NO LIMITS

I have witnessed a miracle in my life. A real miracle. I was given a death sentence and God breathed life back into me. It was an obvious sign of Gods unfailing grace and I try to constantly thank him for his goodness. But sometimes I lose sight of who he really is. It is crazy to think that someone who has experienced him on a life or death level could ever forget exactly what God is capable...which is anything and everything that HE wants to do. I worry about my safety while driving to work.  I worry about my budding relationship and what will happen if it doesn't work out. I worry about people in my life and their safety. My life is a big bubble of worry. This has to disappoint God so much. Its like he parted the Red Sea for me and delivered me from Egypt and I am still wondering if he is capable of doing the things he already has done, Why does God have to prove himself to us time and time again but we never prove ourselves to him? Why can't we trust him?

He's got me. 

He will catch me if I fall. 

So.... what if I stumble, if I mess up big time? He knows we need him. He wants us to come to him and rely on him. Everything that happens in your life is an opportunity for God to show up. And when he shows up, he SHOWS up.  In a world of so many uncertainties, there is only thing that is certain, God will always be there. He is and wants to be your constant. I have to pray everyday for God to give me faith to really trust him. Im not talking about faith that Ill make it to the bathroom on time when I am sitting in traffic for over an hour and I really got need to go though that is always nice, I am talking about faith that sees someone in a wheelchair get up before my eyes, faith that he has my life planned out for me and completly trusting his ways, faith that moves mountains. I want faith that moves mountains. But the thing about that kind of faith is that it has to come from him. We need his faith in order to trust in him. Crazy huh?

This is such a crazy concept but my creator knows what I need. He knows what it takes to sustain life and he will provide. He will protect. He has proven faithful time and time again. What more do I need? Psalm 78 seems like it could be a transcript from my life, maybe many of yours as well. "They forgot what he had done, the wonders he had shown them...They willfully put God to the test by demanding the food they craved. The spoke against God saying "Can God spread a table in the desert? When he struck the rock, water gushed out, and streams flowed abundantly. But can he also give us food? Can he supply meat for his people?" When the Lord heard them he was very angry...Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel." God had led the Israelites from Egypt and had promised "a land of milk and honey", yet they were unable to trust him and several of them never got to see the wonderful promises of God because they limited him. Limiting God is saying that you know better than what he has planned for you. I do not want to miss out on God's promised land for my life. I want God things in my life. "I came so that they may have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of." 

 I want to live in a constant state of amazement and thankfulness that my life is full of Gods penmanship on my map of life.

Dear God,

I am so sorry if I have limited you. I trust that you know what's best for me and that nothing is impossible with you as my contractor. I Thank you for everything I have in my life and for loving me so well. You amaze me everyday. Help me have faith that can move mountains. Amen.










 

 "Everything will be fine, just give me everything you have first."

Ok. Sometimes I think God is crazy. Honestly. "You want me to do what?!". This morning I am reading 1 Kings 17:8-16 which is about the widow who helped Elijah. God had told Elijah to go to a city where he would see a widow in that town who would give Elijah food. He asked her for water and then for some bread and she replied that she didn't have but just enough to make dinner for her and her son that night. Afterwards, they would starve. Elijah told her that everything was going to be okay and to go do exactly what she planned but first to make him some bread. God had promised that she wouldn't run out of flour or oil before he sent his rain. She was obedient and as a result, it says that she and Elijah and her family had enough food for a very long time.

I question why God wants me to do something.  He never really argues with me much but just gives me a simple "trust me".  He set up the widow woman that she was exactly in the right place at the right time. He knew it was the last of what she had and he still asked for it. How long do you think God had set up this divine appointment? "For I know the plans I have for you...." (Jeremiah 29:11). God knows things we don't know. And even though we know that our creator knew us before he even formed us (Jeremiah 1:5), we still question his plans for us cause they seem like too much.

Do you ever feel like you don't have anymore to give? I know for me, this is more about giving me to others more than things I have running out. I sometimes feel like I am pulled in 100 directions and I just can't do it anymore. "I am so tired, do I really have to go work with the kids at youth group tonight?" "I really really don't want to meet that friend even though I know she is having a rough time." "Why do I always have to be nice all the time?" "Everyone expects me to be perfect and I really want to just scream." AHHH. It goes on and on.

