Praise God for knowing me better than I know myself. He fills me with hope and encouragement exactly when I need it. He sets my feet upon the rock, makes my heart steadfast and turns my mourning into dancing. He gives me a renewed thirst for His word and passion for His truth. He has set my heart free, continually, and never ceases to fill me with faith, hope and love for Him. When my “love tank” fills empty, He draws me into His arms and overflows my cup. I swim in His grace.
Jesus knows, He just knows- what I need to hear and when I need to hear it, even if I don’t fully realize it. Oh that you were tangible Father, I would run into your arms and never let go. One day Lord. One day soon.
This is what God spoke to me this morning. (Oh Praise Him!- His mercies are made new every morning!)
“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us.” Ephesians 3:20
Beth Moore:
“God appears to thoroughly enjoy doing ‘immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.’ You see, if we don’t ‘ask or imagine’- then what does God have to out-do?
God has answered you above and beyond what you asked on some of the very requests you assumed He answered negatively. You have no idea how many times you’ve prayed and God answered affirmatively but is awaiting the proper time for its revelation.
-and sometimes, when the revelation does comes, we don’t even link it with what we originally asked because we don’t recognize the super sized Ephesians 3:20 answer.”
The Lord does not lead us into despair.
“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:14
(How many times have I felt Him speaking this verse into my heart?!- Many many and today is no different. The funny thing is that I have never even tried to memorize this verse.) :)
Maybe someone else needed to hear this same thing today. Just thought I’d share.
Here is all of Psalm 27, its just incredible. I think I could read this Psalm everyday and never grow tired of reading it. I can’t help but identify with it. Praise Him for giving us this scripture.
"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."
And of course I have a song that summarizes my thoughts as well. The lyrics: “Oh Lord my strength You’re my Redeemer, forever I will love You (x3)…No one whose hope is in the Lord will ever be put to shame, You are the Rock that is higher than I (x2)… for Your Name is above every other name!”
Singing my heart out to Him with thankfulness and praise,
Kate
Monday, July 26, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
A Youth Group's Trip to the Beach
*This is a story about a youth groups' trip to the beach as related to me by some of the senior guys on that trip and told in my words. :)
Recently a youth group went on a trip to the beach. They were originally headed to Gulf Shores, AL., but the 69 day strong oil spill re-routed them to a little place called Corpus Christi, TX. Now, not to knock the beaches of Texas, I myself have had some incredible experiences on those beaches; but the students of said youth group seemed to of been expecting beaches that resembled a little more Florida and a little less not. The first day they arrived in Texas, a series of unfortunate materialistic events occurred that they fearfully hoped did not set the tone for the rest of the week. They were not in condos- as they had been told, they were in hotel rooms. They did not have a view of the beach, their rooms looked out onto the street. They did not have a balcony to harass locals, but had a 5 foot double-pained window. The TV in their room was made in 1979. And to top it all off, the beaches weren't sandy, it was blazin' hot, and the water wasn't cold or as blue as they had expected. In fact, they couldn’t even walk on the beaches without wearing shoes because instead of sand, the beaches were covered with shells, and to walk barefooted on the shells would leave one's foot cut and bleeding and no one enjoys having bloody feet while at the beach.
There was one glimmer of hope that shone brightly that day though, they had been told that residing in their same hotel that very week were some Varsity Cheerleaders. Finally, they thought, this trip is going to be fun! After hearing the news, they wistfully climbed into the elevator to "check out" the lobby and hopefully get a glimpse of some ponytails, pom poms or ribbons. When they arrived though, all they found were 12 year old girls-with their mothers. They decided to check and see if the Cheerleaders were outside, practicing maybe. Still, all they saw were more 12 year olds with braces...and pom poms. Their hopes were dashed, dashed like the shells on the dangerous beaches outback.
With their shoulders slumped and their heads hung low, the senior boys of the youth group sauntered into the hotels' ballroom cheerleader-less for an hour or two of worship with the rest of the students. Who they didnt expect to join them in the crowd that night was God. Not only did God show up around them, but He came and impacted each of them in a way they never expected. It was powerful and perspective changing. His presence made them realize that the beach and all its materialistic aspects were only the second reason they were on that trip. The first reason they were there was to meet with God- and meet with God they did, He had just helped them out along the way by getting rid of some of the distractions that would keep their minds off Him.
