Tuned to His Frequency

Last semester I had the chance to be a part of a drama production at Golden State Baptist College. It was an absolutely incredible experience and I loved it. Part of my job in the evening performance was to be the backstage manager of sorts. I had a headset and walkie talkie set. I was in communication with the sound booth, and the lighting crew the entire time. Yes, I talked to the actors backstage, and did other things. But I was still wearing the headset and I could talk to them and hear everything they were saying.

It reminded me of how prayer should be in our lives. Prayer isn't necessarily always talking to God. Sometimes it is just being there to listen. To keep tabs on His thoughts, even if when we aren't specifically focused on Him.

I wasn't with the other crew members. I couldn't see them, and I wasn't in the same place. But I could always hear them, no matter what I was doing. I was constantly in touch with what they needed from me, and what was going on where they were. And my radio was always tuned to their frequency.

We may not be able to pray 24/7, but that does not mean that we can't always hear God. When we are truly surrendered and right with Him, He sends us "messages" throughout the day to help us and guide our steps.

Prayer is so much more than just praying. It is living with the knowledge that God is always there, and listening for Him all the time. Like a radio, it's always being tuned to His frequency.

Make today count!
Always,
Amanda

Letting Go or Giving Up?

Two different things or the same?

How about an analogy. God has showed you something in your life. You know that this thing is a serious burden on your heart, and you have a very definite idea of what you want the outcome of this situation to be. But yet you feel the tug of the Holy Spirit on your heart, telling you to trust Him and let go of what you want. He wants you to give Him to pen of the script and let Him write the story of your life.

Or, sometimes we see a situation that seems impossible. We know in our heads that God can do what He promises, and of course He wants us to be happy and He loves to give good gifts to His children. But we just feel like our prayers are getting us nowhere in a hurry. Nothing is happening and every time we try to "help God out", we end up making a disaster of things.

Sound familiar?

Too often we assume that letting go and giving up go hand in hand. We assume that if God is asking for our trust in Him about our dreams and plans, then by default He is going to take them away and we might as well give up on them ever becoming a reality.

But letting go doesn't mean giving up.

Giving up displays no faith in God's miraculous power. When we give up on a burden of our heart we are telling God that we do not believe He is capable of answering our prayers. Our faith is weak or nonexistent. And did you know, that the only thing that stops God's hand from doing amazing things with our lives is our own sin and unbelief?

However, letting go allows Him to show us what is not meant to be in our life, and the great things that He can do when we allow Him to fully use us. When we let go of our agendas and plans and allow Him to take what does not belong in our lives, and leave what is best, then He can bless us. Only when we are willing to take our hands from the pen of our lives and let go, can He have full access to fulfill His perfect plan through us.

Never will we regret giving everything to God and truly letting go. Nothing in this world can compare to having the Savior who died to prove His love, in charge of our lives.

So hold His blessings in an open hand. Trust Him with everything but never give up on His power to answer prayer. And always remember, He makes no mistakes.

Make today count!
Always,
Amanda

Giving God Your Idols

Giving up the very thing that means the most to us. Laying all our dreams and desires down at the feet of our precious Savior. How noble it seems, and how far we think we have gone to honor Him!

But are we laying a precious treasure at His feet?

Or an idol?

Idols are anything in our lives that we love more than God. Our initial reaction to a statement like that is repulsion. Of course we would never love anything more than God!! Right?

But sometimes idols hide well. Sometimes they really are gifts from God that the devil has used to sidetrack us. Our idols might be a person, a job, a habit, or even our dreams for the future. But whatever they are, they keep us from loving our King first and keeping Him on the throne of our hearts. Idol worship in the Bible was often symbolized as spiritual adultery. Leaving our first love for something or someone else.

Of course, we would never call it an idol. It isn't that we worship that dream or the person or situation. But we just can't imagine our lives without it. We will do anything for God........ As long as that one thing is still in our lives.

Idols are hard to identify sometimes but they are even harder to get rid of. We think that by telling God that He can do whatever He wants in our life, even taking that one thing from us, that we are offering our best to God.

But God wants nothing to do with our idols. Instead of a sweet sacrifice of love, we are offering Him our own rejection of His person! What a terrible thought! We are telling God that because we hold this thing to be more important than Him, we will give it to Him to show our love. How confusing!

