Time.....

I recently came to the realization that it is November.  It's two weeks until Thanksgiving and less than a month and a half until Christmas and the year 2012. 2012, seriously???  Where has the time gone?  As we have entered the birthday season in our family (5 of the 7 kids have birthdays between now and the end of the year,) it gets me to thinking.  I'm getting to a point in my life where I can remember something that happened in the past and realize that I can say that it happened 15 years ago.  In fact my memories go back even further than that to 18 years ago.  So hard to believe.  When I was a little girl I never could imagine life past the point of being a little kid.  Ages like 16, 18, 25, and 40 seemed so far away.  Now as I've gotten older, the age of 40 doesn't seem to be so terribly far away.  It's amazing how your perspective changes as you get older.  Once I get on that track it isn't a far jump for me to make to start thinking about what I have accomplished in my life.  I don't have a guarantee that I will see the age of 40, 25, or even next week.  Have I made an impact on the people closest to me??  If I died tomorrow would they would be able to say that I made an impact?  If  they could say that I had made an impact on them what kind of an impact would it have been?  You can make a lasting impact on someone and it is an impact that is not a good impact.  Adolf Hitler made a lasting impact on millions of Jews and their families.  If I make an impact on someone I want it to be an impact that is one that is a reflection on my Savior, Jesus Christ.  I want people to be able to say that they saw the power of Christ reflected in my life.   I want them to be able to say that my actions and my words showed evidence of my relationship with Him.  Our culture has made it look that life is nothing more than following your dreams and living your life to the fullest. I want my life to be different than that.  I want to live a life that follows the plans God has for me not the ones that I think will make me happy.  I want to live my life to the fullest, for God and not according to the poor expectations of myself or others.  At the end of my life however long or short it may be I want it to be able to say: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."  


Psalm 39:4-5

O LORD, make me know my end 

and what is the measure of my days; l

et me know how fleeting I am! 

Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, a

nd my lifetime is as nothing before you.

Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJULo_zW9hA

Blessed be the name of the Lord

I heard the song "Blessed be Your Name" by Matt Redman last night and it set me to thinking.  I love the parallels that this song makes.  It really made me realize how easy it is for me to praise God when it seems like things are going in a way that I perceive is good.  But when something that I perceive is"bad" happens, the easiness of praising God goes right out the window and the "Why God mentality" sets in very quickly.  I think it happens so easily because many times we associate praise and blessing with being happy ,singing a song, with a smile on our face. I'm not saying that praise and blessing can't be that but I think when we have the mindset that that is what it is we miss out on so much.  Praising and blessing God should be a daily lifestyle.  If we get to where we are in that attitude daily and hourly it will be a lot harder to slip out of when difficult circumstances come our way.  I think that living a life of praise and blessing in every day life is what enabled Job to say this in Job 1:21 after he received the news that his ten children had died: "And he said, "Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD."  Job wasn't jumping up and down, dancing and singing this.  He had just torn his robe and shaved his head.  He wasn't able to comprehend why God had allowed this to happen nor would he be able to comprehend any of the other things that would happen to him.  He did see and know that God was still in control no matter what the circumstance and he was able to acknowledge and praise God for that.  I pray that God will enable me to act this out in my own life better than I do.  It isn't by any means an easy thing to do but, I CAN do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnWKehsOXu8