We are busy preparing for our church Easter drama and the youth trip to Holiday Youth Convention. It's going to be a busy, but awesome, weekend around ALC!
This time of year, we get so busy planning for programs and family visits and tend to get consumed with new clothes, etc., but this year, let's try to keep in mind the resurrection we are celebrating! 2 Corinthians 2:13-15 says "We're not keeping this quiet, not on your life. Just like the psalmist who wrote, "I believed it, so I said it," we say what we believe. And what we believe is that the One who raised up the Master Jesus will just as certainly raise us up..." That's exciting!!
The resurrection of Jesus, so many years ago, gave us hope that nothing could ever take away! Hopelessness and despair are prominent in the world right now...there is turmoil all around. But those of us who know God have, as Peter said, "a lively hope!" We have hope that life in this world is only temporary. We have hope that mistakes and sins will be forgiven. We have hope that He is coming again. We have hope that there will someday be a new Heaven and a new earth and that the Kingdom of God will reign. This wonderful hope is not found in our own abilities or our own goodness...it comes through the hope we were given when our Savior rose from the dead and shortly thereafter gave us the plan of salvation.
I hope all of you have a wonderful Easter!
XOXO,
Amberly
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
Easter Fashion!!!
Since next weekend we will be at Holiday Youth Convention, this is the last Friday to talk about Easter fashions before Easter! I know many of us will be wearing Biblical costumes Easter Sunday morning, BUT we can dress up in our new spring fashions at HYC! Here are a few tips for your Easter clothes shopping:
1. Easter Hats
Hats come in and out of fashion, but Easter hats are here to stay. Celebrate springtime with a beautiful new Easter bonnet or wide brim straw hat! These might be in a natural hue, or a soft pastel color. If a hat is too much, you could try an Easter headband for an understated version of the same look. Lace, ribbons, feathers, and flowers are all used to add panache to Easter hat styles.
2. Easter Dresses
Nothing says spring like a beautiful new Easter dress. As the weather starts to warm up, women throw off their coats and celebrate the sun! Traditional Easter dresses are white, red, or navy. White is the color of purity and new beginnings, and red represents the blood of Christ. Girl’s sailor dresses are usually navy, and they are a favored style of Easter apparel. The usual sweet springtime hues of pink, purple, yellow, and green are also beautiful choices for your Easter dress. This year, nude and taupe colors are all the rage, so you may even try a beautiful linen taupe dress like this one:
3. Easter Suits
Sometimes, Easter is the time for a new suit! Your closet probably already has the standard black and navy suits, so try a new hue for spring. Khaki or taupe, maybe a cute white with navy pinstripes, or a solid white suit are all perfect choices for Easter clothing. Or, you could opt for a more casual and comfortable linen Easter suit.
4. Easter Shoes
New shoes are an Easter Sunday tradition for many. Many women often select white heels, and men can’t go wrong with a pair of wing tips or oxfords. Black or white patent leather mary janes are a classic Easter shoe style that goes with any little girl’s outfit. This year, you absolutely cannot go wrong with a pair of taupe pumps! I love these from Macys:
And - they're only $39.99!
5. Women’s Easter Accessories
Last, but certainly not least, don't forget to make sure your purse matches your Easter outfit!!!!
Happy Easter shopping ladies!
Amberly
*All photos courtesy of Macys.com.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
It breaks my heart when I see young ladies consumed with Hollywood...when I hear them talking about how they have to get home to watch Teen Mom or American Idol like the world will end if they miss it. As I sit here and ponder the News as of late my heart becomes heavily burdened. People like Charlie Sheen and Lindsey Lohan are constantly in the news. I shudder when I see headlines about actresses' cellulite and pictures of them at the beach with their families. I would be devastated if someone plastered pictures of me in a bikini on the covers of magazines and then talked about how ugly my thighs are! Can you imagine? No wonder all of these rich and famous people don’t seem to be holding up too well. I wonder if there isn’t some common denominator between these troubled souls. How could those who have so much fame, talent, and not to mention enough money to purchase for them their every object of desire, be so self-destructive? I can’t help but think of the fates of those such as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, and Kurt Cobain, whose status of fame may as well have been elevated to sainthood. And then it hits me, what if the common denominator is not solely their individual self-destructiveness, but what if it includes the destructiveness of American Idolatry?
