How Do I Know God's Answer?

This question has many answers written by famous men and women who have researched and sought out the truth.

I've learned the answer to this question a different way.

Let me explain something first.  Our time on earth can be brief or long, but time is inevitably on our hands when we seek an answer from God.

"Time" is a man-made invention; God knows no time.  He has eternity spreading out before Him.  "But my decision can't wait for eternity!" you may argue. And you are right.

God's "timing" is in His special plan for your life.  He is going to give you the answer right when you need it and not before.  He is going to wait and see how you grow from the experience.  We have the comfort of knowing that God will never put us through something He knows we can't handle.

As long as our hearts are in line with His will and plan for our life, we should never doubt that His answer is coming!  God directs our path, its our choice to react calmly in waiting or glare at the unopened door in our future and grumble impatiently.

I have learned countless times that pushing at a closed door only results with sore muscles.  And if I actually succeed in breaking down the defense of the closed door and pass through- my life becomes a total nightmare.  That is, until I repent.  But even after asking for forgiveness I still have to pay the price for my disobedience.  I can never get off the hook completely after intentionally pushing my way through one of God's doors.

I am a very visual person, so I am going to explain the image I see when someone says: "I gave my heart to God.".  I picture a heart with a gold band circling the edges (kind of like a diary) and at the bottom of this heart there is a lock with a small key in the keyhole.  Christ reaches out when we give Him our heart, He then twists the key, locking the heart and takes the key out of the lock and away with Him.

Our heart holds our most cherished desires and dreams, we give them to God freely and without reserve.  But when we want one of those desires we look up to God and nod our head while saying happily, "Okay, open it up and give it to me."

The look on God's face is like He didn't hear us, we quickly change tactics. "Of course, only if you want to." We smile and laugh slightly, trying to get His attention.  And we do, He nods to our last sentence and leans back, withholding the key.  We frown, "I gave this to you for you to protect, not hoard!" we begin to argue.

God looks down sadly at us, "You trusted me (your name), you gave me the key to your heart and I have guarded it well.  My plan for you does not include this desire right now, I have not led you astray before, I will not do it now."

We angrily shift our eyes up at Him, "I know I'm ready! Its my life!" we state adamantly.

Christ lets a tear fall from His eye before holding out the key and whispering "Make your choice my child, if you won't listen to me I will release you on yourself."

This is the moment that defines how we live our lives.  I would be ecstatic to say that Christ shed no more tears over this headstrong princess, that she suddenly realized her wrong actions and stepped back.  But this is life, we do make the wrong choices, we take the key sometimes and gloat as we hold our prize.

And sadly, God is right.  The worse action He could ever let us do is to allow us to follow our selfish hearts, for there is no doubt that we will destroy ourselves.  Thankfully, God always has a backup plan to give us a chance to return to Him- He is so merciful!

Are you waiting for an answer right now? Does God seem to be withholding the key?
Trust me, He will always give you an answer- as long as you wait for Him to unlock your heart.

A Day in History...

Picture with me a large church building, its steeple crowning the sky and reaching over its congregation in protection.  Inside the church there is a restless hum of male voices.  It is March 23rd, 1775, a meeting is being held at Saint John's church in Richmond Virginia.   A man raises his hand and is recognized by the speaker to stand.  Getting up the new speaker lets his eyes roam over the men in front of him, what he says now will forever change the course of his nation.  Taking a deep breath his ribcage expands and decreases.  Raising his voice above the distant hum of voices he calls out in a bold challenging voice.  The issue at hand has to do with mobilizing for military action against the encroaching British military force.

The man speaking is known by everyone in the room, a hush sweeps over the men as he completes his speech with these closing words:
"If life is so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?  Forbid it, Almighty God!  I know not what others may take; but as for me, Give me Liberty or Give me Death!"
The entire room jumps to their feet, the walls shaking as the men call out "To arms! To arms!"

Patrick Henry resumes his seat, he probably had no idea how immortalized those few words were going to become.

