Thankful Saturday

Since I missed thankful Thursday this week, I'm having a thankful Saturday!

This Saturday, I'm thankful for my family. I was able to take a weekend trip home, and tonight we are celebrating Thanksgiving. The tables are set. Everyone will be here soon. I'm so blessed! 

With all the craziness that goes on for planning a meal, it's easy to forget to be thankful for just the time that you have with the people you love. There may be frustrations with cooking, cleaning, and little kids, but that's ok. Because in the end, it's not the food that matters. It's not whether or not your house is clean. It's not even a matter of if the kids are going to behave! 

It's all about being thankful for whomever and whatever God has placed in your life. It could be the best circumstances possible; it could be the worst circumstances ever. But we still ought to be thankful. I'm so thankful for this time with my family. 

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 
1 Thessalonians 5:18 

Evidence of Love

Sometimes the greatest evidence of love is seen in the little things. It's getting a hand-written note. It's a text message to remind you of a favorite memory. It's having someone just listen to a story at the end of a long day. It's a smile, a hug, a kiss goodnight. These are the things that let us know we are loved. 

Sometimes the greatest evidence of God's love for you is seen in the little things. We know that God loves us because He says so in His Word. But sometimes, we don't really believe it. And then, God answers a prayer. Just a little one. One that doesn't matter to anyone else in the world. One that's not even for you, "Help her to get a 100 on a quiz today." 

And she does!

When I heard this girl give a praise for her 100 on a specific quiz I prayed for, I was shocked! My heart leaped with joy. He heard me! I leaned over to her and whispered, "I prayed for a 100 this morning." 

God never ceases to amaze me. 

Answered prayers are one of the greatest gifts that God could ever give us. When He answers those little things that may not seem to matter to anyone else, we know that He loves us specifically. In something as small as a quiz, God still cares. 

But what about those times when it seems like prayers are not being answered? Check out Luke 18:1-8. It's a great parable on the importance of being persistent in prayer. Sometimes, God may have you wait for awhile. He wants to draw you closer to Him. He's doing it because He loves you. He may say, "wait," but it's still an answer. 

I challenge you to pray for your little things, believing that God will truly answer. You will see just how wonderful our God is when you see His hand in your everyday life. 

Goal Number 91

Last night I accomplished one of my goals. Yes, it was at a Chinese buffet! (Super good, by the way.) When I was browsing around the food, I found what you see there in my chopsticks: a frog leg. 

At first, it was gross to think about what I was eating, those things that I used to pick up when they crossed the sidewalk at night. Yeah, that's nasty! But once you get past the mental aspect, it's actually really good. So, goal number 91 on my list of 101 things is accomplished! 

Watching Airplanes

The little 6-year-old girl stood at the clear glass panels. Her nose was pressed against the glass. The window fogged up around her face. She rubbed her tiny hands over the panel, removing the condensation that had collected there. A plane descended from the white, puffy clouds. She spun around, barely containing her excitement, and rushed to the woman sitting across the aisle.

"Mommy! Mommy! Is that one Daddy's plane?" Her big, blue eyes sparkled in anticipation.

Mommy said, "No, sweetie. Just keep watching."

The girl's blue eyes lost their glimmer. She'd been waiting for so long. It seemed like forever. Was forever ever going to end?

She made her way back to the window and pressed her face into the glass. Plane after plane landed. Every time she saw a new one she would run over and ask, "Mommy, is that one Daddy's plane?"

Mommy always said, "Just keep watching."

Eventually, she decided not to leave the window. She just watched...and watched...and watched. Forever was lasting forever, she thought. I didn't know that it would take this long. 

She watched the sky go from birhg and blue to dark and black. The stars twinkled in the sky. She watched carefully to see which ones were blinking. Mommy told her that she had to watch closely so she could tell which ones were the airplanes. It was hard to tell because they all looked so much alike!

She watched for hours.

A hand landed on the girl's shoulder. She spun around in shock. She looked at his boots, brown and tough, his light brown uniform. Slowly, she lifted her eyes and saw his familiar face.

"Daddy!" The little girl squealed and leaped into her father's arms.

Daddy held her close and buried his face in her hair. Tears streamed down the little girl's face.

"I've waited for you for so long."

"I'm here now, baby," he whispers. "I'm here."

Now, the moral of the story is this: Just like the little girl, we should always be watching. Jesus is going to return one day. Do you wait in anticipation for the day that He will return and take you home? Will you be this happy to see your heavenly Father?

3 Things to be Thankful For

1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, "In everything give thanks." Everything. Sometimes it's hard to narrow it down to just one thing that I'm thankful for. So, I decided to go with a little more general of a list this week. Here are 3 things that we should always remember to thank God for:

1. What God has done in your life.

Sometimes we get so caught up in the present that we don't even remember what God has done for us in the past. Do you remember any times that you have really seen God work? Did you know that God is the same now as He was at that time? Think back just over the last week. Where have you seen God work in your life? If you haven't seen anything, you may want to step back and reexamine your perspective. We know that God is always there, and He is always working. Be thankful for what He has done!

