Know it All!

Having a 21 month old daughter I can already tell that she is going to think she knows it all. In fact many times I believe she already does think that.  Being her mother, I may not know all the answers or have the perfect solution but I know more than her; just as my parents know more than me (don't tell them I admit that).  Our current issue is sleep, she is under the belief that she does not need a nap.  I have tried making her take a nap to no avail, I have allowed her to take a later nap just so she wouldn't be in a bad mood to only find she will not go to sleep until 1 in the morning then, and I have also made her stay up all day to be in a bad mood later yet go to bed nicely at a reasonable hour.  None of my solutions have worked and we are still dealing with the sleep strike!  So as I said I may know more than her but I don't have the solution YET! :)

I am so grateful that as a daughter of Jehovah God I do not have to worry about if He knows everything of if He has the perfect solution to my problem.  One thing I know I can be sure of is that He does know everything and He has the solution before the problem ever arrives! My Lord has reminded me of this once again this week.  Lately things have been pretty "dry" I guess you could say.  We have been really discouraged in ministry and some things in life.  Like a know it all child, I have tried fixing things myself and that got me no where! Just when I felt that I was at my wits ends God sends a very on time word!  We are having what I like to call a "spontaneous" revival this week, because until last Friday we didn't know we were having it.  I know that God had this in the works long before Friday though.  God opened the door for an evangelist to come to our church and the word that God is speaking through this man is exactly what we have needed.  

Each service has hit the nail on the head, and each service God has just revealed a little bit more of His plan.  Last night (Monday) at the end of the service I couldn't stop crying because I saw things happening around me that I have only been able to slightly hope for.  Yet my all knowing heaven Father knew they were so possible!  Not only were things happening around me, but in me as well.  I had been holding on to things that I needed to let go.  I thought holding on to them would solve the problem, but I had to let go for God to solve them for me.  I may be young but I can only think of the song "He is an on time God!" 

I know God has even more in store for us these last two nights, but it's not going to stop Wednesday with the evangelist leaves! God has brought His refreshing Spirit to us so that we may continue to do His will! 

When my knowledge and logic fail me I have a God that does "know it all"!

Job 37:16

Do you know the balancings of the clouds,
the wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge.

Positive Verses Negative

I find myself the morning slightly annoyed at many people in the human race...something that I have been working on is becoming a more positive person.  So I guess in my mind everyone else should be working on this as well and I just don't see that happening, lol.  I began to realize that sometimes my humor could be seen as rude and hurtful so I began to try and filter the things I "joked" about.  I still want to be a fun person to be around, but is the only way to be fun picking on people? I don't know, I am still trying to find a balance there.  I was always told, "I pick on you because I love you." Yeah, I guess every now and then about some things, but after a while of getting "picked" on or "joked with" about the same thing they do begin to hurt.  So in thinking about that, it led me to the thought of the person I am joking with may be tired of it too and I never want to be the person who finally hurts them after years of playful joking.  In this I have had to catch myself not to judge others who don't see things my way, make sure I don't become offended if someone does "joke" with me in this way, and learn to respond gracefully to it.  My goal is to lift other people up by encouraging them and complimenting them, not possibly bring them down by a joke.

Then another soap box that I too struggle with is just being a positive person in general rather than a negative one.  I would say that I am naturally a "glass half empty" kind of person.  So typically I can find what is wrong with a situation, person, outfit, whatever the subject may be pretty fast.  In my goal to be more encouraging I have realized that being encouraging and negative kind of contradict each other.  So I have tried to limit my complaining and criticisms.  That old saying "if you can't say something nice, then don't say anything at all" has always been a weak point for me.  Because usually I have something I want to say, so now I am working on it being nice.  Now yes, there is a time a place of critiques, but must our life always be critiquing others?  And just because we wrap our negative comment in something nice or positive, that doesn't mean the negative isn't seen or heard very clearly.   I guess my point is, I wish I could people lifting each other up more period, and not just saying something nice to get to the bad part.

As a Christian I believe that my life, words, and actions should reflect Christ.  Do I think Christ had a sense of humor, yes I do.  But I always believe He knew the perfect way to use it without even the possibility of hurting someone.  Since I am not Jesus, I want to be more careful with my jokes.  Another thing I believe is, that if people outside the Christian realm are constantly seeing us pull each other down and talk bad about everything around us they are going to want nothing to do with our wonderful Savior that we should be sharing with them.  I think my life verse this year is Ephesians 4:29, "Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear."