Many of those boys walked away from that week-long trip in the presence of Jesus, changed, and changed for the better. His love and truth are written on their hearts and evident in their lives. There has long been a saying that goes: You know when someone has encountered the Holy Spirit because when they walk away, they are never the same again; they're changed forever. Those boys opened their hearts and allowed God to work in, lead, and heal them. Yes, the God of the universe met with those boys face to face and I dont think there are enough words in the human vocabulary to express the praise and thankfulness God deserves.
Personally, I hope my next beach trip looks cruddy on the outside, but is filled with the power and presence of God in every quiet and joyous moment.
Life's a beach,
Kate
*and I mean that to relate back to the story saying that Life can be hard but God is work in the cruddy situations for incredible amounts of blessings in His timing. :)
Isaiah 55:8-9
"For my thoughts are not your throughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
Recently a youth group went on a trip to the beach. They were originally headed to Gulf Shores, AL., but the 69 day strong oil spill re-routed them to a little place called Corpus Christi, TX. Now, not to knock the beaches of Texas, I myself have had some incredible experiences on those beaches; but the students of said youth group seemed to of been expecting beaches that resembled a little more Florida and a little less not. The first day they arrived in Texas, a series of unfortunate materialistic events occurred that they fearfully hoped did not set the tone for the rest of the week. They were not in condos- as they had been told, they were in hotel rooms. They did not have a view of the beach, their rooms looked out onto the street. They did not have a balcony to harass locals, but had a 5 foot double-pained window. The TV in their room was made in 1979. And to top it all off, the beaches weren't sandy, it was blazin' hot, and the water wasn't cold or as blue as they had expected. In fact, they couldn’t even walk on the beaches without wearing shoes because instead of sand, the beaches were covered with shells, and to walk barefooted on the shells would leave one's foot cut and bleeding and no one enjoys having bloody feet while at the beach.
There was one glimmer of hope that shone brightly that day though, they had been told that residing in their same hotel that very week were some Varsity Cheerleaders. Finally, they thought, this trip is going to be fun! After hearing the news, they wistfully climbed into the elevator to "check out" the lobby and hopefully get a glimpse of some ponytails, pom poms or ribbons. When they arrived though, all they found were 12 year old girls-with their mothers. They decided to check and see if the Cheerleaders were outside, practicing maybe. Still, all they saw were more 12 year olds with braces...and pom poms. Their hopes were dashed, dashed like the shells on the dangerous beaches outback.
With their shoulders slumped and their heads hung low, the senior boys of the youth group sauntered into the hotels' ballroom cheerleader-less for an hour or two of worship with the rest of the students. Who they didnt expect to join them in the crowd that night was God. Not only did God show up around them, but He came and impacted each of them in a way they never expected. It was powerful and perspective changing. His presence made them realize that the beach and all its materialistic aspects were only the second reason they were on that trip. The first reason they were there was to meet with God- and meet with God they did, He had just helped them out along the way by getting rid of some of the distractions that would keep their minds off Him.
Many of those boys walked away from that week-long trip in the presence of Jesus, changed, and changed for the better. His love and truth are written on their hearts and evident in their lives. There has long been a saying that goes: You know when someone has encountered the Holy Spirit because when they walk away, they are never the same again; they're changed forever. Those boys opened their hearts and allowed God to work in, lead, and heal them. Yes, the God of the universe met with those boys face to face and I dont think there are enough words in the human vocabulary to express the praise and thankfulness God deserves.
Personally, I hope my next beach trip looks cruddy on the outside, but is filled with the power and presence of God in every quiet and joyous moment.
Life's a beach,
Kate
*and I mean that to relate back to the story saying that Life can be hard but God is work in the cruddy situations for incredible amounts of blessings in His timing. :)
Isaiah 55:8-9
"For my thoughts are not your throughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
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