Happy May! I wanted to pop in and share a few pictures from my month of April which seemed to fly by quickly. As I am trying to catch up with my blogging friends today I realized it had been a month since I last posted. My mercy! But, I am so busy doing this thing we call life here on earth and enjoying every moment that I can. With my immediate family of 14 there is never a dull moment y'all! We had three family birthdays in April. My SIL David, granddaughter Adalynn and oldest granddaughter Raygen. Our favorite grandson Conner (only grandson) carried his girl to the prom. We had to snap at least one picture with Mom and Nana! Two of my elementary school friends and I get together at least once every 4-5 weeks so we went to breakfast and then to Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens. We always have so much fun. The gardens are so beautiful that I couldn't even attempt to snap all the pictures I wanted. There are so many beautiful paintings to look at this but this was one of
If you have not read"When Women say Yes to God" by Lysa Terkeurst I urge you too. It is a great read and short little Bible Study that you can do at home. I find myself going back to this book.
I don't know about you but I highlight, mark, date, write notes in my Bible and I find myself doing the same things in books that I read, especially for those WORDS that seem to jump off the page at me.
As I was skimming back through the book I came across these words: God reveals Himself and His activity to all of us, but very few really want an encounter with Him. Encounters cause extreme changes in our plans, our perspectives, and our personhood, and most of us hate change. In reality, though, the very act of trying to protect ourselves from change is the very thing that makes our life the boring mess that it sometimes is.
The word that kept jumping off the page at me was Change.
When we have an encounter with Christ it is going to cause change! Change of some kind! It may be a heart change, a lifestyle change, a change in the way we do things in our personal life and in our church life.
Sometimes we may find ourselves running from the encounters of Christ simply because we are satisfied with the way things are and we know deep within us that CHANGE will occur when we are WILLING to allow Christ to be Lord in whatever area it is that He is pursuing in our life.
We can't grow if we are not willing to change. We can't heal if we aren't willing to change. We can't prosper if we are not willing to change. We can't see through the eyes of Christ if we are not willing to change.
For some, simply being satisfied is enough but for the Christian simply being satisfied SHOULD NEVER BE ENOUGH! Our goal should always be to pursue Christ and join Him where He is at work at. .
Maybe your "change" is getting out of your comfort zone and talking to another person about their relationship with Christ. Your "change" may be that God is calling you to lead instead of simply being a follower. Your "change" may be to get off that pew that you hold down on Sunday mornings and get about the business of God and invite others to fill up those pews. Your "change" may be to give an hour of your time weekly to your local church and serve in an area that no one else wants to serve in. Your "change" may be to be a "doer" instead of a "teller". We all love to tell someone else what we think they should do right? Our "change" may be to hush and simply listen.
If you want your church to grow then CHANGE and do something about it. If you want to see different ministries at your church then START ONE! If you want your marriage to be better then do your part and leave his part to GOD! If you want your children and grandchildren to be Godly then show them by example.
I have found for me personally that when God is asking me to change something whether it be personally related or church related it is because He has a reason. I didn't say I liked it at times but I have come to learn that I can buck or I can bend! The choice is mine! I can be willing to change or I can sit by and watch the clock tick and then look back and say...I WISH! The choice is mine! But I have also found that the times that I have been willing to CHANGE it has become life changing for me.
The reason we do not like change is because we are afraid of it or we are simply just selfish and our mind set has become..."it's all about me".
Here is what the Lord continues to remind me of....WE CAN CHANGE THE WAY WE DO THINGS AND NOT CHANGE HIS MESSAGE! He has a plan! May we look daily for an encounter with Christ and be willing to change for HIM!
www.lifeway.com
I don't know about you but I highlight, mark, date, write notes in my Bible and I find myself doing the same things in books that I read, especially for those WORDS that seem to jump off the page at me.