It's like slapping someone in the face and then telling them it was a gift because of how much you love them.

God does not appreciate us giving Him our idols. In fact, He hates them. They take many different shapes and sizes but they are all the same. They steal our heart, our time, our energy and our dreams away from our Heavenly King. They turn our focus away from His dear face.

In order to love Him first, we must tear down the idols of our hearts, and turn our eyes back to our loving Savior. Just like in Judges, the very godly kings took down the high places and cut down the groves, so we must completely cleanse our lives of everything that reminds us of that idol. God can only pour Himself into an empty vessel, He only wants to use a clean one.

I want to encourage you to search your heart and ask God to show you any idols that you may have. Be sincere, and honest before the Lord. Be 100% willing to turn away from anything that is stealing your heart. Put no qualifications on God's will for you. Love Him first and give Him everything, and He will shine His miraculous power through your life.

Make today count!
Always,
Amanda

Just a good quote!

Be of good cheer. Do not think of today's failures, but of the success that may come tomorrow. You have set yourselves a difficult task, but you will succeed if you persevere; and you will find a joy in overcoming obstacles. Remember, no effort that we make to attain something beautiful is ever lost.

3 easy ways to get patience in 5 minutes! Guaranteed!

Ever heard that slogan before? Maybe not with the word "patience" but with something? There are ads all over the place online and in magazines telling you that you can gain what you want in just a few easy steps or a few easy minutes. And half the time they try to convince you that no effort is required in achieving your goals.

But that's the world's system. God works in an entirely different way. He allows us to go through long trials and struggles to teach us patience. We are so used to the quick and easy methods of getting what we want in life, that we hate waiting for the Lord. But there is no easy or quick way to learn patience. It is a very long, sometimes very difficult process that God uses to conform us into His image.

But it is very much worth it. No matter what goes on in our lives, God is using it to build patience in us. Take your trials to the Lord and leave your burdens at the Cross. He wants you to trust Him in this difficult situation, and He will use it to build you up and draw you closer to Him.

Remember that no matter what you're going through, there is no need to fear, when God is on your side. Let Him build your patience.

Make today count!
Always,
~ Amanda ♥

Broken hearts

God sometimes uses the strangest circumstances to break us and mold us into what He wants us to be. This whole past year He has been teaching me over and over how important it is to just trust Him when I don't understand. He has a plan for everything in my life and I don't have to understand just why He does what He does.

Sometimes God has to take the nearest and dearest things closest to our hearts away from us. Sometimes it feels like we are falling apart at the seams and we don't understand why He is taking away the things or people that we love most. Sometimes He has to break our heart so that He will fit inside of it.

We love something else too much. It becomes too close to our hearts and we are not walking with Him like we should. When He takes away the things that are between us and Him, He becomes only closer and more dear to us. He can't fit in our heart if we are full of something else.

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Prayer is one way that we walk with God. Being in a class that focuses on prayer has really been a blessing this semester. I'm learning so much about praying and how close I can stay to my God when I am praying all the time.

To me, walking with God is like a treadmill. When you're on a treadmill, you have to stay at the exact speed it is going at. If you go too fast, you will run into the front of it. If you are going too slow, you will fall off the back.

I think it's the same way with God's will for our lives. We have to be walking perfectly in step with Him or we will run into trouble. We can't get ahead of Him or go faster than He wants His will to unfold and if we drag our feet, we are in just as much trouble with that. We have to walk directly in step with Him.

Walk with your God today. He loves you and is waiting for you to trust Him with those close things in your heart that you can't tell anyone else. He will listen and only He can do anything about them anyways.

Love the Lord with all your heart and make your life count for Jesus!
Always,
~ Amanda ♥

Love Your Church

Only one month till I return to my college and all the people I miss so much!

Its almost a little bit sad though....I have to leave my home church. Sure, I love North Valley (nvbc.org) but it just isn't the same.

I have had the unique privilege of growing up in a very small church. All my life I have been involved in something and was expected to help with whatever was going on. It was never an option whether or not we would be helping when the church had a workday. No, actually most of the time we were the ones scheduling it.

I've talked to so many people that simply don't have time to help at their church or to really be a part of a ministry. I think that is so sad! I honestly cannot imagine my life not being involved in some kind of ministry at my church. I think that's part of the reason God has called me into full time Christian service.

