I fell alseep on Mother's Day

Proverbs 1:8-9
Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.

The imagery in this verse makes me think of how my mom used to put enormous bows in my hair for school every day, [it was the 90's] and how she still makes sure I am fit to leave my house and be in public.
Now that I am soooooo grown up, a whole 22 years worth, I suppose she trusts that I can keep myself together, remembering her expectations.

These are a few motherly teachings I will not forsake:

"Get your ass out of bed and get to church!"
"If you're gonna quit [any given sports team], your legs better be broken!"
"If you're ever on the news, there better be a good reason for it."

And something about how I should just be nice to everyone, let the mean people worry about themselves.

I appreciate this.

I fell asleep today around 5:00pm, and didn't get to give my mom a card or her gardening tools or have dinner with everyone. [Stupid tired Dewey!!]
:(
Hopefully she still loves me.


[I'm so blessed!]


This is a truth about moms:
They have no idea how much they're teaching.
[Have you ever heard or been a tiny child who lets out a little curse word? Thaaaat makes moms blush.] I just giggle about these things; women who are only human, passing human traits along.

So even drunken/homeless/jail-bound/suicidal/selfish moms who forget they even have kids are full of lessons. She might exhaust you, she could even drag you down with her. Or you might be just inspired. Learn from your parents. If you watch your mother walk a twisted path, know to walk a different one.

I guess I am just praying for anyone who thinks they got gypped on a mom. If anyone is bitter for any reason toward her, then hey, who do you think you are?
She gave you life. And she may not have taught you how to be peaceful but, you're bright enough...

My prayer for Mother's Day, God, is that our moms will sense our appreciation for them, whether on earth or in your kingdom, and that our hearts will be show joy and feel any forgiveness that we've been avoiding. It's too easy to be bitter, so help us grow our little moments of mom-joy.
Amen.

I Find Rest.

Psalm 37:7a
"Be still in the presence of the LORD,
and wait patiently for him to act." {NLT}

For the past few weeks, I have been going non-stop. I have been working so much and have neglected spending any significant amount of time in God's word and I have felt this taking a serious toll on my attitude, patience, and overall happiness. Amongst all my busyness {starting a new job, moving into an apartment, etc.}, I have not taken the time to be still in God's presence, to spend time with my savior and friend.

The King James Version of this verse says "Rest in the Lord", what a thought! Taking the time to come before God and hand over anything I'm dealing with and rest knowing that he will take care of everything.

I just pray that in the coming days and weeks, I will draw closer to God and rest knowing that he has a perfect plan for my life {even when I don't quite see things working out as planned}.


{Through The Bible In One Year Update: Joshua 9}

Praise: I made it through April without losing my mind.

Prayer: Continue learning to completely trust God's plan.

Sheep and Goats

I don't think that it is a coincidence that the parable of the sheep and the goats was in our Bible Study last night. Last week as our church participated in Flower City Work Camp, one of the evening services focused on this exact Scripture. Maybe God is showing it to me repeatedly because there is a lesson to be learned here.

Sheep on the right, goats on the left.

^34-36"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what's coming to you in this kingdom. It's been ready for you since the world's foundation. And here's why:

I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.'

^37-40"Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.'

I admit the next set of verses scare me a bit.

I was hungry and you gave me no meal,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
I was homeless and you gave me no bed,
I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,
Sick and in prison, and you never visited.'

⁴⁴"Then those 'goats' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn't help?'

⁴⁵"He will answer them, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.'

Are there people in my life that I am overlooking everyday? In James when it talks about judging those around us, what right do I have to judge? What makes me so special that I get to pick and choose who I am going to act kindly towards? God doesn't pick out the "good" Christians and make their lives wonderful filled with ponies and dancing around on clouds. He loves us all the same, extending love, mercy and grace to those who humble themselves before him. What right do I have to pick and choose who gets to also experience the love, grace, mercy, compassion and forgiveness that I have experienced in Christ? Why should I even try to hold that back and keep it all to myself? Do I want to be a sheep or a goat?

I know that it is easier to write these things than to actually act upon them. I can write all this and say the good and right Christian things, but when it actually comes down to it, am I ready to change my selfish ways and love people the way that Christ loves me? God I ask that you would continue to help me in this. Help me not to pick and choose who I think you should love, but help me realize that you died for everyone! You love everyone more than I ever could. Help me to do my part in showing your love to each person that I encounter. Help me see Jesus in them and treat them as if they were Jesus with skin on. Help me to rid myself of my selfish ways. Thank you for your love and grace!

Matthew 25:31-46 (MSG)

naturally

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9

Lack of confidence, discouragement, overwhelming..., heartbreak, being caught off guard, caught unprepared. ENOUGH! If God puts a passion in you, believe that it is from God; and that because God gave it, that it is a little version of Him in your heart. Your God-given need to feel alive in the ways that only you feel alive...

[Abridged]
I'm disappointed in myself today for the things I haven't done. I have never suspected that God might be the fuel to intrinsic motivation. I am wasting what God has given me by denying what God has given me. With prayer, I will trust God as the leader of my heart.

