Future Spouse Analogy

Okay, I'm taking a quick study break to write a silly analogy about finding a future spouse. I'm in no rush and am quite content at the moment in my singleness. BUT...

I just had the random thought that when I meet the "right" man out there, it will be right. As right as searching for a coat. Last winter, I needed a coat that looked nice with jeans (casual wear), and dressy clothes. Well I'm not much on trendiness unfortunately, and have no clue about style, but I just KNEW when I saw the coat I wanted it would be perfect. And it was. I wanted one with color, brown and black both I felt would limit and plus I just love color, can't help it. I didn't want to pay a lot for it (not big on spending mulah on clothes) and refused to settle on something I wouldn't wear for the rest of my life. :) This is much like my future spouse. I know what I "want" and some things just aren't worth settling for. I found my coat, it was perfect, and one day, Lord willing, I will be placed with the perfect mate for me! yay.

Blogging lends itself way to easy for me to write silly thoughts. Back to reading about the development of maternal child health programs!

Motives

My Opinion: Motives are everything.

In James 4:3 the Word says,

"When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."

I have learned over the past couple of years that motives make us do what we do. Many times I have not done something or said something because I knew that I didn't really mean it(thanks to the sweet voice of the Holy Spirit). The Holy Spirit and living Word has kindly rebuked me from doing GOOD many many times because the motives of my heart were just wrong and self-righteous or self-glorifying most likely. Even just saying something as simple as, "you mean so much to me" or "I'm praying for you"(this statement is way overused in my opinion). If I say it, I mean it. I made up my mind dog on it(I mean really, how many times must I be corrected before change occurs?), that I do not want to be a liar no matter how great it makes me look. I want my actions to reflect my words in order to please and glorify the Lord and not myself. Doing things for others should come out of an overflow of our love for the Lord and a promting from the Holy Spirit.


It has been rather frustrating actually. Anytime the Lord works to remove the sin/idols/dirt from my heart and thoughts, it is painful and frustrating. I'm pretty confident that every active believer of Christ will admit this. The bottom root in my personal case is Pride. Lord forgive me for thinking I am anything apart from you(John 15:5). "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Proverbs 3:34 I am extremely grateful for this, that our Savior loves us enough to stop us from doing something that would only bring praise to ourselves and not point others to Him. I fail on a daily basis because of pride. So when I/we ask for the Lord to remove the pride in our hearts, to show and remind us of the wretched sinners we are... and the Cross, His grace and mercy cover us. How thankful I am for the gospel of grace.


I don't like the wording of this blog very much...just sayin. :) Read the Bible, it is much better...it doesn't contain persuading human words.

Selfish

Something I think about when I'm selfish...

If you're a human, you're selfish, bottom line. I am a great example and am so thankful that through the loving kindness of my heavenly Father, He reminds me of this. There was once a time when I thought I was not selfish, I did things for people and would give away anything really and always thought about them before myself. Yep, we could call that unselfish, right? Until... I traded selfishness in for PRIDE. Because I was selfless in my actions, I became prideful in my thoughts. I was way excited about being selfless and got more excited about being selfless than I did about actually being excited for whom I was putting before myself. My motives had changed. If this wording confuses you, here is a quote by C.S. Lewis that sums it up...

"The negative ideal of unselfishness carries with it the suggestion not primarily of securing the good things for others, but of going without them ourselves, as if our abstinence and not their happiness was the important point." - C.S. Lewis

Soooo, it's true that we receive more joy from giving and putting others before ourselves than the other way around, but let us not get too far ahead of ourselves and lose all sense of humility in our motives. This could be said for all that we do...

Verb=action

"Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." 1 Jn. 3:18

Love is a verb. Let's face it, sometimes talk is cheap. But when you talk the talk AND walk the walk, it can be very exhausting. I don't do it nearly enough, therefore I am not too tired at the moment.

