Don’t let your past consume you!

With all of the things I've talked about so far, they are choices you make on the outside, toward others. This week, I want to address a choice you make on the inside, toward yourself. It is hard sometimes to understand that our choices from our past have helped make us who we are, and helped guide us to God's purpose and plan for our lives. For this reason, it is important that we forgive ourselves and do not live in the past with regrets and wishes that we'd done things differently. When we allow ourselves to realize that God is able to use the bad and make it good, take our choices that were against His will and repurpose them, we will be able to be used by Him.

1 John 2:2 says, "He is the sacrifice for our sins. He takes away not only our sins but the sins of ALL the world." You think your choices have been bad? Just think about all the people in the world, murderers, pedophiles, thieves, and the list goes on. And again, there is no bias about whose sins are forgivable; it says "ALL the world". He is an all-inclusive God. If He can forgive your sins, and would send "His only-begotten son" for us, sinners, then why would you hold onto those things? The purpose of Him allowing His son to die for us was to forgive our sins, and if you have repented of them and asked Him to guide you, they are forgiven. As long as you hold onto your own regret about choices you've made and "I should have done that differently" you are basically saying Jesus died for no reason. Do not let it be a pointless sacrifice.

This is an important thing to remember as you find your mate, as I am discovering lately. It is hard to accept that God has such a huge purpose for us when we hold onto regrets from our past. His choice for our soul-mate may differ greatly than our image of what we want. This is largely because His image of us is what He created us to be, while our image of ourselves involves so much of what we have been. My husband is amazing, and has always been very clean-cut, together, organized, and focused. I have not really been any of these things. After we got married, I started letting the devil tell me I wasn't worthy of what my husband had to offer, regardless of what my husband said about how much he loved me, no matter my past. I have, in the last couple weeks, come to realize that my spouse is there to lift me up, and the same for me lifting him. I had to change my outlook to the future we have together from the past we had apart.

Romans 8:28 (NLT) "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." So, allow Him to continue to work things together as you are drawn towards His purpose for YOU!!! Do not let your past be what holds you back, let it propel you forward.

Stop over-thinking, Appreciate the simplicity!! Posted October 19, 2010

I had an amazing, eye-opening conversation with an amazing friend, and it inspired me to share an important thought with you! We discussed the importance of simplicity in our walk with Christ. This can be, perhaps the most important thing I have shared with you yet. So many times, we over-think the way things are done. God wants us to just trust Him… That’s it. It’s just that simple. Easy? No, but simple.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT) “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.” It says not to depend on your own understanding… Do you know why it says that? Because, as human beings we have a hard time not understanding exactly what is happening, so we over-think to the point of stressing ourselves out, or trying to fix things ourselves. But when we take our own insecurities, pride, or fear of messing up out of the equation, and just seek His will, He has this great way of guiding us.

When my husband and I met, neither of us thought we’d ever be more than friends, he wasn’t my ideal, and I wasn’t his. But God has this great way of making things happen and showing us why, only after we trust Him and let it happen. After a week of occasional hanging out as friends, it was just so natural for us to be together that we became a couple. God had intended it that way the whole time, but we were both apprehensive about what we thought we heard because “there’s no way that’s right”… We see how that worked out for us. Lol. But when we both just gave it up to God, instead of trying to rationalize our decisions, and simply trust Him, and each other, it was beautiful!!

I’m not saying don’t plan for your future, or ask others for help or advice. I’m just saying; let the simplicity of His light be your guide. When you know you feel He’s saying something to you, let it be. Don’t put so much thought into it. He wants us to “Be still and know that I am God…” (Psalm 46:10) So, try it and you may be surprised how simple it really is….

Respecting is Loving, Posted October 15, 2010

Hey guys, sorry I did not get my new post done very quickly, vacation with my family always uses more time than you think. Had a blast and totally worth it, but I know I need to get this out, so here is my post about respect and how vital it is to our walk. It is not only important to respect those close to you; you must respect those around you at all times, and yourself. God created us in His image, and disrespecting ourselves and those around us is like telling God you do not respect Him or His creation.

1 Peter 2:17(NLT) says, “Show respect for everyone. Love your Christian brothers and sisters. Fear God. Show respect for the king.” Again, God does not allow room for negotiations; He says show respect for EVERYONE, meaning no exceptions. This does not mean that when someone doesn’t like you, you can treat them like crap, or if you decide you’re not fond of another person. Respect is a way to show love, whether you feel it or not.

Many times people think that others need to earn respect for us to show it to them, but we did not earn Christ’s love before He died on the Cross for us, did we? Making a conscious effort to show respect regardless of our feelings can be a huge testament to the way we ourselves are loved. It is a vital part of learning who we are in Christ, and being the salt of the earth, as we are called to be. Talking and griping about one another is a form of disrespect, whether it is to their face or not. It is also disrespectful to the person who is hearing it. So love each other, the way Christ loves us, and have some respect!

