What happened to summer?

I can’t believe we are in the middle of August already..summer seemed to fly by. Our weather has been surprisingly cool.. Fall seems to be here already. I remember when summers lasted forever..all that has changed. We are busy people with so much to do.. we fill up most of our days with responsibilities and activities. There is a down side to this busyness..we can miss out on the moment. Instead of living fully each day..we rush through life..eager to get to the next thing and then the next thing and after that the next thing. Why are we in such a hurry?

A lot of it is our instant culture. We want everything now and we don’t want to wait.. I find myself the same way. Time can become an enemy and not a friend. Yet life with God is not fast..He is not in time the way we are, so He is never in a hurry. Our lives are not going to be too short for the things that God has prepared for us.. there is no need to fit everything in. It would probably benefit most of us to stop..so we can reflect on what we are doing and how we are spending our time in this life. We won’t be encouraged to this.. either inside or outside the church. There is just so much to do.. For God. Really?

We are here because He created us and gave us life to fulfill His purposes.. not to accomplish things. That accomplishment thing comes from us.. He wants us to receive His love and to love those around us.. to live life fully each day confident that everything that is supposed to happen will happen. When we make mistakes.. He will redeem them. When we choose to be still.. He will find someone else to do what we cannot do.. He has it all under control.

For me.. telling God daily that I trust Him helps tremendously. When I look around and see so many things I cannot change.. I remind myself that He has a plan and it is unfolding perfectly. When my emotions get the best of me I cry out to Him and let Him see the mess that I am. I make sure there is time in my day for these things even if all the work does not get done!

So.. enjoy the rest of the summer season and know that life is meant to be savored..relax and rest whenever possible. Trust Him with everything.

“Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture”  (psalm 100:3)

 

Humpty Dumpty..

Yes.. He put me back together 😀 God is good.. He comes for us. The challenging times close in on us and we tend to forget all the “rescues”. Let’s remind ourselves right now of those times when we thought we were forgotten and we weren’t. His timing is a mystery but His heart is not.

Earlier today I was remembering a lesson I learned about 12 years ago. It changed my life completely. During the most difficult time in my life I was afraid..that God would leave me..that He might not pick up the pieces of my life..that His promises might not be real. At the same time I had nowhere to turn but to Him. I made a choice to believe that what I knew about Him was true..the other choice was too terrible. I had to cling to my faith minute by minute. He came through and rebuilt my life..one day at a time.

He took my old life away..but only because He wanted to give me more than I had ever imagined possible. The transition was hard..the fears were real..but He was there with me in a tangible way. I learned that when He takes things away it is not to punish us..it is because He loves us and wants to give us even more than we had before. Our part is to believe and trust Him for what we cannot see..even when the odds are against us.

Yes..He put me back together and He will do the same for you when you need it. He is bigger than our fears..and worries. His heart overflows with love for us. Our God is with us!

“I came naked from my mother’s womb,
      and I will be naked when I leave.
   The Lord gave me what I had,
      and the Lord has taken it away.
   Praise the name of the Lord!”

 In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.

Love God..Love one another..

The core of our faith rests in this statement. It only makes sense if we know how much we are loved. I have found that so many people call themselves believers but seem to have a very difficult time realizing that God truly loves them. They do all the right things but for the wrong reasons. Legalism. If I perform perfectly than I will be accepted by God and He will not punish me. A far cry from the gospel found in the Bible.

God’s love is an amazing gift to us. A free gift. Given to us because of who He is. We do nothing..abolutely nothing right in order to be loved by Him. Jesus did it all.. every bit of it..we are to receive it as it was an intended..a gift.

Once we have received this gift.. we must make sure that we don’t revert to old patterns and try to earn God’s approval. It does not work. Legalism again. The greater challenge is to keep remembering His love for us and find out what things keep us from receiving that love. Are we running from Him..turning to idols..worshiping the things of this world..giving in to fear and worry? He is pursuing us but we have free will. He wants us for Himself but He wants us to give ourselves willingly and fully.

As we live in the light of this love He has for us we will begin truly loving God..out of the overflow of what He gives us.. we will love one another. It cannot be done any other way. He is the source and the one that we must depend upon. God’s love and His grace are available to you.. He is waiting for you to turn and say yes to Him. Now is a good time.

“This is love; not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends since God loved us, we also ought to love one another. “