"For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord, 'Plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." ~Jeremiah 29:11(NLT)
In the past I've loved this verse, but up until today I never fully believed it. I always thought, "Oh that's cool! God knows what He's doing!" However, today I realized that not only do I need to think that, I need to believe it.
I can come up with all the plans, and dreams, and goals, and desires, that I want but unless they are what God wants for me, and in the proper time frame then all those things won't come to pass. I'm not saying that it's wrong to plan, and dream, and set goals for ourselves - that's actually a very good thing to do, that way we stay active and have a desire to do something. What I think this verse is actually saying is that God has something for each of us that goes beyond our wildest dream, and our farthest goal. Just because something doesn't go EXACTLY like we had wanted doesn't mean that everything in life is wrong, it just means that God is doing some readjusting, and refining and when He is done we will look back and say, "WOW!"
That's the amazing thing about the hope that we have in Christ, He is in control, and He has a plan for each one of us.
Molding a Masterpiece
Master Potter, why do You labor all day,
Giving such effort to rough, worthless pieces of clay?
Why such feeling in Your hands?
Why such care in every touch?
Why all the struggle?
Your creation is nothing but dust.
I'm molding a masterpiece,
A work of great beauty.
I'm molding a masterpiece;
My labor's not done.
A trophy, a treasure
Of worth beyond measure
I'm molding a masterpiece,
A masterpiece of love.
~Ron Hamilton
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Wait
Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, He replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate,
And the Master so gently said, "Child, you must wait."
"Wait? You say, wait?" my indignant reply,
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why.
Is your hand shortened? Or have You not heard?
By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming Your Word.
"My future, and all to which I can relate
Hangs in the balance, and You tell me wait?
I'm needing a 'yes,' a go-ahead sign,
Or even a 'no' to which I can resign.
"And Lord, You have promised that if we believe,
We need but ask and we shall receive;
And Lord I've been asking, and this is my cry;
I'm weary of asking - I need a reply!"
Then, quietly, softly, I learned of my fate,
As my Master replied once again, "You must wait."
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
And grumbled to God, "So I'm waiting, for what?"
He seemed then to kneel and His eyes met with mine,
And He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens, darken the sun,
Raise the dead, cause the mountains to run.
"All you seek I could give, and pleased you would be;
You would have what you want; but you wouldn't know Me.
You would not know the depth of My love for each saint,
You would not know the power that I give to the faint.
"You would not learn to see through clouds of despair;
You would not learn to trust, just by knowing I'm there.
You would not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence was all you could see.
"You would never experience that fullness of love,
As the peace of My Sprit descends like a dove.
You would know that I give and I save for a start,
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart;
"The glow of My comfort late in the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight,
The depth that's beyond getting just what you ask,
Of an infinite God that makes what you have last.
"And you never would know should your pain quickly flee
What it means that 'My grace is sufficient for thee.'
Yes, your dreams for that loved one o'er night could come true.
But the loss, if you lost what I'm doing in you.
"So be silent, my child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me.
And though oft' may My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all...is still...wait."
~Russell Kelfer
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, He replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate,
And the Master so gently said, "Child, you must wait."
"Wait? You say, wait?" my indignant reply,
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why.
Is your hand shortened? Or have You not heard?
By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming Your Word.
"My future, and all to which I can relate
Hangs in the balance, and You tell me wait?
I'm needing a 'yes,' a go-ahead sign,
Or even a 'no' to which I can resign.
"And Lord, You have promised that if we believe,
We need but ask and we shall receive;
And Lord I've been asking, and this is my cry;
I'm weary of asking - I need a reply!"
Then, quietly, softly, I learned of my fate,
As my Master replied once again, "You must wait."
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
And grumbled to God, "So I'm waiting, for what?"
He seemed then to kneel and His eyes met with mine,
And He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens, darken the sun,
Raise the dead, cause the mountains to run.
