A Small Collection of Helpful Quotes

 “There is no pit so deep, that God's love is not deeper still.” ~ Corrie Ten Boom

 “If God has shown us bad times ahead, it's enough for me that He knows about them. That's why He sometimes shows us things, you know - to tell us that this too is in His hands.”~ Corrie Ten Boom

“Our anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, but only empties today of its strength” ~ Charles Spurgeon


“Trials teach us what we are; they dig up the soil, and let us see what we are made of; they just turn up some of the ill weeds on to the surface.” ~ Charles Spurgeon

Some people feel guilty about their anxieties and regard them as a defect of their faith, but they are afflictions not sins. Like all afflictions, they are, if we can so take them, our share in the passion of Christ. ~ C.S. Lewis

“God allows us to experience the low points of life in order to teach us lessons that we could learn in no other way.”~ C.S. Lewis

“When we lose one blessing, another is often most unexpectedly given in its place.”~ C.S. Lewis

I Will Rejoice, I Will Declare, God is my Victory and He is Here...

It is quite amazing how excited you can be for something and within the space of just a few minutes your whole attitude changes. The past few weeks are a prime example.

Christmas was perfect. We spent a couple of days with Stephen's family and a couple with mine. We were able to see all our family (including my nieces and nephew!). And, then, just a few days following the holiday, we learned of the death of a fellow Boyce College student through a horrible car accident. A couple of days after that, I get a call for a job interview through H&R Block. The next day I find I have the job. Earlier this week we find out Stephen is working a lot less hours than normal next week. Yesterday, I hear that training for my job is this Saturday. Within the hour, I get another call saying that my background check didn't go through so I can't be hired (for now). 

With all these events it's hard to even think about getting excited for the good things because you feel that just as soon as  you get excited, something happens and everything goes dark. It's almost a curse to get joyful.

And then, you read passages like Philippians 4 (I know, I wrote on it just a month ago, but it's just SO good and So timely!) where it says to rejoice....always. All the time. Not just when you land a job or have a good Christmas. But also when a good friend dies or when you lose( or almost lose) a job. Rejoice that the friend was a believer and is now praising God an worshiping Him - at His feet - for all eternity! Rejoice that there is time to do some needed things like cleaning or spending time with God and reading Scripture.


And, I have to admit, usually my first thought in reading this passage is how ridiculous that statement sounds. I mean, rejoicing at losing a job? Why in the world would you rejoice in that? But, you know, God has a reason for everything. For EVERYTHING. Not just the good, but the bad as well. He NEVER gives you anything you can't handle. On top of all that, EVERY event God brings you, He will get you out. The pain is not going to last forever. God is God....He is bigger than any and every trial. If anything, that's something to rejoice about! In every circumstance there is a lesson. I was talking to my mother-in-law a little while ago and she said when you get older almost everything you went through - good or bad- you will look back on and think what a good time that was. Because, through every circumstance - as a true believer - you will learn to rely and trust in God more. Your relationship with Him will be strengthened. Your knowledge of Scripture will be better as you read and meditate on it. 

In the end, in every bad circumstance, it will be extremely difficult to see the good and rejoice in it. You may cry and wallow in your misery for a little while. And, that's okay. I certainly have the past few weeks. And, I most likely will again. But, as long as you remember that God is in your circumstance and He will carry you through it, that's okay.

To close, I want to share one of my favorite songs as well as some of my favorite Scripture passages. In another post, I will share some of my favorite quotes. I will also post them on my "Favorite Quotes" tab. (:

Desert Song by Hillsong United:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MCwKdai51o

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,  for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. ~ James 1: 2-4

1 Peter 1

 "This is what the past is for! Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see." ~ Corrie Ten Boom

Money, Contentment, and Provision

It has been exactly 11 months since I lasted posted. That's quite a while and so much has happened! I graduated college, got married, moved to Winchester, KY....and that's just the tip of the iceberg. I can't even begin to number the many lessons that have been learned, the laughs that have been laughed, the tears that have been shed...but, today I am going to share a lesson that I have been learning for most of this year.

