The Best Is Yet To Come

My pastor has been preaching about greater things lately.  It's a subject that really resonates with me because I have always felt a calling on my life to do greater things.  Now figuring out what the greater things are, is the harder part.  But I truly believe that everyone has a great calling on their life, whether it be a great runner, a great assistant, a great mom and wife, or even a composer.  The thing is, is that we get discouraged easily. "Timing isn't right," "I don't have the knowledge," "I have to wait to hear when to move," "this just isn't the time or place," and so on.  We are sitting waiting to make the next move, but really I think God is sitting and waiting for us to make the next move.  He's already given us the tools, because honestly if it's on our hearts to do something then we are ready to go.  That is what makes anything a great move: heart (well wisdom too, but I believe that if we seek guidance and pray, then the wisdom will come).

With the calling on my life, well I know I haven't met it yet.  It will probably take years to achieve just the first part, but I've learned that this time is precious and I just need to keep moving forward. There have been times (and still are) that I get frustrated with God and the whole timing of everything.  I realized today though, that He is a perfect God because He is true and pure perfection and truth.  If He met up with my version of perfect, then He wouldn't be true perfection.  He would be whatever I wanted Him to be and that is just not who He is. He is the alpha and omega.  He created such large objects such as stars as well as the smallest creatures, such as the ant.  He is the definition of what love is, and His greatness will forever reign (whether we like it or not... I'm a big fan though). His timing will work out.  It's definitely possible that I have taken a few wrong turns along the way, but they are what they are, I just have to keep moving forward.  I know there are people that think I have failed because I have not taken that step towards the dreams I once had/still have yet, and let's face it, I am not where I thought I would be by the age of 26.  But this is where I am.  No matter if this is where I was supposed to be, and even with it not being where I always wanted to be, this is where I am.  The great thing about it though, is that God still has greater things for me.  His promise to me will still happen, He still loves me no matter what, and His perfection is better than I could ever dream.  And the great thing about it, is that the same promise is for you as well. 

I'm not done living yet, matter of fact, I'm just beginning. As one of my main men sang, The Best Is Yet To Come.

"No one really cares"

I read an article yesterday on NBCNews.com that really frustrated me.  It is on the war in Afghanistan and the title is "No one really cares': US deaths in Afghanistan hit 2,000 in 'forgotten' war."

The article was on the main page's slideshow for about half a day, along with a slide that talked about celebrities in bikini's.  Actually the bikini story is still on the main page, just a different section, where the article on the war is no where to be seen.

What is going on with today's media (really I could say, what the heck is going on with today's society??!! but that is an bigger problem, so I'll stay small for now...)?  There are so many things wrong with this picture, I don't even know where to begin.  How about where the NBC news staff begins...

"KABUL, Afghanistan -- It was once President Barack Obama's "war of necessity." Now, it's America's forgotten war.
The Afghan conflict generates barely a whisper on the U.S. presidential campaign trail. It's not a hot topic at the office water cooler or in the halls of Congress — even though more than 80,000 American troops are still fighting here and dying at a rate of one a day.
Americans show more interest in the economy and taxes than the latest suicide bombings in a different, distant land. They're more tuned in to the political ad war playing out on television than the deadly fight still raging against the Taliban. Earlier this month, protesters at the Iowa State Fair chanted "Stop the war!" They were referring to one purportedly being waged against the middle class."

That's a sad statement, but it's a true one.  No one knows anything about this war.  They don't know that men and women are still dieing everyday.  They don't know that last week, two men were gunned down and killed by an Afghan officer they were training.  They don't know, that the men and women over there are getting shot at everyday, that everyday they still have to look out for IEDs, that they are losing friends, that some soldiers and marines are losing arms and legs from explosions, that helicopters are being shot down.  And what is really sad, is that they don't know that these troops are coming home with physical wounds and mental (such as PSTD).  Which means people don't know how to relate to them, which in our culture usually means that they just don't deal with them.

This really just made me mad, sad and disappointed.  Truthfully, I am biased due to the fact that I have friends that were and are fighting over there.  There is a quote from a soldier that is a depiction of how the troops feel.

"We all laugh about how no one really cares," he said. "All the 'support the troops' stuff is bumper sticker deep."

I even talked about this with one of my best friends that is stationed in Afghanistan and he said the same thing.  "We know the only time you all hear anything is if someone dies."  In my book, that's too late.

