Wait

The past few weeks have been, 'Well different!' Ha, I know... I will share more soon. For now I leave you with an amazing poem I read the other day! Enjoy and Christ's peace and joy for each of you today!!

Wait
by Russell Kelfer

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried.
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, He replied. I
pleaded, and I wept for a clue to my fate,
And the Master so gently said, "Child, you
must wait."

"Wait? You say wait?" my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know
why. Is your hand shortened? Or have you
not heard? By faith I have asked, and I'm
claiming you Word.

"My future, and all to which I can relate
Hangs in the balance, and you tell me
"wait"? I'm needing a 'yes,' a go-ahead sign,
Or even a 'no,' to which I can resign.

"And Lord, you have promised that if we
believe, We need but to ask, and we shall
receive. And Lord I've been asking, and
this is my cry: I'm weary of asking: I need
a reply!"

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate as
My master replied once again, "You must
wait." So I slumped in my chair; defeated
and taut And grumbled to God: "So I'm
waiting, for what?"

He seemed then to kneel and His eyes
met with mine And He tenderly said, "I
could give you a sign. I could shake the
heavens, darken the sun, Raise the dead,
cause the mountains to run.

"All you see I could give, and pleased you
would be. You would have what you want,
but you wouldn't know Me. You'd not
know the depth of My love for each saint;
You'd not know the power that I give to
the faint.

"You'd not learn to see through clouds of
despair; You'd not learn to trust, just by
knowing I'm there.

You'd not know the joy of resting in Me,
When darkness and silence was all you
could see.

"You would never experience that fullness
of love. As the peace of My Spirit descends
like a dove. You would know that I give,
and I save, for a start, But you'd not know
the depth of the beat of My heart.

"The glow of My comfort late in the night;
The faith that I give when you walk
without sight; The depth that's beyond
getting just what you ask From an infinite
God who makes what you have last.

"And you never would know, should your
pain quickly flee, What it means that 'My
grace is sufficient for thee.' Yes, your
dreams for that loved one o'ernight could
come true, But the loss! If you lost what
I'm doing in you.

"So be silent, my child, and in time you
will see That the greatest of gifts is to get
to know Me, and though oft' may My
answers seem terribly late, My most
precious answer of all... is still ... wait."

Wait... This is what God has been speaking to me for Years... wait in many different areas. Whether the wait period is 1 day or a life time, we must sacrifice all the same, and God has plans through it all! I have come to realize that nothing can really make it 'easier' while we wait, but our faith is strengthened which is the greatest gift of all. I'd gladly go through any trial God has planned for me if I get to learn more of Him and draw closer to His wonderful presence!

God's Voice

It’s only half way through the first month of 2010 and I feel overwhelmed with God’s love and blessings He continually lavishes among us. As you know from previous months’ posts, I’ve classified many things lately as, ‘well, different’. I thank God for this time of awakening and growth.

I’m further learning dependence on Him.

I’ve always thought of myself as an ‘independent young lady’ and I wouldn’t doubt that many will attest to that! I honestly feel this is a gift from God that has gotten me where I am today and will lead me to where He wants me to go tomorrow. But when Jason and I got married (almost 4 years ago!), I began to learn the fine art of balancing independence with dependence. Learning that ‘you can do it on your own,’ but truly experiencing the beauty and wonder of life comes when we lean on each other, grow with each other, serve one another, love one another; and as God intended, become one with each other. Learning to become dependant on Jason as my husband and best friend, while still maintaining my individuality and unique gifts for God to use has become a wonderful tool God has used to grow me.

