March Musings - Day 26

Rest. Quiet my soul and rest. That's what I did today. After the hustle and bustle of a busy month, I rested. Its hard for me to rest well. Usually I get guilted and stressed by my to do list, or try but don't rest well because of worry. One of the most important, and subsequently hardest, things to remember is this: Jesus rested. He withdrew to quiet places and rested, by doing so was able to serve those around him more effectively. What a good example for us when we are tired out. It is a lesson I am currently working through. And to be honest, it is hard. But yet I've noticed it never ceases to work well as after I stop and break, I get more done in the long run than if I tried to do it we Im tired. I encourage you to try this next time you get bogged down with life. God is our strength and our shield!

Psalm 28:7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.

March Musings - Day 7

Sometimes it's too easy to look at the clouds ahead, the stop signs, the red lights, and just feel discouraged. It's hard to keep going when everything seems against you!

That's when you take time to stop, and look back on what God has done for you. <3

Don't get discouraged by the darkness ahead, travel in faith knowing God has you. He will see you through it to end! Count the many things He has done, and thank Him for it! There is a purpose for everything, and if you keep going, He rewards the faithful.

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful."

Hebrews 10:23

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfect of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

Hebrews 12:1-2

(I also highly encourage you to read Hebrews 11!)

Don't give up, weary traveler! God is with you!

March Musings - Day 3

"But he knows the way that I shall take;

when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.

My foot has held fast to his steps;

I have kept his way and have not turned aside.

Job 23:10-11 (ESV)

I read this a couple days ago, and these verse have stuck with me! They've encouraged me in many ways, and I'm glad to have read them. We drove past the major power lines today. Normally that wouldn't be of any consequence as they cut through several near by fields. But today they had some pallets fashioned in such a way that they had created a vast road alongside the power lines so that they could do some work. It made me think of these verses.

God knows the way we should take. Sometimes it's the paved path; sometimes it's a path put down before us, plank by plank. We might not even know the next plank or step that we have to take, but if we stay on His path, when trials come, we will come out as gold.

I encourage you to stay on God's path, even if the paved one seems easier, His way is better! Don't lose faith, just take one step, one day, one plank at a time! <3

The Reason I Live (a guest post)

{by Naomi H.}

One of my favorite verses in all of Scripture is 2 Corinthians 4:5-6. It says that “For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.”

This verse is a verse that I quote almost every day. It reminds me that my identity is not in the things of this world, but in CHRIST ALONE! HE ALONE is my light, my life, and my salvation. He is my everything, my strength when I am week, my light when all is dark, and my friend when I feel alone.

On the other side of the coin, it also challenges me to evaluate my life and see if I am showing Christ the way that I should. Are all of my words, actions, and even thoughts Christ-honoring? Do I respect and glorify Him with everything that I do?

An old friend of mine had a gift for writing poems. Although the friendship is long over, the poem has stayed with me through the years. I entitled it “Faith Sings a Melody”. Every now and again, I dig it out and read it. It reminds me that the Christian walk is not a destination, its a life long journey. A path that brings us closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Faith sings a melody, glorious and free

In Christ my faith I’ve put, it’s time to lean on He

Who’s died to pay my debt, no more chains on me

A song which rings aloud, for all the world to hear

Now this song I cry, as Christ does now draw near

I’ll sing it loud I’ll sing it proud, best of all to make it clear

I’ve faith in Jesus Christ, my life He does lead

This passion and this love, his commandments I shall keep

This greatest book of all, a blessing now to read

This faith now does tell me, He is stronger than I

And on this mountain top, I lift his name on high

And soon the day to see His face, I know it does draw nigh

Naomi is a good friend of mine, who I met through John. She is going to college for nursing, loves hedgehogs, and has a beautiful heart for Christ! I'm so proud to call her a friend! Best part of it? We are twins in so many ways...including the fact we both love Psalm 27!