I am glad that most of the troops are coming home this fall (to be blunt...it's about freakin time).  I know they are proud to fight for their country and I thank them for that, even though their government and media do not properly show the gratitude they deserve, they keep fighting and are happy to.  That is a sign of true patriotism. 

If you are still reading, thank you.  I know it is a bit of a rant, but I believe it is important to remind people that it is not politics that are keeping us safe, but men and women that are away from their families who are putting themselves in danger everyday.  So please remember the troops.  And media...do your job and inform the people about their people.

My dog taught me a bit about God's love.... go figure.

This weekend was not one of the best weekends I've ever had.  I was hanging out at home Friday night (I know I am so cool...) and noticed that my dog kept biting at her side.  Finally I took a look at her to see what was bothering her and I noticed that she had bitten at her skin so much, all of the hair was gone from that spot and she was bleeding.  So to keep her from biting at it more, I locked her in my room at night so I could know when she was biting and I could stop her, so in other words, I did not get a lot of sleep.  Saturday, I took care of it as much as I could and tried to watch her like a hawk.  I cleaned it, wrapped it up, put ointment on it and kept her away from it because every time she tried to take care of it herself, she just opened up the wound again and it would start bleeding. 

Long story short, I took care of my dog all weekend and I just did not get much sleep because I was trying to keep her from making her wound worse. She was snapping at me most of the weekend because there were times that I was trying to help her but it hurt, so she would bite at me.  She must of gotten tired of me messing with her because she was starting to not be as warm towards me and would give me these looks of death (I don't know about other dogs, but my dog definitely makes faces...).  I was so tired Monday night that I finally got fed up from my dog seeming to not like me anymore, not letting me help her anymore and just ignoring me.  I was just upset and didn't want to bother with her, so I closed my door (which she hates) and went to bed.  While lying in bed I realized this was a great example of how God is with us.  We (or the devil) create our own problems and wounds.  God loves us so he tries to help us and show us love, but we just ignore Him or even get mad at Him for trying to help us, ultimately ignoring Him due to our anger.  But He still loves us and opens doors for us and gives us grace.  It's amazing.  

After a few minutes of lying in bed, I opened my door so she could get in my room, and when I woke up in the morning, there she was on my floor in her usual spot.  Love is a crazy thing, and this is love for my dog.  I can not even imagine what God goes through when we turn our back on Him, the God that created us and sent His only Son, to not just live for us, but to die a horrible death for us.  The two don't even compare to my story, but it's nice to know that God loves me so much, that He would just give me a little tiny insight.

One subject of many.

Through this blog I will touching on a variety of subjects.  I have to note that my faith (which is that God loves you so much that He sent His one and only Son to die on the cross for the forgiveness of your sins!) is the most important thing in my life, so that will be my main focus, but there are many other things that I have interests in that I will also write or comment about. 

One group people I have an interest in, are single women in the 20s and early 30s.  There are so many pressures going on in today's society, it's gotten to the ridiculous level.  There are two tugging forces going on today.  Like the game Red Rover, one side is calling out your name to come to their side, but will you run to their side to join them, or to break the chain?  Ok here are the two sides:

1.  Culture, Society, or what some people call, The World.
        This side is what we hear, see, and encounter the most and is likely to say, "come on, everyone's doing it!"   It's pretty much living out the show "Sex in the City".

2.  The "If your not married or at least close to marriage by the time you are 25 then there is something wrong with you" side.

Well this is just my introduction to my thoughts on what singles experience today.  I'm will definitely cover more details on this subject.  But for now.  Have a great day!

 

Timing is Everything

Esther 4:14

"For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

There was an order agreed by the king that all of the Jewish people would be killed.  Mordecai was working to change the law and had asked his niece, Esther to help them.  Esther was a Jew but she had hidden that from her new husband, the king.  Her position as the queen gave her favor in his eyes, so her uncle asked Esther for her help to petition to the king for their people.  They had to be secretive, but ultimately they realized, it was now or never for Esther to speak up to the king to save the Jewish people.  She prayed and accepted the responsibility.  The king listened to her plea and not only did he nullify his original order, but he told the Jews that they had his permission to protect themselves against any and all adversaries. 

Esther was a bold woman of God in a time of persecution.  It took well over a year for her just to be chosen as the queen, but it all came together perfectly.  She could have easily kept quiet, but she stepped up boldly, and respectively, and her actions ended up saving thousands of people.

Everyone has a purpose.  What will YOU do with, "such a time as this?"