A Vision for My Life

We attended a discipleship conference last week in Florence, KY. It was so good! The bible teaching and spiritual training were excellent...so refreshing! I went to one of the young adult classes, the title "A Vision for Your Life" by Kevin Swanson. I thought I would share a few of the highlights I wrote down from his talk. It too was excellent!

1. Delight in the Lord and He will direct your paths. Where should I get my vision and purpose? God’s word!

I will not survive if my life purpose is for money or fun. I cannot serve two masters.

As Christians we do not seek money or fun. We should get out of bed in the mornings to seek the kingdom of God and HIS righteousness. All the other things will be added when we seek his will. REFUSE to serve materialism and its idols.

If I don’t get my purpose for life from God, I don’t have a purpose!

Three steps for living my life: 
    -Deny myself

             -Take up my cross daily
       - Follow Jesus through the valley of humiliation

God had made me to be a help-meet to my future husband. I am called to get married and manage my home. How can I prepare? What habits do I need to be developing now in order to be prepared for marriage? 

It's never too early to begin preparing! Don't wait until you become an adult and realize you should have started years ago! Ask the Lord to give you HIS vision for your life, not your own. 

Delight yourself also in the Lord,And He shall give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

The Flood

^" Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. ⁶ And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. ⁷ So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” ⁸ But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." Genesis 6:5-8

^"And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. ¹⁴ Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. ¹⁵ And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. ¹⁶ You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. ¹⁷ And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. ¹⁸ But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. ¹⁹ And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. ²⁰ Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. ²¹ And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and for them.”
²² Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did." Genesis 6:13-22

"So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut him in. ¹⁷ Now the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. ¹⁸ The waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth, and the ark moved about on the surface of the waters. ¹⁹ And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered. ²⁰ The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered. ²¹ And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. ²² All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died. ²³ So He destroyed ALL living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive. ²⁴ And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days." Genesis 7:16-24

"Then God spoke to Noah, saying, ¹⁶ “Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. ¹⁷ Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you: birds and cattle and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” ¹⁸ So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him. ¹⁹ Every animal, every creeping thing, every bird, and whatever creeps on the earth, according to their families, went out of the ark. ²⁰ Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. ²¹ And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.

²² “While the earth remains,
Seedtime and harvest,
Cold and heat,
Winter and summer,
And day and night
Shall not cease.” Genesis 8:15-22

As Long as You Are Glorified

As Long as You Are Glorified
Shall I take from Your hand Your blessings
Yet not welcome any pain?
Shall I thank You for days of sunshine
Yet grumble in days of rain?
Shall I love You in times of plenty
Then leave You in days of drought?
Shall I trust when I reap a harvest
But when winter winds blow, then doubt?

Oh let Your will be done in me
In Your love I will abide
Oh I long for nothing else as long
As You are glorified

Are You good only when I prosper
And true only when I’m filled?
Are You King only when I’m carefree
And God only when I’m well?
You are good when I’m poor and needy
You are true when I’m parched and dry
You still reign in the deepest valley
You’re still God in the darkest night

 Oh let Your will be done in me
In Your love I will abide
Oh I long for nothing else as long
As You are glorified

When God Moves

Ever have a burden for someone so strong, so heavy, you couldn't help but cry to God continually for that person? Ever prayed so hard, so long, you were tempted to give up? Ever wonder why God doesn't work immediately or just make everything alright the instant you ask?

If you do, well, you are in the same boat with the rest of us.
However, all the tears, late nights, and long prayers are so so worth it when you see God move!
Keep praying! Maybe God is using this situation to teach a character quality to you or help you grow in some area. Always keep in mind that He is working on the big picture, even when you can't see it.

Recently, God answered a tremendous prayer request I had. I had been praying for someone for over a year, and the Lord answered exceedingly and abundantly more than I could have ever imagined! I am so thrilled and overjoyed to see the transforming power of my Lord. If it had been up to me, I would have tried to fix the problem immediately, and ruined the perfect plan God already had in store. God has already used this person to influence another person to accept Christ as Lord and Savior. HE is truly worthy of honor, glory and praise!  “The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock!
Let God be exalted, The Rock of my salvation!" (2 Samuel 22:47) 

But what about the times he says...."no"? I have also been praying for someone to get accepted for a certain job for a long time. I prayed hard. And the answer came this week. It was no. Why?? I have no way to understand or to know. 
But I can trust. And, I can still praise Him. Even when my human flesh screams for an answer to my questions. Even when I cannot even remotely understand. The Lord is faithful. He has a plan.  
“Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments." (Deuteronomy 7:9)

Praise Jesus that HE is in charge and knows what the future holds.

Psalm 146

Psalm 146

Praise the Lord, O my soul!
² While I live I will praise the Lord;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

³ Do not put your trust in princes,
Nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help.
⁴ His spirit departs, he returns to his earth;
In that very day his plans perish.

⁵ Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help,
Whose hope is in the Lord his God,
⁶ Who made heaven and earth,
The sea, and all that is in them;
Who keeps truth forever,
⁷ Who executes justice for the oppressed,
Who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners.

⁸ The Lord opens the eyes of the blind;
The Lord raises those who are bowed down;
The Lord loves the righteous.
⁹ The Lord watches over the strangers;
He relieves the fatherless and widow;
But the way of the wicked He turns upside down.

¹⁰ The Lord shall reign forever—
Your God, O Zion, to all generations.

Praise the Lord!