Are We in God's Will?

Every week someone from our church writes a devotional to go along with the verse we are memorizing.  I thought today's devotional about being in God's will by Wendall Loewen, a Tabor Bible Prof., was especially good.  When faced with a big decision I often find myself wondering if I made the right choice.  Will I be doing God's will if I choose this way or that way? 

This is Wendall's take on our verse for this week:

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will."

Romans 12:2

"'How can I know God's will for my life?'  At the college I hear that question a lot.  I can't tell you how many times I've had students in my office wrestling with God's will - careers, majors, relationships, the list goes on.  Truth is, if they're pleading with God, praying for God's will to be revealed and seeking others' wisdom, they probably already know God's will.

There's a popular notion that God's will is like a pinpoint on a roadmap of the future. There's only one place to live, one career to follow and one person to marry. If these aren't found we're doomed for second best. There's another idea that God's keeping His will a secret - playing a divine game of hide and seek or something.

While the Bible does give us some instances in which God says "Go here and do this" (Abraham, Moses or Cornelius), those are exceptions, not the rule. The Scriptures, in fact, point us to doing the will of God in the present.

Notice Paul's emphasis in Romans 12:1-2. Commit your entire being to God now, and then you will be able to have confidence about God's will. Are you struggling to understand God's will? Get as close to God as you can then do what you love. God has gifted each of us to contribute to His kingdom. Let your choices flow out of a deep relationship with God and flow toward the way God has designed you.

Think of a fenced-in playground. As we glorify God and follow Jesus, we are living out God's will - inside the fence.  Once inside, we are free to choose the seesaw, the swing or the slide. We are free to choose what we love to do and live out our God-given desires and dreams.

Seek God's kingdom, pursue Christ above all and your choices will reflect God's pleasing and perfect will."

Wendall Loewen

Blog Thoughts

I've been thinking about my blog and the fact that it's been a whole year since I started it. This is pretty exciting to me because well, a few reasons:

1. I followed through on something for an entire year!  WooHoo!

2. I've had some awesome spiritual growth in my life this year and I think it has a lot to do with writing down the things God had been teaching me. And sharing them in a public way.

3. I had a goal in mind of what I wanted my blog to be like and I feel like I've accomplished that for the most part.

I've definitely had some moments of "what the heck am I doing, my blog sucks!?" Just like anything in life you begin to compare yourself with others.  And since there's a ton of bloggers out there it's hard not to start thinking...

I'm not nearly that creative.
I have no right to post devotional writings when Francis Chan has a blog.
I can't take beautiful pictures or cook or craft like she does! 

I actually didn't read any blogs before I started my own and I think that was a good thing.  Otherwise I never would've started one.  With all the creativity out there, I totally would have talked myself out of it.

But, I soon came to terms that I didn't set out to start a photography blog, a cooking blog, or a crafting blog.  I wanted to start a blog about my life and how I attempt to live out a life of faith. I might throw in a mediocre picture, a recipe I liked, random stories, or a few posts to keep Grandma updated.  But, for the most part I just wanted to be honest about my short comings and how hard it is to figure out what Christ wants me to be.  But also how rewarding it is.

I think it's important for others to see that believers aren't perfect and many times do live up to the stereotypes that so often accompany Christianity.

I would tend to agree with someone who says Christians are judgmental, because I've felt the sting of judgment from other believers.

I would tend to agree with someone who says that Christians are hypocrites, because I know way too many believers who talk the talk.

I would tend to agree with someone who says that Christians have a "holier than thou" attitude, because "knowledge puffs up."

I agree with all these statements because, at the end of the day, Christians are people.  I can be judgmental, hypocritical, "holier than thou", mean, rude, arrogant, and angry all at the same time.

And that's the ultimate reason I started my blog.  I'm not a perfect Christian.  And I never will be. I wanted to share that with others and let them know that I'm a work in progress, as are all believers. So thanks for bearing with me as I embark on another year of screw ups, growth from screw ups and mediocre pictures.

Help Me Celebrate!

This week I'm celebrating my Blog Anniversary.  I've been a "blogger" for one year now.  A lot of people celebrate their anniversaries by doing a giveaway.  Well, I'm not that tech savvy, neither do I have the time or patience to figure out how to do it.  Although I probably should do it as a reward for those who actually take time to read my random thoughts. Do you feel like you need a reward after getting through one of my blog posts?  :)  Well, perhaps another day. 

