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And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. Romans 8:28-29
we know.
and we know.
and we have this awareness and revelation.
we know.
we know that God is good and that He is faithful and that He is our Heavenly Father.
we know that He is the same today as yesterday and will be tomorrow.
we know that He has done all that needs to be done to make us His children and that it is by grace and grace alone that we are saved.
we know that God is at work in our lives and His intentions are good.
He is at work in our lives turning what was meant for evil around for good and for His glory.
He is at work for the good.
but i am aware that sometimes OUR perception of good is very different from GOD’S perception of good.
God is at work in our lives to conform us to the likeness of His Son, Jesus.
He is at work in us forming godly character, at work creating a family resemblance.
sometimes character formation isnt a happy task.
but God isnt at work for the happiness of us. He is at work for the good.
like a Father.
because of that reality, that WE KNOWNESS, i choose to trust God and His handiwork in my life.
i can trust that He is at work for good and for His glory
there is a reward
there is a triumph
and in the process His heart cry is that we come to Him.
Jesus has never ever asked for us to be perfect. He simply wants us perfectly surrendered. I often pray, “Oh Jesus… I am such a mess but I am Yours. Show me… help me… forgive me… reassure me… and pour your tender mercy upon me.”
And He does. And He always will. My imperfections are safely tucked within the reality of His perfection.
**** love love love YOU’RE ALREADY AMAZING by Holley Gerth… the chapter on “what’s your emotional style” so clicked with me… i dont know whether it was a fashion/shopping thing or the fact that as a mums group (and the women from our young adults housegroup) we’ve been going through UNGLUED by lysa terkeurst so i’m more hyper aware of ways to articulate emotionals and emotional transformations… nothing says it better than an extreme makeover!
we all have an emotional style… a one of a kind, complex way of showing our hearts to the world. imagine i pick you and a friend up and take you to your favourite shop. as you walk through the door i say “surprise! i’m sending you on a shopping spree. you both get to pick an outfit. there’s only one rule – it has to reflect you.” while you and your friend might have a lot in common, you’re most likely to get something entirely different. maybe you’re a “jeans a t-shirt” kind of girl while she heads right over to the pumps and pearls. even if you choose something similar you’ll probably pick out a different colour or size. what if i took you to another store, but this time it was filled with emotional expressions instead of clothes? the same thing would probably happen. your friend might feel totally comfortable in bold yellow joy while you feel more at home in the laid back blue of peace. there would be all kinds of reasons why you made your choices, ranging from where you grew up and what you were taught in church, to how your brain is wired. God, the ultimate designer, has custom created an emotional wardrobe for you. and its beautiful. ~ Holley Gerth // You’re Already Amazing page 60
each one of us thinks our normal is THE normal. our way of life, responses, and yes, emotions make sense to us. but ultimately, our reality has to be tested against God’s ways of doing things. ~ Holley Gerth // You’re Already Amazing page 65
it may be just that once made sense no longer works now. its time for a new emotional fitting! you may have responses in your emotional closet you “outgrew” years ago. ~ Holley Gerth // You’re Already Amazing page 67
its one of the great mysteries of womanhood that we all have moments when we stand in our closet, look at our clothes, and still think “i’ve got nothing to wear”. and i’ve got a confession: its bee one of those weeks for me emotionally. when that happens, its time for an emotional style check. ~ Holley Gerth // You’re Already Amazing page 70
Thankfully God’s promises give us something better to wear. ~ Holley Gerth // You’re Already Amazing page 72
what’s one emotional style you’ve learned from your upbringing that you want to keep?
what’s one you’ve outgrown and need to replace with God’s way of doing things instead?
direction determines destination. every time.
it breaks my heart how many people i speak with who don’t connect the dots between the choices they make and the outcomes they experience.
are there discrepancies between what you desire in your heart and what you are doing with your life?
direction is everything. direction determines destination. that is why we cannot afford to live disconnected lives. when we discover those subtle and sometimes not so subtle discrepancies between intent and lifestyle we should stop and pay attention. we should break the habit of drawing a circle around individual decisions and events and dismissing them as isolated occurrences. these are steps. steps that lead somewhere. because life is connected.
the principal of the path is operating in your life every minute of every day. you are currently on a financial path of some kind, you are on a relational path, you are continuing down a moral and ethical path. and each of these paths has a destination. my hope is that by becoming aware of this powerful principal you will have the wisdom to know which path to choose and the courage to stay the course.
the challenging aspect about picking the right paths is that the choices are NOW. the outcomes are LATER. the decisions you make today have ramifications down the road.
{from Andy Stanley – Principal of the Path}
1. What is it that you really want to be and do?
2. What are you doing really well that is helping you get there?
3. What are you not doing well that is preventing you from getting there?
4. What will you do differently tomorrow to meet those challenges?
5. How can I help / where do you need the most help?
1. What is it that you really want to be and do? This question is about vision and purpose. It clarifies where you want to be and what the target is.
2. What are you doing really well that is helping you get there? This question helps spotlight a core strength and the person’s ability to make choices and actions to move towards his/her goal.