Learning in Belize - A Sequel to Learning in Ecuador (a guest post)

{by Heidi S.}

Last time Moriah asked me to be a guest on her blog, I gave her a journal entry of my time in Manta, Ecuador. This time, I thought I would share how God has been faithful in the past 2 years, and what he's doing with me here in San Pedro, Belize (Central America)

Two years ago, upon leaving Ecuador, I reflected on how God never left me. All through the trip he had his hand on everything. Upon leaving America for Belize, I see the same thing. He has been faithful every step of the way. I started a nanny job in November 2014. I never thought I would ever leave them. They had adorable children, and I told everyone that I planned on staying with them until the youngest children were old enough to go to school. And they were my plans. Clearly, God had a different path for me.

It was September 2015 that I really felt like God wanted me to do something else, to go somewhere else. I prayed about it, asked friends and family for advice, read the bible, and prayed more. In November, on my birthday, I announced to my family that I was taking this leap of faith and applying to be a Mission Nanny. I waited until after the holidays and in January of 2016 I was accepted to be a Mission Nanny.

Mission Nanny is an organization that sends a volunteer nanny to families that are working around the world in bringing others to Christ. Once I applied they had me pick 3 families that I had prayed about serving. My top three choices were Belize, Honduras and Uganda. Two weeks after giving my choices, I was told that the family in Belize was interested in having me come be their nanny.

I had a phone conversation with the mom here in Belize and felt even more peace about it. She asked me to come on board for their July-September quarter at a school they teach. A and I (mom and dad of the kids I nanny for) work on a campus for a school called YWAM. (Youth With A Mission) Here at YWAM, there are people from ages 18 to nearly 63. A and I, help in leading these people towards God in discipleship classes (Learning who God is and how we can love and serve him more)

Back to me in America. I had to go through the fire of telling the family I nannied for that I was leaving. I did that at the end of February and just like I prayed, they were okay with it and encouraged me to follow my goals and dreams. I was so thankful for their understanding. In May I left the family that were knit in my heart and began to prepare for Belize.

Something I prayed daily for was God to help me leave my family, friends and home. I asked that he give me people who would welcome me, that the children I would nanny for here in Belize would like me, that they wouldn't be spoiled.

And through each one of these, God has been faithful and blessed me better then I thought possible. While I had a few nerve-wracking adventures along the way of getting here (hey, everyone needs stories to share, right?) I got here safely. I have two beautiful roommates that I love talking to and whenever I need to share something, I can count on them to be listening ears. I have two children that, while they have their moments (what child doesn't?) are very happy little kids and are fairly content.

I've had some ups and downs within in the past month that I've been here. I've gotten sick twice (swollen lymph nodes, lack of energy) I've had a few mishaps with little F-girl who is in the process of being potty trained. J-boy doesn't always nap when he should. I'm an introvert, so I don't usually seek out fellowship as much as I could. I mess up. I make mistakes. I'm not perfect.

But God is. And I'm thankful for this beautiful, messed up life I've been given. Never once has he failed me and I know I can place my future in his hands. While I may not know where he has called me next after Belize (there's another hundred roads I could take at the end of September) He is faithful and will show me when the time is right.

“Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love him and keep his commandments.” Deut. 7:9

You can follow her adventures at her blog, Mary Poppins: A Practically (Im)Perfect Nanny!
(P.s. you really should read her blog...because I came up with the name ;~) heehee!)

Beautiful Blessings - 7/12/15

~ Enjoying angel food cake and strawberry rhubarb jam.

~ Watching "Monk" with family and a friend.

~ Harmonizing with my sisters as we sing a song based on Psalm 23.

~ Remembering Psalm 118:24 and rejoicing about the lovely day that the Lord made!

~ Reminders from God to fully trust Him even when things dont make sense!

Safe in Strong Arms

We like to feel safe. We like to know who we can trust and who we are safe with. We usually feel the safest in strong loving arms.

This past week in Sunday School, a little girl in the class I work with, told us a story when we were talking about trust and trust falls. She recounted her tale with shining eyes how her big strong brother would always catch her if she did one with him. She had so much trust in his strong safe arms. She knew that he would always be willing to protect and take care of her.

