Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Letters of Encouragement..

Today God put on my heart to write a letter of encouragement to someone that I do not know very well. It is someone who is in my life, but not really a part of my life. We all have so many of those don't we? He is a very nice man. It has always been a bit hard to understand him because English isn't the best, but I have always been patient with him when talking to him. I give him high respect for the person that he is. I may not know him personally but I know just by chit chatting with him that he has gone through a lot to do what he needed to do for his family. That takes a lot of love. To give up everything you know, everything you have, and hope that everything works out in the end... I can tell he has a huge heart and would do anything for someone he loves. Though the love he has doesn't hide the pain and suffering he has gone through over the years. I can tell that he has been through a lot and probably has a lot of scars. He doesn't wear a suit to work or drive a car with air conditioning, but he is a blessing to me because every time I get the chance to talk to him, I am greatly humbled. I absolutely love spending time with people who live simply. I learn so much from them. Their hearts scream with a passion of strength and love. Two things that I strive so much for. When I first began to write this letter, I thought.. "today I am going to bless this person." but just thinking of this person, not knowing much of anything about him or his life, I feel so blessed just being reminded once again that there is a  much bigger world seen through the eyes of our Lord. If we just allowed ourselves to be in tune with His Spirit and His calling for our lives, we would never live a day for ourselves. I don't want to live for me. I want to live for Him. My prayer is that he can open this letter and receive a message of hope, love and encouragement. My intention is to plant a seed, and if it is God's will to use me again in this situation than I will welcome that opportunity with an eager heart. But I trust in the Lord that He will use this as a stepping stool to get to this mans heart in a deeper way. Because the Lord love him, I Love him and care for his heart and troubles he undergoes.
Pray about what God would like you to do today. There are so many opportunities. So many people who need to read a letter of encouragement.. Remember, we are all one in Christ. 

Ephesians 4:1-5
"As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit-just as you were called to one hope when you were called- one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."

Thursday, October 20, 2011

I Need to Act

Man has life been busy lately. I find myself complaining a lot and frankly it's making me sick. Who wants to be around a complainer? Day in and day out I sit and think about all the things I have going on in MY life and all the things I HAVE to get done and the things I MUST fit into my day. What do I have to complain about? What do I have to stress about? So many times I think we create our own drama and our own stress for no apparent reason. I just watched a video that really made me think a lot about this. I constantly have things on my mind that quite frankly at the end of the day have nothing to do with the kingdom of God. Here is the video link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4NlyZqJhwk&feature=share

It really just hit me hard when he said stop and think about what is going on in THIS moment. When I do that I think about the homeless man I see almost every day on my way to work. The people I met and prayed with in Guatemala the past two years that I still think about often and wonder how they are doing. The sex-slaves victims I just did a presentation on in one of my classes. The faces of the children on the World Vision flyer's that were passed out at the Women of Faith conference. Thinking about these people and where they are right now, makes me want to tape my mouth shut. What right do I have to complain? I am so blessed beyond my  needs and I still have the "its not good enough" attitude? Thinking of all of this has made me realize that I need to do more than just think. I need to act. I find no absolute enjoyment in allowing myself to continue to worry about me me me all of the time. God has put this on my heart a while ago and i'm ashamed to say that I was ignoring it for a while. I probably created every excuse in the book to defer it longer and longer. I'll be a bit more honest. Maybe you can relate. I don't vow much. I don't commit to specific things whole heartily very often. I think in the back of my mind I always had that "failing perception" and I don't want to let anyone down. Especially God. But today I've decided to take a step towards obedience. I'm going to challenge myself. This will probably be very difficult to say the least... but at the end of the day.. I know with everything in me, that it will be worth it. I challenge you to think about your life. What you do day in and day out. How you spend your time. How you spend your money. What you put your energy into. At the end of the day, does it really fulfill your wildest dreams? Or are you just going through the day doing what it is you know and think you love? Pray about it and give it to the Lord. Seek him for guidance and ask him to change your heart. 


Matthew 25 :
vs.40- The King will reply, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." vs 45- "I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me."