Today's Verse: "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail." ~Lamentations 3:22 (NIV)
Today's Quote:“Encouragement is awesome. It has the capacity to actually change the course of another human’s day, week, or life.” ~Charles R. Swindoll
Today's Photo:
The pictures above are of our dining room decor. Actually, the blue glass bowl and candlesticks are from my great-grandma! When my mom was little, my great-grandma would put water in the bowl and float a flower in there, also. So my brother went out to our pond and picked a water lily! Beautiful, isn't it? The pictures aren't the best today -- my camera was being a little weird. ;)
They have an effect on our day. They have an effect on our life. They can either build you up...or they can bring you down. God gives us the good ones; Satan sends the bad ones to us. What are they?
Influences.
Although we are surrounded by them -- both good and bad -- daily, we have a choice of which ones we're going to let influence us. 2 Corinthians 7:1 says, "Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God." (NIV)
In each area of our lives, there are both good and bad influences. Games, for example. A lot of people enjoy playing board games! But, what are you playing? Make sure that what you're playing is honoring to God.
Music is another area of great influence -- again, good and bad. I know music is a very controversial subject, but everyone has a line where they say, "This is good and this is not.". There is a lot of music out there that talks about horrible things, and that is definitely not God-honoring. Some people only hear the music -- they refuse to listen to what's being talked about. If it's too rock music-y, or too pop, it's bad to some people. I also believe that it's not just the song that has influence -- it's the person singing. Do they live a godly life? Maybe they're professing to be believers of the One true God, but does the life their living follow what they profess? They need to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.
Movies and TV are next on my list of being big influences. Most of the time, we look past the plot and focus on the content -- and that's how we judge whether or not it's okay to watch. Some movies, although the content is horrible, have a great story line!
Friends are another big influences. A question that I've been asking lately is, "Should I not hang out with them because they can influence me or should I hang out with them because I can influence them?" Friends are important, we can't forget that, but we need to make sure that we are influencing them in a good way, and that we watch to make sure they aren't influencing us in a bad way.
When I taught this lesson to my Bright Lights group, I read two more Bible verses. The first one was Psalm 119:37 which says, "Turn my eyes away from worthless things; persevere my life according to Your word."(NIV). The second one was 2 Timothy 2:22 which reads, "Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart." (NIV).
Are we going to let the bad influences influence us or are we going to recognize they're wrong and do something about it? The choice is ours.
I hope this post was encouraging to you today! God bless!
Today's Verse: "But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." ~Isaiah 40:31
Today's Quote:“If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music…Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say: Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well.” ~Martin Luther King Jr.
Today's Photo:
I now have 18 college credits! I passed my English Lit test on Monday! Now I start studying for Humanities today. I spent the whole day yesterday making a study schedule so that I would get through all the books and other resources I have -- I'm not completely done yet, though making the schedule. I just love colorful pens/markers -- they make organizing SO much fun! :)
I listened to a song on the radio today -- I Can Only Imagine by MercyMe. Never has this song spoken to me in the way it has for the past...about a year. I don't know why, but I love this song and what it has to say! You know how you might try to learn something over and over and over but you just can't get it down? And then all of a sudden, for some reason, it just clicks? That's kind of how it's been with this song.
I can only imagine
What it will be like
When I walk
By your side
I can only imagine
What my eyes will see
When your face
Is before me
I can only imagine
I can only imagine
[Chorus:]
Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel
Will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still
Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I
fall
Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine
I can only imagine
I can only imagine
When that day comes
When I find myself
Standing in the Son
I can only imagine
When all I will do
Is forever
Forever worship You
I can only imagine
I can only imagine
Chorus
I can only imagine
I can only imagine
I can only imagine
When all I will do
Is forever, forever worship you
I can only imagine
I can only Imagine
I Can Only Imagine, MercyMe 2001
Perhaps you do this also, but I have some questions that I'd like to ask Jesus when I get to heaven. Just little questions such as, "How many steps did I take in my entire life?" and maybe some more important questions such as, "When did I respond how You wanted me to? Did I follow Your plan when I ____?" But have we ever thought about the moment we see Jesus for the first time? Have you thought about how you're going to react when you see Your precious Lord?
What will it be like standing like in front of Jesus when we get to heaven? Won't it just be amazing?! We can only imagine seeing Jesus' face for the first time, walking right next to Him on the streets of gold, being surrounded by His unfathomable glory.
I just love the chorus. "Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel?/ Will I dance for you, Jesus or in awe of you, be still?/ Will I stand in Your presence or to my knees will I fall?/ Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all?" How will you react when you see Jesus for the first time? I might just see Him and stand there with my mouth gaping when I realize just how great my Savior is.