I believe it is so important to realize and appreciate the founders of our great country.  Be informed and take the initiative to seek out information about our past leaders.  I'm not saying to become a history nut- unless you want to be, I know several and they are awesome to talk with:).  But realize how important it is to turn this country around and back to its original foundations.  We are the next generation, we determine what happens in the upcoming years, so what do you want your children to know about your generation? That we took a stand and pursued what our Founding Father's set forth for us?  Or that we conformed to the world's mold and stepped away from our original duty?

Psalm 102:18

"Let this be written for a future generation,

that a people not yet created may praise the Lord."

Teen Service

Last night we had a unique blessing in our church, the entire youth group ran the whole evening service!  From preaching to song directing and special music.  What a blessing to see the younger generation step up and show Christ in their actions!  Swallowing their fear and taking the step of faith in furthering Christ's plan for our generation is not easy, yet each and every participant made that step out of their comfort zone and made the effort to serve God with their talents.

I love the teens in our church, each one has a special place in my heart.  The sweet spirit God has blessed our church with is so refreshing!  I pray that as this generation continues to mature and reach out for Christ that their example will continue to impact the people they are around just as richly as they did last night!

"The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it.,

the world, and all who live in it;

for he founded it upon the seas

and established it upon the waters.

Who may ascend the hill of the Lord?

Who may stand in his holy place?

He who has clean hands and a pure heart,

who does not lift up his soul to an idol

or swear by what is false.

He will receive blessing from the Lord

and vindication from God his Savior.

Such is the generation of those who seek him,

who seek your face, O God of Jacob."

Psalm 24:1-6

Hold onto your Heart

"They are perfect for each other." This phrase is often said with a smile and a sigh by any woman from the age of 13 to 90.
My thoughts on this phrase... I believe that it should only be said if this explanation follows it.  "They are perfect for each other, both waited and didn't date around in high school. Its amazing how they met at exactly the right time!"  Yes!!  At exactly the right time. Only God knows the perfect timing.  He has the entire meeting all set up.  Whether you met at 5 years of age or 30, the amazing plan God has set up is going to be breathtaking.  Imagine, with all the creativity He has at His fingertips. He rejoices in every child of His that waits for the right timing in a relationship so He can display his wonderful plan- but only if we wait for it.

I promised that there would be several sequels to the "Guard your Heart" post, here is one of them.  God has really been challenging me lately to be more on guard and watch my actions and speech.  Is everything I do glorifying Him and making my future spouse proud to know I'm his?

Many girls say that they are saving their heart for the right man and I applaud this!  However, it is one thing to make the commitment and say  you are saving your heart, its another to have a true conviction in your heart about the commitment.  The choices you make today with the opposite sex will effect you in the future, whether the attitude is positive or negative.

A heart that is truly guarded should have no "vacancies" found in it.  It shouldn't have voids or little openings that leave themselves exposed and feeling like they need to be sheltered by getting filled with selfish desires.  These selfish desires often go by the names "adoration" and "attention".  When you give your heart to God He asks for all of it.  He will fill every crevice and crack with love while paving the pathways of your heart with His grace and provision in every situation.

Girls, I know its nice to feel appreciated and liked by young men, but is it really fair if you encourage them without any intention of making long term plans around them?  You may not be breaking your commitment of keeping your heart safe- but what about theirs? You are responsible for guarding their hearts as well and vice versa for them.  If you are too young to actually be emotionally involved, but find yourself in this situation, just remember, it is much harder to remain emotionally pure and focus on the Lord when your eyes are focused on your inner turmoil.

God has designed us to give our hearts away! Our feelings and actions (as long as they are in line with God's set of rules) are normal, but we are not designed to share our heart with more than one of the opposite sex!  We are only to share it when the time is right, with the right person.  The heart is more than just the controller of emotions, it is the driving force of everything we do!

God didn't create five Eve's at the beginning of creation.

He created, one woman.

He didn't have Adam choose and date five other woman.

He created the perfect help-meet, Adam's missing half. 