Bloom where you're planted. Take advantage of where God has placed you and do everything you can to love your church and help wherever you can. Love your pastor, support him and encourage him in whatever way you can. Those of us that have never been in that position cannot possibly imagine the pressure that comes with it. We aught to do everything we can to support the man of God and lift his burdens. Aaron and Hur held up the hands of Moses and encouraging the pastor can be anyone's ministry.

Got to head out the door to church now! God bless you as you continue to serve Him faithfully!

Make today count!
Always,
~ Amanda

It's Been One Year!

It doesn't seem possible that it could have already been one year since I started this blog!

God has been so good to me in the last year and has changed me in so many ways I can hardly begin to count them. I am overwhelmed with His goodness to me and His care for me over the last year.

If I had to give one big lesson I've learned over the last year, it would be that God always has a plan and sometimes we just have to trust Him with it. There is ALWAYS a reason for what is going on in my life and He is working through me.

Thank you to everyone who has read and followed this blog. You are a blessing and encouragement! May God bless you this Independence Day and may He bless America!

Make today count!
Always,
~ Amanda

God has a plan

I wanted to share a little bit of my heart with you today. God has been teaching me a lot these days about trusting Him and leaning on Him for strength every day.

Everyone has difficult things that they go through. God gives all of us different challenges that He uses to grow us emotionally, spiritually, and personally. He prepares these trials perfectly for us and guides us through them. If we trust Him and run to Him when our hearts are overwhelmed, He will carry us through them.

What an incredible thought! He prepares a really hard circumstance for us to go through, and then when we are struggling, He carries us through it! "Truly he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows." He has felt our pain and knows exactly what we need, when we need it.

Even knowing all that, sometimes life is just hard..... We don't understand what good could possibly come from this situation but He knows. Perhaps someday He will share it with and maybe not. I think we get the idea sometimes that if we just wait long enough, we'll understand, but ya know what? That's not always true. Somethings we will never understand and only God will ever know the reason why.

"There's always a light at the end of the tunnel....." That's what people say. But is that always true? I really don't know.

This one thing I do know though. God has a plan. He has a reason and He will get the glory in your tribulation and trials if you turn to Him with your shattered dreams and throw your broken heart at His feet. He is waiting to take your burden from you and carry it Himself.

So if He is waiting for us to cast our cares upon Him, why do we so often insist on carrying them ourselves? Why do we assume that we can do a better job and act like nothing is wrong?

Psalm 62:8 gives a beautiful invitation to those who are hurting:

"Trust in Him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before Him: God is a refuge for us."

Pour your heart out to God and lay your burdens at His feet. Because God always has a plan.

Make today count!
Always,
~ Amanda ♥

At Home

OK, I promise that I'm not going to tell you how many days it is until I get back to CA. No one likes to hear it, except of course, all the people waiting for me to get back there :P.

Summer has been good and very relaxing. The pace is so much easier and I enjoy not having 10,394,823,587,123,409,832,520,495,734 different things begging for my time. It is very nice to be with my family and I have to get "stocked up" on their hugs and such to last me over the coming semester.

To answer your question, yes, I am going back! I will be leaving August 21st to get back to GSBC. Because the Lord has blessed me with an office job, I have to be back a week earlier than everyone else. I really don't mind in the least though because it gives me a chance to get unpacked and well adjusted before everyone else arrives. Of course, I get the privilege of staying on a near-to-dead campus for a week lol :P. But I'll live :)

Thank you so much to everyone who has prayed for me while I've been at school and for the lovely cards and thoughts and emails, etc that I've gotten while I'm there. I love getting mail and such from back home and it always brightens my day, unless of course, it's already so beautiful and bright that it couldn't get any better.

Bible time with the family is calling now! Until next time...

Make today count!
Always,
~ Amanda ♥

The end is in sight!

So the end of the year is coming. Finally! Speaking of that, this is finals week.

Not that I necessarily wanted it all to end. It's weird, because I'm pretty sure I was a lot more anxious to go home for Spring Break than I am now. But I am really excited for the change and I know this summer is going to hold lots of good things. I'm going to be so incredibly busy it's not even funny.

One thing is for sure though, I only have a few more days to spend with these people that I have grow to love in the last year. I could never have guessed how much they would mean to me in just two semesters. I will miss them so much and it will be very hard to leave.

