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This...this is beautiful

And I love this one too.

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Burdened to Pray

The pressing feeling won't go away and someone suddenly pops into my mind for no obvious reason; God tells me to pray. It is in that moment that I feel overwhelmed by the omniscience's of our Lord. I didn't know why someone had come to mind, I didn't know why I felt so burdened, by God did and he knew that I needed to pray for the one that He had brought to my thoughts. There have been moments in my life when I just needed someone to pray for me and I knew I would feel so much better if I wasn't the only one praying about the situation. In times such as those I have often heard God reassuring me that everything is going to be okay because other's are coming before the Throne of God on my behalf.

What do you do when you are burdened to pray? Do you say a quick pray just to ease the conviction to prayer for someone or do you pray fervently for that person? I would hope that you would not be unwilling to spend five to ten minutes on your knees in serious prayer for another but would rather pray as you would have other's pray for you. We may never know why we were so burdened and we may never know what that person was going through but we can have the joy in knowing that Christ impressed upon our hearts to pray for a purpose. Do not brush away the leading of the Lord, yield to his beckoning and bring other's before God in prayer.



P.S. Please pray for a young man I know, he really needs the Lord's protection and guidance at this critical point in his life. Thank you.

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It is Appalling

If they were alive today and were able to witness this step toward socialized medicine, our Founding Father's would be appalled and saddened to see that our government no longer cares to postpone business until after the Lord's day. In my view, the President's lack of respect for Sunday and his evident disregard for our Biblical moorings presents to us the state of our Nation.

"A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have."
-Thomas Jefferson

It is with a sinking heart that I find Thomas Jefferson's words to be timely and true. We have come to expect the government to take care of us, we have let things go unchallenged that should have been challenged, and we have come so far that our government conducts its business on Sunday; truly God must be disappointed. If you are a Christian and you are not bothered that our President would attempt to pass legislation on a Sunday then I think it is time you evaluated some things in your life to see if value you this day as you should. Pray, pray that God would open our eyes to what we have been overlooking. Oh that we would see how far we have come and would turn again to Jesus who is the only one who can heal us economically, physically, and spiritually.


Please share your thoughts as to whether or not you think it is wrong or right for the government to vote on legislation on a Sunday.

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This and That

I have come to realize that the number of Facebook friends, the number of blog followers, and the amount of new messages in one's inbox will not matter in eternity; what will matter is whether or not I impacted those people for Christ.

The End

*Next up...a TAG! Thank you to Abby for tagging me.

List 8 stories or books you would like to live in and then list 8 other bloggers who deserve this award.

1. The Bible

2. Ellanor's Exchange

3. Pride and Prejudice (Darcy where are you? My name is Elizabeth!)

4. Emma

5. Little House on the Prairie

6. Cranford

7. Little Dorrit

8. Glory and Honor

Since there are so many good blogs out there, I think I'll just tag anyone who wants to do this one.

*Please note that I cannot always do every tag that comes along so do not feel slighted if I can't do your tag.=) Also, the Footprints in the Sand blog survey is continuing so if you haven't taken the survey please click the link in the menu bar to do so.

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Deeper Still...

The Challenger Deep is 36, 198 feet below sea level and is the deepest know point in any of the world's oceans. Accessible only by the use of a submarine, the depth of the Mariana Trench (where the Challenger Deep is located) doesn't even compare to the depth of Christ love for us.

Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:39

Only a few have explored the depths of the Trench, how many more have experienced the vast depth of God's love? There may come a time in your life when you will have made a mistake that you think God cannot forgive you of, there may come a moment when you think God's love for you must have ceased, but it is then that our Savior takes our hand and gently carries us to a place that is a step deeper into his overflowing heart of compassion.

Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
Psalm 139:7-10

In Psalm 139, David declares the inescapable vastness of Christ presence with us. Listing the places that one might think they could be left by God, David finds that everywhere we go; our Savior goes with us. Deeper than the horror of hell, higher than the universe extends, and deeper than the deepest sea; is God If you are a Christian, you can never be cut off from the overwhelming love of God. No matter what you do or where you go, never think that God doesn't love you because the opposite is so true. Even more than you think he could, God is there loving you deeper...deeper still.

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Lesson from a two year old

She looked at me and said "Go down there? Besh Besh take Libby?" I knew what that meant. My two year old sister was informing me that she wanted to walk down the road so that she could go play on the swing set which is located behind my Dad's office. I sighed and knew that there was possibly no way to divert her mind from what she clearly wanted. Persistence, she has quite a sufficient amount of it. What about you and I? Do we lift our eyes to Jesus and say "Lord, I really long to be more like you" or do we just say it once and forget about it when we don't get it? God wants us to continue asking to be more like him, to pray always with prayer and supplication.

Her adorable blue eyes looked at me and said "Please?" Still I was not going to take her to go play. You see I knew that it was nearly her nap time and I knew that down the road was the neighbors large dog which would gladly chase us and scare my poor little sister. Since we're thinking about this entire situation in terms of coming before the Throne of God, think of the rejection in terms of an answer Christ might give you. Having prayed for something you wanted you become disappointed when God doesn't answer your request with a "yes." Just as I knew about the dog down the road, God knows what is best for you and because you are his, he longs to protect you.

Tired of waiting for me to take her, Liberty began walking down the driveway. I followed her. Emily came outside and shut the gate that opens or closes access to the lane. Seeing that the gate was now closed Liberty said "Mean doggie bite you, eat my shoe?" I assured her that such was the case. Evidently not satisfied with the result of not getting what she wanted, Libby walked toward the opening in the gate. She persisted in walking toward it until I finally had enough and decided that we were going inside. Emily and I devised a plan (and no, it wasn't anything mean) to get Liberty to follow us back to the house. Whether she realized it or not, she slowly started following us and did what she was best. Since we are likening this story to one about our coming to God in prayer, think about it this way. When we see the Lord close a door and immediately search for an alternate way to get what we want, this is not persistence this is disobedience. Turning to the Savior and accepting what he has planned for us is not the lack or persistence but rather the understanding that God did hear our prayers and chose to map a better way for us.

Taking a lesson from a two year old, be persistent. Boldly come before the throne of God and ask he for what you need and what you desire but trust him with the outcome because he knows what lies down the road.

...Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints...
Ephesians 6:18

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When We Suffer

"Our suffering is not worthy the name of suffering. When I consider my crosses, tribulations, and temptations, I shame myself almost to death, thinking what are they in comparison of the sufferings of my blessed Savior Christ Jesus."
Martin Luther

Because we are all human, I do not have to ask you whether or not you have ever experienced pain. The answer will always be, "yes." Two years ago I had a surgery in which a week of complete pain (to the point that I was in tears and wondering whether or not I could stand it without going over the edge) followed. If you know me personally you know that I'm not the type who cries before surgery, screams at a bee sting, or flinches at needles; this week was the hardest week of my life. And as I lay in my bed I had to do something to keep my mind off of the pain so I thought about Jesus. How Christ suffered, how he endured pain without the aid of medication, and how he did it all so that we might live. I whined that I was only mortal and asked God "Why Me?" How wrong that attitude was! I should have been saying "Why you Lord, why did you die in my place? Why did you suffer?" but instead I focused on me-for a while. My mom mentioned that maybe this week was one that we had to experience so that the Lord could grow us. I considered that and slowly realized that I needed to learn how to suffer because up until that point I had gone through pain and not learned to trust God to help me past it.

