Tuesday, August 21, 2012
TIMING.
“He has made everything beautiful in its time” (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
Yesterday, my friend said something to me about those moments that you look back on and the wisdom of God’s perfect timing is SO obvious. You can see how He allowed for certain opportunities, or didn’t allow for certain opportunities, and now you realize why it was so necessary.
I think especially in this generation, we tend to rush things. We want everything now. How have we become so impatient?? I know I’m guilty of it. Instant gratification…instant success…even though I know it’s not always going to result in the fulfillment I seek. We can’t forget that just because something hasn’t happened in our lives doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t ever happen. Maybe it won’t ever happen. But maybe we are entering a new phase in life and everything that has happened to us up until this point has been in preparation for what is ahead.
"Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the LORD! (Psalm 27:14)
OH what a challenge this is!! We must trust in it know that God will reveal His truths to those who wait upon Him, so long as we seek it.
Monday, August 20, 2012
You are my hiding place.
This morning I’m once again thinking about Psalm 31. To me, what it makes me think about, is that through our suffering or circumstances we need to not feel alone and without rescue, instead we should choose to rest on God’s promises and character, and trust that things will end up in a way that is just and good. In a different Psalm (Psalm 71), the writer is in serious danger and while he is terrified that his enemies are plotting to kill him, he praises God. “But I will keep on hoping for you to help me; I will praise you more and more. I will tell everyone about your righteousness. All day long I will proclaim your saving power, for I am overwhelmed by how much you have done for me. I will praise your mighty deeds, O Sovereign LORD. I will tell everyone that you alone are just and good.”
That is faith. Do we trust him and even praise him in all times? Back to Psalm 31.
1 O Lord, I have come to you for protection;
don’t let me be disgraced.
Save me, for you do what is right.
We need to make sure our intentions are always to look to him for answers…….
2 Turn your ear to listen to me;
rescue me quickly.
Be my rock of protection,
a fortress where I will be safe.
3 You are my rock and my fortress. For the honor of your name, lead me out of this danger.
God can protect us from anything- so when we do get harmed or endangered, we must trust that his rescue is coming in a different way or form.
4 Pull me from the trap my enemies set for me,
for I find protection in you alone.
5 I entrust my spirit into your hand.
Rescue me, Lord, for you are a faithful God.
It’s a long Psalm, so I won’t continue, haha. But verses 15 and 24 says something so important that I think everyone can use reminders of:
15 My future is in Your hands.
…
24 So be strong and courageous,
all you who put your hope in the Lord!
My friend once pointed out that harder challenges are a sign of the strength you have as a person. He also pointed out that it's important to remember that this promise is NOT a promise to our safety or really anything on this Earth. We just have to remember that when thinking about our sufferings or circumstances, we will not be given one we can't overcome.
Happy Monday.
That is faith. Do we trust him and even praise him in all times? Back to Psalm 31.
1 O Lord, I have come to you for protection;
don’t let me be disgraced.
Save me, for you do what is right.
We need to make sure our intentions are always to look to him for answers…….
2 Turn your ear to listen to me;
rescue me quickly.
Be my rock of protection,
a fortress where I will be safe.
3 You are my rock and my fortress. For the honor of your name, lead me out of this danger.
God can protect us from anything- so when we do get harmed or endangered, we must trust that his rescue is coming in a different way or form.
4 Pull me from the trap my enemies set for me,
for I find protection in you alone.
5 I entrust my spirit into your hand.
Rescue me, Lord, for you are a faithful God.
It’s a long Psalm, so I won’t continue, haha. But verses 15 and 24 says something so important that I think everyone can use reminders of:
15 My future is in Your hands.
…
24 So be strong and courageous,
all you who put your hope in the Lord!
My friend once pointed out that harder challenges are a sign of the strength you have as a person. He also pointed out that it's important to remember that this promise is NOT a promise to our safety or really anything on this Earth. We just have to remember that when thinking about our sufferings or circumstances, we will not be given one we can't overcome.
Happy Monday.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Happy Friday!
Working in an industry where my heart does not lie has truly tested my perseverance at times as I've struggled to pull it together and have a good attitude. And now that the countdown is on (82 days until we leave), it's really hard to not let myself be a total LOSER at work! However, I must be reminded that there is still work to be done, and not just in my day to day duties here, but for a greater good. A coworker has the Serenity prayer on his door and I think about it a lot…
God, give us grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.
I go through ups and downs in the work place and beyond, struggling to not worry about “temporary troubles”, things that feel meaningless or stressful even if I tell myself I have no reason to complain, or worse so over my head that I have no idea how I’ll get through them. But I’m starting to really grasp the fact that adversity prepares us for what God has ahead. Corinthians 2 4:17 tells us that our troubles won’t last forever:
"For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!"