This makes it all the more important to treasure the time that I have left here. Some of these people are seniors that I will most likely never see again. Or if I do, it will certainly never be the same. But it is God's plan and His ways are perfect! :)

I'm going to add a poem that fits this blog post exquisitely well. I wrote it quite a while back, but I don't think I've posted it before. I hope it is a blessing! :)

Moments

Treasure the moments with friends

That make life so worthwhile.

When a friend asks you to walk with them

Walk not a foot, but a mile.

Love and friendship

Are what make sweetest dreams.

The memories that last a lifetime

Are the moments hardest to leave.

Treasure each moment of life

You don’t know how long till it ends.

But this is true, along life’s way

Time’s always sweeter with friends.

Give all your best, and give all your love

You never know what treasures you’ll find.

Give your best, spend time with your friends

And leave some footprints behind.

Make today count! 

Always,

~ Amanda ♥

The Lives You Touch

Tomorrow is the start of College Days at GSBC and it has made me reminisce about last year at this time, when I first visited this amazing place. I was so nervous. I knew without a doubt that this was where the Lord wanted me. Happiness was not going to be the issue. But I didn't know just how well I would fit in. What would the people think of me?

I've talked to several people about it, and gotten their opinions on what they first thought of me. I was so backward! I didn't have a clue what college was all about and I was not prepared. From my dress to my mentality, I wasn't ready for what hit me when I walked on campus.

Now I've acclimated to it so much, I can hardly remember being that way. But one thing is for sure.

I really remember how I felt.

I was so scared! This tiny campus seemed huge and I was continually getting lost. Mixed up was a constant state of mind, but I wanted to act like I knew what I was doing so I rarely asked for help. Sure, it was a pride thing. I wasn't a stupid high schooler that everyone had to look down on! Ok, so maybe I was.

Guess what? I made it. I had a good time, and everyone was so splendidly nice to me. I loved being here and literally counted down the days until I came here for school.

One thing is for sure, the people here never realized how much they changed my life just by accepting me the way I was. Backward and all, they loved the person inside instead of the shell outside, and made College Days a fun experience. If they had scorned me or laughed at me, I most certainly would not be in the will of God today.

I wonder now, whose life is it my turn to influence? I could never have imagined that people I only saw from a distance would be some of my closest friends on earth. Who is coming tomorrow that will change my life? And will there be someone whose life I can change?

It's such an incredible thought. Sometimes we overlook the most important things in our lives. Actually, we do it quite often. We are so worried about our papers, and all the things that have to be done that we overlook the really important part....

People.

Real, living, breathing, caring, feeling people.

They are watching all the time. There is someone out there who watches you when you don't know they are there. You are unconsciously touching their life. You are shaping who they are and you don't even realize they exist.

To the world you may be one person, but most assuredly, to someone, somewhere, you are the whole world.

Whose life will you touch? You may never get another change with that one person. Don't waste the opportunities that God gives you.

Make today count!
Always,
~ Amanda ♥

Prayer

I am feeling kind of overwhelmed these days.

It seems like every time I turn around, there is a message, a class, a devotional, a special verse, a challenge or SOMETHING that is talking about prayer.

I've always heard that when you truly start to have a prayer life, it will revolutionize the way you see your walk with God and how you live from day to day. Of course, I believed what they said. These are great men and women of God! But very similar to my ideas of God as a young child, belief does not mean reality. And this was more of an abstract idea than a real truth. 

But after countless heartaches, trials, bad days and tripping on the stairs, I've learned something.

Sometimes you have to DO to understand.

Now, I fully understand that for most people this is not a stunningly new concept. Of course you have to do something to really understand it, right? I mean, doesn't everyone know that? That's what hands-on learning is all geared towards!

But that's not really what I mean. 

Take prayer for instance. You can hear every great message in the world about prayer and you can believe what everyone has said, and yes, even desire it for yourself. But until you actually DO what you've made a decision to do, you'll never really understand. 

Prayer really changes things! I have seen so many random blessings and amazing answers to prayer in my daily walk with God. It was truly incredible to see some of the things that God has taught me, and it humbles and thrills me at the same time. On the one hand I can hardly believe that God would be so good and gracious to me when I've neglected my daily walk with Him so many times. Makes me feel so small.......but on the flip side of the same coin, I almost stop breathing with joy when He shows me things in the Bible so clearly. He is always answering my questions exactly as I ask them.

