A Dog's Prayer

I pray that I will always have

A home filled with people

And no pesky cats

I pray  for little balls and toys,

And to bring joy to girls and boys

I pray that I will be with people

Who won’t give me a bath,

I pray that I will always have

A nice comfortable couch

Where I can relax

And nibble on my snacks

I pray that dogs will always rule,

And cats will be nature’s fools

I pray that I will always run and play

And get a tummy rub at the end of every day

Slow January Days

January moves so slow! Every year it seems like December is gone in the blink of an eye, then January moves at a snail's pace before the year picks up speed in February.I was glad when my church did and an extended time of prayer for 10 nights at the beginning of January. It gave me a chance to refocus my attention on God as the new year started. But since that ended, I find I simply want life to speed up. I want my classes to start.I know that God has things to teach me in those and I am excited for them. I also know that God has taught me things in this waiting time. I'm learning how to serve as best I can wherever I can. It is important to challenge myself to learn a new skill and give grace to myself when I mess up. There are many unexciting moments in life, even in the life of the church, but they are all important. These are constant reminders I have to give myself on particularly slow January days. This verse often helps me remember.

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:17, NIV

God cares about the unexciting moments in my life just as much as the exciting ones. I am learning through trial and error to be thankful for both. Right before this verse Paul discusses the importance of corporate teaching of the word and worship to God. That's quite easy to do for his glory, unlike the mundane tasks of slow January days. Regardless of the ease, the glory should always go to God. He is always good

Redirected

In the woods beauty abounds

But your voice is muffled by the wind in the trees

Roots are under my feet

the growth has done away with any path

I stumble out of the woods to the road
The light is better
The mountain ahead may be steep,
But I can hear you now
Urging me on,
Every step

The Door Opened

Well, here it is, the first post of 2015.This blog actually made it to a new  year without me missing a week! As of today there are exactly 4 months left until this blog has been updated for a year on this weekly schedule. That gets me excited!

2015 has quickly turned into a year of wide-open opportunities for me. I found out that thanks to two very generous anonymous donations my tuition for my church internship is pretty much paid for. Considering that a week ago I still wasn't sure how this would happen, it's taken me a bit of time to get used to it. I am eternally grateful for the help. I'm not sure if anyone involved in these donations will read this, but if you're out there, thank you so much! I really wanted to take the online Bible classes this semester and these donations have made that possible.

Sometimes as I have been waiting for God to provide the funds I needed, I've caught myself wondering why I didn't just stay in university. I mean, sure I didn't want to stay in journalism but changing my major would've been less complicated and less financially demanding in the short term than trying to make plans to do courses from the US. I could've switched programs and continued on student loans. Instead I decided to follow God's leading and take these Bible classes with no loan options. I really did wonder if it was going to happen. The payment deadline got really close as 2014 wrapped up and I was wondering if I would miss out. I knew in my head that God was my provider. I even wrote about it on this blog. I'd heard stories of last-minute provision but I didn't see that happening for me. I felt like I should've done more work to raise money by now. Sure, this whole train of thought sounds foolish looking back, but at the time, it was all that made sense.I failed to remember what Jesus said about the Father who gives to His children.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"

(Matthew 7:7-11, NIV)

I was so concerned about preparing myself for a very possible disappointment that I forgot that this was God's dream for me before it was mine. Only a cruel father tells a child to look forward to something with the intention of keeping it just out of their reach. Got knew what He was doing when He told me to sign up for this interns program. He also knew just the right moment to show me that the door was wide open.

When I was at university I did things my way, the way of worldly success. I wouldn't have told you that at the time, no way! I would've said that God would use my journalism skills once I had the degree. But that rationalization was merely me making my own plans sound like God's. He really didn't have any input. Once I failed enough at my plan to turn to Him, God let me see where I was really supposed to go. Why didn't I trust him to see it through? I can attribute that to downcast human vision. Thankfully the Father lifted my eyes up just in time for me to see his gracious gift. His love and provision are not  dependent on us trusting Him first. If that were the case, then it wouldn't have been possible for Jesus to come  and save a world of sinners. Of course He is pleased when I recognize and thank Him for His love, naturally, But no matter what  there is enough grace for my doubts. In the future, I will remember how God cared for my needs and move forward with greater faith. Start 2015 with the resolve to do the same.