Living Life with Purpose and Passion Every Day!
Hello! Happy Sunday, and Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there! I so wish I could be home in Michigan with my mom (and dad—it is his birthday today too!) today, but we have a Skype date later, so I guess that will have to suffice. Meanwhile, I have my little kitten-child to keep me company here in Texas…
So…my apologies for being MIA for the past couple weeks. I would tell you it’s been a crazy time with trying to figure out my new work schedule, along with a trip back to Michigan for a dear friends wedding, but those would just be excuses. And I’m really trying to adapt a new “no excuses” mindset, so I will just simply say sorry.
Anyways, the new job is going well, and the Michigan trip was AWESOME [can you tell I miss home, jut a little bit]. Even though I wasn’t in Grand Rapids [my homeland] for very long, it was still great to see family. I got to spend all of Wednesday last week with my mom going to our favorite places—Marie Catrib’s, downtown Holland, Hope College, Lemonjello’s, Lake Michigan, the cottage—needless to say, it was total awesomeness. And we even got a decent beach walk in despite the freezing, gale-force winds.
“Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
1 Corinthians 15:58
Sometimes I just feel like giving up.
I feel as though I’m not accomplishing anything, and that everything I do will eventually fail. I know what God has promised me, and I know that he has a plan for me, but sometimes I just don’t see it.
Have you ever felt this way?
Paul says in 1 Corinthians that when we are working towards the goals God has placed in our heart, nothing we do is in vain. No matter how long those goals may take to achieve. When we feel like giving up, it’s important that we stand firm and remember the promises God has spoken over us. He has a plan and a future for us—one that is better than anything we could ever imagine. And even if we don’t see immediate results from our efforts, we can’t just assume it’s time to quit. No. We need to press on, stand firm and let nothing move us.
I recently came across this quote from Earl Nightingale…
“Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.”
If God has planted a dream in your heart, don’t let yourself give up on it! Dreams take time, commitment, determination and a lot of patience before they ever come into fruition. Don’t let the time and energy required in accomplishing your dreams deter you from becoming the person you were intended to be. Because in the end, nothing will be better than looking back on what you’ve done and realizing that you actually did it.
Something hit me this morning.
Randomly, as I was driving to work, I started thinking about the parable of the three servants in the Bible. You know, the one where their master goes off on business, leaving them each with varying amounts of talents [or gold coins/money], along with specific instructions regarding the use of said talents. He wanted the servants to do something with the money given to them—something that would benefit him upon his return.
When the master arrived home after his travels, he was pleased with the first two servants because they wisely chose to invest and grow the amount of money given to them. So, in reward for their services, the master put each of them in charge of even more money. However, the third servant chose not to do anything with the money given to him. He was afraid of the master, and chose to hide the money away so as not to lose it. The master’s money was safe, but nothing had been gained or accomplished from the servant possessing it. This made the master angry, and he threw the third servant out of his home.
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Hello! Hope you all are having a great Tuesday so far. Can you believe it’s April already? Craziness I tell you. Did you all have a wonderful Easter? James and I ended up going to church on Saturday night instead of Sunday morning–Gateway Church can get really busy on Easter Sunday–and we both really enjoyed the service. It was strange not being in Michigan for Easter with family, but overall we had a great day!
Throughout the days leading up to Easter last week I read Matthew’s account of what happened on those days so very long ago. It was awesome to read what Jesus was going through during those days, and what he ultimately did for us in dying on the cross for our sins. One verse in particular stuck out to me as I was reading…
“He went a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
Matthew 26:39
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Hello! I hope you all are having a great Easter weekend so far! Have anything fun planned? We are just going to be laying low, going to church and relaxing for the most part. I think it’s supposed to be kind of stormy this weekend, but hopefully I’ll be able to get an outdoor run in at some point!
If you haven’t tuned in to History Channel’s The Bible I would encourage you to do so…the finale is this Sunday, and I’m sure it will be great. So far I have really enjoyed the series—it has been quite accurate for the most part, and the acting has been great.
The past couple of days I have been reading in Matthew about Jesus’s betrayl, trial, death and resurrection. I always like to read this portion of scripture around Easter weekend, and reflect on what Christ did for me when he died on the cross for my sins.
