20 random posts : : my biggest life lesson (so far)

I'm coming into this post completely stumped.  It's been sitting as a draft for about two months.  And by draft I mean I wrote the title, and thought that was enough progress to let it go for awhile.  Ha!

My biggest life lesson...

I've had a really hard time narrowing it down, but I think I'd have to say that two lessons I am consistently, constantly learning are about hope and God's love.

I've always had a hard time figuring out how to hope in a way that honors God.  Do I actually tell Him what I want to happen in "fill-in-the-blank"?  Is that too bold?  And how do I actually hope when I keep reminding myself that "this" might not be His will, and it might not happen, and I still have to trust Him and be joyful then?

Yeah, I've thought about this a lot.

Over the years, I've learned a lot about hoping in God, but I'm also really confused about some of it.  I've learned that I will be okay if things don't work out like I want them to.  I've also learned that sometimes God allows me to see what things would be like if I actually got the thing I hoped for.  And I realize that I don't actually want it.  I think one of the most difficult things to do when trying to hope in a way that honors God is to hope only for pure things--only those that honor Him and will make both Him and you happy.

I remember there was one time specifically when I wanted to hope for something, but I was really afraid to.  I decided to write about it in my journal.  In my journal there's a verse at the bottom of every page, and the one on that page "just happened" (as if the Lord didn't know about it) to be Romans 15:13 - 

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

And everything turned out to be okay.

The second thing I feel like I'm always learning is that God still loves me after all I've done.  I have failed Him time and time again, but it's really not about my failure--it's about Jesus' success.  And His love will never cease.

"I have loved you with an everlasting love"

Jeremiah 31:3

Now go be filled with hope and love. :)

hope and prayer

Hi everyone!  I wanted to kind of deviate from my regular posts and just bring up some things that I think we can all be praying for.

• Obviously, the priority on everyone's mind right now is Hurricane Sandy and those affected by it.  Specifically, let's pray for the families of the people who have died, and also for the continued safety of everyone in harm's way because of limited electricity, flooding, high winds, etc.
• I also wanted to bring up the deaths of two preschool children who were killed when their school bus crashed yesterday.  I can't imagine the grief that their families are feeling right now!  Also continue to pray for four other children who are in the hospital, as well as the driver of the bus, who must be dealing with some incredible guilt and grief right now.

I also wanted to post this video, which is Barlowgirl's last song ever as they have chosen to go in a different direction apart from the music industry.  I've loved listening to their music over the years, but I was so glad they put out one last song.

 

God is so good in how He always sovereignly works in our lives so perfectly.  I feel like He's really been teaching me to hope.  On the last day of 2010, I posted about how my "word" for 2011 was going to be "hope".  You can go there to read about why exactly I chose that, but I've continued to feel that God is teaching me to hope in Him, and not be afraid to have hopes and dreams for the future, because He'll do whatever's best.  Even if it sometimes doesn't feel like the best at the time, it will be the best.  Over this past week, the Lord has been bringing this thought to my mind again, and I just loved how perfectly this song fit in with what He's been teaching me.  His timing is amazing!

Anyway, I hope that this song encourages you and that you'll pray for those things which I've brought up in this post.  I'll be posting another 20 random posts "post" soon; talk to you then!

A Tea Against Suffering

I looked out at the silent congregation. It was, for a moment, as if I were back in my church during the war on the day when the Iron Guard bullies filed in with their guns. Menace was around us, not only in the place where Rugojanu was taking notes.

I continued, “Don’t let suffering take you by surprise! Meditate on it often. Take the virtues of Christ and His saints into your life. The pastor I spoke of, my teacher who died for his faith, gave me a recipe for a tea against suffering, and I will give it to you.”

I told them the story of a doctor of early Christian times who was unjustly imprisoned by the emperor. After some weeks his family was allowed to see him, and at first they wept. His clothes were rags, his nourishment a slice of bread with a cup of water every day. His wife wondered and asked, “How is it that you look so well? You have the air of one who has just come from a wedding!” The doctor smilingly replied that he found a remedy for all troubles, and his family asked him what it was. The doctor told them, “I have discovered a tea that is good against all suffering and sorrow. It contains seven herbs, and I shall number them for you.”

“The first herb is called contentedness: be satisfied with what you have. I may shiver in my rags as I gnaw on a crust, but how much worse off I should be if the emperor had thrown me naked into a dungeon with nothing at all to eat!

“The second herb is common sense. Whether I rejoice or worry, I shall still be in prison, so why fret?

“The third is remembrance of past sins: count them, and on the supposition that every sin deserves a day in prison, reckon how many lives you would spend behind bars—you have been let off lightly!

“The fourth is the thought of the sorrows that Christ bore gladly for us. If the only Man who ever could choose His fate on earth chose pain, what great value He must have seen in it! So we observe that, borne with serenity and joy, suffering redeems.

“The fifth herb is the knowledge that suffering has been given to us by God as from a father, not to harm us, but to cleanse and sanctify us. The suffering through which we pass has the purpose of purifying us and preparing us for heaven.

“The sixth is the knowledge that no suffering can harm a Christian life. If the pleasures of the flesh are all, then pain and prison bring an end to a man’s aim in living; but if the core of life is truth, that is something which no prison cell can change. In prison or out of it two and two make four. Prison cannot stop me from loving; iron bars cannot exclude faith. If these ideals make up my life, I can be serene anywhere.

“The last herb in the recipe is hope. The wheel of life may put the emperor’s physician in prison, but it goes on turning. It may put me back into the palace, and even put me on the throne.”

I paused for a moment. The crowded church was still.

“I have drunk barrels of this tea since then,” I said, “and I can recommend it to you all. It has proved good.”
* excerpt taken from "In God's Underground" by Richard Wurmbrand, pages 194-195

Almost 2011!

Happy almost-New Year, everybody!  I love the beginning of a new year.  Fresh beginnings, new opportunities...it's great!  Tonight I'm going to my first New Year's party sort of thing.  My youth group's having a lock-in, so it should be fun!

In light of the new year, take a look at this when you get a chance!

I found this cool idea here, to have a word that's kind of my focus for the year.  The word I chose is:

So often I think I'm scared to hope for God's best, so I'm going to try this next year to hope for the best that He brings!  Even if it's not what I would choose, I know it couldn't be any better.  I also hope (haha) that I can share more of God's precious hope with other people this year!

So, here's hoping for a fantastic year!

Happy New Year!