Everywhere You've Been...

Something that Joyce Meyer said at the San Antonio conference the other night really struck me. I took a lot of notes and I have a lot of thoughts, but this is something that is really on my mind today.
I have been having a lot of nightmares again. Some of you know my story, but most of it I've kept secret. I've had a lot of struggles. There have been a lot of hard times. I've been hurt a lot, made some choices I regret, lost a lot of people I love, things like that. Lots of things I'm trying hard to forget. It comforts me though, to know that God has a good plan for my life because I love Him and follow His commandments.
Something that Joyce said the other night struck me so much that I wrote down the direct quote:
"Everywhere you've been will become part of where you're going."
This is so true. Scripture says that our steps are ordered by the Lord. God can take our mess and make it into something beautiful. He can give us beauty for our ashes. God knows my every step...everywhere I have been. He can take everything, even the painful places, and use them for good. So even those awful places I've been (and there have been some really awful painful spots, let me tell you-- and I know that you've had them too) God will use them and help them become part of the path. The path that will lead to your better life. The Good Life that He wants you to have. It doesn't have to stop at the pain. You can keep on going through the hard times, and let God use those hard times, make those crooked places straight.
It helps me to know that even when I have a difficult day now (even though they are rare now, they still come) God is using it to get me where I'm going. I used to think that some days of my life were just lost, useless. But I can see now that God had a plan to use even those days.
No day is ever lost to God. He can take everything and work it for good.

A Happy Easter!

It was a wonderful Easter. I was awakened by a powerful thunderstorm yesterday morning. You know how in the Bible, sometimes God spoke to someone (like Jesus) but everyone else heard thunder? I'm thinking that's what the thunder was about yesterday morning. Maybe God was speaking to the world. "This is the day I have raised my Son from the grave! Get up and CELEBRATE, PEOPLE!" The Sun came out later on, and i played outside with my dogs with some new bubbles (that I got in my Easter basket...yes I get an Easter basket at 36 years old...) and we had a good time. Watched the Sound of Music and Mary Poppins, all that.

Very powerful and loud, fabulous church service yesterday morning too.

I must vent a moment. Something that disturbs me to no end, and also makes me so sad. People are so LOST. They don't even know it. It makes my heart hurt. Not just for them, but for God. There is a popular artist who has her own website. She has many followers. This girl has declared herself a "Goddess" and has declared that since there are 6 billion people on earth that there are 6 billion paths to God. She has decided that parts of the Easter story shouldn't pertain to her. She has even taken beliefs from all sorts of religion, and started her own self-religion. And of course, all her followers just eat that right up. That all want to be Goddesses, too. They all want to make their own paths to God, too.

One problem with that. Big problem. The Bible, God's own word, declares there is ONE path. ONE. UNO. One path-- not 2, not 100, and certainly not 6 billion. One path-- Jesus. Not buddha. Not mysteries gods. Not people. Not you. Not me.

Jesus, God's one and ONLY son.

Now, I'm not going to start any arguments about the validity of the Bible-- I'm sure by now you realize that I believe the Bible is literal and true, although if anyone wants, I can certainly post a bunch of stuff validating that fact. I can also post lots of stuff validating the fact that Jesus was a REAL person, Jesus certainly DID die for real, and the tomb was closely guarded, and yes he truly was raised from the dead.

It makes me sad. People cheapen what Jesus did, by rejecting what he did. Ignoring it. Saying it didn't happen. Saying it isn't for them. Jesus went through hell. He went through something no one should ever have to, out of love. Not because he had to-- because he chose to. Because that was the only way to make things right. Because God loved us so much that he wanted to have a relationship with people again, and this was the only way.

But people throw it away.

That makes me hurt for Jesus.

You know what's just as bad? For the 1st 17 years of my life, I threw it away too.

I rejected him. I hurt his feelings. My logical mind, which only wanted to hear "scientific facts" (and hadn't yet read books like The Case for Christ, and those wonderful Josh McDowell books) also rejected Jesus and His love and the Creator. I had decided to only believe what I could see (so I thought) and touch (never mind that all of creation is evidence of God.)

This Easter, I am grateful.

That my eyes too, have been opened. That my ears too, can now hear.

That my heart too, has joy. That the grace of God allowed me to believe.

Do you?

Happy Easter, everyone.