Today I find myself facing the same balancing act, but this time I’m learning to become more dependant on God. Every step of my life I pray He guides me. This is a hard concept for many of us growing up in a self-serve and instant gratification world. It’s hard to follow God when we can’t seem to hear His ‘still small voice’, when we go through the hustle and bustle of the day w/o taking time to be with our Creator and honestly when He always seems to work on a much different time table and path than what our human nature prefers! This is where a book/concept began to help further shape my relationship with God. My friend Cathie introduced me to a book called ‘God Guides’ by Mary Geegh concerning 'listening prayer'. This is really just a compilation of small and yet amazing stories about ways in which God guides His people when they lean on Him. The Holy Spirit began to work in me showing me how ‘intentional’ our time with God must be. I’ve always been one to talk to God at all times of the day about everything and anything. If I go one hour or 30 minutes without talking to God of some sort, I’d be really surprised (not during my sleep though!). But I began to realize that this is not enough. I shouldn’t be doing all the talking and sharing. How can I know where God wants me to go and what He wants me to do if I’m not taking the time to sit at His feet and listen to Him?

First thing is first during my ‘quiet times’ with God; I must surrender my heart and mind to Christ. Only He can drown out the noise of everyday life so I can truly hear Him. I must also quiet satan and all evil and make him deaf, mute and dumb to our conversation. This can only be done by the power of Jesus’ precious name! At that point I know that what I hear is from God.

The past several months I have been amazed at how much God is teaching me! He’s asked me to do small things and some very large things that require complete trust in Him. The most beautiful gift I feel is that He is teaching me to learn His voice! A ‘still small voice’ is correct, but does not fully explain the way He often speaks to me. When I hear God speak, it’s as if His words are not being spoken at all, but communicated not through my ‘mind’ but rather some place deeper; not my heart, my some place beyond understanding. It’s as if I ‘feel Him’ rather than ‘hear Him’. This feeling of God is marked with so much peace and unexplainable joy that there should be no doubt it is from Him. And yet, I still doubt I’m actually hearing Him sometimes when I’m caught up in the noise of the day.

Just the other day I was driving down one of our main streets in Bridgeland and I heard God tell me, “Go back and tell them their pipe busted.” Hum… I saw water running down the street but didn’t notice where it was coming from at first so thought I must be crazy for ‘thinking that’… I said, ‘surely I made that up, right God?’ He kept telling me to go back. I was in denial and said, no, I think I’m making that up… I’m going to keep driving home! Ugh… I turned into our section and there was more water in the street running from another house right in front of me! I said, ‘okay God, I am so sorry… that really was You!’ So to make a long story short, I helped get the 2nd house ‘under control’ with the busted pipe and then had to turn around and find the first house that in fact had a busted pipe too! While this was a small event, it taught me more about hearing God’s voice and what it feels like even during the noise of the day!

Today as I sat with God I confessed my confusion and fear in a specific area; uncertainty as to what God wants me to do and fear of making the ‘wrong choice’. In my quiet times He teaches me His ways are filled with an unexplainable peace and ‘wholenss’. Right now I don’t feel He is giving me a ‘clear direction’ in a very important area, but I realized He is speaking to me differently; better than what I can ask for! God is giving me clear directions concerning other areas of passions. Peace and joy in these thoughts from God show me He is already at work and making my path straight before me. So while I am not receiving ‘clear answers’ to my ‘specific questions’, God is answering my question in a different and perfect way! His ways are marked with peace and joy. While I do not receive a ‘yes or no’ in the questions I ask, He still guides! Like a sheep with his shepherd; where His voice is, I will follow!

2010: A Year to Follow
Ask and He will guide;
Follow and He will be glorified!!!

Happy New Year 2010!!

Jason and I headed out to San Antonio on New Year's Eve for our friend's Chris and Theresa's House Warming/ New Year's party. We had such a wonderful timing hanging out with friends. Their house is beautiful too! We are so happy for them and blessed to have them in our lives!

You don't get much cooler than this!!

We also shot fireworks to bring in the new year. They didn't shoot in the air very high, so it looked as if they were right above us. These next shots I thought were pretty neat though; looks like meteor shower.

(This pic was taken today on the 2nd, but I thought it was cute!)

And to leave you with... a video clip to show you what a bunch of mid-twenty year olds sound like trying to make music on party favors around midnight!