Is This Real?

I think I'm dreaming. I'm waiting to wake up from this dream and for REAL life to begin. It's like I'm waiting for the "bad thing" to happen and to burst this bubble I'm living in.

But I see that my life is not without it's problems, difficulties and frustrations.

I just look at and approach them and life differently.

I realize that my value is not based on what is/has happened to me, but based on a horrific death that bought me back from a life of sin. I focus on God's love and goodness that is on display all around me. I bring all my fears, sorrows and frustrations and leave them in His capable hands, because I know He can fix a broken heart, so anything else will be a cinch for Him. I also share my laughter, joy, dreams, plans and moments of sweet communion with my Creator, who delights in hearing my voice and seeing me smile.

I get up each morning and I can't believe this is my life and I get to live it to God's fullest with great joy!

So...

I am living in a dream!!! God's dream for me - a REAL life dream; a life lived walking with Him.

"But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely."
Galatians 5:22-23

"Change your life, not just your clothes. Come back to God, your God. And here's why: God is kind and merciful. He takes a deep breath, puts up with a lot, This most patient God, extravagant in love, always ready to cancel catastrophe. Who knows? Maybe He'll do it now, Maybe He'll turn around and show pity. Maybe, when all's said and done, there'll be blessings full and robust!"
Joel 2:13-14

"Give in to God, come to terms with Him and everything will turn out just fine. Let Him tell you what to do; take His words to heart. Come back to God Almighty and He'll rebuild your life. Clean house of everything evil. Relax your grip on your money and abandon your gold-plated luxury. God Almighty will be your treasure, more wealth than you can imagine. You'll take delight in God, the Mighty One, and look to Him joyfully, boldly. You'll pray to Him and He'll listen; He'll help you do what you've promised. You'll decide what you want and it will happen; your life will be bathed in light. To those who feel low you'll say, 'Chin up! Be brave!' and God will save them. Yes, even the guilty will escape, escape through God's grace in your life."
Job 22:21-30

My Ordinary Life

Some days I get frustrated because I feel like I'm not doing anything for God. I think, "I should be Benny Hinn or Joyce Meyer or something. It seems like they have the corner on God's market."

I just live a plain, old, don't do anything extraordinary life.

Except.
How extraordinary is it when you're with the same people day after day and they see something different about you? When people see you walk through trials and struggles with joy and confidence in the One who created you, or when you have honesty and integrity in a world full of lies and scams, or when you are able to show God's amazing love to those around you consistently?

I may not have the audience that some do, but people are watching, and I want them to see God and His amazing love and power in me.

So if that means living an "ordinary" life, then I'm going to do it to the best of my ability and rely on God's grace to make it extraordinary.

"During the rule of Herod, King of Judea, there was a priest assigned service in the regiment of Abijah. His name was Zachariah. His wife was descended from the daughters of Aaron. Her name was Elizabeth. Together they lived honorably before God, careful in keeping to the ways of the commandments and enjoying a clear conscience before God. But they were childless because Elizabeth could never conceive, and now they were quite old."
Luke 1:5-7 MSG

Read Luke 1:5-25 for the full effect of a life live honourably before God.

"So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what He wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you."
Romans 12:1-2 MSG

Pursued

Call me old fashioned, but I want to be pursued by my husband.

The thing is I've been pursued all my life.
By a man, who gave up His life for mine.

Most of my life I didn't realize it.
I didn't paid attention to the ways he showed His love, care and concern for me.

But now my eyes have been open.

I see Him in creation around me. In a hug from a close friend, a kind word, a song on the radio, a smile from a stranger.

I know He cares about me when things in life fall into place, when I unexpectedly receive the thing I have been needing, or when He answers my prayers and those deep longings in my heart.

Most of my life I have lived looking for an earthly man(or woman) to be my saviour, the one I can always count on and will be everything I need.

They always fail me in one way or another.

But Jesus, well, He has yet too, and I doubt He ever will. He has proven Himself faithful and patient, when I have and when I haven't deserved it.

He says He has a future beyond my wildest dreams planned out for me, and He had them planned before the earth was created.

To me that says, "Sarah, I've got you and I'll never let you go."

True security.

"Long before He laid down earth's foundations, He had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of His love, to be made whole and holy by His love. Long, long ago He decided to adopt us into His family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure He took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of His lavish gift-giving by the hand of His beloved Son."
-Ephesians 1:4-6 MSG

"God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, His Spirit deeply and gently within us."
-Ephesians 3:20 MSG

"I'll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I'll listen. When you come looking for me, you'll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed." God's Decree. "I'll turn things around for you."
-Jeremiah 29:11-14 MSG

It HAS to be perfect!!

My name is Sarah and I'm a perfectionist.

Perfectionism is defined as:
a personal standard, attitude, or philosophy that demands perfection and rejects anything less.

I HAVE to do everything right or else I feel like I've failed. If I feel angry and upset at someone because of what they have said or done to me, I become more frustrated and upset because I know that God has called me to be forgiving and merciful. But those feelings are not "natural" in that situation. I have trust God and wait for my feelings to catch up - get in line with what God says. Until they do I need to remind myself of what He has said and work to keep good words out of my mouth and thoughts in my mind.

It also keeps me from doing things because I'm afraid that I won't get them right or I will fail. I've tried to learn to play guitar many times, but like a lot of things, I give up if I cannot get it or am not progressing fast enough for my liking. I was hoping to be a rock star overnight. So, yeah. Doomed to fail. I didn't even give myself a chance.

My perfectionism is driven by a fear of failure. I hate failing, not getting something correct, or disappointing people. I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in this boat, but it still drives me crazy! I've seen so many opportunities lost because I have been afraid of failure or rejection.