"Can we follow the Savior far, who have no wound or scar?"
Amy Carmichael

Pain is a great teacher, I know that now. It leads us to Christ and makes us declare to him that we simply cannot go on our own; we simply cannot carry it without him. Have you learned to suffer? Have you been to the place where you have no strength and have found your strength in Jesus? Thank the Lord if you have because he has taught you to trust him through the pain. That week in 2008 God didn't give me more than I could handle but he did give me more than I could take alone. You see, we can't do it without him, we need him desperately. I made it past that week and emerged a girl who never wanted to have that surgery again and yet never wanted to forget the experience. The pain hurt, the week was dreadfully long, but I am thankful for both the pain and the week that I learned about a small portion more about my Savior's suffering for us. When we pass through the waters, God will be with us!



Side Note: I have recently created a Footprints in the Sand blog survey and would be grateful if you would click on the link and answer the questions.http://surveys.polldaddy.com/s/EEAE4924B1539FE4/

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Bumper Sticker Testimony

The sun glares of the top of your car, a string of vehicles is in sight...and someone pulls out if front of another motorist. People will get impatient but as the driver whizzes by and rudely honks the car horn, you notice that they have a bumper sticker on the back of their car. Doing a double take you realize that this isn't a bumper stick about environmentalism or coexisting with everyone, this bumper says "John 3:16" and "Jesus" in big bold letters. You think, "after cutting someone off in traffic, that is one bad bumper sticker to have on your car" and I would agree that such a thing is all too valid. If you and I are taken back by the claiming of Christ which the driver shows with his sticker, than what does the other unsaved person think? Clearly they will be frustrated, angered, and turn off by the way this "religious" driver can sport John 3:16 and the name of Jesus while being inconsiderate and rude. Often we have only one opportunity to impact the lost with our Christian testimony. We either portray a positive appearance of faith in Jesus Christ or a negative view of faith in Jesus Christ. While we may not think that bumper stickers, tee shirts with Bible verses printed on them, and baseball caps sporting the name of Christian organizations are noticed by the unsaved; we can be assured that they are and the manner in which we act will draw more attention to those items. So let us be challenged to live out or faith and not to just plaster a bumper sticker on our car just to make us feel like a good person. God doesn't want synthetic acts of religion, he wants the authentic thing. Pray that something as simple as a bumper sticker won't decay your testimony, and drive courteously because that's they way Christ would have it done. =^)

P.S. In case any of you are wondering whether or not I have a bumper sticker on the back of my car, the answer is no. Because I feel that it would be a bad testimony if I had a Christian bumper sticker and didn't live up to it, I do not place such things on my vehicle.

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It's Time to Sing the Happy Birthday Song...

...to my older brother. It's quite amazing that he has lived twenty years in a family full of six sister's, our mom, and three female cats. Suffice to say that the girl who marries him will get a guy who has experience dealing with ladies! And if any of you eligible girls are wondering, no, he isn't available to marry you...yet. Anyway, happy birthday to my computer science guy, soccer playing, basketball dribbling, and most amazing only brother. You can go here to read Seth's blog and if you'd like, drop a comment to wish him a HAPPY 20th BIRTHDAY!

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Oh to have inspiration

I don't feeling like this. "This" equals without inspiration. In search of the all illusive inspiration I have traversed the depths of myself and come up with...nothing. I listened to my ipod in hopes of finding something I could stretch into a post but then I thought "they really don't want to read about that" so I strike through that idea. How about the latest book I just purchased, I could post about that, I decided that you've probably already read it so mark that out too. I stare at the computer screen in frustration as I tell myself how ridiculous it is that I haven't posted anything substantial for over a week. Finally I think of something I could post about but the words just don't come and a held the backspace button down until whatever I had written was completely erased. After typing while it comes to me: the inspiration does not come from within myself, it comes from my Savior. In myself I cannot come up with one single post, word, or message that could ever be moving or inspiring; it has to come from the One who is Inspiration. How futile our efforts are without God, but how often we think they are something grand. How talented we think we are, yet we forget who gives us talents. Without Christ we can do nothing, I hope I've realized that and maybe now the words will come.

 

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

John 15:5

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