It seems to me that idolizing a human being isn’t just unhealthy and destructive for the one doing the idolizing, but also for the one being idolized. If there is any truth in this notion, namely, that it simply is not healthy (or to use politically incorrect language, it is simply morally wrong) for a person to be worshipped and idolized, then the American population is partly to blame for the broken state and the troubled fate of so many bold and indeed talented souls. Can we not appreciate a person’s talent and beauty without obsessing over what they wore at the Oscars or what person they are dating this week as opposed to last week? Is any single person worthy of this excessive attention or infatuation?
In Romans 1, the apostle Paul condemns the human race for suppressing the truth of God; he says that we should have seen God’s invisible attributes through that which is displayed in the created world. He goes on to declare that we didn’t honor God, but exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man. We failed and continue to fail to rightly credit the Creator, and instead we worship and serve the creatures that He has created. When we gaze upon the beauty or marvel at the talent of another and we fail to recognize that it is God alone who is the author and the source, we are not only lying to ourselves but we are doing a great disservice to our fellow man.
To have the American masses track your every move, fall at your feet, and even scream and shed tears in your presence—knowing all the while that you yourself are subject to the same kind of sickness and eventual death as the common folk—may be flattering for a moment, but in the end it is merely isolating, oppressive, and repulsive. Our obsession with the rich and famous places them in an impossible position, for there is only one name under heaven that is meant to be adored and there is only one being who will not be destructed by our worship. There is only one who remains pure and holy despite His glorious, incomprehensible, inevitable, and yes, eternal fame!
God doesn’t have an emotional need for our worship. Believe me, he gets plenty of it! For even the angelic beings shouted as they watched Him place the stars in the sky and even now as I, a small speck on this globe, push buttons on a key-board, the entire heavens and earth declare of His glory! It is He who measured the waters in the hollow of His hand. It is He who weighed the mountains in a balance and the hills in a pair of scales. To whom then shall we liken God? Or what likeness shall we compare with Him? We Americans, like the craftsmen of old, are guilty of seeking out and fashioning for ourselves meaningless idols—we create them, we gaze upon them, we place hope in them, and then we condemn them when they don’t deliver and meet our needs and expectations. At the end of the day, idolizing a person is as futile as worshipping a wooden statue, for both are corruptible and they shall both return to the dust. God alone is incorruptible, and not only does He alone deserve man’s worship but He is the only being who is not corrupted by man’s worship! He is the one who reduces powerful rulers to nothing and makes even the judges of the earth meaningless…truly, He merely blows on them and they wither.
So I, a Christian who is guilty of standing in the checkout line reading the latest People magazine, and I, who have possibly spent hundreds of dollars on InStyle magazines, join my voice with the prophet Isaiah, “who shall we liken God…who shall be His equal?” And I am revitalized by the answer to this rhetorical question: "no one." "Let us lift up our eyes on high and see who has created the stars…for He calls them by name and because of the greatness of His might and the strength of his power, not one of them is missing." (Isa. 40:26)
So then, I dare us (indeed I dare myself) - don't stop to read the latest magazine or watch the newest episode of that favorite sitcom - if we haven't first taken time to pray and read our Bibles. Let's strive to put no other thing before Him.
XOXO,
Amberly
It seems to me that idolizing a human being isn’t just unhealthy and destructive for the one doing the idolizing, but also for the one being idolized. If there is any truth in this notion, namely, that it simply is not healthy (or to use politically incorrect language, it is simply morally wrong) for a person to be worshipped and idolized, then the American population is partly to blame for the broken state and the troubled fate of so many bold and indeed talented souls. Can we not appreciate a person’s talent and beauty without obsessing over what they wore at the Oscars or what person they are dating this week as opposed to last week? Is any single person worthy of this excessive attention or infatuation?
