"Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me."
Thursday, May 23, 2013
For the sin struggles
Lately I have been struggling with the same sin over and over. And its frustrating. Then I came across this psalm a few days ago.
David wrote this psalm after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba. It is both encouraging and challenging. It reminds us that God have made us pure and sees our sins no more, but also models an appropriate response to sin.
I encourage you to read through this psalm a few times, especially if you have been battling sin. Think about what each little chunk says. Each section has a different truth to offer. Meditate on them for a while. How does this apply to you and your situation?
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
so that sinners will turn back to you.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
you who are God my Savior,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 Open my lips, Lord,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.
so that sinners will turn back to you.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
you who are God my Savior,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 Open my lips, Lord,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.
18 May it please you to prosper Zion,
to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,
in burnt offerings offered whole;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.
to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,
in burnt offerings offered whole;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.
Continue to meditate on these truths and pray over them. Pray that the Lord would help you truly believe them and live them out.
All my love,
Dakoda Hailey
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Let's embrace our own adventures.
"All people are like grass,
and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
7
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the Lord blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.
8
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God endures forever."
{isaiah 40:7,8}
Maybe even if is {and always has been} our dream to become mothers, we still have no idea the ways that a child changes our lives. And I guess there in lies my struggle: I have lost control of molding myself to my own precepts and rules and have had to instead, throw myself completely on my Father's will, regardless of my own fears and sins.
Children are powerful. They teach us irreplaceable lessons that we, as theological church goers, have over complicated. They teach us that God loves us just because He made us. They teach us that while sin is bad, there is nothing that can make God love us less. They show us the patience the Father has towards us and give insight into the learning curves He must send us through to get us to understand.
I guess my trouble embracing my story all stems from my need to be in control and the lies that God is holding out on me. That He has something better in mind for me, but is just waiting until I train better or learn a lesson or master a skill. That He made so-and-so's life better than mine, because He loves them more. That He's just waiting until I am a better person.
When the truth is, He designed me from atom to eyelashes, to live in this town, to be with this spouse, to have these children, to work at this job, to attend this school, to have these talents, to be friends with these people, to serve in these ministries. If it wasn't so, I would not be where I am.
If it was not what God intended for you from the beginning, it would not be what it is and you would not be who you are.
Why we get caught up in jealousy and fear and complacency should baffle us.
We are as fickle as grass, as weak at flowers, and we fall. But God and His word at work in us, not only causes us to embrace our stories, but writes them exactly for us, for such a time as this, orchestrated to the last note, to be sung with angels for His glory and renown, until the end of all time.
How can we learn to accept who we are, where we are, and the plans God has for us, when they aren't turning out as we planned? Here are a few ways I am going to try this week.
1. Be Thankful.
Make a list. I'm serious. Write down the things you are thankful for, that you could not imagine life without, and write them often, thanking the Father who provides all good things.
2. Learn to surrender.
Practice by surrendering the little things: tv time, dessert, selfish words and ask God to show you the benefits of truly surrendering to Him.
3. Ask God for joy.
Jesus says we can ask God for anything, according to His will, and He will give it to us. Also, joy is a fruit of the spirit, therefore when the Holy Spirit indwells us, He gives us an unspeakable and un-steal-able joy that is not affected by circumstances. Let's ask for that!
To close, I wanted to share something I came across in an old journal of mine. From the dates, I know it was in a very unsure time in my life. It was near the time when I really began to embrace Jesus as my own God and not just my parents God. As any teen, I was struggling with fear of the future, regret of the past, and trouble embracing the adventure God had planned for me, or if He even had one at all. I hope it encourages you like it did to me when I found it.
Like the rising of the tide
like my own soul's longing.
Like the lion in his cage,
I will break into the unknown.
I will embrace my own adventure.
Though the trials will come
this I have been promised:
my reward will be great while I hold tight to his hands.
Though my courage may fail, my surrender will not.
This race of a lifetime has only begun.
So let's use it all up, dried 'til there's nothing left.
Let Him be our guide, our time spent in joy.
Let's embrace the rising and descending of the tide
and all that it takes and all that it gives.
Let's embrace our own adventure with Him by our side.
-Lilah Christine.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Romans 8:28
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
Just Bein' Patient n' Stuff
Hello lovelies.
Happy Monday!
I sit here, currently staring at a blank page, and I'm not really sure of what to write about. My mind is a bit muddled. I have been overwhelmed by work and multiple other responsibilities and worries, including how I am going to pay for school next year. The deadline is fast approaching and my finances are not where they need to be.
I'm also slightly heartbroken because I have recently had to witness a very beautiful and sweet friend have her heart completely shattered, and I could do everything but burst into tears as I tried to remind her that this pain wouldn't be so painful forever.