What this tells me is that in faith, I am going to accept these truths, and trust that it will all make sense in eternity, where I’ve been promised an incredible outcome, one beyond anything we can fathom. I won’t always be able to understand why things are the way they are, but I need to have FAITH, and continue to seek the Lord in all I do, even if I can’t see what He is doing…
"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” Corinthians 4:18
How amazing is it, that by grace we've been promised eternity with Him?? In faith we go....
God, give us grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.
I go through ups and downs in the work place and beyond, struggling to not worry about “temporary troubles”, things that feel meaningless or stressful even if I tell myself I have no reason to complain, or worse so over my head that I have no idea how I’ll get through them. But I’m starting to really grasp the fact that adversity prepares us for what God has ahead. Corinthians 2 4:17 tells us that our troubles won’t last forever:
"For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!"
What this tells me is that in faith, I am going to accept these truths, and trust that it will all make sense in eternity, where I’ve been promised an incredible outcome, one beyond anything we can fathom. I won’t always be able to understand why things are the way they are, but I need to have FAITH, and continue to seek the Lord in all I do, even if I can’t see what He is doing…
"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” Corinthians 4:18
How amazing is it, that by grace we've been promised eternity with Him?? In faith we go....
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
The Way We Go
Given that this entire trip truly is a massive leap of faith, it's definitely led to a lot of prayer, leaning heavily on God and each other and truly seeking to walk in His ways. This is a moment in our marriage that we've honestly been waiting for. It's truly a dream come true. Not only do we get to spend a month (at least) serving Him and His people, but we get to travel the world together. If there's ever going to be a time in our lives where we will bond, experience, grow....this will be a huge one. It's a time where we have the opportunity to grow closer to God, and closer in our marriage. As a Christian, I have to be honest with myself and recognize that this is also a time where Satan will work extra hard us. Scary but true. And I think recognizing that is so incredibly important, because we need to be extra careful, not getting overly in our heads, not listening to the lies, not being led astray by our temptations....this is the way he works. And we cannot let him win.
Part of this effort has resulted in extra fellowship. Fellowship is something I (Elham) so dearly cherish. It puts the truth out there, and takes it out of our heads, where we can quickly let it accumulate in weight and burden. But then we speak to others who can understand, who can lead us back to God's word, who can PRAY for us....how powerful is that?? So not only do I plan to write about our travels, but also our spiritual journey. I've been sending out devotionals at work to some coworkers, which has been such a blessing. This is one of them:
I have to admit that there are definite moments where I have felt fear and questioned the decision [to leave for 6 months], but more often than not, especially after spending time with Carrie and For One Another, I cannot wait to take the opportunity that I have right in front of me….I really want to be humbled and to be drawn closer to God. To see those who have SO MUCH less than me but have probably such more solid faith. And on top of that, to be able to give love to people and kids that for some reason I can’t understand don’t get enough. But you’re right in that if they realize that all they need is faith in God and they will have everything. We so don’t understand that here, in our comfortable bubbles!
In C.S. Lewis's book, "A Grief Observed" [thank you Laura] he writes about facing challenges and the faith it produces after the death of his wife. He describes his faith as a house of cards.
"I already knew that these things, and worse, happened daily. I would have said that I had taken them into account. I had been warned - I warned myself - not to reckon on worldly happiness. We were even promised sufferings. They were part of the programme. We were even told, 'Blessed are they that mourn,' and I accepted it. I've got nothing that I had bargained for. Of course it is different when the thing happens to oneself, not to others, and in reality, not in imagination. Yes; but should it, for a sane man, make quite such a difference as this? No. And it wouldn't for a man whose faith had been real faith and whose concern for others people's sorrows had been real concern. The case is too plain. If my house has collapsed at one blow, that is because it was a house of cards... It has been an imaginary faith playing with innocuous counters labeled 'Illness,' 'Pain,' 'Death,' and 'Loneliness.' I thought I had trusted the rope until it mattered to me whether it would bear me. Now it matters, and I find I didn't... And you will never discover how serious it was until the stakes are raised horribly high, until you find that you are not playing for counters or for sixpences but for every penny you have in the world. Nothing less will shake a man...out of his merely verbal thinking and his merely notional beliefs. He has to be knocked silly before he comes to his senses. Only torture will bring out the truth. Only under torture does he discover himself."
Sometimes I wonder if I know the true depths of my faith. And I am reminded constantly how much I need to FOCUS on my faith being set on Christ and nothing else in this world will get me through the challenges of life except for Him. I’m really hoping this experience will draw us nearer to Him, and hopefullywe can also draw others nearer to Him as well.
Jeremiah 29:
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity.”
