Tuesday, March 30, 2010

It is Time to Pray

This past week has been a tough one in many ways.

My heart is hurting for those who are going through really hard times in life. I find myself constantly thinking of friends who are in need of peace and direction, friends who are in desperate need of a job, friends who are struggling in relationships, friends who need God’s healing hands, friends who are completely broken.

My eyes have been opened to a world that is in need of a savior – and this world is all around me.

Sometimes I come to God not really knowing what to pray for or how to pray. My head is a whirlwind and I come to him in complete humbleness, knowing that I alone have no power, nothing to offer.

I come to him pleading for his mercy.
I come to him asking for wisdom.
I come to him begging for strength.

This is the state of my heart today.

Today I am very aware of my need for a savior and I am thankful for Jesus.

Psalm 27

The LORD is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
When evil men advance against me
to devour my flesh,
when my enemies and my foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.
Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then will I be confident.
One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.
For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle
and set me high upon a rock.
Then my head will be exalted
above the enemies who surround me;
at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the LORD.
Hear my voice when I call, O LORD;
be merciful to me and answer me.
My heart says of you, "Seek his face!"
Your face, LORD, I will seek.
Do not hide your face from me,
do not turn your servant away in anger;
you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
O God my Savior.
Though my father and mother forsake me,
the LORD will receive me.
Teach me your way, O LORD;
lead me in a straight path
because of my oppressors.
Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
breathing out violence.
I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

More Photography

I am taking every opportunity to learn more about photography and I am enjoying myself thoroughly!

Yesterday I got to take pictures of my beautiful friend. Isn't she gorgeous?

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Whistler Bliss


I got to

come here


with wonderful friends


to snowboard


and spend time together.


It was truly great. And I am sore.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

A Deceitful Heart

The book The Pursuit of Holiness is teaching me quite a bit about how I constantly need to seek God in order to become the child he created me to be.

While God’s desire is for me to be holy because He is holy, I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.

Paul talks about this constant battle between evil and good in the book of Romans, but this battle started all the way back in the Garden of Eden.

What I am currently learning is to trust God and lean on God – not on my own heart.

Jerry Bridges goes on to say:

“The Bible tells us that the heart is deceitful and unsearchable to any but God alone (Jeremiah 17:9-10). Even as believers we do not know our own hearts (I Corinthians 4:3-5). None of us can discern fully the hidden motives, the secret intrigues, the windings and turnings of his heart. And in this unsearchable heart dwells the law of sin. Much of sin’s strength lies in this, that we fight with an enemy we cannot fully search out.

The heart is deceitful. It excuses, rationalizes, and justifies our actions. It blinds us to entire areas of sin in our lives. It causes us to deal with sin using only half way measures, or to think that mental assent to the Word of God is the same as obedience (James 1:22).

Knowing that indwelling sin occupies a heart that is deceitful and unsearchable should make us extremely wary. We need to ask God daily to search our hearts for sin that we cannot or will not see. This was David’s prayer: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24). God’s primary means of searching our hearts this way is through His Word, as we read it under the power of the Holy Spirit. “The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). As we pray for God to search out hearts, we must continually expose ourselves to the searching of His Word.”

Having a better understanding of my heart and the sinful nature within me drives me to spend more time seeking God. In other words, I need to spend more time reading His Word, learning about His character and asking that He would mold my heart each and every day so that I may be more like Him.

It is encouraging to know that God gave us the Holy Spirit to guide us when we cannot trust our own heart. He made a way for us to become more like Him.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Yummy!

Remember this post?

Well, lets just say that I got to have one of my favorite things again! But this time I got to make it with John on our date night.

Molten Lava Cake
(Notice the double boiler. We are resourceful with what we have)

(I don't recommend mixing the eggs for 5 minutes - full speed - by hand)

The results were fantastic and I can't wait to make these again!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Spring is Here

It may be too early for Spring, but it sure is wonderful to see flowers bloom out of trees that have been dormant for way too long.

This might just be my favorite season!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

I'm Working on It

Sometimes life does not go as planned.

In my case, life usually does not go as planned – and that is really hard. I like to know what comes next, I like to be prepared, I like to think ahead, I like to be able to tell others what the next step will be.

Needless to say, this current part of life is quite a challenge. Jobless and unaware of what comes next, I got stuck in place. I got stuck doing nothing.

But I think I am making progress. I am letting go of fears.
Or, I should say that I am working on letting go of fears.

I am abandoning this little voice that tells me that I am not good enough and I am embracing the big voices that tell me that I have what it takes to be successful. This success I speak of has nothing to do with money; instead I speak of the kind of success that makes your heart joyful – because you are doing what you are passionate about.

While sharing a little bit about all these thoughts and emotions with a friend, he asked me to read a couple of pages out of the book 9 Things You Simply Must Do. Here is what I read:

“Recently I was talking to a friend, Tony Thomopoulos, who became president of ABC Television. The story of how his career got started is a great example of how to be an active participant in the events that shape one’s life.