My perfectionism reminds me of my need for God. It drives me to Him because I know I can't do life in my own strength. It shows me how much I need the Holy Spirit to be present in my everyday life so I can see where He is working and fall in step with Him. Because with the Perfect One who never fails, I know that I can get it right too.

"God, for whom and through whom everything was made, chose to bring many children into glory. And it was only right that He should make Jesus, through His suffering, a perfect leader, fit to bring them into their salvation."
Hebrews 2:10 NLT

"'My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.' Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become."
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 The Message

"I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me."
Philippians 3:12 The Message

Driving in the Dark

Driving down a country road at night, that I am unfamiliar with, reminds me of my walk with God.

I can't see more than what the headlights light up in front of me. In life, God doesn't generally lay out all His plans for me all at once. I have to trust that even though I can't see too far in the distance, He has it all planned out and is leading me where I need to go. I need to stay close to Him so I can see where He is leading.

My destination is fixed, but how do I get there? I programmed the GPS in my phone to get me home. Even though I wasn't familiar with the roads, I arrived safely! God has given us a GPS to get us through this life and into our eternal reward safely - His Word!

There are signs along the way to alert me of trouble or let me know I'm on the right road. God uses people and situations in our lives to confirm where He is leading us, or of the dangers that might be ahead. 

I can't see too much in the rear view mirror at night. I don't need to spend a lot of time focused on what has happened in the past. I need to learn from what has happened and move on. If I spend too much time looking backwards, I will miss what God is trying to show me out the windshield!

God has a good plan for my life and I trust Him to get me HOME!

“Wait passionately for God, don't leave the path.” - Psalm 37:34 The Message

“It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, He had His eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose He is working out in everything and everyone. It's in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free—signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This signet from God is the first installment on what's coming, a reminder that we'll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life.”

-Ephesians 1:11-14 The Message

So In Love

Lately I have been pondering and have become afraid that when I come into another dating relationship I will let what happened in my previous relationship reoccur. I’ve been concerned that I would allow my desires and hormones reign and rule in my life and that I won’t listen to those who know me and have a more objective opinion of the situation.

But, as simple as this may sound, if I’m absolutely in love with Jesus (to steal a line from one of my favourite worship songs) and seeking His will and desire to serve Him above all else then what do I really have to be afraid of?

Jesus wants good things for me and has MY best interests in mind. He is my Creator. Who knows better? The potter or the clay? The artist or the brush? The author or the pen?

If I trust that He has a good plan for my life then I don’t need to worry and be afraid. I don’t have to worry that I will let bad decisions happen again, because I just have to follow His lead. (Besides worry has yet to add any value to my life!) I don’t have to be afraid because I’m so in love with Jesus that there is no way I could be in love with somebody as much as I am with HIM.

“But God's not finished. He's waiting around to be gracious to you. He's gathering strength to show mercy to you. God takes the time to do everything right—everything. Those who wait around for Him are the lucky ones.” -Isaiah 30:18 MSG

“Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. He paid with Christ's sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb. And this was no afterthought. Even though it has only lately—at the end of the ages—become public knowledge, God always knew He was going to do this for you. It's because of this sacrificed Messiah, whom God then raised from the dead and glorified, that you trust God, that you know you have a future in God.” -1 Peter 1:18-21MSG

Beyond Jabez

Today I picked up the book, Beyond Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson.

It is a God thing that I even came into possession of this book. My parents gave me a box of books to donate to the church library and I noticed a bunch of cookbooks in the box, so I decided to sort through and found mostly cookbooks, with a few books that might be appropriate for the library. This was one of them. It has been sitting on my dining room table for a few weeks. I really had no interest in reading it, but it kept sticking out to me. So I picked it up and cried through the first 40 pages. I’m so amazed at God’s ability to provide what we need, when we need it.

It has been the missing piece to the puzzle in my mind. It has brought together a bunch of the thoughts floating through my head, the challenge I have received from Pastor Ralph’s sermons to pray big prayers and begin to realize the awesome-beyond-my-wildest-dreams plan God has for my life and the lives of those around me.

I have been frustrated because I have been afraid to ask God for things. I think I am not good enough to receive them or honestly, why would He want to give them to me? He knows the thoughts and intentions of my heart and I am definitely not worthy to receive them!

But it’s not because I’m worthy or that I deserve them or that I could ever earn them, but because He is a good Father and wants to give me good gifts! A gift is defined as: something given voluntarily without payment in return, as to show favor toward someone, honor an occasion, or make a gesture of assistance; something bestowed or acquired without any particular effort by the recipient or without its being earned.

So why am I afraid to ask? One of my overwhelming desires is to be pleasing to Him and to know what His will is for my life, so why shouldn’t I ask Him for good things? 

I have seen Him bring about so many good things in my life and am so thankful that He is faithful and all knowing!! I have seen Him answer some very specific prayers. Not always in the way or time that I want or think, but...

He is God, so who am I to box Him in?

“And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, ‘Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested.” -1 Chronicles 4:10

“Don't be fooled, my dear friends. Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father who created all the lights in the heavens. He is always the same and never makes dark shadows by changing.” –James 1:16-17 CEV

“Ask, and you will receive. Search and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened for you. Everyone who asks will receive. Everyone who searches will find. And the door will be opened for everyone who knocks. Would any of you give your hungry child a stone, if the child asked for some bread? Would you give your child a snake if the child asked for a fish? As bad as you are, you still know how to give good gifts to your children. But your heavenly Father is even more ready to give good things to people who ask.” –Matthew 7:7-11 CEV