A Deep Satisfaction in God

For Christmas, my parents gave me "Boy Meets Girl" by Joshua Harris (really good - recommend!) and I'm loving it so far.

I want to share an excerpt from this book - it was amazing that God brought this particular passage to me....because it met me right where I have been at over these past few months!

"A couple committed to God's glory places their ultimate hope in God, not in each other. Before two people can please God as a couple, they must first be individuals who want God more than anything else and who knows that only He can satisfy the deepest longings of their souls. One of my favorite authors, John Piper, has made his life message this simple but profound truth: 'God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.' What does this mean? It means that we can exalt God by trusting in Him and desiring Him above anything else in life - more than companionship, more than romance, more than marriage. When we do, our lives say louder than words that He is more fulfilling than all these things. Unlike all the fleeting pleasures of this world, when we make God the object of our soul's longing, He truly satisfies us - we find the lasting peace and joy we long for. Only then can we have a healthy, happy relationship, because instead of the relationship being our reason for living, it becomes an expression of the fact that we're living for Someone greater."

Go Ahead and Cry

When you hurt the worst—go to your secret closet and weep out all your despair!

Jesus wept. Peter wept—bitterly! Peter carried with him the hurt of denying the very Son of God. Those bitter tears worked in him a sweet miracle. He came back to shake the kingdom of Satan.

Jesus never looks away from a crying heart. He said, "A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise" (Psalm 51:17). Not once will the Lord say, "Get hold of yourself! Stand up and take your medicine! Grit your teeth and dry your tears." No! Jesus stores every tear in his eternal container.

Do you hurt? Badly? Then go ahead and cry! And keep on crying, until the tears stop flowing. But let those tears originate only from hurt—and not from unbelief or self-pity.

Life goes on. You would be surprised how much you can bear with God helping you. Happiness is not living without pain or hurt. True happiness is learning how to live one day at a time, in spite of all the sorrow and pain. It is learning how to rejoice in the Lord, no matter what has happened in the past.

You may feel rejected. You may feel abandoned. Your faith may be weak. You may think you are down for the count. Sorrow, tears, pain, and emptiness may swallow you up at times, but God is still on his throne. He is still God!

You can't help yourself. You can't stop the pain and hurt. But our blessed Lord will come to you, and he will place his loving hand under you and lift you up to sit again in heavenly places. He will deliver you from the fear of dying. He will reveal his endless love for you.

Look up! Encourage yourself in the Lord. When the fog surrounds you and you can't see any way out of your dilemma—lie back in the arms of Jesus and simply trust him. He wants your faith—your confidence. He wants you to cry aloud—"Jesus loves me! He is with me! He will not fail me! He is working it all out right now! I will not be cast down! I will not be defeated! I will not be a victim of Satan! God is on my side! I love him—and he loves me!"

The bottom line is faith. And faith rests on this one absolute: "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper…" (Isaiah 54:17).

- By David Wilkerson

11.6.11

It's been a perfectly lovely Sunday afternoon! I'm sitting here curled up on my bed, typing away and listening to Josh Groban sing "Silent Night"....so beautiful! It's hard to believe Christmas is coming up so soon! I've been listening to Christmas music and watching Christmas movies (we watched the premiere of Love's Christmas Journey last night - really good!) - which is quite uncharacteristic of me. Usually I wait until after Thanksgiving to get in the "mood" - but for some reason, it's struck me early this year! :)

We have had a wonderful Sunday so far! It started off with a great Sunday School lesson - we just started a new study based on the movie The Grace Card - if you have never seen it, I HIGHLY recommend it! It has an incredibly powerful message! The first lesson through this study was this morning and it was very good! We discussed what grace is and how although we are so unworthy and undeserving, Christ extends grace to all of us! We focused on how we need to also extend grace and forgive those who have wronged us. This is something I have been dealing with for some time, so I'm anxious to see what things the Lord will teach me in the coming weeks!

I hope that all of you are having a wonderful Sunday as well!

Like A Paint Brush

"Your attitude is the paint brush of your mind. It colors your world with dark negativity - or brilliant optimism."

- John C. Maxwell

True Joy

Last night, I went to a corn maze with seven other people from my church. It was a crazy time - getting slightly lost, our hands feeling like they were going to fall off from the cold, going out for pizza afterwards....but it was great to be able to get together and laugh and just have fun!

Sometimes I think we make fellowship too hard....I know I just like to BE with other people! It doesn't have to be an elaborately planned party. Just a time that is set aside to talk about random things, eat some good food, and laugh. I'm glad that being a Christian doesn't mean we can't have any fun. I repeat - being a Christian does NOT mean that we cannot have fun! Jesus didn't come to die for our sins so that we could have solemn faces and think that it's wrong to laugh or have a good time. Jesus came to give life - more abundant! He came to give us JOY!

I think there is a difference between "happiness" and "joy". Happiness is circumstantial - you are happy because you like the way things are going - your circumstances determine your state of happiness. True joy is being able to be "happy" or joyful even in the midst of less-than-ideal circumstances. Only Jesus Christ can provide true joy.

I want the joy of the Lord to affect every part of my life - the way I talk, the way I respond to people, the way I act.....you know what? People notice the JOY! They can sense there is something DIFFERENT about you when the joy of the Lord is evident in your life!

Thoughts?

A New Start....

Some of you may remember me from when I blogged regularly a year or so ago at Dare to be Different. Then I became busy and uninterested in blogging (Facebook has a way of preoccupying my time!), but now I'm ready to start up again. I decided to start this new blog, with a new look and a new purpose: I want everyone who reads this to be encouraged and I would love to share different things that the Lord is teaching me! I hope to still post pictures once in a while of my family, but I'm looking forward to having a place where I can put my thoughts into words and get feedback from my readers.

I hope you "follow" my blog (check out the sidebar on your right) and that you check back often!

~ Tori