I still don't really know what it is I am trying to say today, but I guess I just wanted to remind you all that things can seem so awful at the time, but in hindsight, everything really does turn out okay. I was able to console my friend because I was able to use my own situation of heartbreak in order to exemplify what God's awesome timing does for us. At the peak of my own pain, I wouldn't have believed anyone if they had told me it was going to get better, but now I truly see that God does always work together for my good.
Having to remind someone else of that also helped to remind me of that, in the midst of my own stress about school. In all things, God works together for our good. I guess I just wanted to remind everyone of that.
Hang in there.
- Christina
Happy Monday!
I sit here, currently staring at a blank page, and I'm not really sure of what to write about. My mind is a bit muddled. I have been overwhelmed by work and multiple other responsibilities and worries, including how I am going to pay for school next year. The deadline is fast approaching and my finances are not where they need to be.
I'm also slightly heartbroken because I have recently had to witness a very beautiful and sweet friend have her heart completely shattered, and I could do everything but burst into tears as I tried to remind her that this pain wouldn't be so painful forever.
I still don't really know what it is I am trying to say today, but I guess I just wanted to remind you all that things can seem so awful at the time, but in hindsight, everything really does turn out okay. I was able to console my friend because I was able to use my own situation of heartbreak in order to exemplify what God's awesome timing does for us. At the peak of my own pain, I wouldn't have believed anyone if they had told me it was going to get better, but now I truly see that God does always work together for my good.
Having to remind someone else of that also helped to remind me of that, in the midst of my own stress about school. In all things, God works together for our good. I guess I just wanted to remind everyone of that.
Hang in there.
- Christina
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Timothy 1:7
"For
God gave us not a spirit of fearfulness; but of power and love and
discipline." Timothy 1:7
Self Terrorist? (As If We Don't Have Enough to Worry About!)
Though I am bit of a silent, in-the-shower thinker and a park-bench ponderer, there are times when, during the monotonous droning of the day to day, I wish to get out of my own head and focus on something that does not require much mental exercise. Ever since my VHS player (that's right; I kick it old school) broke and I removed the cable from my television, audio books have been my favorite escape.
After an ongoing obsession with the amazing Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, I found myself at a loss as to what could fill the empty space. His witty accounts of my favorite detective, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, had supplied my brain with enough distraction to get me through several nights of housecleaning and a plethora of dish and laundry cycles. Entertainment like that is not easily found, but finally I came upon an interesting story in my iPod audio books list, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." I was intrigued and a little thrilled to download the book because it had been forever since I had listened to a ghost story and I had completely forgotten the whole plot of this particular one. So I popped in my earbuds and at 12:00am, after everyone else in the house had finally gone to sleep, I settled down to hear the tale. It was really dark outside and I was getting thrills and shivers from the story's more suspenseful highlights, such as the description of Sleepy Hollows ghost legends, the mounting rivalry between Ichabod Crane and the reckless Brom Van Brunt, and finally the climactic chase in which a scared-senseless Ichabod is pursued by a headless rider.
I was weary of the shadows as I turned off my iPod and settled underneath my bedsheets. My warm comforter was not really living up to its name because I was still looking suspiciously into the dark corners of my room and jumping a little at every sudden noise.
The next morning the daylight revealed to me, my own foolishness and thankfully, it also made clear that I was doing myself an injustice. I had become a self-terrorist.
No, I'm not talking weapons of mass destruction here, but I am talking about weapons of self-destruction.
I have finally begun to realize that by allowing myself to listen to creepy, scary stories; or watch gory, twisted movies; or to see horrific, ghastly pictures, I have allowed my senses to overwhelm me with fear. I have subjected myself to this many times before, like when I was 13 and I popped Blair Witch Project into my parent's DVD player, or when I bought a copy of Stephen King's, Four Past Midnight. Inevitably I would sit, engrossed in the content, with my body twitching in the uncontrollable spasms that were aroused by my natural fight or flight instinct. Images would flash through my mind, intensifying the fear and would I soon find myself becoming irrational.
For some of you this "fear high" is exactly what you are going for, but what you may not realize that, what you let into your brain can influence your thoughts, words, and actions. When you constantly bombard yourself with scary images, you allow fear into your very being and nature. As a Christian I know that this fear is not coming from God, "For God gave us not a spirit of fearfulness; but of power and love and discipline." (Timothy 1:7). So if fear is not from Him, who is it from? Who are you allowing to influence your thoughts?
...I'll let you ponder that yourself.
