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6 Days

Oh the psalms, the psalms

Have you ever struggled with patience? with wanting something RIGHT now? with hoping for something and never getting it?

Here's the best solution I've found.

Psalm 62:5-8 (New King James Version)

5 My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my expectation is from Him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense;
I shall not be moved.
7 In God is my salvation and my glory;
The rock of my strength,
And my refuge, is in God.

8 Trust in Him at all times, you people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah

I always loved "Where's Waldo?"

Can you find me?? :)

Beauty

I'm going to be perfectly honest. I have always struggled with the concept of being "beautiful". The idea that I am an attractive person has forever been something I've found ridiculously funny and definitely impossible. However, the most unfortunate fact of all is that I am certain that there are countless others who have been/are plagued with this destructive mindset.

If this is you, than you know what it feels like to look in the mirror. You know the sinking emotion to like someone, but lose all hope due to the lie that all you offer is a good personality. You probably hate trying on clothes, getting ready in the morning, social events, and the worst of all....PICTURES! Oh the devil created every camera in the world! [Or so we've declared in dramatic moments of self-hatred.]

Oh dear reader, I understand. I really know each of those slimy feelings. And wouldn't you agree that they're the absolute worst! They ruin your day, your self-esteem, and your attitude. No matter how hard you try those stupid self-help techniques, like telling yourself that you're beautiful when you look in the mirror [so awkward], you just never seem to get over the "you're-ugly" bug....like some bad case of the flu.

Firstly, I would like to help you recognize that all of those feelings are from the fiery pit of hell. The devil wants you to think that you're useless, ugly, unlovable; all of the things that will hold you back from growing into who God made you to be. With that said, I'd like to share a break-though story of mine. =]

I've really been struggling with the "you're-ugly" bug lately. I've found myself in the place with feelings for a person, and yet I've been weighed down with the much too familiar burden low self-esteem has. I must confess that I've allowed it to morph, on occasion, into jealousy for other girls' appearances; however, the Lord has finally broken through with truth! He gently reminded me of my origin. He broke it down nice and simple in an easily understood way:

1. Jesus Christ is absolutely beautiful. Human words fail to describe it fully. [Daniel 10:5-6] [Revelation 4:2-3]
2. I was created in His image. [Gen 1:27]
3. Therefore, God had to have created me with His beauty. [Song of Solomon 4:7]

WOAH! Hold up! I'm beautiful!? WHAT!? You're kidding right? ME...? This awkward, clumsy, confused girl could actually be beautiful...........................!?!?!

According to God and to His perfect Word: YES!

And it's not because of anything that I've done or can do. All of my features and attributes were designed by the Lord. [This is the most important application point.] All I have to do to be beautiful is allow myself to be who God created me to be.

And so my friend. Those three numbered statements apply to you as well. You were created by Him; therefore you truly, truly are beautiful.

8.29.09

It's been a few days since I returned from my amazing trip to London. God manifested Himself there in more ways than I was ready for, and it was truly awe-inspiring. I learned so much about His heart through the beauty that flows from His creation. And so, now that I'm back in the states, I've been challenged by the Lord to seek for Him with a new passion and zeal; to look in places that previously had not seemed likely to hold His glory. Thus far, I've found Him on a bike ride in the middle of the night, in the branches of a tree with golden leaves, and at the bottom of my coffee mug. [All of those stories are just as great as this...] Yet the reason I'm writing this note to you, dear person, is to recount this morning when I found my most precious Savior on the side of the road at sunrise.

I naturally woke up at about five till 6:00 this morning with the feeling that this day possessed more than its surface held. I had this undying urge to go far away to the crest of a mountain or to the flourishing depths of a ravine--and so I dressed and embarked. I rode with no convictions on my rickety bicycle, with a chain that breaks at least once per outing and annoyingly veers left once my hands leave the handle bars. With iPod going and stocking cap on, I peddled East. I took a road less traveled [literally—not in some cliché sense] whose bike path narrows and nearly disappears making it dangerous for riders, especially when they share the road with drivers who are late for work, but I kept on. A still, small voice kept saying, "Keep to this path. Continue. Just around that next corner." Fifteen minutes into my ride I spotted a small, open patch of dirt on the side of the road; it seemed like the only place to stop and reassess my journey's end. I parked, dismounted, and took a seat among the weeds--the kind that, finally freed from a gardener's fetters, consume the earth.

And then I looked up.

The sky was marble. Pink against blue with wisps of dark purple and hopes of pale yellow that kissed special clouds into gold. It was overwhelmingly beautiful. I couldn't tell one cloud from the next, and that's when I found another, new, special piece of my Lord's heart. He said to me, "Just like these clouds intermingle—so should you and I mix together. Strip away your barriers, and let Me consume you. I want to be in every part of your life. Fall into My depths so that no one will be able to distinguish where you end and I begin. Let your heart to dwell in My heart."

I was mesmerized. Entranced. Enthralled. In love with the glory of my Lord.

And so now I challenge you, dear reader, to search for such truth. Look in places that are not normally thought of, for God is in every corner of the earth. As the English Standard Version of the Bible puts it:

Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. ~Matthew 7:7


All for Him.

This Made Me Smile