So I've been learning a lot about myself from this 40 day fast from Facebook. It has been a very exciting experience, but some things that I have learned have not been so exciting...
I've learned that I am too dependent on electronics. Even without Facebook, I find myself consumed in my phone playing games or looking at YouTube or whatever. So I've tried really hard to break away from that. Even if I haven't been able to break completely free from it, I have made progress. And I have made time most every night to read and go through devotionals. One thing that was brought to my attention through my Sister's blog, however... Has been that I depend too much on devotional books instead of consuming myself in the Bible.
Why is that so hard???
I don't know why, but I know what my thoughts are on it so get ready...
We get so consumed when reading the Bible about not being able to understand exactly what God means by things that we depend on Devotionals and Commentaries to make sense of all of the depth in the Bible. What IF, we decided to ONLY read the Bible and pray that God would allow us to find the understanding in it. For God to join us in our Bible study and learn what God really wanted to teach us, instead of depending on other people to tell us... Who better to learn from than the Holy Spirit himself!?
Maybe I'm wrong, but it sounds like a fun experiment. We'll see how it goes :)
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Holy Experiment
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship."
Romans 12:1
In the words of Oswald Chambers...
"There is only one thing that you can dedicate to God, and that is your right to yourself. If you will give God your right to yourself, He will make a holy experiment out of you -- and His experiments always succeed."
Saturday, June 11, 2011
October 3rd, 2007
So today is the first day back from our amazing vacation. I have come to grips with the fact that I really need to take a break from Facebook, because it is TOTALLY consuming my life and that is really hindering my walk with God. So today I decided to find the books that I have bought throughout the years and read them one by one... I am going on a fast from Facebook for 40 days. While I do that, we are canceling our Cable. Which will give me all the more reason to read The Word, and the other books that I have been meaning to read...
While looking for this book, I found a list that I had made back on October 3rd, 2007. This may be silly but it's something that I thought I should share :)
"15 Things I want in my Future Husband"
1. Spiritual Leader
2. Faithful & Honest
3. Good Personality
4. Encouraging
5. Supportive
6. Ambitious
7. Humble
8. Respects me, & my thoughts
9. Believes in me, & Trusts me
10. Same Core Beliefs
11. Great with Kids
12. Patient
13. Tender Hearted (toward others)
14. Good Communicator
15. Positive Attitude
--- Now, let me put a small disclaimer out there, these are not in a specific order of importance... they are just the 15 things that I wanted in a Husband. Now I don't know who all reads this and you may or may not know my husband... But I'll tell you one thing...
God really did bless me and give me what I asked for.
I had forgotten about this list, and honestly I don't know if Kyle and I had met at this point, but I know one thing, that God NEVER seems to amaze me with the blessings he chooses to give me. I am SO not worthy, but for some reason, God sees fit to bless me with exactly what I asked for in a Husband. I honestly could not have picked a better man myself! I know that God picked him for me, because I don't deserve his love either! It really proves to me how much I need to trust in God more! I do not give him enough credit for all that He does for me! But that's about to change!
Since our vacation in Wilmington (and a few years before that) Kyle and I have been yearning to live in Wilmington to help with Crosswinds Church. It is a church plant that Kyle's uncle started in Leland, NC. We have wanted to be there helping out since before we got married. While Kyle and I were there, we both continued to have a tug on our hearts to be there and help with the church. So from now until March, we are going to do some heavy praying to just ask God to show us the way of where He needs us to be. Even though we would LOVE to be in Wilmington... If that is not where God needs us to be, then we are asking God to open up opportunities in Greensboro for us to Serve Him. We absolutely want what God wants. I know this may seem crazy. But ultimately, we just want to be used by Him! Whether that means, here in Greensboro, or moving to Wilmington. Either way, we don't want to miss any opportunities. So if anyone does read this... Please help us in praying for a clear pathway of what God wants us to do. We want this to be a clear desire from the Lord, and to know exactly where our talents are needed.
Here are some pics of a Service project we helped out with in Leland, while we were on Vacation!
