Promises and Angels

I must start by saying, "yes it is early to be talking about christmas, but not really"

As I was driving in my car listening to a my favortie song "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel", I thought of the promises that the Israelites longed to be fulfilled.  Could you imagine, hundreds of years being promised of a Messiah that would fufill all the prophecies, that would bring everlasting peace, the ultimate sacrifice... and you are waiting and waiting... and then out of no where, HE COMES....  Could you imagine being a lowly shephard who got the night shift and (knowing your promises that were told to you as a child of the coming messiah) out of the heavens explodes into place a HOST of Angels declaring a promise being kepts from God Almighty...a promise being fulfilled at this very moment.  Could you imagine?  What would you think.

Think about it this way:  It's like a kid waiting for the rain to stop so he can go play outside.  It's like a military wife waiting for her husband to come home from the war.  It's like a dog waiting for his master to drop some scraps from the dinner table.  It's like a groom waiting for his bride to walk through the open doors at the end of the isle.  Its like a prisoner waiting for his release date when he can be FREE! 

Isreal was a nation that waited and waited and longed for God to bring a Messiah that He PROMISED to them.. so they waited.  and then, ... the ANGELS burst forth saying "GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST, AND ON EARTH PEACE AMONG THOSE WITH WHOM HE IS PLEASED!"

Think on this:  We have a promise that Isreal waited for, it was extended to both Jew and GENTILE all nations.  And now here is time when we can wait for the Promise of the Lord's return, but not as a baby, but as the Resurrected Lord who conquored the grave!  REJOICE as you think on these things... PROMISES that God Keeps, and ANGELS declare His Truth, bringing good news!!!! 
GOD is AWESOME at how He gets His News across!

GROWING in KNOWLEDE and in FAITH

Late Night
out of sight
....of anyone around

Just you and me
Lord you and me
....no else around

.......................
.......................

and so now its time to talk
and to listen to you
to pour out my heart
for you to view

I have questions to ask
hurts to share
answers to chew on
praises to declare

My faith I know
cannot be stolen
but knowledge is
a challenge to take on

so now I desire wisdom
with knowledge too
deciphering its truth
to know more of you

I will not lie
this is hard to do
to challenge my faith
with questions of you

But if I give minimum
efforts that are effortless
how will I grow
I must give my best

Seeking after you
chasing you
waiting for you

as you

wait for me
pursue me
and hold me

So fear I have no more
knowing that my King
will protect my journey
on discovering new things

yielding with wisdom
covered in grace
bring on the knowledge
right now in this place

In this late night
out of sight
....with only you around.

in brokenness

you help me grow some more.

 "For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins."
(2 Peter 1:5-9 ESV)

When in Doubt or Felt Defeated

I would not be real to myself and to you the reader if I told you my life is all rainbows and cupcakes.  Tonight I sat and pondered on people in my life, and I started to doubt... yes.. the human nature...doubting my purpose, my actions, my future.  I started thinking specifically about all the people in my life:  so I give my efforts to them, encourage them, love them, pray for them, hope the very best for them, but then I feel like my efforts are not really much effort, and I'm doubting if I'm doing my job.  I think about blessings in my life, what am I taking for granted, what am I excusing: convincing myself I don't deserve it.  At this time of thinking I feel Defeated.

But let me say... there is NOT hopelessness.... but HOPE

how could I grow if I didn't have my doubts and defeats?

Now is this critical point of choosing how I spend my time in my thoughts,... digging deeper in Depression (a place I do not want to return to), or fighting it out, a tough battle, but surrender in the end with God's peace that surpasses all my understandings in life. (I might not get it all...but I can be content..and rejoice in what I have).

I say these words while these things are fresh on my mind so I might be vulnerable to be real and honest with you readers.  Its not easy.  We have times when we turn off the "HOPE" button, Ignore the "PEACE" blanket that God offers, and pretend that God's ears are turned off and the whole world just doesn't understand.  I've been there! and I've also had a good firend tell me, "those moments when you think you're alone on that boat, look around, there are many others with you".

So what can you, the reader, draw from this?  I hope that you can see, me another human being, having doubts also, feeling defeated..but each of us stopping in our tracks and not forgetting about the God that is rooted in your heart waiting for you to melt into His arms and let Him comfort you.

Wal-Mart

My favorite times to go shopping at Wal-mart is really late at night, like 11:00pm, or 1:00am.  There are no crowds, you don't have to worry about running anybody over with your kart, you don't have to wait forever in line, you're not being extra cautious about reaching around people to get to a product. so on and so on... plus its fun being the only one in the store pretty much. 

But the other side of this is the personal joy I get from going to Wal-Mart when it is crowded, and I'm not in a hurry of going anywhere.  This is the place where my eyes are opened, where God brings me back to reality.