3. What are you not doing well that is preventing you from getting there? This is about facilitating an honest and critical assessment of the roadblocks, challenges or weaknesses in a person that is slowing their ability to win the game; to meet the goal from question one.
4. What will you do different tomorrow to meet those challenges? Questions two and three help determine whether people are spending the right time on the right things. Question four identities real life actions and changes that a person can make to change so that they do hit their goal. direction determines destination. every time.
{from CWB}
"sometimes we girls think if we don’t make instant progress, then real change isn’t coming. but that’s not so. there is a beautiful reality called imperfect progress. the day i realized the glorious hope of this kind of imperfect change is the day i gave myself permission to believe i really could be different!" ~ lysa terkerust / unglued
*** i couldn’t help it… its been a LOST kind of day today… i love LOST
okay i got inspired to write a second one. is that allowed?
so my family are obsessed with design shows. i think our two favourites would be The Block Australia and the Design by Novogratz.
there is just something amazing about a house or room that goes from zero to hero.
and a lot of work that goes into that.
its a process of transformation, of change, of grace, of renovation. it takes removal and replacing, demolishing and deconstruction, it takes creativity and care.
"God changes caterpillars into butterflies, sand into pearls, and coal into diamonds using time and pressure. Imagine what he can do with you."
you are a work of art. you are a work in process. you are a design challenge.
“in every block of marble i see a statue as plain as though it stood before me shaped and perfect in attitude and action. i only have to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it.” Michelangelo
“For we are God’s own handiwork (His workmanship). We are His masterpiece, created anew in Christ Jesus so we may do the good things He prepared and planed in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)
Masterpiece: 1. A work of outstanding artistry, extraordinary skill, or workmanship. 2. An artist’s or craftsman’s best piece of work.
Sculpting a masterpiece doesn’t happen overnight – it’s a process that requires time and careful work. The same is true for imperfect progress. God is chiselling us, making us new – and that requires time, careful work and a great deal of grace. ~ Lysa Terkeurst
my life is under construction.
i am just a jar of clay.
i am being renovated by the master designer of the universe, who breathed out the stars, and clothed the fields, and coloured the oceans.
i am unique, with a unique purpose and destiny.
i surrender my life afresh to the hand of the designer, to the one who pulls out the old and forges the new.
i am a before awaiting an after.
my eyes are set on a glorious forever after.
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14
Five Minute Friday is a feature over at Lisa-Jo Bakers TALES FROM A GYPSY MAMA blog. i first read about it on my friend Fee’s blog and thought it sounded fun!
So, let’s do this thing. Let’s write.
Set your timer, clear your head, for five minutes of free writing without worrying about getting it right.
1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community..
OK, are you ready?
#FiveMinuteFriday —>Click to Tweet that.
**** notes from sunday morning at the river ~ guest speaker kristen williams
Matt 24:14 then the end shall come
The gospel expresses the kings dominion over everything
With the king comes the kingdom
Want the king more
Heb 6:12
Inherit what is promised
Faith and patience
Faith days NOW
Patience says NOT YET
Rom 8:22
We have an inward longing for a outward different reality that we do not have yet
Prov 29:18
When there is no revelation of Gods redemptive purpose
Live in a way today that prepares us for tomorrow
Run with the horses now
God wont promote you to a place that your character cannot withstand
Faith is expectation
Patience is contention
To become strong enough to carry it
Phil 3:12 I press on
matt 6:9 your kingdom come
Live on and love that tension
Because God is at work to shape us
Jacob wrestled with God and then walked with a limp
Faith with no patience produces shooting stars, here today gone tomorrow
Patience without faith produces hope less christians
James 1:17 even the wait is a perfect gift
Theologically and experiencally know that the kingdom is not now and now
John 16:33 in this world you will have pressure
See, it is I who created the blacksmith
who fans the coals into flame
and forges a weapon fit for its work. Isaiah 54:16
Many lessons will be taught to you before they’re profitably taught through you.
Beth Moore
coming up at the end of march i will have been gluten free for a year. a whole year.
i’ve been egg free for about ten years and dairy free since september.
i miss cheese.
i miss soft white fluffy buns and pizza.
i miss takeaways and convenient food.
i miss puff pastry and macaroni cheese.
but for me my allergies just aren’t about food. its about life. and surrender.
its about walking with jesus.
yes i know. geeky eh. but it has become an analogy for me.
you see i have a very restricted diet.
there is food i WANT to eat (even crave to eat) but i know it will make me really sick. sick sometimes for a week. sick enough so i am unable to function as a wife, mother or person.
so i choose health and all the restrictions that brings. i choose a lifestyle of surrender.
sometimes its really easy and sometimes its really hard, but i keep the end goal in mind – health.
feeling well. feeling energetic. free from the limitations reactions bring.
the same in my life, there are things i feel i want, even crave, but they’re things that God says are not beneficial to me, and are sin, and so even though the temporary may feel good, i choose the eternal.
i choose surrender.
i choose restrictions.
i choose to be free.
i choose life.
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