I enjoy watching and writing about what I observe, and as I have seen young men and young women interact together I have come to this conclusion: Godly young men seek out sincerity and honesty in young women.  They admire young women who behave modestly and have a sweet temperament, a woman who does not give a false appearance about herself. The young men respect them.  These young women have sent a silent message that declares that they have a true heart of gold.  If sugary words and sweet smiles are the only display some girls show; you can see how the young men react and treat them differently.

We need to be careful with our words and actions when around the opposite sex, but by no means be stand-offish and unapproachable!  These actions are not Biblical.  Rather, be selfless and sensitive, be aware of your influence and balance it evenly, show genuine interest in those around you without a thought of yourself.  This attitude alone draws the light off of yourself and directly onto Christ.

I read a quote the other day on a sister blog that really made me begin to examine every one of my actions.  This quote is constantly at the forefront of my mind:

"If your future spouse could see you now, 

As you interact with members of the opposite sex, 

How would they feel? 

Would they feel hurt and jealous, 

Or adored and special?” 

-Eric and Leslie Ludy

Waiting for your future spouse in this generation seems like such a long time to wait! With instant relief, fast food, e-mailing, texting, you name it - we live in an age of immediate satisfaction.  But if you want the perfect will of God to be played out in your life, patience becomes the virtue of the hour!!:) In the meantime, we must watch ourselves, be preparing our heart and life for our future, and be in prayer for our future spouse.  They need it as much as we do! Consistently be watching your motives, are your actions going to effect the opposite sex in a good or bad way? Is it going to put a dent in their heart? Or is it going to encourage them to continue holding on to their hearts for the one God intends them to give it to?

Proverbs 4:23
"Above all else, guard your heart,
for it is the wellspring of life."

Guard Your Heart

This phrase is often translated into boy\girl relationships, but it doesn't only apply to that.
Don't get me wrong, it is wise to have God guard your heart during a relationship, but He also wants us to guard other areas of our life as well.

Many people, when this subject is brought up say, "I've already given my heart to God, He'll protect it." And He will.  But that doesn't mean that Satan won't constantly tempt you to take it back from Him.

There is a song in my WILDS hymnal that is written by Mac Lynch.  It covers most of the areas I want to discuss:

"Now from this mountaintop to your valley here below,

You have all the armory to defeat that wicked foe.

The vict'ry is at your command,

Your prayers He'll answer still.

Be the guardian of your only heart,

Head His word, His perfect will.

Chorus:

Keep your heart, Keep your heart, 

Keep your heart with all diligence.

Keep it clean, keep it pure,

Make your love for Christ endure.

Guard your ears, guard your eyes,

Pressing onward to the prize,

Lest you fall, lest you fail.

Make your love for Christ prevail."

 The purity of your heart can be lost in one reckless moment, never to be regained.  So be careful!  Don't feel ridiculous for taking the extra step in security.


In our generation the slogans: "Look out for #1!" "Do what you want!" and "Watch out for yourself!" Are shouted out everywhere.  These slogans are in direct defiance of what God has commanded.  Don't look out only for yourself, you are an influence on your friends- Christian or non-Christian.  If there is something that is about to happen that will put a dent in your heart...  maybe a wrong movie, listening to the wrong music, you name it.  Stick up for what is right, you may be mocked and ridiculed for it, but God will bless you in a special way for taking a stand for His principles.

It says in Romans 6:14  "For sin shall not have dominion over you."  This means that sin does not have control over us since we are in Christ's family.  With our life under new management we have a new set of rules to live by.  Highest on that list is how you live your life reflecting Him.  Your heart is so precious to the Lord.  Your heart, however, has so many outlets for you to protect.

1.  Through your eyes.  What you read, watch, and look at will affect the attitude of your heart.

 2.  Through your ears.  What you listen to on TV, music, people, these things affect the mold and how Christ is trying to shape you.

3.   Through your actions.  How you behave towards everyone, how you dress and how your speech is.  This forms what people think of you.  Are you a leader they want to follow? Are you reflecting Christ's qualities?

Guard your heart, constantly seek and check with God to see if there is a tear in it, for if there is the heart will slowly begin to lose its joy for God, it will seek other worldly things to replace the treasures that God has been storing up for us.

