Wednesday, July 21, 2010

God, What do YOU want to do in this situation?


Our Ladies Bible Study lesson last night was on Looking for Christ in all things. The majority of the lesson was on listening to God. (you can see the whole lesson by following the link to the For Ladies Only blog)

Of everything that was discussed, 2 sentences stood out to me:
“When we find ourselves confused, frustrated, or overwhelmed by situations around us, the best question we can ask is ‘Father, what do You want to do in this situation?’ Asking that question immediately shifts your focus off the problem and onto the One who has all the answers and provision in His hand.” (Charles F Stanley, Practicing Spiritual Disciplines)

I have played these words over and over in my head for almost 2 weeks now. I have replayed situations and circumstances where I desperately wanted God to tell me what He wanted me to do and...ah ha! Did you see it? Did you catch the problem?

I wanted God to tell me what He wanted me to do.

As I keep replaying events and choices and circumstances and other stuff in my head, I see over and over again that everything worked out about the same time that I gave up. (I have to laugh at that) In giving up, I essentially said, “Okay God, what do You want to do here?”

I think that many times God doesn’t want ME to do anything but step back and trust HIM to work things out. I wonder how much more quickly problems in my life will be resolved if I start asking God “What do You want to do in this situation?” instead of asking Him what He wants me to do.

One thing I do know for sure. When I take the focus of myself and what I need to do in a situation and put the focus on GOD and what HE wants to do THROUGH a situation, everything in me changes. God always heals my heart and calms my fears and soothes my nerves when I shift my focus to Him.



Kris

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Blissfully Bored

So the preacher/husband thinks I have lost my mind. I have been on the computer all day...well...most of it anyway. I've gotten laundry done and gotten some other things done, but I've also been on the computer...a lot.
I FINALLY figured out how to use a TEMPLATE off the web and not just a BACKGROUND! Now, I can stay online for hours looking at backgrounds...so you can imagine how long i can scroll through templates...I've been looking at templates all day! I was initially searching for a Christian themed background, because I couldn't figure out how to make the templates work. About an hour ago, I found a sight with instructions on how to use templates and "WOO HOO!" a whole new aspect of the blogger world has opened up for me!
This is almost as good as discovering a wonderfully amazing new flavor of ice cream! Ok, maybe not that great....but I'm pretty excited.
I'm still going to look for "the perfect template". I would LOVE to find something that is representative of "The Battle" and just keep it. As it is now, I change the look of the blog whenever the mood hits me.
As you can see, things have been pretty quiet around here today. The previous few weeks have been full of terrific learning experiences and I have no complaints about today being borderline boring. As with most learning experiences, they were not so terrific at the time, so having nothing more to think about today than blog templates has been wonderful.
Kris

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Jesus Painting Video- Splat experience

This is one of my favorites.

I saw another painting done at Casting Crowns' Alter and the Door concert. I found that video and will post it at a later date.

I think this is just amazing.

Hope you enjoy it too!








Tuesday, July 6, 2010

One of those days

Ever had one of "those" days?

I seem to have lots of them. I keep telling the people in my life "just do what I tell you to do and everything will be great". So far, no one is listening....

Isn't that the way life goes? We all think we know what is best...even my 5 year old thinks she knows what is best for dinner and when is the best time for her to go to bed.

I have found that when I have one of "those" days, the main cause for my angst is my belief that I know what's best. Sadly, I must confess that most often my angst is caused because I think I know what's best better than God does. After all, I'm the one living my life, right? I'm the one living in my house with my husband and kids. I'm the one working with my co-workers and I'm the one being friends with my friends. I know what's best for me......right?

Actually, often what I think is best for me makes about as much sense as my 5 year old "knowing" that ice cream topped with chocolate chips makes a great dinner.

Bottom line is, God knows what's best for me. His instruction on how to treat people is best. His instruction on how to grow in my relationship with Him is best. His instruction on how to react to adversity, hurt feelings, being treated unfairly, and all sorts of other painful parts of life...is best.

God's way is best:
Love your neighbor as yourself.
Greater love has no man that this: that he would lay down his life for his friend
Have no other gods before God
Don't covet
Don't bear false witness (don't tear someone down and ruin their reputation)
Wives, submit to your husbands
Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church
Put on the FULL armor of God
Control your tongue

These things don't all mesh well with our society. Many of the things that God says are best for me don't come naturally for me. Often I find myself having one of "those" days before I realize what is REALLY wrong.

Today, like most of "those" days, I didn't follow God's plan. I didn't do what HE says is best for me. I allowed Satan to slip in and ruin my day by entertaining and nurturing feelings of hurt, anger, frustration, selfishness, and pride in my heart. None of those are from God, so it's no wonder my day was a bust.

THANKFULLY God used a friend to speak to my heart...even though she had no idea that was what she was doing. She said " I know what you'll do. You'll write an epistle, then delete it. You'll get in your car this afternoon and turn on your praise music and once you are alone you'll pray about everything that happened today and by the time you get home you'll have let the day go and it will be as if nothing ever happened. Tomorrow you'll hardly remember why you were upset in the first place." Now, my friend did not intend for me to take her speech as advice on what to do. She meant it to be proof of my inability to stand up for myself. Instead, she reminded me of the way I know that God wants me to combat "those" days.

I'm glad she reminded me, and I'm glad I respond that way often enough for her to say "i know just what you'll do".

I did. I got in my car, turned on my praise music, prayed about my day, and decided that it's best to let God stand up for me....and the rest of my day has worked out just fine.

It always does when I do things His way.



Saturday, July 3, 2010