My sisters personally like being in safe in Daddy's arms. Every day before he goes to work and when he comes home, they clamor for hugs. Sometimes they ask for two or three because they love getting a great big bear hug from Daddy!

One day when they were getting hugs, I thought I'd like one too! So I went up to my Dad and he picked me up, giving me a great big hug. That day shall always be a memory for me. In fact, the day he did that, I wrote the following poem:

Sweet Daddy of Mine
He gives them all a hug goodbye,
as he heads out the door. 
As he turns around he sees me, 
standing in the middle of the dining room floor.

He gives me a great big hug,
and whispers in my ear:
"You have grown to be such a young lady,
with the passing of each year."

He jokes I've gotten way too big,
so I say he should shrink me.
He puts his hand behind my shoulders,
and puts his other behind my knee.

He holds me in his arms,
the moment marked in time.
Then he sets me down,
this moment now etched in rhyme.

I personally love getting hugs from my friends and family. I feel safe and loved in their arms. As I pondered these things, I realized how awesome it is to be safe and be able to trust in God's strong arms. I pursued the topic a bit, and came across the following verses.

Jeremiah 17:7 (ESV)
Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
    whose trust is the Lord.

Isaiah 26:4 (ESV)
Trust in the Lord forever,
    for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make straight your paths.

Psalm 118:8 (ESV)
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to trust in man.

Knowing that I can put my trust in God's safe strong arms, I feel safe! I know He will protect me through the good times and the bad. If I go through a trial-filled time, then who can I turn to? God! I know He's always there for me. I can put my complete trust in Him.

Hebrews 13:6 (ESV)

So we can confidently say,

“The Lord is my helper;

I will not fear;

what can man do to me?”

Waiting for Prayer to be Answered?

 

Waiting for prayer to be answered is hard. We WANT things to be instantaneous, when things NEED to be in God's timing. So when we have to wait, we look for ours prayers to be answered instantaneously instead of in God's timing. (Now, sometimes God chooses to answer instantaneously, but this post is about waiting.)

Psalm 27:14 (ESV)
Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

As I gathered my thoughts, my mind flew instantly to Abraham, Hannah, and Job. These great men and woman of the Bible waited for prayers to be answered for a long time before they were.

Abraham:
Genesis 12:1-4 (paraphrasing) says that Abraham (then called Abram) was 75 when God said to him that he would be made into a great nation, that he will bless Abraham, his name would be great, and he would be a blessing. All he had to do was wait and trust. So that's what Abraham did. In Genesis 15:5, God told Abraham that his offspring would be as numerous as the stars. Abraham was almost 99 at this time. And so he waited. Yet as he waited, he decided to take things into his own hands. You can read about this in Genesis 16. This was not the wisest move. Doing your own thing, instead of waiting for God's timing is never very smart. Eventually God did answer their prayers, but the wait and lessons during the wait did affect them.

Psalm 6:9 (ESV)
The Lord has heard my plea;
    the Lord accepts my prayer.

Hannah:
Hannah wanted a son. (1 Samuel 1) Actually, she didn't just want one, she desired one. She was one of two wives, of a man named Elkanah. Peninnah, Elkanah's other wife, had children, but Hannah didn't. She was teased relentlessly by Peninnah. She was filled with such sorrow that she went to the Temple to pray. With complete faith, Hannah told God that if her heard her cries, she would give him the child. She prayed with such fervor that the priest, Eli, thought she was drunk. When she told him that was pouring her heart out to the Lord, Eli said that her prayers would be answered. Sure enough, Hannah was finally able to conceive and Samuel was born. When he was weaned, she took him to the temple and gave him to serve there (1 Samuel 1:24-28). Her prayers were answered!

1 Peter 3:12 (ESV)
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
    and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.

