Today's sermon in Church was amazing.
We have been going through the book of Jonah all summer. We finally got to Chapter 3 today. Focusing on Jonah 3:1-4, my preacher taught us all how God is patient, merciful, and generous.
I loved hearing all of the ways that people in the Bible have screwed up. I know, I know, that sounds crazy, but it makes them all seem more real to me. Yes, I know they are real people and they had real experiences...but to hear that they screwed up in one way or another really makes me feel better.
Examples:
--Jonah ignored God and went to Tarshis instead of going to Nineveh to preach.
--Abraham lied to everyone and said that Sarah was his sister instead of being honest and saying she is his wife.
--Elijah ran away from God and ended up having to deal with Jezebel.
--David saw Bathsheba, Uriah's wife, bathing and ended up committing adultery with her (even though he knew it was a sin). She ended up getting pregnant.
And on and on and on.
The Bible is very honest in showing the good times and the bad times that the people were faced with. It just makes me feel better to know that these men really screwed up big time and were still forgiven. As long as we are repentant, we will be forgiven as well. We just have to trust and surrender to the Lord and we will be saved, period.
Another good point that was made today is that God uses preaching as His main form of communication - using preachers like mine, Ronnie McLean, as his instruments to guide and teach his children. During this segment of the sermon, Pastor McLean said that any time you feel like the sermon was tailored to you and what you need at that point, don't thank the preacher. Thank God. He uses ministers to speak to his children and address their needs.
This spoke to me specifically. This is why I'm in Church again now. I went back to Church last February (2013). It was the first time I had been in about a year. Before that, I was going on and off. I was in a bad place in my personal relationship and I was searching for something to fill a void that had formed in my heart. When I was sitting there, Pastor McLean spoke about making decisions that reflect what God wants for you. He said that we have to make hard choices, choices that may hurt, but choices that make us happy - choices that make God happy. I'm sure those aren't the exact words (as a matter of fact, I have almost that whole sermon written down in my journal that I take to Church)...but they resonated in my soul. I ended my broken relationship about two weeks later and my life has been up and down since.
In this period, the biggest constant and the biggest joy I've had is Church. Freedom Baptist has been a place where I feel at home. The people who attend there are friendly and welcoming. It just feels like a family. This is the place where I belong. That's why today, 7/27/14, I finally joined the Church as a member. It feels wonderful to finally call Freedom my Church home. Now, I want to get plugged in and really become a good member of the Church! I can't wait for CWS to start and I get my 3-4 year olds (if they're still going to let me lead the group!!!!!) :)
If you can't tell, I was really inspired after Church this morning. This is the kind of post I want to write. This is what I feel called to do. Of course, not everything can be a reflection of a sermon I hear...but man, it feels so good to get it all down on paper (or online, haha). Hopefully, I'll keep up my momentum and continue to post regularly.
--Andi
Showing posts with label Trust. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trust. Show all posts
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Friday, December 27, 2013
My One Word: 2013
In 2013, my Bible Study leader, Amanda, asked us all to choose one word. That word would be our focus for the whole year. This is based on www.myoneword.org. Instead of writing out a long list of New Year's Resolutions (which I totally did anyway), you choose a word.
The word that came to me for 2013 was 'trust.' Now, when I started to pray about this, I came up with tons of word that I could focus on: motherhood, belief, faith, and so on. I prayed and prayed, and trust just kept standing out from the list.
Amanda swore that once we chose a word, God would use that year to strengthen our characters with a focus on whatever we've chosen. I chose the word, told my Bible Study group, and even wrote the word on my meal planning board so that I would see it all the time. After that, I rarely thought about it. When I did, I would pray that God would help me to trust others and to trust in Him. I expected good things to happen. Instead, let me explain how my year went:
1) In February, my son's father and I split up after 3 years together.
2) In May, my hot water heater stopped working and I had to have it fixed.
3) In June, there were problems within my family that I will not explain or dwell on.
4) In July, my A/C unit stopped working and had to be replaced. Also, my car had to have work done.
5) At the beginning of August, I found out that I had been moved to a new middle school. I was not given a choice.
6) In October, I struggled with financial issues.
7) In December, I was accepted into Graduate School at Appalachian (yay!) - which means more loans (boooooo!)
Now, that doesn't sound like a good year, does it? Believe it or not, I'm SO happy that my year went this way.