One thing I have realized is that just when I feel like I am about to run out of me, God fills me up with him. This is so backwards, it takes a lot of faith and trust. When I am obedient and go do things that I know he wants me to do even though they feel at the time will break me, he reminds me of his faithfulness that he is my God and he is with me. That when I am weak he is strong. That he will never leave me or forsake me.

“And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commanded that ye should do: and the glory of the LORD shall appear unto you” (Leviticus 9:6). Trusting that God knows what he is doing often is the very thing that brings me back to that closeness with God. You know what I mean, when you can sense his presence so strong in your quiet time and he is rocking your face off cause he is breathing on it so hard. I would do ANYTHING for that, I mean anything. And just the reminder to know that when I am almost empty, that he will always come through and bless me beyond measure, to have that hope that his presence will be overflowing in my life, I keep running the race set before me. I am not perfect. I don't always listen when I should but then sometimes I do. God teaches me something new everyday. We should be in constant improvement and being molded by the master sculptor.

 "If we allow Him, God will take us to that place where there is no one else to help us but Him"
-Camille Fronk, lecture on Women in the Scriptures, Brigham Young University, 2005

There has never been a time that I have decided to go to church or do something for God or another person that I have regretted it. NEVER. Those times when you don't want to go to church but go anyways? In my experience, they have been the most spirit filled services. My face is streaming with tears. Because God is literally overflowing out of me. God amazes me and shows me that if I can overcome that bit of self that wants to do things my way, he will reward me for doing things his way.

 Less of Rachel, more of God.

Love is....

1 John 4:16

God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

God is Love therefore God never fails. I love 1 Corinthians 13 because it is the vision of what a perfect love should look like and is like. I am such a huge fan of this verse that I have a wall decal that says love never fails above my head when I sleep. One prayer I have had alot of lately is that I want my Father's heart. I want to love like he loves. I want to love so much it hurts and then love some more. My heart to be so wrapped up in his we are one. This verse teaches us how to love. I have said and read this verse more times than I can remember but I realized I didn't know what it really meant. So I broke it down and used a thing called the dictionary (some ancient book prehistoric people used) and found the definitions of what all these character traits are that ultimately define our loving God's heart. Here is what I found.

Love is patient-Being capable of calmly awaiting an outcome or result, Not hasty or impulsive, Bearing or enduring pain, Annoyance WITH calmness, Persevering, Constant

Love is kind- Friendly or generous nature, Humane, Considerate, Agreeable, Beneficial, Charitable.

It does not envy- Envy is feeling of discontentment and resentment aroused in conjunction with desire for the possessions or qualities of another.

It does not boast-Talk in a self admiring way, to glorify oneself in speech

It is not proud- Showing or feeling excessive self esteem, feeling pleasurable satisfaction over a relationship which one measures their self worth

It is not rude- Abruptly and unpleasantly forceful, ill mannered, discourteous

It is not self seeking- Pursuing only ones own ends or interests

It is not easily angered- Strong feeling of displeasure or hostility

It keeps no record of wrongs-Forgives and moves on like it never happened.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. LOVE NEVER FAILS....To be unsuccessful, to cease functioning properly, to abandon, forsake, to leave undone, neglect, to prove disappointing, undependable, to weaken, to fade away.


LOVE NEVER FAILS. LOVE NEVER FAILS. LOVE NEVER FAILS. Love always succeeds. Love always works. Love always finishes what is set before them. Love is always there. Love is always dependable. Love always strengthens. I have found whenever I really stop and ask myself if I am being loving and then if I question it, I break it down. Am I being patient? Am I being kind? Am I really thinking of someones elses feelings before me? I almost always get a positive result. Being like this isn't complete human nature though. We have to work at it and more importantly, ask God to help us. I totally can see God's hand present in situations where normally I would have a freak out moment or say something I regret or just be plain selfish... For anyone who knows me, I am a stubborn, passionate, and sometimes fiery woman- not really a good mix to be loving in tough situations. But through the grace of God, I am able to hold my tongue more effectively and even apologize for things I have done. Love is not proud. Love doesn't bring up old arguments. Love says "forget about it, its over". Love is so patient it hurts. Love is not easy, but always worth it.