Job:
If anyone knew how hard it was to wait for prayer to be answered, it was Job. Job was a righteous man (Job 1:8). God gave Satan permission to test him (Job 1:9-13), and so, he was afflicted with horrible tragedies. First his donkeys & oxen were attacked and carried away and his servants were killed (Job 1:14-15). Within moments of that happening, fire came from the sky and burned up his sheep & his servants (Job 1:16). Yet again, within the same moment, all of his camels were taken away, and his servants killed (Job 1:17). Then he got the news that his sons and daughters were feasting, when a mighty wind blew up and the house collapsed in on them, and they all died (Job 1:18-19). Yet, Job remained steadfast in his Faith (Job 2:3). Yet again God let Satan test him (Job 2:3-8). This time he was afflicted with several different illnesses. His wife told him in Job 2:9, that he should curse God for letting all these horrible things happen. The following verse, Job 2:10, says that Job refused. Satan continued to tempt him, by using friends to twist his thoughts, yet through it all, Job remained steadfast. Waiting and knowing that God would answer his prayers. It says in Job 16:17 that his prayers were pure. In the end his prayers were answered, and his life restored.

James 5:11 (ESV)
Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

So, with all that being said, let's summarize. 
When we are waiting for prayers to be answered:

 We should never take things into our own hands (Genesis 16). 
We should know God always answers prayer (1 Samuel 1:20), though they may not always be answered the way we want them.
We should remain steadfast in our Faith during this time (James 5:11).

I pray that this will help you somehow, someway! 

*I must add that I can't take credit. Towards the end of writing this post, I was really struggling, but God helped me through it, and I can't thank him enough!*

Trust God Always

Sometimes it's hard to trust God. We turn to the world, to our friends, to our money, and to our "love life" for consolation during tough times. And by doing so, we forget we have an awesome God who has created everything. 

Recently my friend was really upset. Over a year ago she had a broken headlight on the car she was driving. She was pulled over, warned, and ordered to have to fixed as soon as she got home. She took care of it, sent in paperwork and it was resolved. Just a few days ago she got a letter saying that they never received the paperwork. She told me what had happened, and was clearly upset. I told her I'd pray about it with her. A few hours later she told me that she had forgotten to trust God and talk to him about her problems. When she realized and remembered that he had everything under control, she felt peace and was able to trust God. 

I've had several friends come to me recently, for advice and prayer. I will tell you this: I'm always willing to talk and pray with you, but never forget that God is always there. He's always in control. He's always there with open arms, waiting for you fall back into his unfathomable love, mercy, and grace. Don't let the worries of the world stop you from trusting in God. He'll be there for every problem, for every heartache, for every eensy-weensy sniffle, and every terrible disease. 

Proverbs 3:5-6

 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.

A Journey of Becoming a Young Woman of Faith #4 Woman of Faith

Matthew 6:25-34 Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

We ladies tend to worry about about EVERYTHING. We worry about our appearance, our place in society, our house, our family, our friends, and things that aren't even in our control! Worry and anxiety will can eat away at us and we can become worrisome. People who constantly worry loose faith, hope, joy, and love. We don't need to worry, God is in control! As it says in verse 26, the birds get the food they need because God provides. Have you trusted God to provide you with what you need? "And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?" Being anxious/worrying is pointless! It won't accomplish anything. Verse 28-30 talk about how God provides clothes for those who need them. Have you trusted him to provide you with the clothes you need? Are you tempted to worry? I must admit from time to time I am. God says he will provide for our needs, he will take care of us, and he will guide our futures. Several people have asked me what my plan for my life is when I graduate from high school in a couple years. To be honest with them I have no clue. Only God knows what I'll do, but I needn't worry about this because God will show me in his perfect time. Elijah the prophet didn't need to worry about his needs, God provided. When we trust in God and we don't worry our lives are much simpler. If we seek God, trust him, & follow him, the Bible says all our needs will be met. I love the last verse in this:
Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, 

for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. 

Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

My challenge for you is that you refrain from worrying about your life, your future and everything else. Just trust in God.