HE is So Amazing!

I hope I don't go too far overboard for some of you, but right now my heart is just screaming "Hallelujah!" to the Lord. (The whole family is sleeping, so I can't scream it out loud!)

About an hour ago I got so depressed after paying some bills. I started feeling the desperation, anxiety, fear that I know so many share with me right now. It's the gut wrenching feeling that sends shivers down your neck as you fear losing your house, dignity, etc.

Before the fear, etc., turned to heart palpitations, I thought of God. I remembered that I didn't pray or read scripture this morning. I also hadn't posted anything here, and He has put so much on my heart that I want to share. But I didn't get to any of it today or yesterday.

So I picked up my most used meditation/scripture source, Our Journey from James MacDonald's website http://www.walkintheword.com/ , and read yesterday's and today's entries. It was truly a message from God. Yesterday's message was about the infinite and awesome abilities of God.

But today's message has me shaking my head and asking myself WHY do I EVER doubt Him, because it's the same verse that since Saturday I've been thinking about posting and not because I read it in this same pamphlet earlier, but because I found it while independently browsing the Psalms on Saturday morning. Does God work in amazing ways or what?!

The verse that I found and Our Journey reiterated for me was Psalm 4 in it's entirety. It's a short one.

Notice how verse 4 mentions "vain words" and lies that people seek. When I read this I thought of the "keep up with the Joneses" mantra that is so strong these days. The advertising that makes us believe that we need the new Cadillac and I-phone in order to be happy.

Verse 7 reminds me of all the times my family and I have sat around the table playing a game or eating dinner and laughed at just crazy things no one else would find funny. Those moments are more precious than any money.

I pray that all of you who are in the same desperate place I was an hour ago find comfort and peace in this Psalm. God bless us all!

Psalm 4

(1) Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer! (2) O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame? How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? (3) But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him. (4) Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. (5) Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the Lord. (6) There are many who say, "Who will show us some good? Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!" (7) You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound. (8) In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

When in Doubt

During Greg Laurie's lecture on temptation, he listed some verses that he repeats to himself when negativity enters his mind about what he is doing. He didn't give the books or verses that he was quoting, just the words. I looked them up on http://www.biblegateway.com/ and I believe these are the verses he was referring to:

"The Lord is my light and my salvation -- whom shall I fear? The Lord is my life -- of whom shall I be afraid?" Psalm 27:1

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you or forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6

"Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:6

15 Months of TV

Coming into work this morning, I was listening to Greg Laurie's (http://www.harvest.org/) sermon about what it takes to get to heaven. He mentioned a statistic that stunned me. The average person watches 15 months of TV during their lifetime.

This time of year, when it's already cold and dark by the time I get home from work, it's way too easy to immediately sit on the couch and veg in front of the TV for the evening. Prying myself away to cook dinner is excruciating, much less doing anything else. All of the sudden I have lead in my rear-end -- and the inactivity actually leads to me looking like I have lead there. Anyway, by the time I know it, bed time rolls around and I have just watched 3 hours of TV and done little else. At 5 days a week, that's 15 hours of TV.

Pastor Laurie's sermon started me thinking what else I could be doing during that time. I could read the Bible, write a blog that might inspire someone to turn to Jesus, work on a Bible study to increase my knowledge and grow my relationship with God, play a board game with my child, knit a scarf to give to the homeless shelter, start a home business... The list goes on. 15 hours is a lot of time to get something accomplished.

But now spread that over my life time. 15 months is the statistic Pastor Greg presented. What good can I accomplish in 15 months? What would I do if someone told me I have 15 months to do whatever I want?

Pastor Greg just made me realize I have 15 months to do something special and all I have to do is stay off the couch and turn off the TV when I get home from work today, tomorrow and the day after.

I'm challenging myself and everyone out there to turn off the TV and do something to make a difference out there instead. Good luck!