I feel this is also important for those looking for a mate… If you are not capable of making the decision to respect in spite of how you feel, you are not ready to be married, or in a relationship. When you realize that you have to live with that person the rest of your life, it will sometimes be very hard to show you respect them when you feel that they haven’t earned it. So start practicing before it gets really hard….

Stop Your Grumbling, originally posted Sept. 27, 2010

So, I have been on vacation, and I have made some observations I feel should be shared today. My family and I attended a great church service where the pastor talked about complaining and how as Christians, we tend to have an Israelite like attitude. I have also noticed a lack of respect in people in general, over the last few months. Today I will share about acting like Moses, instead of the people he was leading, for my next post we will discuss respect. I think both of these points are very vital, because we do not realize that we have these problems, they are human nature. But when you know they exist, it is much easier to catch yourself and guard yourself against them. Being able to guard against them leads to a happy, Christ-led life that ministers to all of those around you without even knowing it.

Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, as God had instructed, and they still complained about where they were. They were on their way to The Promised Land, but could not see past where they were in the desert. Moses obeyed God and did as He was instructed, regardless of how he felt, or what he saw. God continuously provided for the Israelites in the desert, despite their poor attitude. They complained and asked Moses why God took them out of Egypt where they were slaves but had the things they needed. God just wanted them to trust Him. There is much more to the story, in Exodus chapters 16-18, especially. But the point of the story is that the Israelites complained and grumbled even though they were fully provided for.
Philippians 2:14-15 (NLT) states “In everything you do, stay away from complaining and arguing, so that no one can speak a word of blame against you. You are to live clean, innocent lives as children of God in a dark world full of crooked and perverse people. Let your lives shine brightly before them.”  This does not just mean when you are happy where you are, “in everything you do” means EVERYTHING. There is power in our words and the way we speak about those around us and our personal circumstances will largely determine our attitude. When our attitude toward things is positive regardless of how things are perceived from the outside, it is a testament to the inner strength we have to make the choice to be positive.

My husband and I have determined that we will always refer to each other positively, whether we are together or in the presence of others. Many couples refer to each other as “The boss”, “My Old Lady/Man”, “The Old Ball and Chain” or other negative things that would cause others to see your spouse in that negative light. We have decided too, that when you speak those words to others, you sub-consciously begin to see your spouse that way. Zig Ziglar talks about how he will always refer to his wife as His Bride, never as anything else. I do not know his exact reasoning, I am researching it though. I feel this is a very important thing for a marriage that we watch our words and how we cause ourselves to view those around us.
This applies to more than just our marriage though, it is vital for our Walk. It is a hard transition at first, but when we determine to find the positive in everything, it becomes much easier. The longer you do it, the more of a habit it becomes.

Don't focus on Just the Prize, Originally posted Sept. 15, 2010

My first official post, I feel, should be about focus. Not how to maintain focus on the “prize” so to speak. But how to channel focus in the right direction. If your focus is wrong, everything else I have to say will be meaningless. My blog is not about how to find the one, or dating advice necessarily. Instead, it is about becoming “The One” for Your One that you were created for. And the focus here needs to be about the relationship you have with the Creator in order for Him to guide you to each other.
When I realized I was really ready to get married, I started praying for my husband to come… Not exactly the best way to do things, I discovered… This all started last spring and all summer God showed me things about where my focus was, and where it should be. Over the course of the summer, I realized that, as a woman of God, I was to be pursued, not sitting around waiting to chase someone.
Proverbs 18:22 (NLT) says, “The man who finds a wife finds a treasure, and receives favor from the Lord.” As He showed me this, I realized that it says The man who finds a wife, not the woman who finds a husband. This let me know that my focus was off, because if I was in the right place, he would find me. So then I started realizing that I needed to start getting in the mindset of being taken, man or no man. If I kept looking and casually dating, the transition into wife would be harder. So I became a wife in my heart, and told God that the next boyfriend I had would be my last and become my husband. 2 months later, I met him…. 1 year after we started dating, we have been married for 4 months!
This was only after I started enjoying my life as it was, and appreciating God’s MANY blessings! I see it as His promise of a good man for me is like a great, beautiful tree in a field full of beautiful, colorful flowers, and trees. These other flowers and trees represent the everyday blessings in my life. Without the other flowers, a tree alone is just a tree, but the entire field is to be enjoyed. Do not let the other blessings become out of focus because of the big tree!

My Beginning... Originally posted September 9th, 2010

Hey everyone! This is my first blog, ever. So I am excited to share my heart and purpose for creating a blog. I know that people like myself need daily, or weekly encouragement about finding themselves. I had a problem with settling and not reaching my potential for a long time. I want to encourage you with my stories and thoughts and show you how to open back up to who you really are. And if you have found that person inside of you, maybe I can help you encourage someone else.

I recently got married to the most amazing man, who loves me unbelievably. I didn’t meet him until I came to terms with the fact that God had a purpose for me, although I’ve known it my whole life… I hope that as this blog matures, you will find some of what I found.