The other day, I was really struggling with a burden the Lord had laid on my heart. I don't think I could even go back and tell you exactly where all the verses were that He used, but I fired all my questions at Him, and He answered them exactly every time through His Word! Don't tell me that the Bible isn't alive and tremendously powerful today because I know that it is!

This has been one of the most revolutionary times in my life as I learn more and more about Who my Saviour really is and how much deeper I can go and still not find the depths of His love and greatness. He is truly awesome and there really are no words that adequately describe His love for me.

I'm truly overwhelmed.

Make today count!
Always,

~ Amanda ♥

Disappointments....

You know when you look forward to something for a long time and then it doesn't turn out quite like you hoped that it would?

Yah. That's really rough stuff.

It hurts the worst when its something that you've been looking forward to for a long time.

Yes, disappointments can be really hard to deal with. But the most important part of handling those let downs is your response to them. You can give up and assume that life isn't worth it.... Or you can pick yourself up, brush off the dust of depression and face the next victory with your head held high.

You can't face another tough challenge with the baggage of your last, most recent loss. You can't hang your head and let yourself get beat, but you can pick up your shattered dreams and make a statement about your determination to do better next time.

"One's best success comes after one's greatest disappointments." - Henry Ward Beecher

Make today count! It's always worth it in the end to give everything you have!
Always,
~ Amanda ♥

Two posts in one day!!!!

Quit laughing... it isn't funny! Yes, I haven't been seen in a month and now I'm on the second post of the day. But I'm pretty sure you wanted to hear this poem. And if you didn't... well, kudos to you! Go ahead and just stop reading this and do your laundry or whatever else is so vitally important and fascinating... :P

Here you go :) Its my latest one, and also one of three I've written since I've been at college.

The Note

I opened up my mailbox.

It was just like any other day.

There were some clouds, some happy times

And often, I didn’t know what to say.

I gave a heavy sigh

And looked down deep inside.

There was a small white envelope

With my name on one side.

It was a very simple note

Plain printed in bold, strong hand.

There was a smudge in one corner

That I don’t think was planned.

I wondered who in the world

Would leave this note for me?

I didn’t know who it could be from

And I wondered, “What could it be?”

So I broke the seal and tore it open

And a card fell from inside.

On the front was a simple flower

But it was my favorite kind.

 I thought “It must have been someone

Who knows me pretty well.”

How they would know to pick my favorite flower

Was more than I could tell.

I picked up the card

And set the envelope aside.

The emotion and nervousness

Was more than I could hide.

I looked both ways

To make sure that no one could see.

But there was not a soul

And I was as alone as I could be.

I opened the card

And I read the first line.

It held my own name

So I was sure it was mine.

I recognized the handwriting

And my heart started to race.

I could hardly sit still

In the same place.

My eyes whizzed through the letter

And this is what I read:

“I know you wouldn’t expect this from me

But it just had to be said.

You are one of my best friends

And I hope that will always be the same.

You brighten a room by walking in,

And I smile when I hear your name.

Please don’t ever change

And I know that I like you.

Will you be my friend forever?”

And there was a signature too…

It was yours!

And my heart was touched.

No one else’s words

Could ever mean so much.

It was just a simple note

But it thrilled my heart.

I knew that a special friendship

Had just had its start.

Make today count!

Always,

~ Amanda ♥

*cringe*

*peeks around the corner to see if anyone is watching her*

*gulps*

*steps out from the long-time shadows*

Voila! I am back! Lol, I'm sure you are wondering where in the world I went. And I'm not going to give you the same old excuse that every college student keeps under their hat about being insanely busy. Sure, its true, but who really wants to here that AGAIN!?!?! So yah, let's just say I have a life and this hasn't been a huge part of it lately.

So what to actually tell you.... There really isn't a whole lot of news that is well..... newsy! I'm not in a relationship, and NO I don't want to be, and NO there is not anyone that I'm interested in. So there, now that we've got everyone's biggest question answered we can move on to more important things.

Like........... umm.......... yah............ well...................

