Scriptures

And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in ALL your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Delight yourself in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. (Psalms 37:4)

Fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall flame scorch you. (Isaiah 43:1-2)

Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know. (Jeremiah 33:3)

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

Leaving it all behind

I have a wide array of friends. Some "super Christian", some agnostic, some atheist, and so many that are in between. Whatever their choice, I try to be supportive. I accept them as they are. Now, if I feel like God is telling me to do something, I will do my best. For the most part, though, I just show love.

With whatever choices you make, stand strong. Do not back down. Do not faulter, but stand strong in your decision, even if you are wrong.

It hurts me to see friends that I have known to be Christian for many years just throw out their faith or the importance of it. A friend of mine is getting married. She said the plans are coming along nicely, but they still have to find a pastor. Well, what about her own? I have no idea. When I asked who they were looking for, she said her fiance was not religious, so it really did not matter too much. That statement just about broke my heart. How can you claim to love God, to praise and worship Him, but then not dedicate your whole life to Him? How can you get married to someone who is wishy-washy about the subject. "Yeah, I think there's something out there, but I don't know what is true, so I'm not stepping up." And even if you look past that, how can you not at least take that opportunity of him not caring and be like, "Ooo, I want this pastor to perform our ceremony!"

Matrimony is holy. It is based off of our relationship with God, not just some strange tradition that human kind holds dear. If God were as so-so with us as we are with Him, oh what a horrible life we would live! "Oh yes, I will answer that prayer today!" Three days later, "Oh, sorry. I got busy and forgot." Dear God, thank you for not being like me!

I just do not understand. I get uncomfortable just at the thought of my spouse not being on the same spiritual level as me, much less not having the same beliefs. I don't know. I just had to get that out.

Spring Fever

It is almost Spring time, and I can tell! Even when there was still about two inches of snow on the ground, I began to get the itch to clean, organize, and rearrange the house. Of course, the prospect of the in-laws visiting this weekend is only emphasizing this point, but it is also making me feel better about myself. I am finally getting around to parts of the house I have had to neglect for lack of time or energy. Then again, there is still much to be done, and I mean much! God blessed us with finally being able to get out of our old car and into one that actually fits our needs, which is wonderful. Because of this, I have the urge to keep this new car cleaner than I have ever managed to do with any of the old ones. As I go through the list of things to do in my head, I begin to get slightly overwhelmed. Then I remind myself--take it one step at a time. Pick one thing on the list and do it for 15 minutes. At that point, either move on to something else or take a small break. There is absolutely no need to become overwhelmed; after all, that just inhibits your ability to get things done. I am happy to say that my spouse is starting to catch the fever also, which means we will finally be on the same page!

I cannot shake the feeling that this year is going to be a good one.