Take time today and watch this video. Not only listen to the words, but let them sink deep into your heart. Let your mind think about the greatness of our God. Dream about the moment when you'll see Jesus' shining face.
And remember -- we can only imagine. But the day will come.
Today's Verse: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." ~Matthew 5:6-9
Today's Quote: "If you don't live from the praises of man, you won't die from the criticisms from man." ~unknown
Today's Photo:
Does anyone else not like Mondays? It's the mixed up day. It's the end of the weekend, but the beginning of the new week. This problem makes you mixed up because you want to continue to relax, yet you want a good start! Well, I hope and pray that you have a wonderfully productive day! :)
Well, I haven't posted in a while. Why? Because I was moving! Finally the day came, and now I am exhausted. Just plain physically and emotionally worn out! Oh well. I have to say: it was worth it! I thought I'd tell you the story of how God brought it all together. So...sit back, relax and read. :)
It all started about 4 years ago when my family was having a garage sale. Not remembered by any member in my family, there was a family of four who came to our sale that day. When this family got back into their car, the wife said to her husband, "If we ever buy a house, this is where I'd want to live."
For about 5 years now, my family has wanted to move. We never started looking though, until about 2 years ago -- around the same time I started my discipleship group I lead. Also around this time, my mom had listened to an audio series by Otto Koning that had encouraged her to trust that God would take care of selling our house. Anyway, my sister was involved in the younger girls' group on Wednesday nights at our church. One day she invited another girl in her group to come to Bright Lights (my discipleship group). When her mom dropped her off, her mom (I'll call her Mrs. H.) came into talk to my mom for a bit. They went for a walk, and as they got home, Mrs. H. commented how beautiful our yard was. To which my mom jokingly replied, "It's for sale!". Mrs. H. said that they couldn't buy right now -- they would need to rent. My mom then quipped that it was for rent. This was the time when we started looking and looking and looking for the house that fit all of our criteria. The conversations between my mom and Mrs. H. became more serious -- they really wanted to rent our house, but we needed a place to live. Eventually, they had to move so they rented a different house. When they're lease was almost up, they again wanted to rent from us. But again, we had no where to live. So they rented another house.
In February, the H. family contacted us and told us that they were able to buy now. And since they had moved 3 times in the past year, they didn't want to move again after their lease was done at the house they were in. That is when we decided that we were going to take a step of faith and trust in God. The H. family still wanted to move into our home and we really wanted to move. So, we started making plans. We looked and looked and looked and looked some more, but to no avail. They were going to buy our house at the beginning of July, and if we still hadn't found a house, we were going to move to my grandpa's house temporarily during the summer. This situation would have been frustrating, but it would have worked for the time being.
Thankfully, the H. family said we could stay until August 1st. They would wait! Praise the Lord! In the middle of June, on a trip looking at yet more houses, we decided to swing over to one that my mom had seen and liked from the pictures online. We drove in the driveway and my parents both fell in love with it. We walked in the house and I fell in love with it. We walked in the back yard and my siblings fell in love with it. But...it was too expensive. We put in a low-ball offer, but it was reject. The time was growing closer and we still had nowhere to live.
However, we put in another offer, after which we had to have an appraisal and inspection done. After what seemed like FOREVER, we finally received news that we got the house -- 2 weeks before we needed to be out of the house! We were able to set the closing date 4 days before we sold the other house, which we were very thankful for!
On Friday, we unloaded 3 trailers with the help of a friend of ours. On Saturday, we were overwhelmed with all the help we received! 10 guys from my dad's work came to help load/unload furniture, which was extremely nice! My cousin and her husband, along with their two kids, came to help, also! We were very grateful for their help! They stayed until after supper which made time for a bit of fun, which was much needed! :)
All day Sunday, we spent the day taking boxes and taking all the last-minute/little things out of the house. We also emptied out most of the garage. And yesterday we cleaned. 3pm was the time when the house was no longer our's.
As I finished mopping the floor yesterday and went around the empty house just to make sure nothing was left behind, I couldn't help but go back through the 16 years' worth of memories (not quite 16 years, since I can't remember anything before 4 or even 5 years old, but you know what I mean.). It brought me to tears thinking that this was the last time walking through the house that has always been mine. The H. family came just as I was going through. This was no longer my house. I went through thinking about my birthday parties, sleepovers with my best friends, silly things I did in my room, walks around my block, and so much more.
So today it's unpacking and studying. I have an English Literature CLEP test coming up next week. Plus, I need to get all my boxes out of my study space to I can get a desk and actually study there! :)