While looking for this book, I found a list that I had made back on October 3rd, 2007. This may be silly but it's something that I thought I should share :)
"15 Things I want in my Future Husband"
1. Spiritual Leader
2. Faithful & Honest
3. Good Personality
4. Encouraging
5. Supportive
6. Ambitious
7. Humble
8. Respects me, & my thoughts
9. Believes in me, & Trusts me
10. Same Core Beliefs
11. Great with Kids
12. Patient
13. Tender Hearted (toward others)
14. Good Communicator
15. Positive Attitude
--- Now, let me put a small disclaimer out there, these are not in a specific order of importance... they are just the 15 things that I wanted in a Husband. Now I don't know who all reads this and you may or may not know my husband... But I'll tell you one thing...
God really did bless me and give me what I asked for.
I had forgotten about this list, and honestly I don't know if Kyle and I had met at this point, but I know one thing, that God NEVER seems to amaze me with the blessings he chooses to give me. I am SO not worthy, but for some reason, God sees fit to bless me with exactly what I asked for in a Husband. I honestly could not have picked a better man myself! I know that God picked him for me, because I don't deserve his love either! It really proves to me how much I need to trust in God more! I do not give him enough credit for all that He does for me! But that's about to change!
Since our vacation in Wilmington (and a few years before that) Kyle and I have been yearning to live in Wilmington to help with Crosswinds Church. It is a church plant that Kyle's uncle started in Leland, NC. We have wanted to be there helping out since before we got married. While Kyle and I were there, we both continued to have a tug on our hearts to be there and help with the church. So from now until March, we are going to do some heavy praying to just ask God to show us the way of where He needs us to be. Even though we would LOVE to be in Wilmington... If that is not where God needs us to be, then we are asking God to open up opportunities in Greensboro for us to Serve Him. We absolutely want what God wants. I know this may seem crazy. But ultimately, we just want to be used by Him! Whether that means, here in Greensboro, or moving to Wilmington. Either way, we don't want to miss any opportunities. So if anyone does read this... Please help us in praying for a clear pathway of what God wants us to do. We want this to be a clear desire from the Lord, and to know exactly where our talents are needed.
Here are some pics of a Service project we helped out with in Leland, while we were on Vacation!
This is the "Free Sale"
They had sooo many clothes that were given to the Community for Free :)
More of the "Free Sale"
Matthew 25:34-40
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." - Matthew 25:40
Not only were all items given away for FREE, we had the chance to talk to people one on one and just share God's love! Not to press a church or religion on anyone just shared God's Love!
Ok this is a fun one... We gave away free soda's as well since it was about 95 degrees outside lol... This little boy couldn't decide if he wanted Coke or Sprite... so he had both! :) Hilarious!
And these were the shirts that were given out for the Volunteers to wear... "I Love LA" which stands for Leland Area...
I'll write soon! :)
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Vacation...
Gooday Mate...
So Kyle and I have been on our 2nd vacation as a married couple... We went to Wilmington... The place that has our heart! We have been wanting to live in Wilmington since before we got engaged! It is the place where God brought us back together, where our REAL church is... It is ultimately the place we have a huge passion for!
We got here late Friday night and have been staying with Kyle's Aunt & Uncle. We went to a community service project called, "I Love LA." It is the way that Crosswinds (the best church ever) serves their community. It was a new project where the church connected with 3 other churches in the community and they all served together... Not to promote any church or anything like that... It was to promote Jesus and Jesus alone :)! That is just amazing to me! It's very rare that you hear about other churches even communicating with one another. (Side note... 300 churches were invited to join in on this idea... only 6 responded... what does that tell us about "Church" these days) It just really spoke to me that Crosswinds took the initiative to not only try to Serve the World with God's love, but to Serve the World with other churches to show the power of God's love!
So we got to be a part of that event and that just tugged at our hearts all the more! They had several different serving opportunities. Highway clean up, Free Oil change for Seniors & Single Moms, Construction projects, Gave out quarters at the Laundry Mat, and a "Free Sale" (basically a yard sale with donated things, that people could shop for free :) ). It was such an amazing time! We learned so much about people and just how much people are longing for love! It was really amazing to be able to be a part of that and just realize the need...
