Luke 1:37

i just have to say that the Lord amazes me. at church this morning we talked about the omnipotence of God. though i wouldn't deny that the Lord is all powerful and able to do all things, i often times live my life as if i'm the one in control. how silly of me, but it's true. in fact, i think lots of people do. but that's a side note. there have been many times riding my bike home from work or even just sitting in the back yard that i look at the trees around me, birds chirping, sun shining, and think "what an amazing Lord i must serve! even just this amazes me and he made the heavens and the earth!" yeah, so even though i may think such things, i get to work at taft and struggle through how i will do everything i need to do with no one to help me. if i would meditate on the fact that i can't do anything without the Lord--that He made me who i am and gave me the strength and endurance i have--my focus would be less on me and more on the Lord. that reminds me of our wing verse this past year. it's really short, but well, i'll let it speak for itself: "He must increase, but I must decrease" John 3:30. so even though this week was long and hard, i see now that it was part of the Lord's plan and there is something i can learn from it. even if it is simply how to persevere when there is nothing left in me to persevere with--in other words, learning how to lean on the Lord for His strength. i mean that in the most literal sense too. working from 7:30am-8:30pm with a one hour break to drive home, take a shower, get the dirt out from under my fingernails, eat something, and drive to my other job six days in a row was a little much. so i still haven't learned to trust in the Lord as fully as i should be, and i'm not sure i ever will. but you know what? it's so encouraging knowing that He hasn't given up on me. He's still trying to teach me how to trust Him alone because He cares enough about making me like His Son to make that effort. what a comfort :-)

we also talked about faith in church this morning, which was challenging to me. i think a lot of times i tell myself that i'm stepping out in faith when i'm really trusting in my own ability to accomplish a task. faith and trust, in my own mind, have been difficult to separate. the more i'm seeking to trust in the Lord, the more faith i have in the fact that "His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence" 2 Peter 1:3.

ok, one more thing... we talked about life verses in church too and the passage that came immediately to my mind was 1 Thess. 5:16-18 "Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." wow, there is so much going on in my head right now. i'm going to go spend some time with the Lord sharing with Him :-) good night all and praise Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

"For nothing will be impossible with God." Luke 1:37