In Romans 1, the apostle Paul condemns the human race for suppressing the truth of God; he says that we should have seen God’s invisible attributes through that which is displayed in the created world. He goes on to declare that we didn’t honor God, but exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man. We failed and continue to fail to rightly credit the Creator, and instead we worship and serve the creatures that He has created. When we gaze upon the beauty or marvel at the talent of another and we fail to recognize that it is God alone who is the author and the source, we are not only lying to ourselves but we are doing a great disservice to our fellow man.
To have the American masses track your every move, fall at your feet, and even scream and shed tears in your presence—knowing all the while that you yourself are subject to the same kind of sickness and eventual death as the common folk—may be flattering for a moment, but in the end it is merely isolating, oppressive, and repulsive. Our obsession with the rich and famous places them in an impossible position, for there is only one name under heaven that is meant to be adored and there is only one being who will not be destructed by our worship. There is only one who remains pure and holy despite His glorious, incomprehensible, inevitable, and yes, eternal fame!
God doesn’t have an emotional need for our worship. Believe me, he gets plenty of it! For even the angelic beings shouted as they watched Him place the stars in the sky and even now as I, a small speck on this globe, push buttons on a key-board, the entire heavens and earth declare of His glory! It is He who measured the waters in the hollow of His hand. It is He who weighed the mountains in a balance and the hills in a pair of scales. To whom then shall we liken God? Or what likeness shall we compare with Him? We Americans, like the craftsmen of old, are guilty of seeking out and fashioning for ourselves meaningless idols—we create them, we gaze upon them, we place hope in them, and then we condemn them when they don’t deliver and meet our needs and expectations. At the end of the day, idolizing a person is as futile as worshipping a wooden statue, for both are corruptible and they shall both return to the dust. God alone is incorruptible, and not only does He alone deserve man’s worship but He is the only being who is not corrupted by man’s worship! He is the one who reduces powerful rulers to nothing and makes even the judges of the earth meaningless…truly, He merely blows on them and they wither.
So I, a Christian who is guilty of standing in the checkout line reading the latest People magazine, and I, who have possibly spent hundreds of dollars on InStyle magazines, join my voice with the prophet Isaiah, “who shall we liken God…who shall be His equal?” And I am revitalized by the answer to this rhetorical question: "no one." "Let us lift up our eyes on high and see who has created the stars…for He calls them by name and because of the greatness of His might and the strength of his power, not one of them is missing." (Isa. 40:26)
So then, I dare us (indeed I dare myself) - don't stop to read the latest magazine or watch the newest episode of that favorite sitcom - if we haven't first taken time to pray and read our Bibles. Let's strive to put no other thing before Him.
XOXO,
Amberly
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
What it Means to be Lukewarm
I've been reading Francis Chan's book Crazy Love. Today, I read a chapter about lukewarm Christians and it really made me think...Has my relationship with God changed the way I live? Do people see evidence of God's kingdom in my life through the way I dress, the way I act and talk, the movies I watch, the music I listen to... Am I satisfied with being "godly enough to get to Heaven?" When we really start reading the Bible, we realize that God doesn't want us to to live for Him merely to escape hell when we die. He wants us to be totally in love with Him and willing to sacrifice to preserve a relationship with Him. I read the following passages about lukewarm people this morning:
Lukewarm people attend church fairly regularly. According to Isaiah 29:13, "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship to me is made up only of rules taught by men."
Lukewarm people give money to charity and to the church...as long as it doesn't impinge on their standard of living.
Lukewarm people tend to choose was it popular over what is right when they are in conflict. They desire to fit in both at church and outside of church; they care more about what people think of their actions than what God thinks of their hearts and lives.
Lukewarm people don't really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin. They don't genuinely hate sin and aren't truly sorry for it; they're merely sorry because God is going to punish them.
Lukewarm people are moved by stories about people who do radical things for Christ, yet they do not act. They assume such action is for "extreme" Christians, not average ones.