Wow. My life is so busy and yet its boring? Certainly not. God is working in amazing ways on this campus, and this is certainly (and more certainly than ever) where God wants me. Its so amazing every day in chapel because I've never been so convicted by every single message that I hear. In the past, not every message I heard would move me, and in my heart I kind of made fun of those who went forward or applied every message to their life. But I know now how wrong I was to think that way. Every time the Lord speaks through any of the godly men who speak here, it is exactly what He knows I need to work on, and it is something He has specially prepared for me to hear.

Isn't it amazing how God can speak to everyone at the same time, and yet it is exactly what each one needs to hear? Isn't He an Amazing God we serve?

And He is soooooooooooooooooo good to me and in reality, to everyone and in everything. He is in control of every part of our lives, and it is our mistakes or unhappiness with His plan that cause problems in our lives. One thing that He has really been convicting my heart about lately is the fact that I need to be thankful in all things.

Thanksgiving was not too long ago, and I had a really nice time with my family. It was fun and a huge blessing just to spend time and gain wisdom from my uncle and aunt. But it taught me something more. God places things in our lives that we see as bad things, or as trials, as something going wrong. However, He has prepared each one specially for us, and knows that that trial will bring us to Himself. When we come to the end of ourselves, we find Him waiting with open arms and willing to help us whenever we ask.

And He is always there. He never forsakes us.... Isn't that incredible? We can know that no matter what we are going through, and no matter what He has brought in our lives, we are being better prepared for Heaven someday, and to serve Him here on this earth now.

God is so good, and a close walk with Him is truly the sweetest thing on earth. A Christian's heart should and will suffer when he loses fellowship with His Savior. Our God is everything we need, and oh, how much we forget that, and how often we try to do things our way.

So yes, my life has been busy, but through it all, my God is there, and He is taking me through whatever He has for me. I am content to walk with Him, and truly, more than content, because for me it is a privilege to serve the King who loves me and gave His Son for me.

I hope that through the busyness of the Christmas season, you still walk in step with your Lord. He takes the time to love you and guide your life, but any relationship will die if it is only one-sided.

Give God the glory and thanks for everything in your life, even what may seem like bad things. And always, live life on purpose. It isn't an accident that we are here. :)

Make today count!
Always,
~ Amanda ♥

Yes, I'm still here....

I know you're probably all wondering where in the world I went... Well its a long story.....

Ok so its not a long story. Its called a week-long module that took up all my free time and then mid-terms!!

What's new? Glad you asked!! I'll fill you in ☺.

1. I love all my friends! The Lord has changed my heart in the way that I see each one, and eliminated the friction between some of them. I am praising Him greatly, because I hate drama and stress between friends.

2. I got a new job! I walked on campus this semester not knowing how long I would last, because I didn't have a job and didn't have enough to pay the whole semester of school bill. But I got a call the day I arrived that informed me I did! I was so blessed and thankful to have one at all. It was working in the on-campus coffee shop, which was weird for me, since I had no experience at all in food service. But I was thankful and did the best I could with the job the Lord had given me.
And then I found out that I was moving! I was moving to the office, to the very job that I had originally applied for! I love it and I am just so blessed and thankful for everything!!

3. God has renewed my call to the mission field! This week is Missions Conference here, and it has been the best thing I have experienced in a long time. I loved the Virtuous Woman conference/module, and grew a ton in a week. I love each service at North Valley, and every chapel is such a blessing and time for spiritual learning. This campus is a gift from God, and it is a privilege to be here! But over all, Missions Conference is my favorite part. I have known I was called to be a missionary for several years, but I convinced myself that God could not use me, and I was also distracted by things in my life. In short, I wasn't listening to God's call, and I have gotten that all squared away with Him now. And let me tell you, its the best and only way!! I'm so glad I did!

God is soooo good, and I haven't even started explaining all the ways He has showered His favor and grace upon my life. I love Him so much and owe Him my all in everything I do!

May you seek to serve the Lord with everything you have. He is in control of your life, and you owe everything  to Him! ☺ Give Him your all, and He will multiply it to reach so many.

Make today count! That's why God has given it to you!
Always,
~ Amanda ♥

Diesekting some verses

Ok, your first question is probably "why in the world did you spell dissect so oddly?" Well, I'll tell you. I couldn't remember how to spell it, and so I just totally demolished it beyond recognition. ☺

Now that we've got that out of the way, we can get down to the real reason I decided to blog today. Ok, so not the real reason, because the real reason is that I felt guilty because I haven't posted anything for a while. So, how about we talk about the almost real reason that I am blogging on this lovely night. (And it is lovely. Everyone says its cold, but that's because this is California, and they don't know what really nice weather is even all about!)