[Abridged]
It is necessary to spend time getting to know God, so that we can agree that the need for me to do all sorts of crazy things is part of his plan.

[Abridged]
Know that this burning-passion-in-your-heart is of God, and therefore trust it as your guide.

[Abridged]
God gave you this unique yearning to explore the world, trust Him!

[Abridged]
If your heart is for God, trust your heart to follow God.

[Abridged]
Trust your strangely curious self.

[Abridged]
Trust God when you feel Him.

[Abridged]
Trust God.

[Abridged]
Feel Him.

My style is that I ramble

I am always thinking about the new journey that I'm on, always praying about the next step, always thinking I should
-pray more
-focus more on the objective
combine focus on my life goals and God goals.

[The God goal is to keep God closer and closer]

The life goal is to figure out the life goal.
I keep praying about my new life path, and I realize that I'm literally on a new/life/path every single day.

How A(DD)ewsome is that!

This is prayer is for my lovelyyyy friends, Manda and Caitlin, as you sway between eager optimism and reasonable reluctance as your life starts twisting into new directions; whether you felt forced out on your own, or you're the one who sent a letter asking to be shipped out! My rambling prayers are for you today! <3





God, walk with me, let this road lead to you.

Be the destination,
God
be the path,
be the flowers on the side
and the storming
insides of
me.

God, be in between me and the breeze,
be my rest
be my eagerness.
be my nervous first steps,
God, be the point at which I left.

God's Got Our Back

"But even there, if you seek God, your God, you'll be able to find him if you're serious, looking for him with your whole heart and soul. When troubles come and all these awful things happen to you, in future days you will come back to God, your God, and listen obediently to what he says. God, your God, is above all a compassionate God. In the end he will not abandon you, he won't bring you to ruin, he won't forget the covenant with your ancestors which he swore to them."

"Know this well, then. Take it to heart right now: God is in Heaven above; God is on Earth below. He's the only God there is. Obediently live by his rules and commands which I'm giving you today so that you'll live well and your children after you—oh, you'll live a long time in the land that God, your God, is giving you."

Deuteronomy 4:29-31; 39-40 (Message)

I have to admit something. I did not want to read my Bible tonight. I had a terrible attitude, knowing that I was in the Old Testament, wondering what on earth I would read in Deuteronomy that I could apply to my life today. But, God decided that I needed an attitude change and really showed me how amazing he is!

Among all the stories of war and conquer in the Lord's name, I kept seeing one thing was repeated in my reading tonight. As long as the people obeyed him and trusted in his provision, they were blessed beyond belief! They were given what was promised to them! There are so many times in my life that I find it hard to finish what God has already started.

I really liked the Message version of chapter 2:31. " Look, I've got the ball rolling - Sihon and his land are soon yours. Go ahead. Take it. It's practically yours!"

How many times have I ignored God when he says that? Obviously I am not in a physical battle and fighting for what God has promised in a war, but what things in my day to day life am I not completely trusting that God has already taken care of? What is holding me back?

I read a bit out of Psalm 42 as well and really like this part that is repeated twice in the Psalm.

"Why are you down in the dumps dear soul?

Why are you crying the blues?

Fix my eyes on God -

soon I'll be praising again.

He puts a smile on my face.

He's my God."

I don't know about you, but I just read the last two lines of that Psalm out loud and could not stop smiling. He is my God. He is your God. He loves us more than we can ever know! Doesn't that just make you giddy with happiness?

Thank you Lord for changing my grumpy heart and showing me that you are the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Thank you for your love!

Flowing With Milk And Honey.

Do you ever feel like it has been weeks, or months, or years since that last time you were on the right path? It's as if God forgot that he is supposed to be walking with you and helping you through the troubles that come your way?

Now, we know that God uses our trials to help us grow close to him, but occasionally our natural human tendencies lead us to believe that he has completely abandoned us.

When you're going through a time that you feel like God has abandoned you, it's comforting to read through the Bible and see stories of people thousands of years ago that felt the same way and see the amazing blessings God poured out on them when they were faithful through their trials.

Numbers 14:7-8
"They said to the community of Israel, 'The land we explored
is a wonderful land! And if the Lord is pleased with us,
he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us.
It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey,
and he will give it to us!'"

Joshua and Caleb were part of the group that was chosen to explore the land that God promised to the Israelites. They saw all the riches and beauty that the land had to offer. It was easy for them to see God's plan and how he would bless the Israelites if they were faithful to him. But, for the rest of the Israelites, it had been years of wandering in the wilderness and it was becoming easier and easier to believe that God had abandoned them.

If we faithfully follow the Lord, even when we feel that we've spent years wandering aimlessly in the wilderness, God will bring us safely where we belong and his abundant blessing will be poured upon us.

{Through The Bible In One Year Update: Numbers 21}

Praise: I got the job I applied for at a local church!

Prayer: Working on patience & kindness