Thoughts of the day....

All of you who know me well know that I struggle a lot with decisions. Most of all, God knows it and has been giving me opportunities to learn how to seek Him, wait on Him and act in faith trusting in Him. Most recently I have been praying about going to Mexico with our church. I went last year, and loved it. While I was there I thought 'I am definitely coming back!' What I didn't know was that I would once again be without a job when the time came to commit. But, after praying about it I feel confident to move forward at this point with plans to go!

Speaking of jobs...this is the other area where God has kindly and providentially chosen to give me an opportunity to grow in faith. I had been getting kind of weary of this process, but the Lord has given me renewed energy and faith for it. He is so good. I put in an application at Grace Christian School today for a Kindergarten teacher. And planning to visit a few more schools tomorrow and next week... Turner Creek Elementary and Morrisville Elementary. I'll update if anything happens :)

The Lord has been increasingly putting a burden in my heart to pour my life out for His purposes and mission and not my own. I can get so self absorbed, caught up with my own little 'problems' and situations and not aware of how God is near and at work. As Eric Simmons said, God has placed us in our specific culture for His mission. So, I've been asking the Lord to open my eyes to the opportunities he has placed around me right here right now.

I read Isaiah 58 today... verse 9-11 stood out to me:
"Then you shall call and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say 'Here I am'. If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters do not fail."

This has also been my prayer....
"Take all I am Lord and all that I cling to,
You are my Savior I owe everything to,
Take all the treasures that lie in my storehouse,
They cannot follow when I enter your house.

So I surrender all to you....
I surreneder all to you.

Take all my cravings for vain recognition,
Fleshly indulgence and worldly ambition
I want so much Lord to make you the focus,
To serve you in secret and never be noticed.

Take all my hunger for all that's forbidden
Every desire and sin I keep hidden
Search me and know me, I want to bring to you
A life that is holy and sanctified through you.

So I surrender all to you....
I surrender all to you.

From SGM 'WorshipGod' (can't remember the author at this moment)

PS: on a totally different note...I was lying awake last night (the result of caffeine)...and thinking about this blog and different possibilities for it -- so here's a sneak peak at what will be coming soon (probably in semi regular installments)....

• Things I'm grateful for (CJ says a grateful person is a humble person, and I want to be a humble person)
• Tributes to people I think are truly great...
• Pictures