Something's Missing

I feel like I haven't spoke to Will very much in the past few days. We saw each other tonight for dinner with my parents and that didn't even last an hour. I'm used to having at least 30 minutes to talk with him each day and for the past few days it's been maybe 5 because of my exams and his last week of class before exams. I miss my man. REALLY bad. Ha, quite honestly a little tear is rolling down my cheek right now. (Geez, I'm a sap) But the way I feel about Will tonight got me to thinking about other things.
How does God feel when we don't spend time with him? How does his heart ache? Does he shed a tear or two when he is missing us? Just something I'm pondering on.

A Childlike Priest

"At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, 'Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?' He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: 'I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.'" Matthew 18:1-5

Jesus calls us to be like little children. He even says that we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven if we are not like them. What exactly does he mean by that? For a very long time I have been perplexed by this scripture, but today I believe that my loving future husband and priest taught me this, unbeknownst to him.

Quite honestly there are times when I look at Will and I wish that he would just act his age. I wish that he would quit goofing off and face the issue at hand instead of joking around and making light of it. I laughed out loud as I wrote that b/c I can just imagine his beautiful smile when he knows I'm angry and he wants to make me laugh (even though that usually makes me more angry at the time). Today after church, we were goofing off and I caught myself getting frustrated because I wanted him to be serious and I said, "Man, we are going to have kids just like this." And that's when it hit me. I didn't say anything to him about this God given revelation, but I just studied him the rest of the time we were together. He laughed things off. He found joy in everything. He looked at everything around him with wonder and did everything he could to help me lighten up. Lately I've realized that I've been acting like a bitter old woman. I haven't lived like a child, full of wonder and letting the little annoying things go unnoticed. Instead, the little things have struck me and taken a little piece of joy and a little piece of youth each time.

Today Will really acted as my priest without even realizing it. In Proverbs 31, a godly woman is described as being able to laugh at the days to come. Thanks to the loving, amazing man in my life, I am now learning how to laugh at the days to come and take the little things in stride. Praise God for a man who knows how to be a child.

Disclaimer: I'm not condoning immaturity. There is a time and place for sincerity and there are situations that are not laughable, but because life is fleeting, the rest should be enjoyed and experienced in awe--like a child.

God Will Speak Through Stickers, etc.

I get a devotion each day from Proverbs 31 Ministries. This was today's devotion and it really swept me off my feet. Check it out:

Sometimes when I make reference to the fact that God speaks to me, there are some people that don't quite know what to make of that statement. But, it is true. God's voice is a gentle rush through my soul or a thought that pops into my head in a way that I know it's not my own. Throughout the Bible, God spoke to His people. And I'm convinced He still does. This is the most exciting part of my adventures with God...hearing from Him, experiencing Him... everyday!

Recently I had the wonderful privilege to speak at a conference with Renee Swope. Renee and I went thinking we were going to be giving out to the ladies at the conference but God wound up giving to us in special ways as well. During Renee’s talk, she spoke about Isaiah 61 as her life verse given to her by God over ten years ago. She referred to verse 3 several times that promises God will make His people into oaks of righteousness, a display of His splendor. She said God's promise to her despite all the yuck of her past was that one day He would use her to "display" His splendor.

Toward the end of her talk, God spoke something that seemed quite strange to me. I felt God tell me to take the sticker off the sole of my shoe. I flipped my shoe over thinking it must be a price sticker. Instead, what I found took my breath away! Tucked safely into the arch of the bottom of my shoe, was an orange sticker that read DISPLAY! Instantly, the Lord spoke to my heart again and instructed me to give the sticker to Renee when she finished speaking and tell her that her life verse had been fulfilled. Today, she had truly become a DISPLAY of His splendor. She was to place the sticker in her Bible beside the Isaiah 61 verses as a reminder of God's fulfilled promise in her life. The sticker even matched Renee's orange jacket she was wearing!

Some may be skeptical that God would speak to ordinary women. Some may think it silly that God would use a sticker on the bottom of a shoe to reveal Himself. But Renee and I are absolutely convinced... from the bottom of our soles and souls!

Praise God that He has a sense of humor and he speaks to us specifically and with a love that we could never comprehend. How is he trying to speak to you today?

WOW! I love this

"Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."
--2 Peter 1:20-21

PROPHECY NEVER HAD ITS ORIGIN IN THE WILL OF MAN. Praise God. Praise God that it is not of our own will that we speak truth in to the lives of other. Praise God that we are carried along by the Holy Spirit. Some are given the gift of prophecy even today. I'm trying to learn not to turn a deaf ear to someone who is speaking God's truth into my life "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Hebrews 4:12

God's Proverbial Light Bulb

Last night @ NewSpring Student Ministry Alden spoke on the importance of God's word and understanding exactly where your relationship is with the Holy Spirit. Well, after worship we went into small groups and the girls were discussing that they had trouble with applying God's word to their life. They would take it in and take it in, but do nothing with it. At this point, God turned on the proverbial light bulb in my head. I had started a blog for the girls so that we could all write to one another and keep up with what was going on in each other's lives, but that just wasn't working out. SO **DING** went the light bulb and I suggested that I start doing a daily devotion on the blog for the girls. We were doing devotion books before we switched from Ignite (middle school ministry) to a combined ministry and the girls were loving it. Now, I get to employ some technology and love on my girl's through God's word. I'm pretty stoked about it. It's going to be an awesome form of accountability for me. Here's a link to the blog Meg's Girlz if you want to check it out.