The part that is the most important to me is “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” We so often do not TRULY seek him…and all He asks is that we open our hearts to Him, which is something we claim to believe in. Yet so often wetry to go through the through process ourselves, or get so caught up in our heads and that's when I realize, wow- I haven’t prayed about this nearly as much as I’ve talked about it, or just thought about it. I haven’t actually asked God to help me surrender this into His hands…..
Part of this effort has resulted in extra fellowship. Fellowship is something I (Elham) so dearly cherish. It puts the truth out there, and takes it out of our heads, where we can quickly let it accumulate in weight and burden. But then we speak to others who can understand, who can lead us back to God's word, who can PRAY for us....how powerful is that?? So not only do I plan to write about our travels, but also our spiritual journey. I've been sending out devotionals at work to some coworkers, which has been such a blessing. This is one of them:
I have to admit that there are definite moments where I have felt fear and questioned the decision [to leave for 6 months], but more often than not, especially after spending time with Carrie and For One Another, I cannot wait to take the opportunity that I have right in front of me….I really want to be humbled and to be drawn closer to God. To see those who have SO MUCH less than me but have probably such more solid faith. And on top of that, to be able to give love to people and kids that for some reason I can’t understand don’t get enough. But you’re right in that if they realize that all they need is faith in God and they will have everything. We so don’t understand that here, in our comfortable bubbles!
In C.S. Lewis's book, "A Grief Observed" [thank you Laura] he writes about facing challenges and the faith it produces after the death of his wife. He describes his faith as a house of cards.
"I already knew that these things, and worse, happened daily. I would have said that I had taken them into account. I had been warned - I warned myself - not to reckon on worldly happiness. We were even promised sufferings. They were part of the programme. We were even told, 'Blessed are they that mourn,' and I accepted it. I've got nothing that I had bargained for. Of course it is different when the thing happens to oneself, not to others, and in reality, not in imagination. Yes; but should it, for a sane man, make quite such a difference as this? No. And it wouldn't for a man whose faith had been real faith and whose concern for others people's sorrows had been real concern. The case is too plain. If my house has collapsed at one blow, that is because it was a house of cards... It has been an imaginary faith playing with innocuous counters labeled 'Illness,' 'Pain,' 'Death,' and 'Loneliness.' I thought I had trusted the rope until it mattered to me whether it would bear me. Now it matters, and I find I didn't... And you will never discover how serious it was until the stakes are raised horribly high, until you find that you are not playing for counters or for sixpences but for every penny you have in the world. Nothing less will shake a man...out of his merely verbal thinking and his merely notional beliefs. He has to be knocked silly before he comes to his senses. Only torture will bring out the truth. Only under torture does he discover himself."
Sometimes I wonder if I know the true depths of my faith. And I am reminded constantly how much I need to FOCUS on my faith being set on Christ and nothing else in this world will get me through the challenges of life except for Him. I’m really hoping this experience will draw us nearer to Him, and hopefullywe can also draw others nearer to Him as well.
Jeremiah 29:
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity.”
The part that is the most important to me is “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” We so often do not TRULY seek him…and all He asks is that we open our hearts to Him, which is something we claim to believe in. Yet so often wetry to go through the through process ourselves, or get so caught up in our heads and that's when I realize, wow- I haven’t prayed about this nearly as much as I’ve talked about it, or just thought about it. I haven’t actually asked God to help me surrender this into His hands…..
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
In the moment.
How does one fathom quitting everything to go see the world? IT IS SO OVERWHELMING!
How do we even begin to figure out where to go, where to stay, how much is reasonable to spend, when to go where...........ahhh so much to think about. I feel nervous, excited, scared, impatient....So much to think about and it's so hard to focus on anything else.
I'm trying really hard to live in the moment. I know so many people who live entirely in the future. I don't want to do that, I want to experience my life and it's joys, as they stand, today....but it's SO hard when you have one-way tickets out of the country BOOKED! Haha! Honestly though, I've caught myself in moments, not constantly, but sometimes, where I realize everything bringing me joy lives in the future. My fear is seeking something and putting so much hope in it, then attaining it...and not being grateful because I'm already over it, wanting something else. It reminds me of a quote from Sex and the City when Carrie says "Sometimes when you get your needs met, you just don't need them anymore". And my how that happens. But sometimes we confuse our wants with the underlying need, which becomes ignored, and all of these little wants we set our sights on are unsuccessful attempts at filling whatever void it is that needs to be filled. Ramble much? Perhaps, but it's currently what I am thinking about.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Belly Laugh
I want a life that sizzles and pops and makes me laugh out loud. And I don’t want to get to the end, or to tomorrow, even, and realize that my life is a collection of meetings and pop cans and errands and receipts and dirty dishes. I want to eat cold tangerines and sing out loud in the car with the windows open and wear pink shoes and stay up all night laughing and paint my walls the exact color of the sky right now. I want to sleep hard on clean white sheets and throw parties and eat ripe tomatoes and read books so good they make me jump up and down, and I want my everyday to make God belly laugh, glad that he gave life to someone who loves the gift.
