handle it, but when will it end?

  It is so easy to be compassionate and patient towards others when you don’t have to deal with them all the time. God has given me a huge heart for Africa and God has called me to go there and one day I will. I do believe though that I have a lot of spiritual growing and learning to do. I consider the things I struggle with and learn only a preparation for what is laying in the path ahead of me. God has an amazing way of teaching people things, though hard at times…okay, maybe a lot of the time…He still sees us through it and we WILL come out alive!

  God is definitely teaching me something and I know I will live, but sometimes it feels like it is never ending. I also know that I will become stronger with the challenges put in front of me. The hurdles I jump will only prepare me for the hurdles to come. Even though it seems tough during the struggle, I need to constantly remind myself that I will only become stronger then when I began. And the strength comes from Christ alone. I encourage you to take the opportunities ahead and take them as challenges to become better equipped for the next time you have to face something that is a challenge to you. God has your back and He isn’t leaving anytime soon…in fact He is never leaving and you can always find strength in any situation from Him. “On the day I called, You answered me; You increased strength within me.” Psalm 138:3 “I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13

A Cup of Tea, Just You and Jesus

   So...I’ve written a little bit before, but haven’t really used a blog page. And I do believe that Kyle is most definitely right when he said it is more beneficial to the writer than the reader, at least in most cases. So here I go!

   I have been putting a lot of thought into being selfless. It isn’t an easy thing to be when we are in a world that is constantly moving at a fast pace. It is so hard to sit down, relax and not think. Our minds are racing at a very fast pace as we are constantly thinking about “what’s next.” There are so many things to do and we want to do them all. The truth is, at least for me, is that I experience the most amazing things when I am sitting in silence listening to God and trying to focus on what He has to say and not what I want to say or do.

Have you ever sat back and watched someone talk to another person? Then start wondering what they are thinking when they are trying to get every word they can in while talking to someone?  I sure have…not trying to be creepy or anything, but really, how can someone take the time to listen and process things while they are trying to think about what to say next, and HAVE to make sure their input gets out there? I am guilty for this...in today’s society the world has become more selfish. It is the “normal thing.” We want what we want, when we want, and don’t seem to see anything wrong with it until someone says, “hey, why don’t you think about someone else for once.” It’s kinda a shocker when hearing that for the first time. We don’t realize what we are doing until someone calls us on it.

   As I was saying earlier, we are always running at a speed which we don’t have time to stop and focus on important things or listen to someone who needs listening to. When is the last time you stopped and listened to God? Once again, I am guilty for this one too. Sure when I am driving I listen and talk to God, but that is at my convenience. Where is the selflessness in this? Why is it so hard to stop and listen? Once again, we are so wrapped up in being places, we don’t acknowledge God most of the time.

I have been at a standstill with God, not exactly where I want to be. I want to be growing towards Him, not just hanging out in the same place. I know the first step in growing closer to Him is MAKING Jesus time. Set a time, whenever it is, to be with God. Take some time to pray, read the Bible, and listen. I started to view my time with Christ like a time with a friend. I meet up with Him with a cup of tea, you wouldn’t ditch out on a close friend that means a lot to you, would you? No…at least not all the time.

   Give yourself a challenge, meet up with Jesus and just hang out. Don’t put Him in a box, just listen, hear him out, read what He has to say in His Word, and maybe some answers you’ve been waiting for will be answered. Keep yourself accountable and don’t stray too far, His hand is always a reach away. Ecclesiastes 3:7 "...A time to be silent and a time to speak."