Philippians 4 is one of my favorite chapters in Scripture. I could read it over and over and keep finding truths to learn and to apply to my life. One such lesson that seems to pop up a lot lately is that of contentment and provision. 

In this season of giving, contentment has to be one of the hardest things to overcome. We are constantly bombarded with things to by for either ourselves or for those that we know. A couple of examples: Stephen loves John Wayne...I have a desire to by anything I see related to him. My sister loves pandas. I also have a desire to by anything and everything with a panda. I'm pretty sure I could come up with a reason to buy just about everything for at least one person I know. 

I also have a love of Christmas decorations. Every time I go to Walmart, Target, or Cracker Barrel (oooohhhhh this is the worst of the bunch. They have just the cutest ornaments and figurines!)  I just want to buy every Christmas related thing I see. In fact, this past weekend, I'm pretty sure I spent waaaaay more than was in budget on Christmas things. If I did that every weekend of December, we'd be broke (or, at least more than we currently are...). 

Basically, when I see things for other people or trivial things for myself I can be easily convinced to buy it. But, when it comes to things we need, I worry and fret like nothing else.

Example: I am a huge Jimmy Stewart fan. Last year, I saw a collection of his movies. 6 for $20. Not bad. I couldn't afford it on my own though and I gave Stephen an unbelievably hard time about it (it's almost impossible for him to refuse me anything..). End in the end, I didn't get it. Then, last week I saw it again. And, again, I gave Stephen more of a hard time...and since we're married now, it didn't take much for him to give in and buy it for me. But, ever since buying it I have felt guilty...that could be $20 towards groceries or gas or bills. Things we worry about paying for all the time.

Why is this? For me, and most likely for just about everyone else, it stems through a contentment issue. If we would be satisfied with what we already have(content) there would be no temptation to buy things we don't need (Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne, pandas). Now, don't get me wrong. There's nothing bad in giving (it's a lot better than buying things for yourself), but it's sort of unreasonable to buy three gifts for someone if it's going to cause you to go broke. Especially if they would be perfectly fine with one gift.

And, along with contentment, if we realize that God is our ultimate provider and will never leave us hanging on things vital to life, all worry would disappear (remember Matthew 5 where Jesus talks about the sparrow and how He provides for the little birds and such will He provide for us, whom He loves more?) Philippians 4 covers the provision part really well:

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."..."And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen." - Philippians 4:4-7, 19-20. 

One of the key parts of this verse is the opening word: rejoice. For, if we are rejoicing how can we worry or be disgruntled about our lives? Even in the hard times we have so much to be thankful for. And, we know that God will ALWAYS provide for us! How can you not rejoice in that? Once we can do that, the rest is easy. Our hearts and minds will be settled. All worry is gone and we are content. 1 Timothy has more to say on that:

 "But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.  But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.  But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs." 1 Timothy 6:6-10

According to this, all we need is clothing and food. Anything more is folly. Woah. Wait...you mean the jewelery and makeup we wear, the books we read, the movies we watch....we don't need any of that? Nope. You know why? Because, the more you want, the more you turn money and things into idols....which can cause anyone to wander from the truth. Even  theology books or documentaries of sorts can be turned into idols. If we entered into this world with nothing and leave the world with nothing, why do we want anything in the world?

All we should ever desire is a more perfect relationship with our Savior and to be more like Him in all things. Because, in the end, that is what is important. A true belief in our Savior is what will get us into heaven where all the true riches are. 


“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,  but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-20

A Year With George Herbert

I have never enjoyed poetry that much

But, this semester I am taking a 

Great Books class at Boyce and one

of the books we have to read is 

A Year With George Herbert

by my professor, Dr. Jim Orrick. 

I began it with much apprehension, but 

then found myself actually enjoying it!