Lukewarm people rarely share their faith with their neighbors, coworkers or friends. They do not want to be rejected, nor do they want to make people uncomfortable by talking about private issues like religion.
Lukewarm people gauge their morality or "goodness" by comparing themselves to the secular world. They feel satisfied that while they aren't as hard-core for Jesus as so-and-so, they are nowhere near as horrible as the guy down the street.
Lukewarm people say they love Jesus and He is, indeed, part of their lives. But only a part. They give Him a section of their time, money and thoughts but He isn't allowed to control their lives.
Lukewarm people loves others but do not see to love others as much as they love themselves.
Lukewarm people will serve God and others, but there are limits to how far they will go or how much time, money and energy they are willing to give.
Lukewarm people think about live on earth much more often than eternity in Heaven.
Lukewarm people are thankful for their luxuries and comforts, and rarely consider trying to give as much as possible to the poor.
Lukewarm people do whatever is necessary to keep themselves from feeling too guilty.
Lukewarm people are continually concerned with playing it safe; they are slaves to the god of control. This focus on safe living keeps them from sacrificing and risking for God.
Lukewarm people feel secure because they attend church, come from a Christian family, vote Replubican or live in America.
Lukewarm people do not live by faith; their lives are structed so they never have to. They don't have to trust God if something unexepcted happens - they have their savings account. They don't need God to help them - they have their retirement plan in place. The truth is, their lives wouldn't look much different if they suddenly stopped believing in God.
Lukewarm people swear less than average, but besides that, they really aren't very different from the typical unbeliever. They equate their partially sanitized lives with holiness, but they couldn't be more wrong.
Man!!! That stuff is really harsh! The fact is, however, God didn't ask us to follow Him in a lukewarm manner...He said "take up your cross and follow me." He asks for everything and we try to give Him less. Luke 14:34-35 says "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is neither fit for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out." Jesus wasn't making a cute little analogy. He was addressing those who aren't willing to give Him everything, who won't follow Him all the way. Our lukewarm, halfhearted attempts at following Him are useless. When salt is salty, it helps manure become a good fertilizer...encouraging growth all around. When salt isn't salty, its completely useless. Just like lukewarm, uncomitted faith - it can't even benefit manure.
We can't afford to be lukewarm. We really are nearing His return. Its too late to waste time playing games and sitting on a fence. We need to be so far from lukewarm that we are burning up with fire. I would hate for God to look at me on judgment day and say "You would ruin manure!" I would much rather hear "Well done..." Wouldn't you?
Amberly
Lukewarm people attend church fairly regularly. According to Isaiah 29:13, "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship to me is made up only of rules taught by men."
Lukewarm people give money to charity and to the church...as long as it doesn't impinge on their standard of living.
Lukewarm people tend to choose was it popular over what is right when they are in conflict. They desire to fit in both at church and outside of church; they care more about what people think of their actions than what God thinks of their hearts and lives.
Lukewarm people don't really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin. They don't genuinely hate sin and aren't truly sorry for it; they're merely sorry because God is going to punish them.
Lukewarm people are moved by stories about people who do radical things for Christ, yet they do not act. They assume such action is for "extreme" Christians, not average ones.
Lukewarm people rarely share their faith with their neighbors, coworkers or friends. They do not want to be rejected, nor do they want to make people uncomfortable by talking about private issues like religion.
Lukewarm people gauge their morality or "goodness" by comparing themselves to the secular world. They feel satisfied that while they aren't as hard-core for Jesus as so-and-so, they are nowhere near as horrible as the guy down the street.
Lukewarm people say they love Jesus and He is, indeed, part of their lives. But only a part. They give Him a section of their time, money and thoughts but He isn't allowed to control their lives.
Lukewarm people loves others but do not see to love others as much as they love themselves.
Lukewarm people will serve God and others, but there are limits to how far they will go or how much time, money and energy they are willing to give.
Lukewarm people think about live on earth much more often than eternity in Heaven.
Lukewarm people are thankful for their luxuries and comforts, and rarely consider trying to give as much as possible to the poor.