2. What God will do in your life.

God promises his children blessings when they follow Him. We don't know where God will lead us down the road. If we did know, we might be scared and never follow God's plan. But He always has a purpose, and He is always good. You may not be able to see God working right at this moment, but He has something awesome planned for you! It may not be anything huge like it is in your mind. It could just be those little everyday blessings. Take time to relish what God will do in your future.

3. What God hasn't done and won't do.

Have you ever had something happen that didn't go the way you planned? Maybe you even pitched a temper tantrum in your heart. Oftentimes, we ask for things, and God just says, "No." We don't understand why at that moment, but God sees fit not to give it to us. Later down the road, you will often see why God didn't give you whatever you were desiring. His plan is so much greater than ours! Aren't you glad that we have a God who can see the bigger picture? He knows exactly what we need, and He only does what is good for us. 

On this Thankful Thursday, remember to give thanks in everything. You'll see a changed perspective on your life when you do!

God's Good, Life's Good

So, I missed this past thankful Thursday, but I know I just have to get it in. Satan likes to get us focused on the business of life so that we forget to be thankful with everything we already have around us! 

That's happened to me a lot this past week. It's the busy time of the semester and I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I just can't seem to see where I'm going in times like these. Projects swallow me, officer responsibilities threaten to overtake me. But that's ok. 

This week, my highlight for thankfulness is the fact that God is good. Because God is good, life's good! Yes, it may be hectic. It may seem like you're drowning in the deep end of the swimming pool. You may not even know where you are right now! But you can always rely on the fact that God is good. Isn't that wonderful?

Psalm 34:8 says, "O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him." 

When life gets crazy, just remember to sit back and trust in God's goodness. Because God's good, life's good!

Lessons from a Rotten Apple

Imagine a juicy, beautiful, crimson apple. It looks like the one that the teacher has sitting on her desk. In it's very essence, it is perfection. 

This is what I saw when one of my friends brought an apple to the lunch table, but then she took a bite. Her face was one of shock as she turned the apple around to us. The core of the apple was completely rotten. Immediately, God brought some lessons to my mind that we can learn from this nasty, rotten apple. 

1. Looks are deceiving.

From the outside, this apple was beautiful. That's why my friend even picked it up in the first place! It looked delicious. A lot of times, Satan does this with sin in our lives. He dangles that beautiful red apple in front of your face and enticing you to take just one bite. But as in the story of Snow White, just one bite hurts. Hebrews 11:25 tells us that Moses chose His people instead rather "than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season." Sin may make you happy for a moment, but that moment won't last. Just like this apple, the first bite may be good, but when you see sin for what it really is, it will disgust and destroy you. 

2. Our looks should not be deceiving.

What's on the outside should always match the inside. When my friend bit into her apple, she was expecting it to be savory not sour. The outside appearance should have matched the inside. But there are so many times in our lives that this is simply not true. Modern Christians are experts at putting on a show. We have our life on Sunday in front of our church friends, and we have our life the rest of the week in front of coworkers and other companions. Matthew 6 talks about the importance of not being hypocritical in our worship, specifically through giving, prayer, and fasting. This passage stresses that everything we do is not just for an outward show. If you act like a Christian but your inside is rotten, you are not pleasing God because He can see straight through that (1 Samuel 16:7). The heart is the most important part!

3. What's inside will come out.

Even though the outside of this apple was still beautiful, it wouldn't be long before the outside matched the inside. Luke 6:45 says, "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh." Eventually, what is inside your heart is going to come out. You may be able to keep it hidden for a time, but whatever you believe and think in your heart and mind is going to come out in the way you live. This is why it's so important for us to make sure that our heart is right. If the heart isn't right, the outside doesn't really matter. 

4. The problem starts on the inside. 

With this apple, the outside looked great, actually perfect. But inside was the real problem. Something caused the core of that apple to slowly rot away, and eventually, the whole apple would be destroyed. When sin first comes into your life, it starts small. You may not even have had a desire to do wrong. But it happened. And slowly, that small problem grows until it's out of control. James 1:15 talks about the cycle of sin. It starts with lust, that inner desire. Soon, it brings death. This is why the Bible encourages us to run away from sin just like Joseph ran away from Potiphar's wife. Stay as far from it as possible.

This is just one example of the little object lessons that God sends our way every day! Be on the lookout for what He wants to teach you! And in the meantime, don't let your life be like the rotten apple. 

How Much Do You Want It?

In playing our most recent volleyball game for my collegian, our coach told us this, "The team that wants it more is going to win. It all comes down to how much you want it." 

By this point of the game, the damages was done. It was 14 to 8 in the last game of a volleyball match that was only to go to 15. But we brought the score up to 13 to 14. We ended up losing the game by one point. 

But these words from my coach still crossed my mind this morning almost 2 weeks later. 

I've been reading a book called Loving God with All Your Mind. I highly recommend it for you ladies out there! It is excellent. The author spoke of how much we really love God on a day to day basis. I couldn't help but think that a working relationship with God all comes down to how much you want it. This is true of any relationship. The difference in our relationship with God as opposed to any other person is that we know He will always want a relationship with us. He always wants you! But how badly do you want Him?

A relationship takes work. Walking with Jesus is going to mean early mornings, self-sacrifice, and sometimes doing things you just don't feel like doing. How much do you want Jesus?

Psalm 42:1 - As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.