Here is one of my favorites so far,  

The H Scriptures II: 

Oh that I knew how all thy lights combine,
 And the configurations of their glory!
Seeing not onely how each verse doth shine,
But all the constellations of the story.
 
This verse marks that, and both do make a motion
Unto a third, that ten leaves off doth lie:

Then as dispersed herbs do watch a potion,
These three make up some Christians destiny:

 
Such are thy secrets, which my life makes good,
And comments on thee: for in ev’ry thing
Thy words do find me out, & parallels bring,
And in another make me understood.
 
Stars are poor books, & oftentimes do miss:

This book of stars lights to eternal bliss.

I love the comparison between stars 

and the Scripture. Just as every star is 

placed perfectly to make a constellation 

and to point to each other, so the 

Scriptures make a story and point to 

Christ. Just as people will use the 

stars (astrology) to tell their future, 

so the Scripture tells us our 

future in Christ. 

In the second stanza, Herbert uses 

potions to describe Scriptures as 

well. Each individual ingredient 

required for a potion can not do 

anything on its own. But, combined, 

it can heal. The Scriptures are the 

same: one verse on its own may not 

make much sense, but put it with 

several others, a whole concept appears. 

Richard Baxter, one of the 

great theologians, wrote of Herbert: 

"I must confess, after all, that 

next the Scripture poems, 

there are none so savoury to me, as 

Mr. George Herbert’s . . . Herbert 

speaks to God like one 

that really believeth a God, 

and whose business in 

the world is most with God. 

Heart-work and Heaven-work 

make up his books.”

For by grace you have been saved

I love Ephesians 2. I know I say this often about chapters in the Bible, but I really do love this one; it might actually be one of my favorite chapters. From the first verse Paul just overwhelms you: 

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins  in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Ick.  That was/ is us? So dirty, vile, unworthy of anything! But, wait . . . there's more . . .

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,  not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Wow. My mind can hardly comprehend these verses. After reading the preceding verses, how can we understand that God could have so much love and mercy to make us clean, new, and alive in Christ so that we can live for eternity with Him? 

We can't. 

But, it's true and we can revel in that glorious and beautiful truth and seek opportunities to share it with others.

 

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

This summer since Stephen and I have been away from each other we decided to go through a book of the Bible; a chapter a week. We chose Galatians and finished that a couple of weeks ago and decided to continue on through Ephesians and Philippians, and so forth. Now, we will be discussing Ephesians 2 and I am being reminding of how much I love this book. It's pretty close to being my favorite book in the Bible. So, I thought today I would share Ephesians 1 and give just a few thoughts of my own since this chapter is overflowing with beautiful truths.


"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

    To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:

  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 Spiritual Blessings in Christ

 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,  even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,  to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight  making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all."

See? I told you it's a lot! It's one sentence after another that is just filled with so much beautiful truth that it's almost to much to comprehend! For example, that first paragraph: we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing, we were chosen before the earth was even created to be holy and blameless before Him. And, then, because of love and through grace, we are adopted as sons through Christ! It doesn't end there! Paul just keeps going. As you read, you can't help but praise the Father and rejoice in all that He has done for us. 

I urge you to do just that. Read this chapter and with all thankfulness and praise to our Father, contemplate on every spiritual blessing He has given us.

The Peace That Surpasses All Understanding

Philippians 4 is one of my favorite passages in Scripture. Here's why:

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you . . . Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.I can do all things through him who strengthens me . . . And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. ~ Philippians 4:4-9,11-13, 19-20

 I love every aspect of this passage, especially verses 4-7 and 19-20. We have no need to be anxious or worried about what will come next; if we carry those worries to God, He will surely take of them. One of the most beautiful feelings is that in verse 7 - the peace of God will guard your hearts and minds. 

Verses 19-20 are some of my favorite verses in all of Scripture:  "And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen." Isn't that so comforting? It goes with the beginning verses; when we let go of all the worries and anxieties this world brings and truly believe v. 19 - He will supply EVERY NEED - then we will have the peace that surpasses all understanding.