"All you seek I could give, and pleased you would be;
You would have what you want; but you wouldn't know Me.
You would not know the depth of My love for each saint,
You would not know the power that I give to the faint.
"You would not learn to see through clouds of despair;
You would not learn to trust, just by knowing I'm there.
You would not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence was all you could see.
"You would never experience that fullness of love,
As the peace of My Sprit descends like a dove.
You would know that I give and I save for a start,
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart;
"The glow of My comfort late in the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight,
The depth that's beyond getting just what you ask,
Of an infinite God that makes what you have last.
"And you never would know should your pain quickly flee
What it means that 'My grace is sufficient for thee.'
Yes, your dreams for that loved one o'er night could come true.
But the loss, if you lost what I'm doing in you.
"So be silent, my child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me.
And though oft' may My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all...is still...wait."
~Russell Kelfer
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Carried Me
So I'm sitting here, thinking that I really need to write something but at the moment the words aren't coming. I know what I want to write, but the thoughts aren't processing very well, so I'm going to attempt putting my thoughts to words, but I don't know how it's going to end up.
These past several days have been the hardest that I've ever lived. There were times that I didn't even want to live; I would have much rather curled up and died. There were times that like David I cried, "Why standest thou afar off, O Lord? Why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble? (Psalm 10:1). I honestly felt like God had left me. At times I wondered if God even existed! Thankfully God placed a few people in my life who wouldn't let me give up. They encouraged me, argued with me, cried with me, loved me, but most importantly they prayed for me.
I can't say that I'm back to normal, because I'm not, and it will probably be a long time before I'm back to my usual self. Right now I know that the best thing for me is to stay as busy as possible, and the most important thing is to make sure that I focus on what God has for me. Again, along with David I'm saying, "Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved." (Psalm 62:1-2).
Carried Me
Jesus you have carried me
When I could not stand
Jesus you have carried me
It's all been part of your plan
Jesus you have carried me
It's your footprints in the sand
Jesus you have carried me
It was always in your hands
~Jeremy Camp
These past several days have been the hardest that I've ever lived. There were times that I didn't even want to live; I would have much rather curled up and died. There were times that like David I cried, "Why standest thou afar off, O Lord? Why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble? (Psalm 10:1). I honestly felt like God had left me. At times I wondered if God even existed! Thankfully God placed a few people in my life who wouldn't let me give up. They encouraged me, argued with me, cried with me, loved me, but most importantly they prayed for me.
I can't say that I'm back to normal, because I'm not, and it will probably be a long time before I'm back to my usual self. Right now I know that the best thing for me is to stay as busy as possible, and the most important thing is to make sure that I focus on what God has for me. Again, along with David I'm saying, "Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved." (Psalm 62:1-2).
Carried Me
Jesus you have carried me
When I could not stand
Jesus you have carried me
It's all been part of your plan
Jesus you have carried me
It's your footprints in the sand
Jesus you have carried me
It was always in your hands
~Jeremy Camp
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
The Words I Would Say
Three in the morning,
And I'm still awake,
So I picked up a pen and a page,
And I started writing,
Just what I'd say,
If we were face to face,
I'd tell you just what you mean to me,
I'd tell you these simple truths,
Be strong in the Lord and,
Never give up hope,
You're going to do great things,
I already know,
God's got His hand on you so,
Don't live life in fear,
Forgive and forget,
But don't forget why you're here,
Take your time and pray,
These are the words I would say,
Last time we spoke,
You said you were hurting,
And I felt your pain in my heart,
I want to tell you,
That I keep on praying,
Love will find you where you are,
I know cause I've already been there,
So please hear these simple truths,
Be strong in the Lord and,
Never give up hope,
You're going to do great things,
I already know,
God's got His hand on you so,
Don't live life in fear,
Forgive and forget,
But don't forget why you're here,
Take your time and pray,
These are the words I would say,
From one simple life to another,
I will say,
Come find peace in the Father,
Be strong in the Lord and,
Never give up hope,
You're going to do great things,
I already know,
God's got His hand on you so,
Don't live life in fear,
Forgive and forget,
But don't forget why you're here,
Take your time and pray,
Thank God for each day.