He began in the proverbial mailroom. Think of that; right out of school and stuck in the basement of a big conglomerate. But his signing on as a mail clerk was an intentional move. He chose the mailroom over other more interesting positions because he knew that delivering mail throughout the company would put him is contact with every department. He would meet all the people in the company, know what they did, understand all the jobs, and then be better equipped to work his way up.

He then set a goal to be involved in a certain division by a certain date. He did not limit himself to some narrow description of a job, but agreed with himself to take any position available just to get in that division. To show how actively he was thinking about the ‘my move’ strategy, he promised himself that if he had not made it into that division by his goal date he would leave the company and seek his career elsewhere. The heat was on for him to be active – pressure imposed by no one other than himself.

Through delivering the mail, he met employees in human resources and learned of one weird opportunity coming up in his targeted division. Someone was needed to take over a position for just two weeks while an employee was on vacation. The hours, 4:30 to 8:30 in the morning, were such that he could take the temporary position and still keep his regular job.

He knew nothing about the work he would be doing in the temporary position, but that didn’t stop him. He spent the weekend researching how he could do the best job possible in the short two weeks that he would be in that division. He arrived each morning at 3:30, an hour early, to prepare for his tasks. He also studied his boss, learning his needs and the things that would make his job easier. He found ways to benefit his boss instead of just trying to make himself look good. He truly served his boss. He added value.

After two weeks, the boss was so impressed with how prepared Tony was and the job he was doing that he hired him away from the mailroom. My friend was now in the division of the company that he desired. From there he was picked up by the upper management, and the ball started rolling that placed him in the president’s chair a handful of years later.

Luck? Providence? Certainly. As Tony said, “I can see that God was involved in every step.” But it was the same God who gave us the parable of the talents. That story tells us that God’s system requires a successful person to behave exactly as my friend Tony did.

Did you ever notice that to get to the Promised Land the Jewish people had to travel, fight wars, and cross a river? God provides for the birds of the air (Mathew 6:26), but have you ever seen one that did not leave the nest when it grew able to fly? Does God drop mosquitoes into the birds nest? Not hardly. He provides bugs for the flying birds that go out and seek them.

Dig up your dream, but then ask yourself, What do I need to do now? How can I improve my lot? What do I need to do to get where I want to be? What skills do I need to develop? What fears do I need to get past? Who do I need to meet? How can I invest my talents? Those questions address steps toward proactive initiative, which God’s system demands of those who expect success. Then he asks you to ask him for his provision to open doors and make opportunities for that initiative to be exercised. We must pray, he says, and we must also act.”

Upon reading these paragraphs I wanted to be Tony. I wanted to be motivated like him and I wanted to have the perseverance and strength to do what he did.

So, that is what I am working on.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Great Weekend

This past weekend was perfect in many ways:

- The weather was screaming "SPRING"
- Got to spend time with family
- Went to UW and took pictures of my sister
- Ate lots of really good food
- Sat in the living room talking to my parents-in-law until wee hours of the morning

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend!

Check out these pictures of my sister. She is absolutely gorgeous!







Sunday, March 7, 2010

I am Singing...


You Hold Me Now
(Hillsong)

On that day when I see
All that You have for me
When I see You face to face
There surrounded by Your grace

All my fear is swept away
In the light of your embrace
When Your love is all I need
And forever I am free

Where the streets are made of gold
In Your presence healed and whole
Let the songs of heaven rise to you alone

No weeping, no hurt or pain
No suffering You hold me now
You hold me now
No darkness no sick or lame
No hiding You hold me now,
You hold me now

In this life I will stand
Through my joy and my pain
Knowing there's a greater day
There's a hope that never fails

When Your name is lifted high
And forever praises rise
For the glory of Your Name
I'm believing for the day

When the wars and violence cease
All creation lives in peace
Let the songs of heaven rise to you alone

No weeping, no hurt or pain
No suffering You hold me now
You hold me now
No darkness, no sick or lame
No hiding You hold me now,
You hold me now

For eternity
All my heart will give
All the glory to Your name
(4x)

No weeping, no hurt or pain
No suffering You hold me now
You hold me now
No darkness no sick or lame
No hiding You hold me now,
You hold me now
(3x)

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Good Reminder

Revelation 3:7-8

"And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: “The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens. I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name."

It is wonderful to be reminded that Christ is the the holy one, the true one.

These verses caught my attention today as I was feeling somewhat discouraged and powerless. God reminded me that He knows that I have "little power" but He is the one who opens doors which no one is able to shut.

I am in desperate need of some open doors and I want to trust that God is opening those doors for me, because I do not have enough power to make that happen on my own.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Some Favorite Things


There is nothing quite like Joey's wonderful molten lava cake with vanilla ice cream and raspberry syrup!
I think it might be the best thing I have ever tasted, along with steak - I can't forget about how much I enjoy steak.
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