Proverbs 4:23 "Above all else guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."

Psalm 51:10  "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."

1 Samuel 16:7  "But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him.  The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.  Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart."

 I have more chapters on guarding your heart to come, hopefully this first installment will encourage your heart to begin changing and working closely to protect the treasure of purity that God has given you to take care of.

God's Design

For two months I have spent my free evenings working on the latch hook rug (pictured above), and I have finally finished it!

While I was working on it I began to compare it to real life lessons.

When you latch hook you take a thread one at a time and knot it in a hole; it is very time consuming!  You may think that you have accomplished so much after a few hours, but when you hold it up for inspection you have only made it larger by a few inches!!  Frustrated you lay it aside to deal with at a later time.  So it lays there, unfinished and looking pretty awful until you have time to come back and work on it some more.

I wonder if God sometimes links us to being like the rug.  He has a beautiful design all planned out, He works on us with patience and invests so much of His time.  But we resist Him and only allow inches of our lives to be changed, so He sadly takes His hands away and stands back, allowing our stubborn nature to direct us for a while.  We stay cemented in our own way, it is ugly and unsatisfactory.  We aren't moving forward and we aren't moving back, we become sorrowful that we pushed our Maker away.  So He returns and begins to put us back together once more.

While I was knotting each thread it would sometimes get caught on the tool I was using, and as I pulled back the thread it would separate from its usual shape.  Thus rendering it useless for me to use, so I would throw it away and have to grab a new piece.

God may have the perfect piece to the puzzle in our lives, but as He places it down we struggle and shy away causing the piece to be marred and part of His beautiful plan is scarred.

You may not be able to tell, but there is something incomplete in this rug; something is missing and I had to improvise.  If you can find it tell me what you think it is:)  This rug is not perfect, it has its defects, but I am its creator, this makes it only more dear to me as I know that no one else will have a duplicate of it.

Christ made you unique, there is no copy anywhere in the world.  Every piece He's laid down in your life makes you different from anyone else.  Christ has an amazing pattern already planned out for your life, you may never see it, but you can trust that everything is either going to strengthen or weaken you depending on how you react to Christ's leading.

Masterpiece

Again, God's sunset this evening was so beautiful! All these pictures were taken one after the other, you can tell how quickly the sun went down.  God truly is the best artist, I think He rather enjoys having access to colors that are not of earthly creation:)

Spiritual Credentials Part 1

My choice not to go to college did not come as a surprise to my friends and family as I had a sister precede me in taking"the path less traveled".

However, just because I'm finished with high school does not mean I am not still in school.  God's school reaches out for all ages and has more information than any college professor.

Who can teach wisdom?  And how can you effectively obtain it?  Who prizes our time spent more than our Lord?

It is very easy for me to get sidetracked when I'm at home.  I didn't stay home to lay down in a hammock, watch TV, and sleep in- you get the point.  I stayed home to serve my family and work diligently in God's school acquiring more credentials from my King.

One of the biggest lessons my King is teaching me right now is how to wisely spend my time, I have a thousand directions I want to go- but are all of them absolutely necessary?

The years before graduating from high school and starting a family can be long or short depending on God's design for your life.  But during these years, realize, it is the most precious time you will ever spend with your King.  While you are in high school your focus is on school, projects, and more school.  When you have a family of your own your focus is on how to serve and encourage your spouse, also manage the kid's schedules, and keep time with all the extra duties that pop up from nowhere.  During your single years you have a bit of extra time on your hands, what better way to invest it than to enrich yourself in God's word?!!

When your car breaks down you are not going to call one of your girl friends to fix it.  You are going to call a mechanic and have him repair the damage.  These principles apply to God.  If you seek wisdom for your problems, why not ask the expert?


Psalm 11:10  "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding.  To him belongs eternal praise."

Romans 11:33-36  "Oh, the depth of the riches of wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!  "Who has known the mind of the Lord?  Or who has been his counselor?"  "Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?"  For from him and through him and to him are all things.  To him be the glory forever! Amen."