As I was skimming back through the book I came across these words: God reveals Himself and His activity to all of us, but very few really want an encounter with Him. Encounters cause extreme changes in our plans, our perspectives, and our personhood, and most of us hate change. In reality, though, the very act of trying to protect ourselves from change is the very thing that makes our life the boring mess that it sometimes is.
The word that kept jumping off the page at me was Change.
When we have an encounter with Christ it is going to cause change! Change of some kind! It may be a heart change, a lifestyle change, a change in the way we do things in our personal life and in our church life.
Sometimes we may find ourselves running from the encounters of Christ simply because we are satisfied with the way things are and we know deep within us that CHANGE will occur when we are WILLING to allow Christ to be Lord in whatever area it is that He is pursuing in our life.
We can't grow if we are not willing to change. We can't heal if we aren't willing to change. We can't prosper if we are not willing to change. We can't see through the eyes of Christ if we are not willing to change.
For some, simply being satisfied is enough but for the Christian simply being satisfied SHOULD NEVER BE ENOUGH! Our goal should always be to pursue Christ and join Him where He is at work at. .
Maybe your "change" is getting out of your comfort zone and talking to another person about their relationship with Christ. Your "change" may be that God is calling you to lead instead of simply being a follower. Your "change" may be to get off that pew that you hold down on Sunday mornings and get about the business of God and invite others to fill up those pews. Your "change" may be to give an hour of your time weekly to your local church and serve in an area that no one else wants to serve in. Your "change" may be to be a "doer" instead of a "teller". We all love to tell someone else what we think they should do right? Our "change" may be to hush and simply listen.
If you want your church to grow then CHANGE and do something about it. If you want to see different ministries at your church then START ONE! If you want your marriage to be better then do your part and leave his part to GOD! If you want your children and grandchildren to be Godly then show them by example.
I have found for me personally that when God is asking me to change something whether it be personally related or church related it is because He has a reason. I didn't say I liked it at times but I have come to learn that I can buck or I can bend! The choice is mine! I can be willing to change or I can sit by and watch the clock tick and then look back and say...I WISH! The choice is mine! But I have also found that the times that I have been willing to CHANGE it has become life changing for me.
The reason we do not like change is because we are afraid of it or we are simply just selfish and our mind set has become..."it's all about me".
Here is what the Lord continues to remind me of....WE CAN CHANGE THE WAY WE DO THINGS AND NOT CHANGE HIS MESSAGE! He has a plan! May we look daily for an encounter with Christ and be willing to change for HIM!
Hugs and blessings, Cindy
Wow!!! This is awesome!! "I can buck or I can bend". That was written just for me! Thank you, my friend.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I am one that cannot stand change and I usually fight against it to be honest. Not all change is good but I must admit, most of the time change is needed in a lot of situations.
ReplyDeleteConnie Royals
Thank you for sharing this post. Change is hard but the thing we know is that HE never changes! Several years ago our ladies retreat had a retreat theme that has stayed with me through the years since - 'in change, He remains'. A truth to remember as daily changes come along. He is the same - yesterday, and today, and forever!
ReplyDelete~Adrienne~
I find changing easy when I remember that He has a plan for my life. I want to fulfill that plan. Great message!
ReplyDeleteYes, this is hard! I have desired certain things in so many areas of my life and you just made it very clear why I am not seeing those things happen. CHANGE! I have got to change some things in me so that these things in my life will change! Thank you Cindy. This sounds like a book I will be adding to my TBR pile! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Cindy, This is a powerful post and so very true. We tend to get in our comfort zones and reaching out to change and for change is a challenge, but can be the most rewarding part of our life when we let God direct our path. Everyday we get a new opportunity going forward.
ReplyDeleteThe book sounds good. You are such an incredible teacher of God's word.
Thank you for sharing this lesson.
Blessings!
A stand up and cheer kind of post!
ReplyDeleteI am struggling with some changes in my life, some personal and some church related.
I pray that I am never lured to the sleep of earthly satisfaction.
This sounds like a great one!
ReplyDelete