Falling Leaves, Conditioning Faith and Starting Over... (10/11/09)

Luke and I have arrived safely back in Lynchburg after a trip to Statesville during his Fall Break at LU. It is amazing that school is half over already. It was so nice for both of us to go and visit with many of our friends and family. While we never get to see everyone we want to, we still got to see many.

The almost 5-day journey allowed us to hit some golf balls, play some phone-book charades, carving pumpkins (I carved all these on the same pumpkin),

 to shopping in Hickory with Denise (my mil), to making two fall arrangements, eating Sunday lunch with many of my loved ones and kicking back afterwards to listen to stories from before my time!

(I almost got these to look alike!)

After having lunch and getting to enjoy the time together with everyone, it has made me realize the importance of having friends and family. So many people, including myself, take advantage of all the time we have to spend with one another and fail to cherish it. We can never change the past and how we spent our time; however we all can stand to reflect on our past and give the important things in our lives top priority in the present.

While I was living at home with my parents, I took advantage of the good times and failed to cherish them at that time. When reflecting on my relationship with my parents, I try not to concentrate on our current state, but try and reflect on the positive, good times I spent with them; whether it be getting up before the rooster and going with them to yard sales, cleaning the stuff up that they bought at yard sales or listing items on eBay to help out with income- sometimes I hated and dreaded it, but now I miss it. I miss my dad’s annoying laugh and picking on me during Duke games when they were getting beat by Carolina. I miss walking the dogs and feeding the animals- goats, chickens, ducks, geese and rabbits- with my mom. I realize that many our beliefs differ, yet I still respect them. My dad is one of the hardest-workers I have ever met in my life. My mom was always one to go out of her way to speak to or help someone.

I listened to Dr. Ben Gutierrez at Liberty’s convocation on October 7, 2009, on Psalm 46 tonight and was touched so dearly. It helped me learn that I can trust God in ways I had never realized. I suggest watching it when you have a good 45 minutes for a powerful devotion. (Follow the link and click on “You Can Trust Christ”) http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=9002&CFID=10532138&CFTOKEN=55250189

Through this Psalm, I realized that we go through all of these trials in our life to “condition” our faith. My God wants me to call out to Him when I feel I cannot handle anymore so He can step in and shield me. For once, I looked at losing everything and everyone in my life differently. While I may have lost my parents emotionally, I can call on God and while it may not be my parents that come around to comfort and share their love with me- He will send someone into my life to share their love with me and speak words to me that are no doubt from God. Without my church family at Rocky Hill, my friends, Luke and his family, I fear that I would have lacked the faith and strength it took for me to leave my parent’s house and also to Lynchburg with Luke.

My prayer and challenge to you is to reflect on your life and evaluate how you spend your time. ~Is it spent watching meaningless television, surfing the internet, watching things that are disgraceful and demeaning. You can clear the history on your phones and internet to protect yourself from being “discovered” from anyone else, but you can never erase the time wasted on these things or any of the images that are now burned into your memory. Or is it spent working and working to “provide” for a family?

1 Timothy 6:9-16 (HCSB)
9 But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.
Compete for the Faith
11 Now you, man of God, run from these things; but pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight for the faith; take hold of eternal life, to which you were called and have made a good confession before many witnesses.
13 In the presence of God, who gives life to all, and before Christ Jesus, who gave a good confession before Pontius Pilate, I charge you 14 to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which God will bring about in His own time. [He is] the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords,16 the only One who has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom none of mankind has seen or can see, to whom be honor and eternal might. Amen.

The lyrics to a Casting Crowns’ song, “American Dream” comes to my mind- I have posted those lyrics at the end of this post. No matter how you spend your time, today can be the day that you reset your priorities and start spending time how God wants you to.

Thank you for spending time with Luke and me in the past, present and in the future. Thank you for being a prayer warrior for us.

**Job Update~ I have had several interviews with Liberty and will be hearing back the first of this week about a position that I am very interested in. Please be in prayer that I remain in God’s will and accept the job that He has planned specifically for me.

I pray that I will cherish the time I spend with everyone and always be thankful for the many people God has lead into my life. I pray that these words encourage you and help you grow in your faith as I grow in mine.

“American Dream”
All work no play may have made Jack a dull boy
But all work no God has left Jack with a lost soul
But he's moving on full steam
He's chasing the American dream

And he's gonna give his family finer things

“Not this time son I've no time to waste
Maybe tomorrow we'll have time to play”
And then he slips into his new BMW
And drives farther and farther and farther away
 Cause he works all day and tries to sleep at night
He says things will get better;

Better in time

[Chorus]
So he works and he builds with his own two hands

And he pours all he has in a castle made with sand

But the wind and the rain are comin' crashing in
Time will tell just how long his kingdom stands
His kingdom stands
 Well his American Dream is beginning to seem
More and more like a nightmare
With every passing day
"Daddy, can you come to my game?"
"Oh Baby, please don't work late."
Another wasted weekend
And they are slipping away

'Cause he works all day and lies awake at night

He tells them things are getting better
Just take a little more time
 [Chorus]
So he works and he builds with his own two hands

And he pours all he has in a castle made with sand

But the wind and the rain are comin' crashing in
Time will tell just how long his kingdom stands
His kingdom stands


He used to say, "Whoever dies with the most toys wins"
But if he loses his soul, what has he gained in the end
I'll take a shack on the rock
Over a castle in the sand


Now he works all day and cries alone at night
It's not getting any better
Looks like he's running out of time

[Chorus]

'Cause he worked and he built with his own two hands
And he poured all he had in a castle made with sand

But the wind and the rain are coming crashing in

Time will tell just how long his kingdom stands

His kingdom stands

All they really wanted was you

All they really wanted was you

All they really wanted was you