I believe in the reality of "open doors" that lead to your heart. Every time you absorb information, it is like you are flinging wide a door and saying, "Come on in! Take a seat; make yourself at home!" Because you are creating a space in your mind for that information to be stored. When that info gets comfortable in your brain, you may open more doors and show it around a bit. "Take a look. This is my kitchen, it's where I cook up my plans. And over here is my bedroom, where I dream up all my new ideas. Oh I can't wait to show you the living room where I put all of my thoughts into action!" As you open more doors you allow it to become a greater influence because it becomes more and more a part of you, and when you finally allow it to influence all parts of you (your actions, your thoughts, your feelings) you have essentially given it full liberty with your heart.
After that last experience of a scared and restless night, I have decided to revise my open-door policy. I do not want fear to live in my heart, so I am going to stop letting it in. I am going to close the doors of my ears, my eyes, my mouth, and my thoughts to it and only allow the things that will enrich my heart like love, hope, faith, compassion, and gratitude to pass through. This goes for all undesirable things really and the first step of this filtering is to stop sabotaging myself.
No more self-terrorizing, even if it means deleting the "suspense" category in my audio book library...
Wishing you a happy and peaceful Sunday,
Heather
After an ongoing obsession with the amazing Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, I found myself at a loss as to what could fill the empty space. His witty accounts of my favorite detective, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, had supplied my brain with enough distraction to get me through several nights of housecleaning and a plethora of dish and laundry cycles. Entertainment like that is not easily found, but finally I came upon an interesting story in my iPod audio books list, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." I was intrigued and a little thrilled to download the book because it had been forever since I had listened to a ghost story and I had completely forgotten the whole plot of this particular one. So I popped in my earbuds and at 12:00am, after everyone else in the house had finally gone to sleep, I settled down to hear the tale. It was really dark outside and I was getting thrills and shivers from the story's more suspenseful highlights, such as the description of Sleepy Hollows ghost legends, the mounting rivalry between Ichabod Crane and the reckless Brom Van Brunt, and finally the climactic chase in which a scared-senseless Ichabod is pursued by a headless rider.
I was weary of the shadows as I turned off my iPod and settled underneath my bedsheets. My warm comforter was not really living up to its name because I was still looking suspiciously into the dark corners of my room and jumping a little at every sudden noise.
The next morning the daylight revealed to me, my own foolishness and thankfully, it also made clear that I was doing myself an injustice. I had become a self-terrorist.
No, I'm not talking weapons of mass destruction here, but I am talking about weapons of self-destruction.
I have finally begun to realize that by allowing myself to listen to creepy, scary stories; or watch gory, twisted movies; or to see horrific, ghastly pictures, I have allowed my senses to overwhelm me with fear. I have subjected myself to this many times before, like when I was 13 and I popped Blair Witch Project into my parent's DVD player, or when I bought a copy of Stephen King's, Four Past Midnight. Inevitably I would sit, engrossed in the content, with my body twitching in the uncontrollable spasms that were aroused by my natural fight or flight instinct. Images would flash through my mind, intensifying the fear and would I soon find myself becoming irrational.
For some of you this "fear high" is exactly what you are going for, but what you may not realize that, what you let into your brain can influence your thoughts, words, and actions. When you constantly bombard yourself with scary images, you allow fear into your very being and nature. As a Christian I know that this fear is not coming from God, "For God gave us not a spirit of fearfulness; but of power and love and discipline." (Timothy 1:7). So if fear is not from Him, who is it from? Who are you allowing to influence your thoughts?
...I'll let you ponder that yourself.
I believe in the reality of "open doors" that lead to your heart. Every time you absorb information, it is like you are flinging wide a door and saying, "Come on in! Take a seat; make yourself at home!" Because you are creating a space in your mind for that information to be stored. When that info gets comfortable in your brain, you may open more doors and show it around a bit. "Take a look. This is my kitchen, it's where I cook up my plans. And over here is my bedroom, where I dream up all my new ideas. Oh I can't wait to show you the living room where I put all of my thoughts into action!" As you open more doors you allow it to become a greater influence because it becomes more and more a part of you, and when you finally allow it to influence all parts of you (your actions, your thoughts, your feelings) you have essentially given it full liberty with your heart.
After that last experience of a scared and restless night, I have decided to revise my open-door policy. I do not want fear to live in my heart, so I am going to stop letting it in. I am going to close the doors of my ears, my eyes, my mouth, and my thoughts to it and only allow the things that will enrich my heart like love, hope, faith, compassion, and gratitude to pass through. This goes for all undesirable things really and the first step of this filtering is to stop sabotaging myself.
No more self-terrorizing, even if it means deleting the "suspense" category in my audio book library...
Wishing you a happy and peaceful Sunday,
Heather
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