Something Beautiful

I did a load of laundry this morning. I feel like I've done about 20 loads of laundry this week. It has felt nonstop. As I was thinking about how I felt like I've done 20 loads of laundry this week, I started to count how many I have actually done. Grand total: 3.  As I realized that, I was reminded that often what I feel does not accurately reflect the truth. Just because I felt like I had done 20 loads of laundry was what I was feeling, yes, but the truth is that I have done 3 loads.  Just because it feels like God isn't moving doesn't reflect the Truth. God is always moving and working. He is always with me. He will never leave me nor forsake me. He will always be my shelter and my strong tower. He always hears me and sees me even when I feel like He doesn't. He always loves me and blesses me even when they are disguised as discipline or what I would not consider a blessing.  God is faithful, and this morning He used my laundry to remind me of that.  

I was reading in Matthew this morning and I have been mulling over a specific verse that has kind of challenged me.  "And He said to them, 'Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the Kingdom of Heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.'" - Matthew 13:52 This is sandwiched right in between Jesus teaching them in parables about the Kingdom of Heaven and telling them why He speaks in parables. The verse preceding it Jesus asks the disciples if they understand all the things he has been telling them. In the context of all those things I was thinking about this verse and what Jesus was trying to communicate to His disciples.  I think that He is both warning them and encouraging them about not forgetting the old things. Jesus was teaching a lot of new stuff. He was radical in all that He preached and taught. That is the new treasure He is talking about. He gave them something completely new, and He wanted ...

If you look for it, you can find beauty in every circumstance of life, in every situation you find yourself in. I don't always succeed at this, but I do try. Sometimes it is a difficult place to see beauty, but I think if you look hard enough you will run across it.  The other night, though, I had an experience where it was not difficult to find beauty in the situation. I had a change to speak to a group of junior high students about a ministry that I am passionate about. I don't know if I inspired them, but I know that they inspired me. You see this was a group of junior high students who were on a trip spending their time serving a local outreach program.  I don't know if they realize yet the concept of sowing into things, but I rejoice at the fact that they are sowing into being a servant, into helping those who need it, into the lives of people who the world has passed by. They may or may not understand the importance of this yet, but I know, and it strengthens my h...

There are many thoughts going through my head on a regular basis. I am almost ready to graduate from massage therapy school. I only have 2 days of class left but because of all of our schedules those 2 days aren't for three weeks. But three weeks from today I will be done. This season of my life will be ending. I have been preparing myself for this transition for a while now because I have to give myself time to adjust to changes (even the good ones). As I prepare for this change, I have mixed emotions. There is part of me that is terrified. The what if questions flood my mind. What if I can't make it? What if I don't have enough business? What if I can't pay my bills?  Then there is the part of me that if filled with excitement. I am so ready to be doing something that I love every day. I am ready to walk into work, exhale, smile and go about my day with a relaxed and confident air, sure of who I am and what I want out of life. I am ready to be in a peaceful, heali...

For the first time in a couple of weeks I feel like there is order in my life. My kitchen is clean and the dishes are all put away. The fridge and the freezer are both cleaned out with everything old thrown out. My laundry is all clean and put away.  And sitting before God, my heart, soul and mind are also becoming ordered and aligned and cleaned as well. I really dislike chaos in my living environment because generally it reflects chaos in myself as well. I say generally because that's not always the case, just a majority of the time it is.  This week has been difficult because last week I did not get my day off. I didn't get my break from life to sit and go through all my junk with God and get it all sorted for the coming week. That's never a good idea for me. As a result I have been in rough shape this week, but I am amazed at God's unending grace and patience with me, and I am overwhelmed at His faithfulness and very great blessings.  He is so good and knows e...

Someone once said that discipline is not about what you want right now, but rather about what you want most. I agree with that statement with my whole heart. I went for a 4+ mile run tonight which in and of itself doesn't sound like a big deal, but when you consider that I spent 10 hours at work on my feet today it is a little bigger deal.  I realized when I laced up my running shoes tonight that this was not about what I wanted to do right then. It was about what I wanted most. You see, I'm going to be doing a triathlon in August with my mum, and so I need to be working out more. That is something I want more, more than wanting to just put my feet up at the end of a long day at the end of a long week.  And I'm so glad that I went running because I was reminded of so many things I love about running. I love the feeling of having to go beyond what I think I can do because that is where God comes in. I love the feeling of pushing myself a little bit farther. But what I re...

So much goodness. . .I don't even know where to begin. I feel like my time just flies away from me even when I am consciously making an effort to slow down and enjoy and savor every moment. The good moments pass far to quickly it seems. I'm not sure if you have caught onto this, but I kind of like celebrating life. There is just so much to celebrate, and I never pass up on an opportunity to do so if at all possible. I like to think that is my grandma's influence on me. She celebrated every holiday, and I do mean every holiday. How many people do you know who celebrate flag day? My grandma did.  I'm getting sidetracked. Sorry. There has been a lot of reason to celebrate lately (and there will be many more reasons in the coming months), so I have been celebrating a lot.  My life is just beautiful, and God's goodness sneaks up on me in the most delightful ways. Remember when I was telling you about that weight I've lost? Well, from my heaviest point I have l...

I have been asking God lately to enlarge my faith. I want to live expecting greater things from God. I don't want to limit what God can accomplish in and through my life by my little faith, so I've been asking for more faith.  Tonight as I was reading and meditating on Ruth, I thought about the book as a whole instead of just thinking about the chapter I was reading. As I did this I saw a pattern jump out at me that is fairly consistent of every story of faith that I have read in the Bible.  The first step is a decision. In Ruth Chapter 1 she makes a decision to act in faith, to accompany her mother-in-law back to Bethlehem, to leave behind all that she had ever known. She makes a decision based upon faith, declaring her trust in the One True Living God.  The second step is waiting. The second chapter of Ruth tells about her waiting period. During this time she does the work that God places before her. She actively trusts in God to provide daily for her and Naomi's ...

I went for a run yesterday, and as I've had a lot on my mind lately, it helped me to clear the thoughts and sort through the muddle. As I was running, I was thinking about Mexico and the beauty that I experienced there, not just the physical beauty of the land, but the beauty of the people, the culture, and the lifestyle.  the kitchen, a gathering place   One of the things that I liked best about Mexico was the hospitality that I experienced there. See I like hospitality. I like to open my home to people. I like to cook dinner and enjoy their company and fellowship. But I have never experienced hospitality like what I experienced there.    one of the lovely missionary ladies   We spent six days in the mountains. During that time we were fed and housed by people who didn't know us. They knew the missionaries who we went with, but they had never met me before. All they knew was that I needed a bed to sleep in and a meal to eat. And they met...

One week ago, I got to experience my second favorite thing about traveling: coming home. I love to travel to see new places and experience new cultures and meet new people, but I love coming home again. I love hearing those words when the customs agent hands me my passport in the airport. There is just something so sweet about coming home. I will give you a longer blog post later about my entire trip to Mexico, but in the mean time, just know that it was incredible. In many ways I feel like I am still trying to process all that we did and saw. Honestly, I think the culture shock was worse coming back into the States than it was going to Mexico, but more on that later. Until I post about my trip, I will just leave you with this lovely picture. I took this near a town called Zongolica where we turned off the main road to go down the mountain road to get to the village we spent the week working in. It was so beautiful!!