And now remains Faith, Hope, Love,
these three;
but the greatest of these is love.

The good news is that we don't have to love others on our own. Because honestly we would all suck at it. Real talk. God gave us an example of love that is so strong and powerful, if we could love others with even a tiny portion of that love, we are doing alright. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son". God loved me so much that he gave his son. That is so intense. He must really really love me. In despite of all the terrible things I do and have done, which he already knew because it says he knew me before he even formed me, despite of all of that, he still sent his innocent son to die so that we may come live with him in eternity. Why does he love us so much? Because love sees the best in someone. When we choose to see someone as God sees them, its easy to love them. God sees potential and the person we will become, not who we were or are... He forgets about the past and looks to the future. A future with the best possible version of me or you. Start looking at others with a hope and potential filter and love will start to pour out of you. Others will respond. Then we can all live in a world with rainbows and sunshine. And who doesn't want more rainbows and sunshine? 

Dear God, 
Help us to love each other the way you have loved us, to forgive as you have forgiven, and to see the best in others just like you see the best in us. Amen.  


If I spoke in different languages of men and even of angels,
without love,
my voice would be like that of a clanging cymbal.
And I may have the gift of prophecy,
and understand all the mysteries of heaven,
and know all the knowledge of the earth,
and though I may have so much Faith that I could move mountains,
without love,
I am nothing.
And I may give all that I own to feed the poor,
and I may give my body to be burned,
but if I have no love,
it profits me nothing.

LOVE NEVER (EVER EVER) FAILS

He is love

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

ALL things? It's in the Bible and I trust God enough that if it is in that book, it must be the truth. Romans 8:28 is the verse that kind of gives me hope when things are seeming not so great. I recently went through my first trial as a Christian. I honestly thought that once you submitted to Christ, your life would be rainbows and butterflies. Its been almost two months and I was embarassed to talk about at first, but I know God wants me to share because other people might be going through similar things but in a nutshell (drumroll please), I got dumped. I didn't just get dumped, I got rejected. I don't know if anyone remembers but I had posted on my facebook that I had found a man better than Notebook Noah and he was coming to visit me in a few days. Here is the catch...we had never met.

A heartbreak hotel

Jonah (not his real name) and I had mutual friends and started communicating after he saw a picture of me on facebook and asked about me. A few months earlier, my girlfriend had mentioned him and that he had been praying for a wife for a long time and I would be his perfect girl. My heart did a little leap inside when she said his name and to this day was one of the weirdest things I have ever experienced. I got butterflies from hearing his name before I even knew what he looked like or anything! We became facebook friends and emailing each other till he asked for my number and we started talking on the phone. Our first phone conversation was wonderful. We talked about Christ and at the end of the call, he asked if we could pray together! A spiritual leader is my number one quality in looking for a husband so he passed the test.

We began to talk every day for several hours. I loved his voice and talking about God and our days together. I shared my whole life story with him and told him everything about me. He didn't seem to care and was okay that I have a rough past. I am still working on some insecurities from previous abuse but he seemed to deal with me well which is something I wasn't used to and definately thought God's hand was blessing our relationship.

 Jonah was a huge romancer and charmer. He would call me every morning or text, before I was awake, and bless my day or tell me how beautiful I was- what kind of girl doesn't love to hear that? I was falling hard for him and he would drop hints that he was too. It felt like I was going to explode if I didn't tell him I loved him but I wanted to let him be the first one to say it because I am so scared of not being loved back. It's so weird that it's my biggest fear but happens the most to me. I forgot to mention that Jonah lived in another state and is a citizen of another country which fed my wedding mania as I didn't want to see him get deported. A few weeks before we met, he told me he was in love with me and I obviously said I felt the same way. Both of us were a little scared because we had never met but knew that it is what is in the heart that counts, after all we aren't gonna be so good looking in twenty years. We began to plan our life together and talked about our wedding and future children and I started looking for rings. I found my dream guy and we were gonna get married! Yay!!

She will chase after her lovers but not catch them; she will look for them but not find them. (Hosea 2:7)

Until....