~ From the book Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Rules of Life: Defined by MOI!
*Let me add a disclaimer: I try to abide by these myself, but I don’t claim to have them perfected!
1) You CAN do it. I constantly hear of people claiming to want certain things so bad, whether it is a drastic change of any kind or the slightest one, a new activity, one less activity…..My take on this: just make it happen. I have learned this and it has been life changing. Yes, certain things you can’t change immediately- like your job. But you can try. And keep trying. And while you try, what else can you do to offset that seemingly endless wait? Take a class for fun. Find a new hobby and hold yourself to it. Can’t afford it? I BET you can reduce some of your expenses enough to make up for it. Too tired? JUST GO- I practically guarantee you won’t regret it. I could go on and on. The point is, step out of your comfort zone, let go of your fear that is holding you back (once you realize that’s what it is) and just DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT. One step at a time is sometimes enough to make you realize that there is such a better way of going through life than by default.
2) Flakey = fake. Fake = waste of EVERYONE’s time. Yes, I really believe this! Do people really think that they are being nicer by saying yes to things while fully intending on making up an excuse and flaking later? Let me tell you, you’re not! I know it sounds harsh, but it’s pretty much dishonesty. I’ve been liberated by practicing telling people no when I just know I can’t or won’t make it to something. Yeah, that isn’t very fun either. But I personally feel it’s better than telling someone who is planning on you being somewhere that you can’t actually go. And best of all, it’s HONEST! I’ll stop now
3) An attitude of gratitude is the way to opportunity. AND it rhymes! (Thanks Yogi tea). Treating people well is such a key in life. Obvious? You’d think so. But I watch so many people (at work, mostly) who get this crazy attitude due to their frustrations or how much more they (think) they know than everyone else and it exudes in their presence. Sure, you can feel that way, but it doesn’t mean you should act that way. This is different than the honesty I speak to above. This is what I consider grace, kindness, respect, and appreciation….etc. I’ve learned that when you up the bar on your attitude, and also make sure you treat people good no matter how cranky you are, it goes SUCH a long way. Nobody wants to be around a whiner, a downer, or a complainer. People will embrace you so much if you refrain from that as best as you can, and put that smile on your face.
4) Health matters. See two posts below.
I'll stop here. Just some of my thoughts for the day!!
1) You CAN do it. I constantly hear of people claiming to want certain things so bad, whether it is a drastic change of any kind or the slightest one, a new activity, one less activity…..My take on this: just make it happen. I have learned this and it has been life changing. Yes, certain things you can’t change immediately- like your job. But you can try. And keep trying. And while you try, what else can you do to offset that seemingly endless wait? Take a class for fun. Find a new hobby and hold yourself to it. Can’t afford it? I BET you can reduce some of your expenses enough to make up for it. Too tired? JUST GO- I practically guarantee you won’t regret it. I could go on and on. The point is, step out of your comfort zone, let go of your fear that is holding you back (once you realize that’s what it is) and just DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT. One step at a time is sometimes enough to make you realize that there is such a better way of going through life than by default.
2) Flakey = fake. Fake = waste of EVERYONE’s time. Yes, I really believe this! Do people really think that they are being nicer by saying yes to things while fully intending on making up an excuse and flaking later? Let me tell you, you’re not! I know it sounds harsh, but it’s pretty much dishonesty. I’ve been liberated by practicing telling people no when I just know I can’t or won’t make it to something. Yeah, that isn’t very fun either. But I personally feel it’s better than telling someone who is planning on you being somewhere that you can’t actually go. And best of all, it’s HONEST! I’ll stop now
3) An attitude of gratitude is the way to opportunity. AND it rhymes! (Thanks Yogi tea). Treating people well is such a key in life. Obvious? You’d think so. But I watch so many people (at work, mostly) who get this crazy attitude due to their frustrations or how much more they (think) they know than everyone else and it exudes in their presence. Sure, you can feel that way, but it doesn’t mean you should act that way. This is different than the honesty I speak to above. This is what I consider grace, kindness, respect, and appreciation….etc. I’ve learned that when you up the bar on your attitude, and also make sure you treat people good no matter how cranky you are, it goes SUCH a long way. Nobody wants to be around a whiner, a downer, or a complainer. People will embrace you so much if you refrain from that as best as you can, and put that smile on your face.
4) Health matters. See two posts below.
I'll stop here. Just some of my thoughts for the day!!
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