Filling my time wisely can be a simple task.  While staying at home for the day I usually hit the "hot spots", as we call them in our house.  "Hot Spots" are places where its an automatic drop-off station when you walk in the door, mail, purses, bags, you name it get dropped off there.  These places drive my Dad up the wall.  It should only take you a moment to find the home for these items.:)  I also find the time to work on the young girl's devotional I'm writing.  Walking away after a study of the Bible and writing down God's promises leaves me with such a close feeling to Him, a feeling of security and excitement at being personally chosen to be a part of His family and plans!

So what homework has God given you to work out right now?  How are your credentials in his school looking?  Are you actively trying to improve yourself in His school?

God blesses those who serve their families and work diligently in accomplishing subjects in His school.

There will be other posts about "Spiritual Credentials", for this topic alone is one in a thousand more God has stored up for us to learn.:)

Seek ye first the Kingdom of God,

And His righteousness,

And all these things shall be added unto you,

Allelu, Alleluia.

Ask and it shall be given unto you,

Seek and ye shall find.

Knock and the door shall be opened unto you.

Allelu, Alleluia.

Words by Karen Lafferty and the WILDS 

Rest in Me

I love music.  Growing up I always listened to it, but I guess my real passion for it didn't begin until I was around 14 years old.  My sister wanted voice lessons, and of course, being the youngest sibling I wanted whatever my older sis wanted (it was bound to be good no matter what:)  So along our 3 1\2 years of voice lessons I gained such an appreciation for music!  The simple notes played on a piano would open up a whole new scale of lessons for my instructor to teach me.

However I have never looked at music the way my devotions did this morning.

"In the melody of our life, the music is separated here and there by rests.  During these rests we foolishly believe we have come to the end of the song.  God sends us times of forced leisure by allowing sickness, disappointed plans, and frustrated efforts.  He brings a sudden pause in the choral hymn, and we lament that our voices must be silent.  We grieve that our part is missing in the music that continually rises to the ear of our Creator.  Yet how does a musician read the rest?  He counts the break with unwavering precision and plays his next note with confidence, as if no pause was ever there."
Streams in the Desert  By L.B Cowman

God knows how to direct the music in our lives, but we must learn to follow His pattern and the flow of the music to be prepared for a rest, the exact moment when he needs us to be patient.

"There is no music in a rest."  You may say, but don't forget- a rest is necessary in the making of music.  The process is often too slow for our liking and painful, yet God patiently works and teaches us.

"Called aside-

From the glad working of your busy life,

From the world's ceaseless stir of care and strife,

Into the shade and stillness by your Heavenly Guide

For a brief time you have been called aside.

Called aside-

Perhaps into a desert garden dim;

And yet not alone, when you have been with Him,

And heard His voice in sweetest accent say:

"Child, will you not with Me this hour stay?"

Called aside-

In hidden paths with Christ your Lord to tread,

Deep to drink at the sweet Fountainhead,

Closer in fellowship with Him to roam,

Nearer, perhaps, to feel your Heavenly Home.

Called aside-

Oh, knowledge deeper grows with Him alone;

In secret oft His deeper love is shown,

And learned in many an hour of dark distress

Some rare, sweet lesson of His tenderness.

Called aside-

We thank you for the stillness and the shade;

We thank you for the hidden paths Your love has made,

And, so that we have wept and watched with Thee,

We thank you for our dark Gethsemane.

Called aside-

O restful thought- He doeth all things well;

O blessed sense, with Christ alone to dwell;

So in the shadow of Your cross I hide,

We thank you Lord, to have been called aside."

By John Ruskin

  

God's Glory Displayed

Its on evenings like these that you can see God is enjoying painting the sky!:)

We had a winter squall that lasted for about 2 hours and only amounted to about 2 inches for all the fuss it made:)

I wanted to share these pictures I took off our deck this evening, it was snowing- but I don't think you can really pick that up in the shots...enjoy God's masterpieces!!

Psalm 19:1  "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands."