Jeremiah 29:13

"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart"

I have found this to be so true today. I have been seeking everything but God the last few days. I have been living in my own self-indigence. I have been focused on what I want in life and not what God wants for me. I had realized that there was a problem and yet had let it all blind me so I couldn't conceive a way out.

Then I read the about the Group Challenge set forth by Shawn Blanc. God is so amazing that he sets things before us at just the right time. He draws us to him all we have to do is say yes! So that is exactly what I did, I said yes to God and set out my goals.

What a difference a day makes. God is so faithful that when we choose to seek him with all our hearts He allows us to find him! Today, God has shown up in so many different ways!

Really it started last night as I read another chapter in the book David, by Charles Swindoll. Once again what read was exactly what I needed to hear in that moment. This chapter was about how in the height of David's reign as King as the nation of Israel his greatest weaknesses were exposed. He listed that the three major failures in David's life were that he became so involved in public pursuits that he lost control of his family, he indulged himself in extravagant extremes of passion, and that he became a victim of self-sufficiency and pride. Swindoll also listed three lasting lessons that we can learn at David's expense; prosperity and ease are perilous times, not merely blesings; gross sin is a culmination of a process, not a sudden act; and confession and repentance help heal a wound, but they will never erase all the scars.

The second point of both of these lists spoke right to my heart. Though I wouldn't say I have been induging myself in extravagant extremes yet, it is the little stuff that culminates and opens the door to gross sin. All I could do as I read that was priase the Lord. He opened my eyes to see the path I was getting ready to head down if I didn't make some different choices quickly. I honestly took time to passionately seek Him in the word and He showed me himself.

Then today at school, I didn't get frustrated with my students behavior. When a child acted up I said a fast prayer before I let any words come out my mouth. The Lord was diligent to help me and give me wise counsel in how to handle every situation. God is so faithful!

During my planning time today I was having a hard time focusing on things that were good. These thoughts running though my head were complelty distracting me from my work and from hearing from God. So I said a prayer turned on the radio and worshiped right there in my classroom for 15 minutes. God showed up and the thoughts that had been running though my mind were gone. I was able to focus on the job at hand and Praise the Lord in my work.

God is so faithful! That is my phrase for the day. As Jeremiah 29:13 says when we seek Him with all our heart we will find Him. That is a promise and God never goes back on his promises. Praise the Lord for He is so good!

Group Project: Challenge

It is great how God always brings us the right things at the right time. Here lately I have felt like my focus has become a bit skewed. I have a burning desire to seek God's face and yet at every turn it seems I actively pursue something else. And yet again God gets put on the back burner. Then when I lie on my bed at night I finally allow that fire to come forth and my body is so weary from chasing so many other desires throughout the day that I quickly fall asleep even in the middle of praying. That is not quality time spent with the one my heart loves. I wouldn't expect to maintain a relationship with any human if I only took the time to be with them for about 10 minutes every night while I fell asleep. Why do I assume that is enough for God? He deserves so much more of me!

Today I was reading my friend JoAnna's Blog and she had decided to take up challenge presented to her from a blog called The Fight Spot. Basically the challenge is to set daily goals for maturity in God. I am always up for a challenge and I think this is a good way for me to honesty focus on living a life full of Christ each and everyday.

My three goals are:
1) Passionately pursue God in prayer, worship, and the word (meaning more than 10 minutes before I go to bed)
2) Show God's love to every child that walks through my classroom, especially the most difficult ones.
3)Make Christ the center of all my relationships especially in dating.

I honestly think this is going to be a great way to really look at every aspect of my life and truly see where I allow God to reign and where I try to shut Him out. Having daily goals will give me something concrete to examine in my life everyday.

Plus it will be handy having doing this with someone else. JoAnna can be there to keep me accountable. (Right JoAnna??)