Your Hands

Here I am at home for a little while catching up with my family; a little vacation from Oxford.  Not a vacation from blogging!  Its so nice to be able to come home and unwind a little bit, get away.  On my way home, I was listening to a variety of music.  (Chris Tomlin, Kristian Stanfill, David Crowder, etc.)  Then I got to this song.  Your Hands - JJ Heller.  I have loved this song ever since I heard it a few years ago, but its funny how some songs come back and they really hit you when you need them most!  Enjoy!  


I have unanswered prayers
I have trouble I wish wasn't there
And I have asked a thousand ways
That you would take my pain away
You would take my pain away

I am trying to understand
How to walk this weary land
Make straight the paths that crooked lie
Oh Lord, before these feet of mine
Oh Lord, before these feet of mine

When my world is shaking, heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave your hands

When you walked upon the earth
You healed the broken, lost and hurt
I know you hate to see me cry
One day you will set all things right
Yeah, one day you will set all things right

When my world is shaking, heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave your hands

Your hands that shaped the world
Are holding me
They hold me still
Your hands that shaped the world
Are holding me
They hold me still

When my world is shaking, heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave you
When my world is shaking, heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave
I never leave your hands


There are so many things about this song that just really hit home for me.  It all starts with the first verse, of course.  Don't we all have things that we don't want to deal with.  Things that are inconvenient or painful' unwanted situations.  We ask over and over for God to take the pain away.  Just to make everything "sunshine and roses."  God never promised us the way would be easy.  As a matter of fact, He promised the road would be rough.  And here is where His amazing faithfulness and grace comes in...it may not be easy or fun, but it will be so worth it.  Follow Him.


When the road is long and the mountains are steep, and when we feel like everything is falling apart, He never moves.  He is unchanging.  "When my world is shaking, heaven stands."  Have faith and believe in His goodness and that His plans for you will be far greater than your own.  Like the song says, "One day you will set all things right."  He will.  We may not see it now, but following Him and trusting in His will will lead us to exactly where He wants us to be.  No matter how lonely we feel or how far we think He may be, we never leave His loving embrace.  He never lets go.  Just hold on.  

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice."  Philippians 4:4


"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Romans 12:12


"Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."  Joshua 1:9 

Giver of Peace

So school is ending and I have way more time to blog and interestingly enough with less to do I have more to say!  Funny how things work!  Well here is what is currently on my heart for sharing...


Yesterday was an extremely difficult day for me, it took me hours to get out of bed and I honestly did practically nothing for the entire day.  I needed that day, just to let all my thoughts, feelings, and emotions out.  Sometimes its okay to do that.  One of my favorite books, The Shack, puts it this way:  "Don't ever discount the wonder of your tears.  They can be healing waters and streams of joy.  Sometimes they are the best words the heart can speak."

I have been praying constantly for direction, guidance, answers, and most importantly peace in where He is currently leading me.  Let me tell you guys something, GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS.  He says in John 15:7 "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you."  My prayers are continually being answered and its such a beautiful things to see God's work going on in my life.

My main point is give it all to him.  Surrender it all.  Trust that He will do what He said He would.  Know that He will never lead you down the wrong path or let you fall. He has you in His loving embrace and with His will comes peace.  Here are a few of the things God has shown me in His word recently.

"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groaning too deep for words.  And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."  Romans 8:26-27

"And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you."  1 Peter 5:10

"So we do not lose heart.  Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.  For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."  2 Corinthians 4:16-18  

Surrender

These past few days have been full of laughter and tears, but most of all full of incredible spiritual growth.  Its hard for me to keep it to myself because I know that when I'm faced with struggles its always helpful to hear of other people coping with theirs and making it.  And I believe that Christ uses our struggles for His glory.  Here it goes...


A life built on a relationship with Christ is one that is very sacrificial.  Now I'm not saying that if you're a believer you will automatically have to give up absolutely everything.  But as the Lord gives, He also takes away.  In Luke 9:23 He says, "If any man should come after me let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me."  Sometimes when we deny ourselves, that means denying ourselves of things we want.  Hard lesson to learn, but I think it is one that all of us will eventually face.


One of the things that most believers struggle with is completely letting go and literally giving it all to Him.  That means putting your ENTIRE life in His hands.  Its not an easy thing to do, especially when His plan doesn't really line up with your own.  But His plan always overcomes and will always be the best.  Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."  Maybe we should take the time to step back and realize that our plans aren't for our own good.  I mean wouldn't it make sense that the creator of the whole universe, the creator that knows exactly how many hairs are on your head and knows how many breaths you will take, wouldn't it make sense that He knows exactly what we need? Answer? ABSOLUTELY!  How great is our God?  I means seriously?!


Now this by no means makes it any easier, especially when He calls you to give up something that means so much to you.  Not going to lie, it for lack of a better term sucks.  But in this struggle God brings peace, sometimes not immediately, but He brings peace.  This lesson is not a lesson that is easy for me to learn, but the closeness that has strengthened between my God and myself this past weekend is so beautiful.  And how wonderful it is to know that it will only grow stronger and more beautiful!  Through times like this, it is so important to surround yourself with those who can build you up and lead you in His word and then surround yourself with His word and His truth.


"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us."  Romans 8:18.  WOW!  Such an eye opening verse.  No matter how much I am suffering now, no matter how rough the pain gets, the glory He reveals in the end, the unravelling of His plan for my life will be so worth it.  I must, we all must, trust in the faithfulness of Christ because He will never lead us to harm or destruction.  He has such a good and beautiful purpose for each and every one of us!  "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose."  Romans 8:28.  