He didn’t have to die. He didn’t even have to come to Earth in the first place…but he chose to. Because he loves us. He paid the ultimate prtice for our sins in dying on the cross, and we should never take that for granted. This is something we need to be thankful for daily—not just on Easter weekend. It can be easy to forget about his sacrifice in the business of our daily lives, but that is not an excuse to do so. Remember his sacrifice each and everyday, and be thankful for what he has done for us. Because without Jesus, we would be lost forever.
Thank you Jesus for loving me enough to come to Earth and pay the ultimate price for my sins. When you died on that cross, you not only made it possible for me to experience eternal life, but also to have an intimate, personal relationship with you. Help me never to take this for granted. Thank you for your sacrifice—today and every other day of the year. I love you. Amen.
Good Morning! Hope you all are having a great Thursday so far. How do you like the new blog layout? I’ve been working on it the past few days, and have been learning a lot as I go. I know it is definitely not perfect, but it’s getting there! Thanks so much for hanging in there while I make these changes. I’m hoping to start adding in some new categories and angles to the blog, so stayed tuned for that!
This morning I was reading in 1 Corinthians, and came across one of my favorites passages of scripture…
“And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way for you to stand up under it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13b
God doesn’t promise us an easy, perfect, temptation-free life. We live in a broken, fallen world, and there is nothing we can do about that fact—we are always going to have trials and temptations of some kind. But, he does promise that we will not be tempted beyond what we can bear. And when we are tempted, he will always provide a way for us to overcome that temptation. Just because we are tempted, doesn’t mean we have to give into said temptation. We may think that there is no other way out, but God promises us that he will provide a way for us to overcome what ever trial or temptation we may be facing.
Don’t give up. Even when life seems so hard, and you don’t think it is possible for you to go on, remember God’s promises to you. He won’t let you be tempted or tested more than you can bear, and he will always provide a way for you to overcome. Be encouraged!
Well, I hope you all have a great rest of your day. I’m off to check some things off my to-do list before the weekend rolls around…yay! God Bless:)
Hello! Hope you all are having a great Tuesday so far. It has been a busy couple of weeks around here lately, and time has really flown! I can’t believe we are already at the end of March…craziness I tell you. Last weekend the temperatures were in the low 80’s, so James and I met up with some friends in Grapevine to walk around the historic downtown area. We had a great time poking into all the little shops, and were even able to watch a ‘glass blowing’ demonstration [a really cool form of art where the artists actually sculpt hot glass by blowing into it and molding it into different shapes—very neat]. On Sunday James’ sister was in town on her way back from a missions trip, so we were able to spend the afternoon catching up with her. It was so great to see her! Overall I am enjoying Texas, but I definitely miss being close to our families.
In other news—last week I found out that I am going to be starting a new job this coming Monday! I have loved working at Starbucks, but I will be moving on to something that is a bit closer to my chosen career path—I am going to be working in the marketing department at Daystar Television Network! I’m a little nervous to start, but also very excited! But don’t worry—I’m not going anywhere. I am still going to be posting regularly here on the blog, and am still going to be making some improvements in the very near future—so stay tuned!
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Good Morning! How is your Thursday going so far? Mine has been going well so far—I got to sleep in which is always an added bonus:) I feel like it’s been awhile since my last post—I apologize. I have no excuse apart from general business over the past few weeks. Anyways. Let me share with you what I read from Exodus this morning…
“The Lord said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” Exodus 4:11-12
The Lord was speaking to Moses when he said this, right after Moses started giving him excuses why he couldn’t lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Obviously God didn’t really think Moses’ excuses were relevant.
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Good morning and happy Wednesday! Hope you all are having a great day so far. I have the day off today, which is always a good thing:) Although I’m getting to the point where I can’t really sleep in much past 7:30 or 8:00 anymore…I must be getting old. Ha. Anyways, I wanted to share a verse I read from Matthew this morning. It’s an oldie, but definitely a goodie…
“I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
Matthew 17:20
This is pretty amazing…and even more amazing when you think about how small a mustard seed really is—especially in comparison to a mountain. Those seeds are really tiny! It really goes to show just how powerful our faith can be. If we have even a tiny amount of faith, we are able to move mountain-sized things in our lives. What once seemed completely impossible is made entirely possible through faith.
If there is something going on in your life that seems impossible, or maybe a situation that seems rather hopeless, don’t give up. Have faith. Nothing will be impossible for you when you choose to put your faith in Christ. Don’t be afraid to step out and take that next step—you never know what you will be able to accomplish through faith and the power of Christ.
Well, I’m off to get a few things done around the house—hope you all have a great rest of your day! God Bless:)
