Not too long ago I caught myself in the position of following the example of others. They were Christian people who I looked up to. The problem was that I caught myself following their example so much that I had gotten away from letting Christ be my first and truest example. I was reading the Bible one night and I came to that realization that although these people were doing good things for Christ, they were not the ones that I needed to be living my life by. They were absolutely encouraging and helped me to see good decisions to be made but my true and supreme example should always be Jesus Christ. The way He lived was so beautiful and I make a choice to keep Him number one, above any mentor, friend, or leader.

I am in awe right now of how wonderful and how great God is. He continues to answer my prayers and I am also so grateful for the way I see Him working in my friends’ lives as well. I am so glad for the way He loves us.

Sometimes there are prayers that I’m praying and they are not being answered in the way that I thought they should be. That’s the exciting part. That’s the part where God shows up and does more than I could ever have asked, thought, or imagined. I have stopped wanting things my way. I am glad His ways are not my ways! They are so much better. I know that I can trust Him. I will keep following Him. It’s not always easy to keep moving forward when I can’t see an answer but I will keep moving towards Him. It is in those times that He strengthens me and helps me to learn. When I don’t understand I can still trust God’s heart. He won’t lead me astray and He knows exactly what He’s doing.

I had been praying for a few things for a long time and very recently (including today) God has answered those prayers and has put me on the steps towards making my dreams into a reality.  

Hello Blog Readers :)

 
I am excited to share with you, the first poem I've ever posted on my blog! I have been feeling so thankful to God today for His love and His sweet Spirit. My heart was so full that I just wrote the following poem that spilled out of me in about 10 minutes.  <3  I hope you like it.

 

Right now I feel God in my atmosphere

I am so glad that Your Spirit is here

You saved me and allowed me to be set free

I pray others would see Your love in me

You are so great, so mighty, so true

My mind is different and is totally new

My heart was calloused and didn’t let people in

Thank You for warming it and forgiving my sins

How can I not be on my knees?

Praising You continuously

Thank You for coming into my life

Bringing truth to all those lies

With the immeasurable work in me that You’ve done

I know there is more and You’ve only begun!

I say YES, as I take Your hand

My heart is Yours, The Writer in the Sand

I think it’s very important to celebrate the things that make us unique. I think that it’s important to feel good about ourselves and concentrate on who God made us to be – inside and out. To feel confident and be faithful with what He’s given us. To take hold of the gifts that God has placed in our hands and make the most of it. I want to do my best with my talents and allow God to shine through me. 

God is teaching me to take my eyes off of disappointment and actively appreciate all that is around me that He gave me to enjoy. Although circumstances can be disappointing God has used disappointment to show me the right direction.
Focusing on hurt and disappointment too long is a trick of the enemy. It’s unhealthy. Choosing to continue to dwell on the hurt can take me off course and attempt to rob me of joy and attempt to rob God of the glory He deserves. If my mind keeps rewinding the disappointments of the past it blinds me and I can't see as clear as I used to. With my mind distracted and discouraged, it stops me from thinking about the goodness that God gave me. This leads to a hindrance in the flow of my praises to my King.
I’ve got to stay close to the Lord who loves me and keep moving forward. There is so much to be thankful for, so many people to love, so many ways to enjoy life, and so many opportunities to take advantage of. When I start to remember the disappointment, I choose to encourage myself in the Lord like David did (book of Psalms). It is then that I feel freedom, joy, and peace. I am holding on to God's word and letting it come to life by faith. Thank you for taking care of me Lord.  

The text in quotations below, is a passage from the book, Fasting, by Jentezen Franklin. I believe that God used this part of the book to give me the knowledge to take my first 40 day fast. I am so glad that I did and it definitely won’t be my last 40 day fast. My fast ended last month and I am still receiving answers to my prayers from God! In fact, I received a confirmation today and I was so in awe that my jaw dropped. Lol. God used someone else to confirm the next step of a prayer request. It was so great to be able to witness and experience that. The other person was in shock too as we both did not have a clue that God was using each of us to confirm a similar prayer that we both had. I can’t wait to see more of You God!

 
From the book Fasting:
“…in order to exterminate an infestation of flies from a crop, for example, you have to spray pesticides for forty consecutive days in order to utterly destroy them. If you stop short of the full forty days, you will destroy only the existing generation, but the next generation will live on. Just as spraying pesticides for a full forty days wipes out an infestation of flies, when we enter into a season of forty days of fasting and prayer, we can break free of the bondages in our own lives and in the lives of the next generation.

 

“Some of you may have been battling with the same pesky sins, or worse, you may be trapped in bondages that you have tried to eradicate, only to have them come back time after time…It is going to take more than a fly swatter to wipe out an infestation of Beelzebub’s minions.” Fasting by Jentezen Franklin, pages 58 – 59.

 

Thank you God, for leading me to this book! It seems that in recent days since the fast I wake up experiencing more freedom and more joy inside. I believe I will receive the rest of the answers to my prayers by faith and expectancy. I give you the glory God!

*Just as an extra note, in a previous February post I explained a little more about my fast and how I planned for it. I did not fast from food completely but only certain foods as that was the best option for my health.

One of my favorite worship songs is Amazed, by Desperation Band. It instantly calms me and I can feel God’s presence. I’m so thankful for the Holy Spirit that just floods through us. I love feeling His love and peace. The lyrics that just melt my heart and bring me joy are:

“You dance over me, while I am unaware

You sing all around, but I never hear the sound

Lord I’m amazed by you, how you love me”

 

God is loving me all day long even though I am unaware and busy and distracted, He is right there. He is ever present and it reminds me that He never left my side. He circles me in love and I am amazed by Him and the way He loves me. It makes my heart say thank you and it leads me to speak words of worship that lift Him up and are pleasing to Him.