Wednesday, January 28, 2009
dearly loved by the King
thank you all who are raining smses of care and concern on me:)) thank God for yall butbutbut reallyreally, i'm fine:) even if i ain't i will be! i mean, God won't let me fall so easily come on! yeap and don't worry cus i won't slit my wrists, overdose myself with sleeping pills, get myself run over by a cabby, drink detergent etc. HELLOOOO i'm like WANCHIEN. you know, WANCHIENNNN hahah. whatever the case, God's got me so i'll just run along all the same! no worries mann!!
i'm in this with Jesus. and knowing just how He loves me is way more than enough comfort:)) YAAY check this out man - i'm dearly loved by The King of kings wooohooo!!!!
ah and to those who may be going thru a trying time, just wanna say hang in there! cus we struggle powerfully from victory! and God sees each tear that falls, He hears you when you call, Jesus weeps with you for what pains you pains Him too, what saddens you saddens Him too. so take heart in such an everlasting companionship, there's none like it in the world that can so fill a heart with hope and joy:)
wc :: 2:26 PM
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
TODAY is the day!!
"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past." (isa 43"18)
"This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." (psa 118:24)
"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (phi 3:14)
these verses demonstrate God's call to us to CONTINUALLY leave our past behind and live in the present, looking towards the future. and boy am i grateful to have a God, a heavenly Father who doesn't bring up my shameful, sinful past to show me how great His redeeming grace is. instead, He tells me to dump it all!! and He tells me His love for me is eternal and He'll be my backing all of my days on earth -
"For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies." (psa 57:10)
and He tells me to hold on however tough it may be, cus He's with me every step of the way, picking me up and placing me upon His shoulders; carrying me when my knees give way. the story "Footprints" really captures the essence of this demonstration:)) and He lifts us above it all:) thank You Daddy. hallelujah.
i pray my eyes will look unto You always, seeing only Your beauty, majesty and magnificence. yeap and i pray i won't claim to be too busy to spend time with You, to just sit by Your throne in Your soothing and reassuring presence and let You love me as You want to. may i wait on You in song and declaration as i wait for You and let Your joy be my strength. in Jesus' name, AMEN.
wc :: 3:40 PM
Friday, January 23, 2009
Finding Purpose and Meaning
Article by Tom Gilbert — © January, 2009
Much of life is spent on seeking purpose and meaning. For me, the process seems to have intensified with age.We all want to find meaning and purpose. But when we begin to realize that the very living of our lives is part of that purpose we start to recognize some other valuable things. For one, I've discovered that I can create plans, visualize the future, prepare in depth - but I'm not in control. So I have to look at what I'm doing. It is the self examined life that yields benefit. However, not just self examination so that I know myself better. It is important to know who I am, what I believe and where I've been. But I can't predict the future and I need to learn that everything...everything... is ultimately a gift.What I've discovered is that finding purpose and meaning in life is just the beginning. The journey continues and living by letting go to the guiding light of God is the right way to approach each day and moment.So often the way to better understand something requires that I first figure out what it is not. My purpose in life is not whatever my "job" or work occupation might be. Work is important and necessary. Work is good. The fruits of our labor add to our appreciation of life and are the byproducts of living our purpose. It is often frustrating to be in a job or work situation solely because it is the means to pay the bills and provide basic necessities. But my identity and self worth should not be measured just by what job I hold.
Hard Lessons
This has been a hard lesson. For years I've been wrapped up in whatever my job was. I have a born desire to do things that are interesting, fun and part of my natural abilities. However, another aspect of the purpose of life — a very essential aspect — is to keep growing. To grow I must be stretched. I must leave the comfort of what I know and can do and strive to do something new, different and ideally better. That's often frightening. Fear can keep me from leaving that comfort zone, but fear also holds me back from growth.To discover the gifts God has given us we must keep exploring, learning and trying new things. Sometimes this is hard because we don't know where it is leading. I sometimes wonder if it is wasted effort. None of it is truly wasted, but I usually want to take the shortcuts. And I worry I’ll miss out on opportunities because I was “climbing a ladder on the wrong wall”. Of course, God takes all our effort, all our searching, even our misdirection, and brings good from it. Learning from past mistakes is using the brains God gave us. Discerning the difference between not going down a path that has proven futile and persevering on a path because it has not yet yielded results can be tricky. Sitting quietly in prayer helps. Also being honest with ourselves. If I start to move in a direction only because it is comforting and pleasing and holds the illusion of security then I must pause and reconsider.
Commitment
There comes a time for all of us when we have a pretty good grasp of our purpose and we see how things have connected to provide meaning for us. Then comes an important next step — commitment. I decide "this I will do". I pledge to continue. I won't stop because it gets too hard. My only reason to not continue in the direction that has been revealed as the next right course is if God reveals a different way. An example that comes to mind is St. Paul and his missionary efforts. In the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 16:6-8) he wants to carry the Gospel message to a part of Asia. Scripture says the Holy Spirit prevented him from going that way. So he had to change course. His intentions were good; his motives were good. But it was not where God wanted him to go.At times I feel like I don't know which direction to head. For the reasons already stated I can get confused or misdirected. I need the "compass" of the Spirit to point me in the right direction. I also need the strength and courage to go where God is leading when I don't want to go. Fear holds me back. Fear may be expressed in doubt, anger, frustration, worry, resentment or despair. When these things assault me I need to pray that God will lift me up. Remember, with God all things are possible.
Discipline
From commitment must come discipline. An athlete must train, and continue to train, to do those things that will strengthen and improve performance. Most athletes have a training program and they usually have a coach or trainer. In my endeavors I must have discipline. I don't need to live in expectations of my results for the events I am "training for". But I do need to stick with my training, or when I slack off to have the dedication and willingness to resume. I should rely on the expertise of others and to let my “coaches” direct me.One of my greatest desires is to do meaningful and useful work for God's purpose. I believe God's purpose is for all of us - all His children - to grow in love and service to each other. This brings glory to God and to creation. When I am in sync with God's purpose for me my work should flow. It may still be difficult, but if it is the work I am called to do it should come to me relatively easy because it will use the talents I have been gifted with.Finding purpose and meaning, committing to it with discipline and effort and going with the flow will result in our usefulness. Go for it – it is part of God's Divine Plan.
taken from www.livingthesolution.com
hallelujah:)
wc :: 8:57 PM