It also taught me how much I am missing in opportunities with people. Since we have been married, we have not been able to really get plugged into our church and serve... So if anyone would join us in prayer to make sure that we are allowing God to open up opportunities for us to serve him in all aspects of our life that would be super... We have had the discussion to make it a mission to move to Wilmington, possibly in this up coming March... With that being said, we have made the commitment to pray that God will show us where he needs us to be, if Wilmington is not where God needs us, then we are praying that He will open up opportunities for us in Greensboro. We just want to make sure that we are not missing opportunities. -- After having this discussion and praying about it on Saturday, we went to church on Sunday... Low and Behold, Chris (Kyle's Uncle) preached on Missed Opportunities... I balled like a little school girl. I don't know what God was trying to say to me, but I was definitely touched by the service and it just confirmed in my soul that I am missing opportunities that I am completely unaware about. And I don't want to miss any opportunities that could be my last opportunity... So Thank you God for opening my eyes and helping me see something that I have been missing.
Plus I am encouraged to blog more... We'll see how that goes ;). I forget that I have this thing, most of the time and then I think, O YEA, I need to look at that and type something in... Kyle didn't even know I had this blog until tonight... I only started it for Kayla, lol and didn't think that I should open my heart up to anyone else... If no one knows about the blog then they won't read it :) then it'll be a small portion of my soul, written out for me and my sister :) Have a good night Kayla :) Love Love Love you!
So Kyle and I have been on our 2nd vacation as a married couple... We went to Wilmington... The place that has our heart! We have been wanting to live in Wilmington since before we got engaged! It is the place where God brought us back together, where our REAL church is... It is ultimately the place we have a huge passion for!
We got here late Friday night and have been staying with Kyle's Aunt & Uncle. We went to a community service project called, "I Love LA." It is the way that Crosswinds (the best church ever) serves their community. It was a new project where the church connected with 3 other churches in the community and they all served together... Not to promote any church or anything like that... It was to promote Jesus and Jesus alone :)! That is just amazing to me! It's very rare that you hear about other churches even communicating with one another. (Side note... 300 churches were invited to join in on this idea... only 6 responded... what does that tell us about "Church" these days) It just really spoke to me that Crosswinds took the initiative to not only try to Serve the World with God's love, but to Serve the World with other churches to show the power of God's love!
So we got to be a part of that event and that just tugged at our hearts all the more! They had several different serving opportunities. Highway clean up, Free Oil change for Seniors & Single Moms, Construction projects, Gave out quarters at the Laundry Mat, and a "Free Sale" (basically a yard sale with donated things, that people could shop for free :) ). It was such an amazing time! We learned so much about people and just how much people are longing for love! It was really amazing to be able to be a part of that and just realize the need...
It also taught me how much I am missing in opportunities with people. Since we have been married, we have not been able to really get plugged into our church and serve... So if anyone would join us in prayer to make sure that we are allowing God to open up opportunities for us to serve him in all aspects of our life that would be super... We have had the discussion to make it a mission to move to Wilmington, possibly in this up coming March... With that being said, we have made the commitment to pray that God will show us where he needs us to be, if Wilmington is not where God needs us, then we are praying that He will open up opportunities for us in Greensboro. We just want to make sure that we are not missing opportunities. -- After having this discussion and praying about it on Saturday, we went to church on Sunday... Low and Behold, Chris (Kyle's Uncle) preached on Missed Opportunities... I balled like a little school girl. I don't know what God was trying to say to me, but I was definitely touched by the service and it just confirmed in my soul that I am missing opportunities that I am completely unaware about. And I don't want to miss any opportunities that could be my last opportunity... So Thank you God for opening my eyes and helping me see something that I have been missing.
Plus I am encouraged to blog more... We'll see how that goes ;). I forget that I have this thing, most of the time and then I think, O YEA, I need to look at that and type something in... Kyle didn't even know I had this blog until tonight... I only started it for Kayla, lol and didn't think that I should open my heart up to anyone else... If no one knows about the blog then they won't read it :) then it'll be a small portion of my soul, written out for me and my sister :) Have a good night Kayla :) Love Love Love you!
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