Lukewarm people do whatever is necessary to keep themselves from feeling too guilty.
Lukewarm people are continually concerned with playing it safe; they are slaves to the god of control. This focus on safe living keeps them from sacrificing and risking for God.
Lukewarm people feel secure because they attend church, come from a Christian family, vote Replubican or live in America.
Lukewarm people do not live by faith; their lives are structed so they never have to. They don't have to trust God if something unexepcted happens - they have their savings account. They don't need God to help them - they have their retirement plan in place. The truth is, their lives wouldn't look much different if they suddenly stopped believing in God.
Lukewarm people swear less than average, but besides that, they really aren't very different from the typical unbeliever. They equate their partially sanitized lives with holiness, but they couldn't be more wrong.
Man!!! That stuff is really harsh! The fact is, however, God didn't ask us to follow Him in a lukewarm manner...He said "take up your cross and follow me." He asks for everything and we try to give Him less. Luke 14:34-35 says "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is neither fit for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out." Jesus wasn't making a cute little analogy. He was addressing those who aren't willing to give Him everything, who won't follow Him all the way. Our lukewarm, halfhearted attempts at following Him are useless. When salt is salty, it helps manure become a good fertilizer...encouraging growth all around. When salt isn't salty, its completely useless. Just like lukewarm, uncomitted faith - it can't even benefit manure.
We can't afford to be lukewarm. We really are nearing His return. Its too late to waste time playing games and sitting on a fence. We need to be so far from lukewarm that we are burning up with fire. I would hate for God to look at me on judgment day and say "You would ruin manure!" I would much rather hear "Well done..." Wouldn't you?
Amberly
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Roots
One very cool thing I have to mention is that I'm writing tthis blog using my birthday present from my husband! Yes...this is being written using my Samsung tablet and keyboard dock. Sweet!
In other news, I have to go to the dentist this afternoon for a root canal. A couple weeks ago when I went for a cleaning and exam, I was told the swelling around one of my molars was from a nasty infection. Yikes! See I chipped this molar several years ago and it has had a porcelain crown on it since then. It looks like a perfect tooth. However, the dentist said that bacteria had managed to seep in under the crown and now the nerves inside the tooth were infected, thus causing the swelling. I said "ok, but why doesn't it hurt?" Apparently, the fact that there is no pain associated with this is because the roots of the tooth are already necrotic and dead. Yuck! I've been thinking though...how often is this same scenario true with our lives? We look perfectly normal on the outside, but inside we are dying. We cover up our issues with a beautiful facade that looks absolutely perfect but when God examines us under His microscope, He can see that we are filled with dead, necrotic roots. We need to make sure that our roots are exposed and that we don't allow our roots to become so infected that we see the symptoms , but can't find the real issue because we no longer feel pain. Lord show us any underlying problems we may have and heal them. Even though it may take plucking up some of our roots. We need to be whole inside and out...at this point in time, there is really no need in the church for fake, beautiful facades. We need honesty and realness to reach the people around us.
XOXO
Amberly
In other news, I have to go to the dentist this afternoon for a root canal. A couple weeks ago when I went for a cleaning and exam, I was told the swelling around one of my molars was from a nasty infection. Yikes! See I chipped this molar several years ago and it has had a porcelain crown on it since then. It looks like a perfect tooth. However, the dentist said that bacteria had managed to seep in under the crown and now the nerves inside the tooth were infected, thus causing the swelling. I said "ok, but why doesn't it hurt?" Apparently, the fact that there is no pain associated with this is because the roots of the tooth are already necrotic and dead. Yuck! I've been thinking though...how often is this same scenario true with our lives? We look perfectly normal on the outside, but inside we are dying. We cover up our issues with a beautiful facade that looks absolutely perfect but when God examines us under His microscope, He can see that we are filled with dead, necrotic roots. We need to make sure that our roots are exposed and that we don't allow our roots to become so infected that we see the symptoms , but can't find the real issue because we no longer feel pain. Lord show us any underlying problems we may have and heal them. Even though it may take plucking up some of our roots. We need to be whole inside and out...at this point in time, there is really no need in the church for fake, beautiful facades. We need honesty and realness to reach the people around us.