So I decided to promote my friend Anna's fundraiser/giveaway instead. I've written a bit about her adoption in the past.  I am just amazed at her and others around me that are in the adoption process.  I feel blessed to be a part of their adoptions in any way I can.  Their desire to serve God in this way is just amazing to me.  Gives me the warm fuzzies.

Well if you haven't already read or heard about it, Anna and her family have decided to adopt a boy with Down Syndrome (pictured below). She continues to faithfully raise funds and I'm amazed at her persistence and dedication to get her boy home as soon as possible.

Click here to donate and sign up for the prizes she's giving away as a thank you for your support.  She's offering several different prizes so make sure to look at them all!  The grand prize is a Wii!  Scroll to the very end of her blog page to view the 5 different prize packages.

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This Week's Verse:

But as for me, I keep watch for the Lord. I wait in hope for God my Savior; my God will hear me.

Micah 7:7

Grab This!

Crap My Mom Says

I recently read an article about a show on TV called $#*! My Dad Says.  It was apparently made after a kid started posting crazy things on twitter that his dad said to him.  I've never watched the show but I got to thinking, hmmmm....I have one of these people in my life.  My mom.  She definitely says enough crazy things for me to out her on them.  Our version is probably a little more PG than the show's, but here are just a few instances where mom has given her two cents on certain subjects...

On Infertility

"Oh, I don't know what that's like, I got pregnant every time your dad threw his pants at the end of the bed."


On Comfort

"That bed was harder than a brickbat!" (No idea what this means)


On the Weather

"It's hotter than a sow out there." 

"It's colder than a well-diggers gizzard today."


On People who do Stupid Things

"Well the poor, dumb soul!" or "He ain't much for brains."


On Certain Foods

"Oh, I can't eat that - it bloats me up like a toad."


After dropping something or hurting herself

"Oh, balls!"  (Yes, balls)


On looks

"Yikes, that baby could stop a clock!"

She's not as innocent as she looks :). 

(Had to pick a picture from Winter because it just makes me feel cooler looking at it.)

Love you Mom!

Please do share if you have someone in your life that says something crazy, I can't ever get enough of crazy :).

A Bad Attitude Day

Yesterday was one of those unpleasant days.  It didn't really start out that way but I got it in my head to tackle all of the crappy things on my to-do list.  The ones that I keep rolling over to the next to-do list and the next and so on.  By the time I finally decide to do them I have a bad attitude right out of the gate.

First horrendous job:  Calling my Internet company to see why my darn connection is so slow.

Been on the to-do list for months and here's why:

-it's never less than an hour on the phone, never
-I end up talking to someone in India and all I can understand is something about deleting cookies
-I have a really hard time being nice to this person
-kids screaming in the background
-being put on hold raises my blood pressure


Second job:  Ironing

I have a tried and true hatred for this chore. I let it pile up until I hear the words from my husband "Tam, I don't have anything to wear." (Which I heard yesterday.)  If the situation gets dire enough he will do it himself.  But it's one of those things that I kind of feel guilty about not doing.

While I'd love to give a good Christian answer and say that I pray for my husband while ironing his shirts, I actually end up doing the exact opposite - getting more and more ticked off at him with every shirt.  I tend to think about the precious nap time hours I'm wasting.  Why he has to wear stupid dress shirts anyway.  And that he really owes me....big time.

I think it's time to look into dry cleaning.


Third loathsome job: Ordering pictures online

Ordered over 400.  Another thing I've had on the to-do for quite some time.  I had a 50% coupon expiring so I made myself do it.  Upload time was excruciating.  Especially with my slow Internet.  Wanted to pull my hair out.  Wanted to yell at my girls that they better appreciate me making albums for them.  But, they were already in bed and had seen enough crabby mom for one day.

With my frustration through the roof yesterday, I was not that fun to be around believe it or not. Good thing I put off these days for as long as possible.

I'm feeling much more positive today because...

Here is my to-do list now:

Internet fixed when I get my new part in the mail
Ironing done
Didn't even say one mean thing to my husband about it
Pictures ordered, hallelujah praise the Lord

It seems a little wrong to post a verse after my bad attitude day, but today is a new day right?  And nothing is too hard for the Lord to handle...even my attitude.

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This week's verse:

Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm.  Nothing is too hard for you.
Jeremiah 32:17