 We met and everything changed when he came here. I know everyone said it before and warned me, but being with someone in person IS different than talking to them on the phone. For one, we had talked so much on the phone that we didn't even know what to say and I felt so much pressure knowing he was going to be my husband that I couldn't think of the right words to say, it was so frustrating. We spent the whole first day together and that evening we had a bbq at my friends house. He was being a bit standoffish but just figured he was tired but I also couldn't ignore my high hyper sensitivity to other peoples emotions so I asked him to come talk to me on the porch and that's when my dream came crashing down. "I think we rushed into things and made a mistake. When we fasted and prayed, I didn't feel peace, I should've listened to God."

WHAT? So now its God's fault? I ran into the house and into a bedroom and broke down. I was confused and hurt and mad. I was mad that I had been following God and actually seeking a Christian man and now I was hurt more than I had ever been. Why didn't he protect me? Why was I doing so well in my Christian walk and now more confused than ever?  The next few days Jonah waivered back and forth and we were seemingly together when he left and I dropped him off at the airport. Then the next day, I received a message in my facebook inbox, "I am praying for your husband to arrive". So I guess that means we aren't together? I didn't even want to be in a relationship. He pursued me. He seeked me out. And now I was the one that looked like a fool.

The week he was in town was really hard but then the most beautiful thing happened... I saw God for everything he is and was. A comforter in times of need. Prince of Peace. A lover. My restorer. I was so broken in that time, it felt like I finally was able to give everything over to God and surrender. God is close to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18). I think that is true because when you are broke you are empty of you and God is able to fill you up with him. I also began to believe what God says about me rather than what every man I had carelessly let into my life had said. The weeks leading up to now I can truely say that I am the most loved woman on earth.

His love never fails. I never really understood how much he loved me until I had been broken by one of his own. I am beginning to know that this is why this heartbreak happened, to make me fall in love with my first true love all over again. He wanted me to be in a barren and quiet place so I would be alone with only him. Its kind of amazing when you think that the God who created the world loves you so much he wants to be alone with just you. WOW. I am loved. I am needed. I am pursued.

Therefore I am now going to allure her;
I will lead her into the desert
and speak tenderly to her.
There I will give her back her vineyards,
and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.
There she will sing as in the days of her youth,
as in the day she came up out of Egypt (2:14-15, NIV).

Hi, so I have pretty much known I was a princess all my life. I don't know if it was that I watched all the Disney movies and just really thought I was Cinderella or what but when Princess Diana died, at the age of 12, I went into an odd stage of mourning. I had no clue until I was sitting on the counter watching my mom cook breakfast that my life would be changed as she told me the news of Princess Di. I didn't know there were actual real princesses so I wanted to know everything about her and my family kind of fed into my whole royalty obsession.

 Every magazine was bought for me with Princess Diana or the royal family, I clipped the articles and pictures out and made a memorabilia box. I almost wish I was kidding. But I am not. I had a box filled with hundreds of articles and pictures of her and would spend my day listening to Elton John's "Candle in the Wind" made especially for Princess Diana's funeral. I even thought I was going to marry Prince William. Seriously. I asked my family about our heritage and my Grandmother told me that we were royalty in England. I wasn't even a commoner, I had a chance to become a true Princess once and for all! Until....

Kate Middleton. She screwed that all up for me. I watched her marry Prince William and watched my dreams shatter as I realized that I would never be a Princess married into the royal family and eventually Queen of England. Why do little girls and women love the idea of being a princess so much? I believe I know the reason why, well at least for me....

The Bible says we are co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:16,17). In our deepest hearts, we long for Princess identity because we ARE Princesses. Our daddy is a King. We are the Bride of Christ. Through his blood, we are married into the greatest royalty. Also, wanna know why we long for a Prince on a white horse to come save us? Oh yeah, that's in the Bible too. Rev 19:11 describes Jesus as a warrior on a white horse. Our childhood fantasies for "living happily ever after" and riding off into the sunset after being fought for are actually a revelation of who we really are in Christ.

So now that you know who you are, what's next? Get to know the rules of your country and who your father was and IS. Follow the rules, you are your country's greatest example. Speak and dress like a Queen. Fight for your country. You are a Princess Bride of Christ, embrace it!!!