How can you?

              "The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

                                                                                     Deuteronomy 31:8

             Have you ever found yourself; dare I say...forgetting about God?  Before you yell for my banishment and throw rotten fruit and vegetables at me, please hear me out.  

                                         Sorry... I forgot 

            I found myself pondering this thought one day a couple weeks ago.  

            I wish I didn't forget you (God) so easily.

            What would it be like to remember God all the time. Never being absent from your mind?

          Will Heaven be like that? What will it be like to have God's presence surrounding you all the time? Never forgetting him.

         

  You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.

                        Acts 2:28

        Right now as I write I'm listening to the music theme from Studio Ghibli's Howl's Moving Castle. Joe Hisaishi's music composed for Haya Miyazaki's movies are so beautiful. I have to say, listening to his music makes me feel closer to God. I can feel his playful presence in the roll, swell and gliding of each note.  The reason why I brought that up is because when we forget about God. Don't worry. Were human. Were only capable of so much. But, when you find yourself remembering God (God's probably placing his presence at the forefront of your mind) grab it fast. Dwell on him. Dream of him. When I find myself in a dazed thoughtful haze of my loving Savior, I put on beautiful, breathtaking soundtrack music that I absolutely love. I can almost see his smile as we sit together in silence or quite conversation.

                   

                                                             (Here's the song so you can listen to it) :)   

        

Patience is a virtue

        Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction,  faithful in prayer.

                                                                                           Romans 12:12

                   Where did that saying 'patience is a virtue' come from?  I found that it's not necessarily specific who made that saying up exactly but, here are two poems that the saying came up in.

                       . Piers Plowmen

                       . Canterbury Tales

                     Now that's not the point of what I'm writing about.  Patience. Does it have a negative or positive effect on you?  Now you can't say neither because you have to chose one or the other.  I would say it has a positive effect.  I think of how nice it would be to be able to be patient with my sisters when I most need it. 

                                                                     Be still...

                   Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lords coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You to, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near.

                                                                                                                    James 5:7-8

                      We live in a now culture. I want this now, I need this now, do this now, get out of my way now!!! What happened to patience? Did it get tangled in the telephone poles or get lost surfing the web?  We can't wait any more. When something breaks we freak and want to fix it right away and our whole life goes on hold because of that Tablet, phone, MP3 or what ever!  How  do we get patience? Because I have to admit, I can be patient easy peezy in some areas and in others...not so much.

                               Being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might  so that you may have great endurance and patience and joyfully giving thanks to the Father.

                                                                                                                                 Colossians 1:11-12

                   I don't know about you but, man, that gives me hope and joy to know that God is there to help me and give me the patience I need.  Ask God if you so desire it. Go ahead, He is patiently waiting.  There is hope that patience can come back. You just have to be patient. (He he)                            

Gracious

                                                               

                      The word of the lord came to me:...
                                                               Ezekiel 12:1

                   He watched as his children went about doing their own business.  Always thoughtful, the father would follow his sons and daughters sending them personal messages of love and caring.  They would noticed but for a moment and turn away with a cold shoulder. Some of them would ignore it altogether. He was not desperate, just patient. Neighbors would scold him and tell the father to mind his own business. 
                 " Let them live their lives as they please." They would sneer.


                The father knew. With a deeper knowledge and pain he knew that he had to do this. He found someone...one of his children who loved him and listened obediently.  

                He gave him messages to tell the other children. Instructions of discipline; fear of what could and would come if they did not turn from their deeds of destruction and selfishness. He also shared with him to tell them the hope that they can have if they go back to him and be back in relationship with him.

                 " Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people..."
                                                                                                       Ezekiel 12:2

                         More love then we can take   
                 
                   That story I told you is about us. And like the people during the past, too. Pretty much during all of history.  But do you notice? Through the story the father, God our Father, is always loving. Even when he's angry. Because his anger is just, clear, and true.  God has every right to discipline us. He can clearly see everything we do that's against him. 

                  Now get this. God is patient. Yeah I know...I've heard that before. You're probably thinking. Have you ever thought of how patient? God is so patient that he could easily give us  thunder and lighting words in the sky clearly telling us to turn back or else. No... he actually chooses a man who has to digest what he's telling him (which could take hours or days) then wait patiently for the man to gather his wits and spread the news. God usually gave the messenger a couple months or years so the people could have a chance to take it in, turn to God, and repent.  Now how much more patient can you get then that?!


           For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing;it is the gift of God,
               Ephesians 2:8

                 That to me is almost overwhelming. God loves me and you that much that he gave us the gift of eternal life freely!!  Just like God choosing men to spread his message.  He sent his son down and Jesus became fully man while being God.  Jesus and God were patient beyond my understanding.  Jesus could have come down as a fully grown man and got the job done faster.  He literally took the time to grow inside Mary like a baby and grow up like us.

                 The picture I have above was from last year. A neighbor girl and I teamed up to create three bake sales in three months so that money could go into buying Christmas gifts for her family.  I do admit there were times when I could have been like,
                " Give me the spoon,  I would have been done with this by now! It's late and I want to eat dinner!!"
                 God definitely gave me the patients and grace to live in the moment with her and enjoy her company.

                  God wants to enjoy each moment with us and he wants us to live in the moment with him.  Give your time to him today.  Ask God to wash you with his grace and patients so you can share that with others.                    
       

          
         

All for Christ

                                                                       

                               If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God.

                                                                                                            2 Corinthians 5:13

    I taught a class about the persecution of Christians and martyrs to a group of middle school girls and they were flabbergasted.  They had never heard; never even realized that Christians were being tortured and killed for their faith! They just couldn't wrap their minds around the thought of being killed simply for believing and following Christ.

                        Some faced jeers and flogging, while others were chained and put in prison.  They were stoned,  they were sawed in two; they were put to  death by the sword.  They went about in sheepskin  and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated.

                                                                                                                Hebrews 11: 36-37

                                        How do you feel?

      You like many others probably hear about Christians being persecuted and killed for their faith all the time. How do you feel about that?  Does it make you feel angry that people are doing that to our brothers and sisters? Do you want to defend them and tell the persecutors how wrong they are?  Or; do you feel joy and inspiration in such faith that enabled them to lay down their life for Christ? 

                      "Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven."

                                                                                                            Matthew 5:12

     I'm not saying you shouldn't get angry or upset when someone is killed.  I'm saying that Jesus told us to expect this.  
          "All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
                                                                                                                            Matthew 10:22

    We as Americans start funds and do things to save our fellow brothers and sisters in different countries with money and through the laws of this world.  When the reality is, this started with Jesus. He died for the world, to save us. The world hated him! It's the same with us. We should not be surprised when we hear of a Christian laying down their life or their life being taken away because of their faith.  I don't know if we'll ever understand what its like to be in that position but, we must remember that reality. We are not of this world. This world hates us and will do what ever it takes to eliminate us, but we have hope in Christ for this is not our home. Our permanent home is with God and that's what we have to look forward to. That is our Hope.