I thought I would share with everyone some misc thoughts from my devotions and the chapel message today. Both were really a blessing, and they kind of tied together. Isn't is amazing how God works in such amazing ways to speak to our hearts? What an absolutely amazing and incredible God we serve. ☺

I decided to start reading 1 Corinthians today, after I was finished with the Proverb of the day (which, btw, was also a blessing, I just chose not to talk about that now.)

So, after skimming the first few verses, they seemed to be just leading into the rest of the chapter. Knowing that it is mainly an introduction, I decided it would be ok if I just skipped over that, and I wouldn't really miss anything after all.... right?

WRONG! Every word of God is pure and perfect and needful. So I got convicted about that and decided to start over at the beginning. Nice way to start devos eh? With conviction! ☺

So on to verse 1 I went. It reads: "Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,..." I read it. And then I read it again. And I thought... "what in the world am I supposed to get out of that?"

And then it proceeded to hit me!! Paul was called to be an apostle, and God called him "through the will of God." Forgive me, I'm not really a Bible scholar, just a student. And to me, that means that God called him while he was doing the will of his Father. In other words, God cannot call anyone that is not already in HIs will. If I'm looking for the call and the touch of God in my life, I have to already be doing His revealed will, and what I know that He has for me today. But I wondered, am I? There we go under conviction again... I know that too often (and if it only happened once, wouldn't that be too often?) I'm just doing my own thing and then confused why God isn't using me. *face palm* It really isn't that difficult to understand, if I could just get it.......

Ok, so moving on, I came across verses 5-9. Here it says that we are enriched by Him in all utterance and knowledge. Every moment that we spend with the Lord increases the richness of our walk with Him. We desire to walk with Him is in direct proportion to how much time we already spend with Him. And it isn't just in what we say and do, it has to reach all the way down into our heart.


When people see how much we love the Lord, and how close our walk with Him is, the testimony that they've heard about us will be verified by how we live our lives.
When we are in the will of God, and walking with Him consistently and faithfully, His Holy Spirit will confirm that in our hearts. And He will confirm it until the end of our life, so that we will be blameless before Him.
God is the standard of faithfulness that we must all strive to reach. And He's the one that called us to be in fellowship with Him in the first place. 


How I hope that my walk with God will draw others to me. I don't want my attractiveness to come from my personality or anything about me, but from the Lord's spirit shining through me. 


I hope that if you actually took the time to wade all the way through this book, that somewhere along the way you have received a blessing from it. I truly hope so, since that is in reality, the only reason I have this blog!


Make today count! You aren't guaranteed tomorrow, and until you can be faithful in today, God won't give you anything more!
Always,
~ Amanda ♥

Thirsty, but for what?

There was a message in chapel the other day about being thirsty, and how God will satisfy that thirst when we are hungering for Him.

But we have to actually be thirsty for the right thing. Just desiring anything, or following our own will and desires above what God's will for us actually not going to help us out any in the long run. We have to correctly desire what He wants for our lives, and want His best before He can fulfill our desires. If we are truly inside of His will and living in step with Him each day, our desires will match up with what He knows is best for us.

I want God's will for my life to be first and foremost and in the front of my mind all of the time. I want to love Him totally, and I want Him to have all of my heart.

Make today count!
Always,
~ Amanda ♥

Finally understanding

I came to college knowing that it was the Lord's will for me to be here. There was no doubt in my mind that this was where He wanted me, and I would only be happy right here, right now.

But I still couldn't help wondering why He wanted me here. I knew that He did want me here, I just didn't know why.... I was trusting Him, and I knew that He would take care of all the details involved.

But now I know. ☺ In a service during Pastors' Conference, He spoke to my heart. The speaker said that for a lot of kids that come to Bible college, they go from being a big fish in a small pond to a small fish in a large pond. And sometimes, He is just trying to humble us so that He can use us. I know that is true for me, and it is a lesson I needed to learn.

I'm so thankful for the grace of God and how He is leading me in school here. I am happy here, as much as I miss everyone back home.

Please keep praying for me, and thank you for the blessing you are!

Make today count!
Always,
~ Amanda ♥