My struggles and my pain are so small compared to the wonder and beauty that He has in store for me.  Let us worship him through EVERYTHING, the good, the bad, and the ugly.  


"So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.  Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this that it should leave me.  But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.  For when I am weak, then I am strong."  2 Corinthians 12:7-10


All I think I am trying to say is don't ignore God.  Follow Him. Simply follow Him.  No matter how difficult it may be, your joy will be far greater when you follow Him and deny yourself DAILY than if you try to do this your way.  You will be surprised where He takes you.  Follow Him and trust in His amazing love, grace, mercy, and faithfulness.


My song of encouragement right now:


He Said (Click Here to Listen)

Give it a listen :)

So Far So Good!

So last time I posted I had just found out that I have a gluten intolerance or whatever you want to call it.  Long story short, I am now living a gluten-free life!  Call me crazy, but its proving to have many upsides! (Or maybe I've just refused to stop looking at the negatives!)


Its hard to believe that its only been a week because it has been a super long week at that!  Every day has greeted me with new challenges, most of them being "well what do I eat now?"  So I decided I would take you along on my little journey, at least for today!  Throughout this transition there has been a whole lot of trial and error and admittedly a good many tears of frustration, but with the support I'm getting from friends and family, it has been such a blessed transition in my life.


Well the first few days were truly the hardest, but that is exactly what I expected.  However, I think I'm really getting the hang of it!  Here are a few of the things I have come up with! Enjoy!


Chicken, Rice, and Veggies
This meal has been a frequent one.  Its just baked chicken, brown rice, corn, sweet peas, and a little salt and pepper!  Not too bad!  Part of the diet is that I can eat mainly fresh meats, so that means no more frozen chicken nuggets, and for those of you who don't know, I eat those A LOT!  The great thing about this meal is that I can mix in different vegetables and experiment with flavors that way!  Its also very colorful, and who doesn't like a colorful lunch/dinner?!












Omelettes
This has also become a staple food in my diet.  This omelette was from last week and had chicken, cheese, and corn!  I've never really been much for eggs, but I'm actually starting to like them and they are a great source of protein!  Great thing about eggs is that you can also play around with this meal and have it so many different ways!  Last night I had some gluten-free toast, and orange, and a plain cheese omelette.  It was absolutely delicious and a glass of chocolate soymilk was the icing on the cake!  (Figuratively of course!)








Fresh Fruits
So thankfully I have such a sweet boyfriend who took the time to cut a fresh pineapple for me the other night!  I love pineapple and decided I wanted a REAL one!  Zack wasn't so trusting when it came to me and a sharp knife, but I was glad to have this task so graciously done for me. :)  Fresh fruit has become an every day thing for me and I absolutely LOVE it!  Bananas, pineapples, and oranges are so yummy and they're all so very good for you! Mix together a bowl of these fruits and you have a sweet dessert, breakfast, or snack!  I actually have chocolate covered banana slices in my freezer! Yum!


Quesadillas
This is also something that I'm trying out.  The first time I had some quesadillas, they were filled with cheese and corn.  Not so great the first go round, they needed a little flavor in them.  Maybe bellpeppers or salsa.  So tonight, I decided to try something new.  I did a cheese quesadilla with a couple of dollops of tomato sauce!  That was the ticket!  They were yummy!  (The quesadillas are made of corn, so I can eat them!)
With this meal I'm willing to sacrifice and stray from my dairy free diet.








Breakfast
Sometimes for me, actually most of the time, its hard for me to get a good breakfast.  Luckily I came across these yummy breakfast bars!  They are made from a gluten free rice cereal and real peanuts and drizzled with chocolate!  Definitely been a great start to most of my mornings!  Zack even tried one and liked them!  That is a plus!  I also found that most of the Chex cereals are gluten free so sometimes a meal is a bowl of Honey Nut Chex and a side of fruit!  I am so glad my breakfast has not been affected!




Sandwiches


This is a category that still needs a little work.  I have yet to find the perfect gluten free bread for a nice peanut butter and jelly, but this bread made from brown rice isn't too bad.  Now, I know that none of the breads I will be eating will ever be as good as the wheat stuff, but I can definitely get used to it!  I was most concerned about my grilled cheeses (one of my favorite meals) but this bread doesn't make that bad of a grilled cheese and has satisfied that craving quite nicely.  As for chips, I have taken a liking to the Kettle brand natural potato chips (salt and fresh pepper flavor)! Most Lay's flavors are GF too!

My Refrigerator
And this is what the shelf in my fridge looks like as of tonight.  As you can see its full of all sorts of yummy, FRESH goodies!  Eggs, oranges, pineapple, celery, yogurt, chicken, rice bread, peanut butter (because celery is unbearable without it) and soymilk (chocolate and regular).  Its a bit crazy, but its my new eating habit!




Overall this experience has more pros than cons!  Here are a few that I came up with!

1. Way healthier food choices
2. I have found a new love for cooking
3. I haven't been sick in a whole week! (major achievement)
4. Cooking meals = great fun with my roommate and boyfriend
5. Spend less money eating out

So this has been the center of my last few days, learning how to eat again!  Its been hard, but through prayers and support of my great friends and family, it has been wonderful and rewarding.  I have found that in these difficult times, when life throws you a curveball no matter how big or how small, God will always provide support and strength to make it through each day! :)