Well I hope this wasn't too negative, I am very sorry if it was! Keep in mind a kind word can go much further than you could ever imagine!

Is it Spring or is it Summer?

I knew the seasons would be "different" in Pa, but I don't think you can ever prepare for it! I made it through my first winter with a pretty good attitude (at least in my opinion).  I had never seen it snow for so many days at a time, or for snow to stay on the ground for so long.  It was one of the most beautiful and frustrating things at the same time.  Now that it has finally started to warm up it is almost like we have skipped right over spring and went straight to summer.  For the first month or so of spring it still felt like winter, and now all I want is to find a pool.  I am finding the warmth to be lovely, yet frustrating as well. I am use to having central air to turn on once the temps are above 70, and now I am patiently waiting for the day we put in our little window unit!

As I am slowly adjusting to how the seasons work up here, I am learning things as well.  First, it doesn't matter what the calendar says about the seasons, it most likely will be different outside...unpredictable just like life.  Then there is the contrast between the beauty and annoyance of these things.  I love the snow and it was so beautiful to see things covered like I had never seen before...yet did it have to stay for months at the time??  So many things in our lives bring awesome beauty, but they will also bring frustration, responsibility, and most likely hard work (like shoveling the sidewalk to take the dog out in a foot of snow).

One of the most beautiful things I have ever experience was becoming a mother, and yes that is definitely frustrating and hard work not to mention the biggest responsibility ever!  I pray that as God continues to bless my life with beautiful things, that I will handle everything all those comes with those beautiful things, with His grace!  Just as I made the very hard choice to stay positive during the winter, I want to make that choice more in life.  Staying positive didn't make the snow go away, but it did help me get through it!  The hope we have in Christ can help us get through any situation, but we have to make the choice to grab onto His hope and change our attitude....and as beautiful as His hope is, that is a hard thing for us as humans to do. But just like anything other beautiful thing that comes with hard work....IT'S WORTH IT!

How old am I?

As I am sitting here last night "helping" my mother (in-law) create her own blog, I realize just how behind I am compared to other people in my generation.  Here I am 22 years old and I can't figure out the simplest of things up here.  I hate getting a new computer with new programs, I like the old ones just fine.  How are the new programs "easier" when it takes me three times longer because I can't figure out the "cool" "shortcuts".  Yeah I know I sound like an 82 years old, lol!  But we got some good laughs out of the situation and Mrs. Rhonda does have a blog now.


Then I got to thinking, how are things going to be by the time Kaylee is in school, or when she is my age?  Technology is growing at such a fast rate I can't even comprehend where things will be in just 10 years. 


As my mind ponders on that thought, I begin to think about other things in the world.  The hate, crime, natural disasters, poverty, social unrest, and all the other many things I could list here.  I remember being so nervous about brining a child in to "this world", but I think every parent in every place in time has felt that nervousness.  And as this world around me gets more and more crazy I have to hold onto the peace that only God can give me.  It is that peace that got me through those scary thoughts when carrying Kaylee, and it is His peace that gets me through when I think of the world she is growing up in.


With that nervousness and fright comes a great excitement as well.  That may seem like such a weird statement, but it's true.  I believe that things are only going to be more corrupt as time goes by, and that the earth will cry out more as the time comes for Jesus' return.  No, I don't want to live in a day where I am scared to let Kaylee play at the park; or where I have to watch lives being destroyed by natural disasters.  Yet, at the same time it creates a longing within me to have Jesus come for us as His bride!  


This longing within me is also creating a heart for those who do not know Christ as their Lord and Savior!  As a Christian, I refuse to keep this hope in a dying world to myself! I can not sit around longing for the day I see my Savior's face and dreaming of heaven.  I must get up and tell the world about the hope, peace, joy, love, and life I have through the Cross.


This seems pretty random and I am sure you think the title may fit the start but not this last part.  But as I ask myself how old and I because I am so far behind in technology sometimes; I have also asked myself how old am I as a Christian.  It is time for me to grow up as a Christian just as the preacher said at Winterfest last week!