Love languages, how many times has this been the topic of your conversation? Everybody wants to be/feel loved, of course! Alot of times I'll observe others and critique them (many times unfortunately before the plank is out of my own eye) and there's one thing I've noticed. People are precious. We try to love other people with all of our heart and all the while not realizing that we are loving like we want to be loved and the other person feels nothing. Thus, we have love languages. Loving people the way they receive it the most even when we don't prefer to receive it that way is very difficult, and requires us to give a little without necessarily being fulfilled ourselves= SELFLESSNESS. One of my love languages is physical touch...one of them. This is evident to most that know me, I will give a hug at the drop of a hat. My tender heart is still getting over the fact that not everybody has the same love language and that it's not all about me(go figure). If we want to serve people truely, to be selfless, we gotta figure out what means the most to them and love them that way. That's all I'm saying...nothin' new under the sun...

The greatest example of this Love to no surprise is Christ himself who, "demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom. 5:8)

Once again: "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us...." 1 Jn 3:16

"...because God is love. 9This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." 1 John 4:8-10

I encourage you to read all of 1 John...and perhaps 1 Cor. 13 the luvv chapter (ohh la lah). Right when you think you really love people, just read the verse that says love is patient. It works every time for me. Patience = humility and I lack both alot of times. Thank goodness the Lord is quick to show me. :) ouch.

Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering?

Sometimes it's nice not being so close to people. Cuz when you start to get so close you're treating someone like family, it may not be the best thing. I don't treat my family as great as I'd like or tell them as often as I should how much they mean to me. I don't tell them how thankful I am for them, or do random nice things that I know will make their day, or just tell them I love them for the hec of it. But I do appreciate and love them, more than anybody! But it's true, I've seen that with relationships I have that after time, you don't express or say things because its assumed. I think that's stupid. :) I'm sure that is something I will work on with my husband one day, to keep the fire a burnin'!!!!! haha...until then I will practice with those I love no matter how long I've known them, I will treat them as nicely as I do strangers. Cause that's how I want to be treated(when all else fails, remember the golden rule).

funny story

The other day, I called my best friend a goose. I forgot the word silly and it was funny. The end.

contentment and true religion

Lately, the Lord has made known to me so many things I have to be thankful for. My heart gets overwhealmed so easily at the simplest things and I don't want Him to remove me from this place, ever. As it says in 1 Tim. 6:6 "But godliness with contentment is great gain." So the Word on my mind lately is

Proverbs 30:7-9 "Two things I ask of you, O Lord; do not refuse me before I die: keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the Lord?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God." This is my prayer.

Also, another scripture that I cannot seem to get off my mind is

James 1:27 "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." I highlighted the last part because in my growing love and compassion for fatherless children and the elderly, I have not really ever meditated on the last part of this verse, until recently. This is just as important as the first part of the verse, obviously. It's important, huge, to put on the armor of God and fight off the pollution that is perhaps deceiving us and keeping us from ministering to the orphans and widows(and everyone) for God's glory. It's good to be reminded that the battle against the principalities of this world requires DEFENSE and offense...and flat out RUNNING from all that contradicts the teaching of the Word of God.

That's it for now.

Blogging hesitations

I like the idea of blogging but I am scared to spill things out that are a big part of who I am, such as my thoughts. Why? Because the end result is major vulnerability. I want to be cautious about who I spill my heart/thoughts out to and have discernment about how much people know about me...I don't really know why. Honestly, I think it's because the only 2 "people" I care to ever know me completely or at least to hear me express my heart and/or thoughts are God and my future spouse, whoever he may be.

If these are the only two people I share my heart with completely, they are the only two people who can hurt it. The Lord does not have plans to harm me so I know I am safe there, and as for my future spouse, I'll cross that bridge when I get there. :) But it's time to open up, risk a little pain and hope for the best!

So here are a plethora of my thoughts(well, soon to be) with explanations tagging along. I'll try to make this complicated mess in my brain we like to call thoughts as reader friendly as possible. :) Enjoy!

Great

Ha! I have NO clue how to use this stuff, I think I already put a title where it doesn't belong. Kristi meet technology. woot.