A Night on the Farm

After a tumultuous few weeks with testing and doctor appointments, it was refreshing to just spend the evening taking photos of the birds and horses we have on our farm. Sitting atop a fence post for an hour or so with the setting sun at my back has a way of rejuvenating my mind; God has been so loving with the opportunity to do this! 

To just take time and not think about what needs to be done or what decisions need to be made, and just rest. How easily it is to be sucked into what I have to do and not what has already been done for me. Even during this storm of health decisions and such, I believe that it is still important for me to take time to rest and not work towards something and just enjoy that which God has bountifully provided for me in nature and my family. 

One encouragement that I could give is to always take time away from all that you are doing, not for yourself but to remember what has been done by the God who loves you very much.  

In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat-- for he grants sleep to those he loves.~ Psalm 127:2 (NIV)

The Hardest Thing of All

The hardest thing with this test is that everyone seems to expect me to be facing apart

To be asking why

To be sad

Scared

Worried

Mad

But when you're not it seems that they don't believe you

They still treat you like you're broken

Weak

Shattered

This is the hardest thing to do.

I am not broken

Scared

Worried

Or angry

My life is not mine

It is not for me

It is not for my comfort

Happiness and such

It is for those around me

For the broken people surrounding me

For those looking for help

For those crying out for help

My life is not for me

It is for God and His will

War

How does one get back to God when there no desire drawing you there?

You know you need to

You want to need to

Old habits come back

Haunting you slowly

Silently

How do you get back when you know the He hasn't left you

You feel Him there

Hear Him there

Know He's there

How do you get back when you know that this is test

Of your faith

Determination

Discipline and

Love

One you know you'll be victorious over because you posses the Spirit of God in you

You know His voice

You've tasted of His love

You get back by fighting

For your passion

For your relationship

All on your knees

Seeking the face of your King

Not doing things

But tasting things a fresh

His voice

His love

His presence

His compassion

His holiness

His courage

His warrior spirit that defends you against the worst enemies

His passion for you.

God is faithful to be found by those who seek His face

Do we look after the house of God?

"Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways. go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the LORD. You looked for much and behold, it came to little. and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the LORD of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labours."

Haggai 1:7-11(ESV)

God instructed His people to build His house again after it had been destroyed by their disobedience; He gave them specific instructions and promised to provide. Even with all that they had learnt through God's discipline they still didn't listen. Instead with the freedom they received they went and built their own houses first. How many of us have brought shame to God's house because of our disobedience? All of us. How many of us have been freed by His blood? Those who have been chosen. How many us those who have been freed use it to build the life they have always wanted for themselves? Lots. I think one of the biggest things in my life is using the Word of God and His grace to build my life where I can do things that I enjoy. I have been comfortable not building His kingdom in my daily life. Because of this my works have been blown away and no matter how much time I put into trying to find a school to go to or a job to do it has come to nothing. He has slowly been refocusing my eyes back on His house and glorifying His name.
Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all else will be added (Matthew 6:33) Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. (Psalm 127:1 NIV) So my friends do not labour in vain, heed the Word of the LORD and build His house so that He may glory in it. Heed the warning that if we leave His house in ruin because of our sin and ignore His commands and His righteousness He will blow us over and all of our work will come to nothing. 

Relationship and Reverence

A really good sermon from a church down in Scottsdale AZ.
http://scottsdalebible.com/message/?enmse=1&enmse_sid=33&enmse_mid=154&enmse_av=1

This is something that God has been teaching me. The reverence part is something that has come easy to me from childhood but it's the relational part that I have had to learn. He has used things like getting cancer, Bible School, and horse training to teach it to me. I want to encourage you to let God teach you to become balanced in the area that is harder for you.

Freedom

To listen to the chirping of the squirrels as I got too close and to be able to gaze up at the spruce towering overhead. To be able to reach the top of a large hill and gaze for miles and miles over the rolling, tree covered hills. To sweat, feel my muscles burn in my legs evenly, and to be able to go wherever my heart led, to be able to breathe hard again. I finally felt free after years of being held captive by my own body. I thank God for this. 

Some Thoughts on the Issue of Human Trafficking

Recently we watched a movie about sex slavery called Nefarious and then we were challenged by one of the students to do something about it. He pointed out that if we don't act upon the feelings that we have from watching it, we will become numb to them in the future. This is true of many things in my life. I have reasoned my way out of things that I probably should have done something about, no matter how little. So I am writing this in response to the movie.

For a few years now I have had a burden about the men in my life. I would ask myself "what are you doing to help them become men whose heart is after God's?" I believe this came about because of the view of men that had been fed to me by the world. I hated it and I remember thinking if guys were truly like how we are told, then I never wanted to marry one. I refused to be used and taken advantage of. So I wanted to make sure that my brothers would become men who reflected the heart of God. I wanted them to be men that a girl would someday feel protected by and not used by. I think this is where I will start.

I will do my best, with God's help to encourage my brothers to become men who won't be the one's aiding in the demand of such a business. I want to be someone who holds them to a higher standard; the one they are made to reach. I want to be a sister who points them to the One who makes all of this possible. And one day if God blesses me with sons, I want to raise them in such a way that partaking in such activities would be a temptation that they can resist because they reflect the heart of God.

So girls, one thing we can do to stop such atrocities from happening is by helping heal the hearts of the guys in our lives. We can encourage them to be different from what the world says. If the demand for prostitutes, porn and such goes away then so will the need for girls to be sold into slavery. We can show them what girls really want in a guy because the world lies. We can build them up and stop tearing them down. We can let them and encourage them to be the men God made them to be.