XOXO
Amberly
Thursday, March 17, 2011
I will never try to portray to any of you that I have lived a perfect, saintly life. I haven't and I know that more than anyone else. During my long struggle with insecurity, it bothered me so much to be alone that I didn't really critique the guys I dated. As long as they came to church, I believed they were okay. It didn't matter if they missed services a lot, or only came on Sunday mornings, or were more interested in their cell phones than the sermon. You would think I would have learned my lesson after going through a divorce, but I didn't, and two years after my divorce I started dating someone who was almost identical to my ex-husband, at least in the way he acted toward God. I had been reading all these books like "When God Writes Your Love Story" and when this guy seemed interested in me, I immediately thought "he must be the right one." It took almost a year of dating him to realize how much the relationship had destroyed me, because I refused to see what other people could see. A minister's wife I'm friends with tried to talk to me and tell me the dangers of "missionary dating" but I chose not to see what was happening in my own walk with God. Not until we broke up did I understand what others had tried so hard to tell me...missionary dating is wrong in any form or fashion. Some of you have heard this before, some haven't. So, for those of you who have never heard me talk about this, here is what I learned:
1. Missionary dating compromises your relationship with God.
Not with me, I thought. I still attend church, read my Bible and pray. Actually though, my prayers were more focused on my boyfriend's spiritual growth than seeking God's will in my own life. I spent my prayer time praying for him and spent my devotional time searching the scriptures for passages that would help him grow, conveniently ignoring ones like, "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?" (2 Corinthians 6:14) Yoked, I told myself, is getting married. We aren't getting married; we're just dating. I still experienced an inner turmoil though. Why wasn't God changing him? It seemed as though my prayers hit the ceiling and bounced back. I was frustrated. Even reading the Bible didn't bring peace, although I searched intently for verses that would ease my conscience. When I tried to talk about spiritual things, he was never interested. He'd change the subject. He seemed content where he was spiritually, which I didn't understasnd. I prayed even more for him, yet he continued to drift further away from God.
2. Missionary dating compromises your relationship with others.
I defended his home life ("He can't help that his parents are getting divorced") and his lifestyle (He's not drinking at those parties; he just goes because he doesn't have any friends in church"). I stopped confiding in my mom and sister because I didn't want to hear their criticism of him or our relationship. I argued with my dad and brothers about dating someone who wasn't a Christian, He is a Christian, I'd say, He goes to the same church we do. I conveniently ignored the fact that when he came he sat on the back row and didn't get involved in the service. I felt alone and angry. The more my family questioned our relationship, the more I believed I had to defend him and the more determined I was to change him. I wanted to prove them all wrong. I wanted to show them I was right. Why can't they just trust my judgment? I asked myself. They just don't know him. If they took the time to get to know him, they'd see his potential. However, what my family saw was how everytime he had the opportunity to build a relationship with them or with God, he always had an excuse. I was stupied enough to always believe his excuses and defend them. They all saw right through him. The people closest to you can see the changes happening in your life, they see the danger ahead. Listen to their words of caution.
3. Missionary dating leads to compromising yourself.
I didn't have sex, start drinking or attend wild parties, but, slowly, I lowered my standard for the type of guy I'd always wanted to marry. I began to reason away the prophecies that I would marry a preacher, that I had a special anointing. I told myself that my standards were unrealistic and too high and that spiritually strong guys didn't exist. I fooled myself into thinking that even though this guy still went to parties on occasion, he didn't participate in anything that went on there. How ignorant! I believed I could teach him how to treat a lady. I let him treat me poorly because I only allowed myself to see the person he could be, not the person he was. When he wouldn't show up to church or church-related functions, I blamed it on everything from his exhaustion from working late to him feeling uncomfortable at church because everyone there knew about his past. I didn't understand, with all the potential he had to be a strong spiritual leader, why he continued living the way he was. I believed that by dating me, he'd want to become all that he could be. Of course, this never happened and eventually I saw the truth.
"Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain" (Psalm 127:1). This verse helped me realize that unless Jesus was Lord of the relationship, all my efforts were in vain. Because our relationship wasn't based on Christ, it was going nowhere. Even though I saw potential for a godly man, he didn't want to change; he didn't desire a closer relationship with God. You can't force those desires onto someone. God's will is never for you to be emotionally attached to someone who isn't completely in love with Him. You should never, ever be with someone you have to beg to come to church.
Breaking up was hard. It wasn't hard letting go of the person he was, it was hard letting go of the person I thought he could be. I wish I could say he changed in the long run, but he didn't. Every time I hear anything about him or see him, he is still the same way...full of excuses for why he can't live for God and blaming everything on his past. I'm grateful that God spared me a second relationship with a guy like that and that now I know, these kinds of relationships are nothing more than the devil's inroad. Satan isn't ignorant. He knows your frustration at not finding the right guy yet. He knows that you're lonely when you look at your friends who are getting married, or in a relationship that will eventually lead to that. No one falls overnight...its a process that starts with the devil finding a way to infiltrate your heart and mind. If he can slowly weaken you, you will eventually give up on God's will for your life. Satan knows something that most of us never fully grasp - we can't serve two masters. His job is to get you to loosen your grip on God so be careful not to push God's will to the side for something that will only bring you heartache in the end.
Even though I guess you could say I was an old maid (26) when I finally found the guy God had picked out for me, I can honestly say he was worth waiting for. If you wait on God, you will get so much more than you ever dreamed of. When people ask what I saw in Dathaniel...I can easily answer. I respect him in everything. I respect his walk with God. I love that I can ask him Biblical questions and he will know the answer. I love seeing him sit in the same chair in the library every morning with his Bible open and his prayer journal next to him. I love that I can ask him to pray for me when I'm struggling, that he prays with me, that he prays for me. God's design is that the man be the spiritual leader. A relationship just won't work any other way.
XOXO,
Amberly
Monday, March 14, 2011
Is He Waiting for Me?
How many of you remember the old song “I Miss My Time With You?” Probably none of you, because I’m way older than most of you! I’ve been thinking about the words to that song since hearing Dathaniel preach last night. It goes like this:
There He was just waiting in our old familiar place
An empty spot beside Him, where once I used to wait
To be filled with strength and wisdom for the battles of the day
I would have passed Him by again, if I hadn’t heard Him say
I miss my time with you, those moments together
I need to be with you each day and it hurts me when you say
You’re too busy, busy trying to serve me
But how can you serve when your spirit’s empty
There’s a longing in heart wanting more than just a part of you
It’s true, I miss my time with you
I was reminded of the story of Ananias, found in Acts 9:1-19. When you read that chapter, you'll notice that before Ananias ever agreed to go to Saul, the Lord had already shown Saul in a vision that Ananias was coming. Check out The Message version of verses 10-19:
10 There was a disciple in Damascus
11-12 “Get up and go over to Straight Avenue. Ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus
13-14 Ananias protested, “Master, you can’t be serious. Everybody’s talking about this man and the terrible things he’s been doing, his reign of terror against your people in Jerusalem
15-16 But the Master said, “Don’t argue. Go!” …
17-19 So Ananias went and found the house, placed his hands on blind Saul, and said “Brother Saul, the Master sent me here, the same Jesus you saw on your way here. He sent me so you could see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” …
I want God to be able to depend on me that way...to know, before He even asks me, that I will do His will...for Him to let someone know I’ll be there, before He even asks me to go. This dependability is only cultivated through a daily walk with God…through daily prayer. As Dathaniel said last night, we are a culture with no commitment, not only in relationships with other people, but also in our relationship with God. We have to change that. I’m very dependable when it comes to my family, my job and other obligations. But when it comes to prayer, I’m just as undependable as everyone else. I don’t want to be though. We need to walk with God daily to see the revival that has been promised to this generation! We have to become dependable and committed to God through prayer.
XOXO
Amberly
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