Here's what I've realized in the past week.
God HAS used this year to change me. The focus has been on trust. It hasn't been all about trusting others. That's what I expected. It's not what happened. It's been about trusting myself. I didn't realize it, but I had lost myself over the past few years. I became someone that others depended on. I was someone who was all about everyone else in my life. This year, I learned that I am important. I learned that my opinions matter and that I have those convictions for a reason.
For example, I went to Church in February for the first time in a long time. I went with just Christian, my son. I was feeling severely depressed and I needed a "pick-me-up." Something happened to me during that service that I'll never forget. I was sitting with two of my former students and the preacher began his sermon. After about 3 minutes, he said something that really spoke to me. It was all about trusting myself and eliminating bad in my life. I had been unhappy in my relationship for a while, and when I left Church that afternoon, I knew that it was over. I just had to trust myself and trust God. I needed to allow Him to heal the parts of me that were broken, but I had to be alone in order to heal. If I hadn't trusted myself and trusted God in that moment, I would not be where I am right now.
I'm not saying it didn't hurt. This year, I hurt in ways I didn't think were possible. My heart had to completely break in order to become whole. My soul had to be torn apart in order for me to heal. God broke me down in order to build me up and make me stronger.
A friend of mine said something to me the other day and it has been on my mind ever since. He said, "You're different than you were this summer. More confident. I like it." He's absolutely right, but I didn't get there on my own. It has been with the help and guidance of the Lord that I am who I am right now.
So, 2013 has been about trust. Time to start praying about my one word for 2014. What will yours be?
The word that came to me for 2013 was 'trust.' Now, when I started to pray about this, I came up with tons of word that I could focus on: motherhood, belief, faith, and so on. I prayed and prayed, and trust just kept standing out from the list.
Amanda swore that once we chose a word, God would use that year to strengthen our characters with a focus on whatever we've chosen. I chose the word, told my Bible Study group, and even wrote the word on my meal planning board so that I would see it all the time. After that, I rarely thought about it. When I did, I would pray that God would help me to trust others and to trust in Him. I expected good things to happen. Instead, let me explain how my year went:
1) In February, my son's father and I split up after 3 years together.
2) In May, my hot water heater stopped working and I had to have it fixed.
3) In June, there were problems within my family that I will not explain or dwell on.
4) In July, my A/C unit stopped working and had to be replaced. Also, my car had to have work done.
5) At the beginning of August, I found out that I had been moved to a new middle school. I was not given a choice.
6) In October, I struggled with financial issues.
7) In December, I was accepted into Graduate School at Appalachian (yay!) - which means more loans (boooooo!)
Now, that doesn't sound like a good year, does it? Believe it or not, I'm SO happy that my year went this way.
Here's what I've realized in the past week.
God HAS used this year to change me. The focus has been on trust. It hasn't been all about trusting others. That's what I expected. It's not what happened. It's been about trusting myself. I didn't realize it, but I had lost myself over the past few years. I became someone that others depended on. I was someone who was all about everyone else in my life. This year, I learned that I am important. I learned that my opinions matter and that I have those convictions for a reason.
For example, I went to Church in February for the first time in a long time. I went with just Christian, my son. I was feeling severely depressed and I needed a "pick-me-up." Something happened to me during that service that I'll never forget. I was sitting with two of my former students and the preacher began his sermon. After about 3 minutes, he said something that really spoke to me. It was all about trusting myself and eliminating bad in my life. I had been unhappy in my relationship for a while, and when I left Church that afternoon, I knew that it was over. I just had to trust myself and trust God. I needed to allow Him to heal the parts of me that were broken, but I had to be alone in order to heal. If I hadn't trusted myself and trusted God in that moment, I would not be where I am right now.
I'm not saying it didn't hurt. This year, I hurt in ways I didn't think were possible. My heart had to completely break in order to become whole. My soul had to be torn apart in order for me to heal. God broke me down in order to build me up and make me stronger.
A friend of mine said something to me the other day and it has been on my mind ever since. He said, "You're different than you were this summer. More confident. I like it." He's absolutely right, but I didn't get there on my own. It has been with the help and guidance of the Lord that I am who I am right now.
So, 2013 has been about trust. Time to start praying about my one word for 2014. What will yours be?
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