Only God Moments

I live in Arizona, where it is dry and hot most of the year. I could complain about all of the things I don't like about it but that would be contrary to the point of this post so I must resist. Besides, I really like Arizona most of the time anyways. What I'm getting at is, I live in a valley surrounded by awesome mountains and other great scenery that was created by God. I wake up every day, get in my car, and drive through said valley, next to said mountains, and the vast majority of the time do not stop to appreciate the beauty that God has placed around me. It's because I am used to it. I expect it to be there because it has been there a lot longer than I have and I don't really pay attention to it. None of that means that the mountains are less wonderful. It just means I am less observant.

It's like when us Christian folks say things like "It was an only God moment". That sounds kind of silly to me after thinking about it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not denying the fact that God does AWESOME things in our lives at all. I'm doing the exact opposite. I am pointing out/realizing/re-realizing that every moment is an "only God" moment. We just don't stop to recognize it often enough. At least I don't, and I would like that to change. I want to be thankful more often for more things. I tend to laugh at the prayers of children when they are thankful for seemingly insignificant things.

 God, please make me more aware of the significance of those things and increase my thankfulness for them.

I just had an "only God" moment-- I took a breath. Thank you God!

Wibbly Wobbly, Time-y Wimey

"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but *actually* from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint - it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly... time-y wimey... stuff." - The Doctor 

 So I have recently (not really recently, but in relation to my last post, fairly recently) discovered the BBC series "Doctor Who". I have been thoroughly enjoying it. It makes you think about time in weird ways.

 I was thinking a few days ago (more like two weeks ago), about the fact that God is not restricted by time. At the same time, I was wondering if each individual sin had a quantifiable amount of suffering required in order to pay for it (not that it would be measurable by any human standard). And then the question struck me, if God is outside of time, and Christ is God incarnate, and Christ suffered for the sins of the world, what if I could actually lessen the suffering that my savior had to endure all those years ago, by choosing righteousness instead of sinfulness? We are no longer slaves to sin, so we have the option not to sin. Can I remove a thorn from Christ's crown by not acting on a sinful thought that I have tomorrow? I mean, He is outside of time after all. Not that it would diminish the significance of the sacrifice at all! But can I actively decrease the pain that Christ had to endure for my sake? Food for thought to say the least.

 See, Doctor Who is good for me after all...

God, the all powerful genie

It saddens me when God is treated like some cosmic genie that is only there to grant our wishes. I know I sometimes treat Him that way. We so often pray for things that we want to happen, and then get upset with God for not answering our prayers, when the truth is, God knows so much more than you can imagine, you don't even realize that He is giving you bigger and better gifts than you could think up in a million years. God IS answering our prayers. Every single one of them. Whether we like or understand the answers is a different story. But remember this.

"... we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

You can't see it, you can't understand it, but what God does in your life is for your good and His glory. Period. Life is not about what you want in the here and now. It is about God and His eternal kingdom.

Besides all of that, what is honestly the purpose of prayer? Is it only to ask for things we want? To petition our King to bend to our wishes? No. A huge part of what prayer should be is praise! If we only find ourselves praying when we want something, there is a serious problem. We need to be thanking Him for the prayers that He constantly is answering, and Praising Him JUST for who He is. That is the kind of God we serve. A God who hears prayers, answers them, and requires (and deserves) our worship. Nothing less than constant praise and adoration is acceptable, for we serve the King and Creator of the universe, who cares down to the ant.

Thank you Lord that you are a God who hears and answers prayers. You are worthy of my praise, much more than I can give. But I give all I have to you.

Busy, Busy Bee

Well it sure has been awhile since I have written anything here. We have been busy. Im sure after you read this you will understand why.

I have had a lot on my mind the past few days. As Danielle and I are gravitating slowly towards making the leap and purchasing our own home, again I am forced to get perspective on many things. My income is low. I make roughly $18,000 a year. Which isn't terrible, but it isnt enough to live anywhere near comfortably in our own house. We spoke with a financial advisor last night, and he said a few things that I knew, but never really acknowledged. I am working for a decent company, but I am a temporary agent. That needs to change. I could lose my job at the drop of a hat. That is not safe for my family at all. My first step, then would be to get hired on at Pace permanantly. That's all well and good, but that doesn't increase my salary at all.

This is where the struggle really comes in. I am interested in the IT industry. I think its great and it probably is going to be viable income for a long time. However, I have a passion for music. Until recently I had been ignoring it, and then a good friend of mine started looking for work as a worship leader. I haven't stopped thinking about doing that myself ever since. I dont know how stable the income would be, I dont know what it would provide for our family, I DO know that God will always provide for His people, but where do I start? I have no career path in mind at all. I am just going one step at a time. That is hardly a good plan.

All I can say is, I have no idea what the future will bring. I am praying about it alot. Will I stay in the IT industry? If so where will i go from where I am? Will I make a change and go into full time ministry? Or is there yet some other path the Lord has yet to reveal to me? Lord, guide my steps.