And I'm still awake,
So I picked up a pen and a page,
And I started writing,
Just what I'd say,
If we were face to face,
I'd tell you just what you mean to me,
I'd tell you these simple truths,
Be strong in the Lord and,
Never give up hope,
You're going to do great things,
I already know,
God's got His hand on you so,
Don't live life in fear,
Forgive and forget,
But don't forget why you're here,
Take your time and pray,
These are the words I would say,
Last time we spoke,
You said you were hurting,
And I felt your pain in my heart,
I want to tell you,
That I keep on praying,
Love will find you where you are,
I know cause I've already been there,
So please hear these simple truths,
Be strong in the Lord and,
Never give up hope,
You're going to do great things,
I already know,
God's got His hand on you so,
Don't live life in fear,
Forgive and forget,
But don't forget why you're here,
Take your time and pray,
These are the words I would say,
From one simple life to another,
I will say,
Come find peace in the Father,
Be strong in the Lord and,
Never give up hope,
You're going to do great things,
I already know,
God's got His hand on you so,
Don't live life in fear,
Forgive and forget,
But don't forget why you're here,
Take your time and pray,
Thank God for each day.
~Sidewalk Prophets
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Picking Up the Pieces
I never ever dreamed that I would be writing a post anything like this one. I really don't know how else to put it besides this way: Jason and I broke up! I know, that probably shocked most of you as it did everyone else. I'm really not going to go into the details but just know that's it's over and I'm in the process of picking up where I left off, and trying to go on. Right now I honestly don't know how in the world that is going to happen. Please pray for both of us as we move on with our lives.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
HE'S BACK
Well as I'm sure you can tell by the title, Jason is back home in Ohio now!!! YAY!! He flew into Cleveland around 7:30 PM!!! I'm soooo excited and almost literally bouncing off the walls!!! He will be here in less than 4 days!!!
Saturday, December 5, 2009
One Week
Today is one week until Jason and I FINALLY meet. I can't even begin to explain all of the emotions that are flooding me right now. We've been waiting for soooo long. I can't even write anything more right now because I'm so overwhelmed. Please pray for us as we meet and then spend more time together before and after Christmas.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
That's What Faith Can Do
Everybody falls sometimes
Gotta find the strength to rise
From the ashes and make a new beginning
Anyone can feel the ache
You think it’s more than you can take
But you are stronger, stronger than you know
Don’t you give up now
The sun will soon be shining
You gotta face the clouds
To find the silver lining
I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn’t ever end
Even when the sky is falling
And I’ve seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That’s what faith can do
It doesn’t matter what you’ve heard
Impossible is not a word
It’s just a reason for someone not to try
Everybody’s scared to death
When they decide to take that step
Out on the water
It’ll be alright
Life is so much more
Than what your eyes are seeing
You will find your way
If you keep believing
I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn’t ever end
Even when the sky is falling
And I’ve seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That’s what faith can do
Gotta find the strength to rise
From the ashes and make a new beginning
Anyone can feel the ache
You think it’s more than you can take
But you are stronger, stronger than you know
Don’t you give up now
The sun will soon be shining
You gotta face the clouds
To find the silver lining
I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn’t ever end
Even when the sky is falling
And I’ve seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That’s what faith can do
It doesn’t matter what you’ve heard
Impossible is not a word
It’s just a reason for someone not to try
Everybody’s scared to death
When they decide to take that step
Out on the water
It’ll be alright
Life is so much more
Than what your eyes are seeing
You will find your way
If you keep believing
I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn’t ever end
Even when the sky is falling
And I’ve seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That’s what faith can do
~Kutlass
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