I could just stand in that store for hours and watch how people carry on through their day, the mother with the five kids trying to keep them from killing each other in the store; the old couple holding hands why waiting at the pharmacy for their meds, the teens acting all cool trying to put on their best show for their friends, the kids playing in the toy isle "mommy, but I want it ...I want it..." , the scruffy looking guy with the torn jeans going in to buy a pack of cigarettes; the college girl buying reamen noodles for food and designer pillows to match her dorm room; the family of 5 packed together talking about their budget and what they can and cannot get this time around while grocery shopping while their kids are saying mommy why do we have to get this while the other kids get to buy that?,  the group of guys who come in for their beer and pistacios for the football game and chuckle about come comedy show, a  young woman with stelleto heels on and fashion designer purse, waiting for her glasses at the eyecare place in the store while she stresses out about the overwhelming schedule she has over the phone with her boyfriend, the daddy holding a newborn baby while looking at which dipars to get for the baby and humming a lulibuy to his daughter...

My heart skips a beat, ..."Look at these" the Lord says, "I love them all"... "These deserve to know the truth just as you did"  And suddenly I'm not complaining anymore about how I can't get down a certain isle or frowning at the long lines anymore.

What might be the "place" where God shows you how much He loves you and everything He created?

just to end on a lighter note:  I went shopping at Wally world today and saw elvis there.!

Dont Lose Hope

You might be the one who was left for another around the corner, abandoned, left with all the bills, the mortgage, the table to set for all the kids after a full days work, losing sleep, losing money, losing strength....

BUT DON'T LOSE HOPE

You might be the one who left your love to live a life more full of adventure with anyone you want, one night stand, party for the night, start a new day tomorrow, ...but you're never saticfied, never complete, you regret your descisions, you're losing confidence, losing stability in character, ...losing control of your life...

BUT DON'T LOSE HOPE

You might be the one who was raise to be the perfect example for everyone else... All eyes watching you, walking on eggshells, afraid to breathe inside this house of cards, cant make a mistake, can't fail, you're losing your identity, losing your sense of appriciation for life...

DO NOT LOSE HOPE

You might be the one who has never had a sense of direction, but are in constant search for truth... Doubts arise, the winds toss you about, the deceiver is always prowling around you, waiting to devoir any hope you have found... you feel you are losing diligence to keep on keeping on, losing that eagerness to grow, losing hope...

DON'T LOSE HOPE

You might be the one who has grown to be angry at the world, people, standards, promises, letting you down.  Everything is not living up to what you thought it would be,...so full of flaws... you're losing respect for them, losing patience, losing mercy towards the constant skrew ups

PLEASE DON'T LOSE HOPE

For Hope is what we hold onto, and Hope is just another word for Trust with a promise involved in the treaty.  A Promise from the Lord, not broken... therefore we have FAITH that the LORD is ABLE.

"Surely there is a future, and your HOPE will not be cut off."- Proverbs 23:18

"For in this HOPE we were saved.  Now hope that is seen is not hope.  For who HOPES for what he sees? 
But if we HOPE for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience."-  Romans 8:24-25

"For I know the plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you HOPE in your final outcome."-  Jeremiah 29:11

the BEAUTY of the one who tries

A story told to give perspective:

As I'm sitting in church, I am waiting for the piano to start playing, the choir to get on stage, and for the music to start...as I'm waiting I watch the people around me, observing them, studying them...

MR.BOWTIE
"Mr. Bowtie, you look nice today"
"Why, thank you, ...got this tie and vest just yesterday, always want to look nice for Sundays"
I smile and say, "Well, you look nice"
He goes on his way.

MRS. LACE
"Mrs Lace, goodmorning"
"Good Morning!"
"How's it going, I haven't seen you in a while"
"Yeah, I'm good, been busy.... are you going to that bible study they are talking about in the bulletin?"
"I..." 
she interrups, "I am, but I'm going to have to see if it works with my schedule, I'm already a part of the married couples' bible study, and I have choir practice on wednesdays, and childrens church meetings"
"well see, Mrs Lace, take care"

MISS BLUEJEANS
up comes Miss bluejeans,..
"Morning' miss bluejeans, hows it going?"
"alright... tired.. I don't really want to be here, but I've have a lot going on.  I've been battling again with my temptations, and my daughter is wearing me out, and I need to get into church I knew it would be a good place to start again. "
"you're going in the right direction, God cares for you, and waits for you to lay your burdens down at His feet"
"yeah, I heard God loves me, I'm just not so sure about all this God stuff, I mean... its cool and all but I don't know if its my style.  But I'm going to give it a try"
"I'm glad youre here, ..be praying for you"
Miss bluejeans walk away and sits down.

All of a sudden the music starts to play and the choir is in place, and the church service is starting, but deep down inside I'm pondering on the things that were said from Miss bluejeans... her heart... her honesty... her brokeness.... HOW BEAUTIFUL of the one who tries... the one who longs for a love that can comfort every need, for a peace that surpasses all understanding, for a promise that will never be broken, and for a reality that the Creator loves her for her, not her dresscode, or her good deeds... but her alone in her brokeness.

So Beautiful:  Another story to think of is the woman who washed Jesus' feet with her tears.  "And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at the table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.  Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner." Luke 7: 37-39 

Who could read that and NOT say that that is beautiful.  For the one who tries...the one who makes an effort to get right with the Lord, is the one displaying the beauty of "SURRENDER"