July – More quotes from my studies… and some thoughts about them..!

Believing God by Beth Moore

“I never want to grow distant from the God I love or become dull of spiritual hearing.  Furthermore, I want God to know that He can trust me with a few days, weeks, or months of relative ease every now and then.”

-          We have had so many days, weeks, and months of trials that I would LOVE for Him to be able to trust me with a few days of ease… but more important than an easy life is the fact that I do want to know the love of God in a personal and intimate way.  I want to lean upon Him and feel His peace even through the storms of life. 

“Words hurt. Words influence. Words echo in the canyons of our memories and reflect in the mirrors of our minds.” 

-          I know that my words can either be used to build someone up or tear them down… I recognize the impact they have had on my own life throughout the years… the phrases that are repeated in my mind… especially during the times I am struggling the most.  I also know that God can heal us from the pain of these hurtful words if we allow Him too.  My desire is to use my words to encourage others, especially my family… but in the times I fail I want my loving God to heal them from the pain that my words may have caused. 

“I can’t imagine anything more terrifying than believing I could be forgotten by God…”

-          I guess the only thing more terrifying would be to never know the love of God.  I am so grateful that not only does He love me but He knows where I am at each moment of my life… He will never leave me or forsake me.  I wish everyone could know this kind of love. 

“You have not arrived accidentally in your present place on the map of your Holy Land.  You have had an amazing ride with God, whether or not you realize it… By believing God was there all along – wooing us, planning for us, loving us, and contenting with those who contended with us – we are getting to infuse our pasts with present-active-participle faith.. when we allow God to change the way we see our pasts, the power of our pasts changes dramatically.” 

-          Wow… I love looking back on my past and seeing the work of God throughout the years… especially in the times that were the darkest.  God has directed my every step and He has me where I am right now for a reason… I may not understand the reason but I can trust in the God who is guiding me. 

Love One Another by Gloria Chisolm

“Love doesn't always look like love… We are all responsible for ourselves and how we allow God to love through us.”

-          Often times we try to compare ourselves to others… am I loving and serving like so and so… are my kids as obedient and respectful as so and so… do they feel loved by me..?  But the truth is, at times as parents we may have to make choices that our children don’t think are very loving… or maybe our friends don’t think are very loving.  All we can do is hold ourselves accountable to God and what He is asking of us and seek Him for guidance through these times.  I desire God’s wisdom in loving others even if the decisions I make don’t always look loving towards others.    

“How can I order my day around conscious acts of loving, and how can I know best on whom to focus today?  Every time we go out into the world in any capacity, we are representatives of Christ.”

-          Every day we are surrounded by people who need love… those in our family, those who live near us, and those who are complete strangers.  We have the responsibility as Christ’s ambassadors to love the world and to demonstrate His love… we need to make a conscious effort to show love and take advantage of the opportunities we have to do so.   But we also need to be wise in knowing who God is specifically asking us to love today.

“How can you love your world when you’re mad at everyone in it?   Basically, we have to: 1. Get validation for our anger so we can fully express it;  2. Honestly evaluate whether we’re blaming someone else for the situation causing our anger and if so, take personal responsibility; 3. Grieve the feeling underneath our anger (usually sadness and/or fear); and 4. Let go of our anger by forgiving whoever we’re mad at and asking God to heal us.” 

-          Anger can be a huge hinder in our ability to love others.  I've seen how it hinders my own ability when I get caught up in my anger over the complete injustice we have had to deal with over L&I.  I constantly have to remind myself that God is in control of the situation.  Yes, it is not wrong to get angry over the situation… there are a lot of underlying emotions that go into this anger… but God is the only one who can bring about complete healing.  So, when I start to feel the anger build up and overwhelm me I try to refocus on God… usually by reading the Psalms and praying.  We may be at different stages in this process with each person we are angry with... but the goal is to continue to walk through the stages until we reach complete healing in God.  

  

People Can’t Drive you Crazy if you don’t give them the Keys by Mike Bechtle

“If you continue to do what you've always done, you’ll continue to get what you've always gotten… If you want to anything to be different, you have to do things differently.”

-          How true is this… that is why so many people get on the crazy cycle and can’t seem to get off.  We try over and over to change a situation but we keep doing the same thing and end up with the same results.  In one situation in life I am trying to brainstorm different ways to handle the situation in hopes of getting different results… positive ones.  I pray that God will give me the wisdom to figure things out now and that we’ll see His hand of blessing upon our family. 

“Whenever we try to appear perfect to crazy people, we’re ensuring that our relationship will never be healthy.  It’s not based on truth; it’s based on a contrived image we've developed.”

-          Wow… coming from a person who tries to appear “perfect” before other people so often this was hard hitting.  How often has trying to maintain perfection actually been what destroyed the relationship in the first place.  How often can humility and transparency be the key to healing and growth in a relationship?  I see this in my own marriage.  I try to appear that I have everything under control and that I am not affected by our circumstances but instead I end up pushing away the one person I need the most in order to make it through these trials.  It is when I open up to him and share what I am struggling with the most that we can draw strength from each other to make it another day. 

“When we’re caught in the emotional chaos of our lives, we need someone else to challenge our perspective, provide insight, and ask the right questions.”

-          I thank God for the people in my life that have taken the time to ask me questions… give me advice… or just listen to me so I can process what is going on and how I need to change in order to bring more glory to God. 

“Boundaries are like fences; when we've put them in place, it helps keep intruders from invading our sanity… boundaries are the decisions we've made that protect our emotions.”

-          I have never thought of boundaries in this sense.  These last couple years I have had to really learn to put up boundaries.  This isn't something that is easy for me since I don’t like conflict but I've learned the importance of putting up boundaries to keep me sane. 

“No matter how crazy someone is, God never gives up on them.  He cares deeply about them as well as us, and is working around the clock to influence change in their lives.”

-          Thankfully this is true about everyone… I know that I am a “crazy” person to someone else.  God won’t give up on me and the areas in my own life that I need to change.  He desires to change us and mold us into the image of His Son.  God also loves the crazy people in my life… which is why praying for them usually brings about a change of attitude towards them.  May God’s redeeming work be seen in my own life as well as the crazy people I come in contact with.