Saturday, August 30, 2008

Lots of thoughts...

After quite a rollercoastery (yes, that is a word in MY personal dictionary! lol) week, I'm curled up on the couch with my laptop watching TV and breaking the "no food after 9" rule by eating cookies. Oh well... it's very relaxing!!

Despite the ups and downs of the week, it was SO COOL to see how God encouraged me and taught me. No matter what my day held, there wasn't one night that I went to bed feeling alone.

On Thursday I turned to my devotional book and it was as though the author knew that I NEEDED that lesson!! The Lord totally spoke to me and convicted me through that and I'm thankful!! It was one of those moments where God was like, "Hello?! Who is in control? NOT you!! It is me! And I know what I'm doing. Relax, my daughter, and find your joy in me, not in your circumstances." Pretty cool.

"A joyful heart makes a cheerful face, but when the heart is sad, the spirit is broken... All the days of the afflicted are bad, but a cheerful heart has a continual feast." Proverbs 15:13,15 (NASB)

Yesterday night, my mom suggested we pick up the Beth Moore Bible Study we'd started last fall but didn't finish because of time issues. Ladies, if you've never heard Beth Moore DO IT! She is the most inspirational woman, and I have her to thank for alot of spiritual growth in my life.

Anyway, the topic "just happened" to be focused on Joshua 1:6-9.

"Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."
Joshua 1:6-9

Beth's lesson hit me in so many places. I don't feel like I can adequately verbalize everything that I want to. But I'm going to give it a shot! If you've ever heard her, you will know what I mean when I say she can preach. She is passionate about the Lord and I would probably say she loves Him more than anybody I know! This lesson she was pleading with these women to not let the enemy get them! She talked about how the devil demoralizes us. Demoralization is when the enemy watches us to see what it is we fear the most about ourselves (that we're ugly, incompetent, unloveable, etc) and he sets out to convince us that what we fear is true! Last night (friday) as I watched this video and talked with my mom afterwards I realized all of the lies that had crept into my heart and that I was believing. I also realized all of the fears that had taken root, and how I had lost confidence in some areas because of it. I started praying about what my greatest fear was and what God says about that! Beth also talked about how God will NEVER fail us! He may not answer our prayers in the way that we want them answered; but He will never fail us. Our responsibility is to be strong and courageous and as she says, "Our success will be holding tight to the One who has us in His grip." Praise God!! He will give us the strength to overcome the enemy's schemes.

Have a great three-day weekend! Woo-hoo!! More blogging tommorow (actually, later today... it is now 1 AM Saturday morning!)...

Blessings,
Molly :)

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