"From the fullness of his grace, we have all received one blessing after another." -John 1:16
Recently, I was a part of a conversation that really made me think about life. Here is a snippet of that particular conversation:
Friend #1: Gosh, you are so lucky.....
Friend #2: No, I am blessed, truly blessed.
Wow, what a response to a question about being lucky. Instead of the typical response of "thanks" or "yeah I guess so", my friend changed it into "blessed". Why hadn't I ever thought of that? The conversation then continued to discuss God as well as answered AND unanswered prayers. But you know the best part, it was a sincere conversation about the blessings and all of the ways God shows us His grace in our daily lives. You could see that my friend truly believed what was being shared and was glowing with enthusiasm discussing all of the blessings in their life. And as we sat and listened, all of us wanted to keep hearing more and more.
"For it is by grace you have been saved through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God." Ephesians 2:8
In college, I remember another friend of mine that was beautiful both on the inside and out. She always seemed to have this majestic glow. She led a Bible study, always had a big smile on her face, and truly was a great individual. But what I always noticed was how she seemed different. There was this different glow about her. I remember wanting that different. Now thinking back, I strongly believe it was her strong faith that gave her that different glow. It was evident that she trusted God and had faith in His plan for her even during those stressful times like exam week or when a major project was due. She was graceful at everything it seemed, but graceful in a different kind of way. She appreciated and devoted time to those gifts that God has so graciously given her... with the greatest gift being faith.
The above individual also reminded me of one of my devotions this week on the amazing Proverbs31 site. I have always loved the story of Moses and his mother, Jochebed. Jochebed was fearful that her son would be killed by the Egyptians so she placed him in a basket and sent him down the river, where he was found by the Egyptian King's daughter. The daughter took him from the basket, and from that point on he grew up in the King's house. Jochebed's strong faith in God allowed her to place her son in the basket and send it down river which saved his life. Throughout this story, she trusted God that He would protect her son. Because of her trust in God's plan, her son was not killed and he became the great Moses. And just like Jochebed, my above mentioned friend seemed to always have her trust in God's plan even when what was ahead was as scary as placing a baby in a basket in the river.
"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." -James 1:17
Blessed..... so many times in life, we account things to luck. Instead, maybe we should take a step back and give credit to God for our blessings instead of giving credit to luck. As I sit here and type this, I feel very blessed. First, I love rainstorms and its raining!!! As I sit on my front porch rocking back and forth, I can smell the rain as it hits the pavement (another favorite). Elbie is content beside me (which rarely happens), and as I look around, everything around me is a blessing. I feel blessed that I have some pretty special people in my life that make me happy. I absolutely love my job and feel blessed to be in a position where we all support one another. In many careers, everyone works as an individual competing with one another. Our department truly supports each person. And on those days when I question things, I then remind myself that like Jochebed, sometimes we just have to place our trust in God and his greater plan. The same friend that said "blessed" also once told me... "once you turn over your fears and worries to God, you realize that its out of your control" and how true is that. Surprisingly, God really does show us the paths we are to take, and well I am glad He is in control of my footsteps. I trust his judgement on those paths in which I am to take.
"For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." -Jeremiah 29:11
As always, thank you for reading my little blog post:) This is not only my way of connecting to scripture, but my relaxation technique. Setting aside time to communicate with God allows you to sit back and enjoy the ride or rock in my case. Gotta love some good ole front porch rocking chairs :)
Faith...patience... love... to all, Joy
Recently, I was a part of a conversation that really made me think about life. Here is a snippet of that particular conversation:
Friend #1: Gosh, you are so lucky.....
Friend #2: No, I am blessed, truly blessed.
Wow, what a response to a question about being lucky. Instead of the typical response of "thanks" or "yeah I guess so", my friend changed it into "blessed". Why hadn't I ever thought of that? The conversation then continued to discuss God as well as answered AND unanswered prayers. But you know the best part, it was a sincere conversation about the blessings and all of the ways God shows us His grace in our daily lives. You could see that my friend truly believed what was being shared and was glowing with enthusiasm discussing all of the blessings in their life. And as we sat and listened, all of us wanted to keep hearing more and more.
"For it is by grace you have been saved through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God." Ephesians 2:8
In college, I remember another friend of mine that was beautiful both on the inside and out. She always seemed to have this majestic glow. She led a Bible study, always had a big smile on her face, and truly was a great individual. But what I always noticed was how she seemed different. There was this different glow about her. I remember wanting that different. Now thinking back, I strongly believe it was her strong faith that gave her that different glow. It was evident that she trusted God and had faith in His plan for her even during those stressful times like exam week or when a major project was due. She was graceful at everything it seemed, but graceful in a different kind of way. She appreciated and devoted time to those gifts that God has so graciously given her... with the greatest gift being faith.
The above individual also reminded me of one of my devotions this week on the amazing Proverbs31 site. I have always loved the story of Moses and his mother, Jochebed. Jochebed was fearful that her son would be killed by the Egyptians so she placed him in a basket and sent him down the river, where he was found by the Egyptian King's daughter. The daughter took him from the basket, and from that point on he grew up in the King's house. Jochebed's strong faith in God allowed her to place her son in the basket and send it down river which saved his life. Throughout this story, she trusted God that He would protect her son. Because of her trust in God's plan, her son was not killed and he became the great Moses. And just like Jochebed, my above mentioned friend seemed to always have her trust in God's plan even when what was ahead was as scary as placing a baby in a basket in the river.
"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." -James 1:17
Blessed..... so many times in life, we account things to luck. Instead, maybe we should take a step back and give credit to God for our blessings instead of giving credit to luck. As I sit here and type this, I feel very blessed. First, I love rainstorms and its raining!!! As I sit on my front porch rocking back and forth, I can smell the rain as it hits the pavement (another favorite). Elbie is content beside me (which rarely happens), and as I look around, everything around me is a blessing. I feel blessed that I have some pretty special people in my life that make me happy. I absolutely love my job and feel blessed to be in a position where we all support one another. In many careers, everyone works as an individual competing with one another. Our department truly supports each person. And on those days when I question things, I then remind myself that like Jochebed, sometimes we just have to place our trust in God and his greater plan. The same friend that said "blessed" also once told me... "once you turn over your fears and worries to God, you realize that its out of your control" and how true is that. Surprisingly, God really does show us the paths we are to take, and well I am glad He is in control of my footsteps. I trust his judgement on those paths in which I am to take.
"For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." -Jeremiah 29:11
As always, thank you for reading my little blog post:) This is not only my way of connecting to scripture, but my relaxation technique. Setting aside time to communicate with God allows you to sit back and enjoy the ride or rock in my case. Gotta love some good ole front porch rocking chairs :)
Faith...patience... love... to all, Joy