Not a Giveaway, But I Love You

"[God] stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people."

-Psalm 65:7-

I'm not sure if it's a thing or not for bloggers to post on their own birthday...in our day and age, probably; and they probably give things away out of the sudden generosity of their heart. ^_^ (Juuust giving y'all a hard time.)

I'm not here to give anything away but I am here to share a little something nautical since ships are basically my favourite thing and because they remind me of the beauty, refuge, and power of my God! 

The beauty of His sea and the gentle rolling of a ship on its ebb and flow; the refuge He offers as our lighthouse and guide; and the power He holds over the wind and waves when we are overcome by storms.

The same God through whose hands the oceans cannot slip holds my heart and preserves my soul.

Forgotten Self

There is no room in the world's doctrine of "self love/care" for identifying with the sufferings and rejection Christ faced and endured for us...You cannot "deny yourself, take up your cross daily*, and follow" Him while you are putting your needs first and prioritizing your feelings and comfort above all else.

All the good that I am is Christ in me; only by His love am I anything but dead in my sins.

We deserve Hell. Only by the grace of God do we have life, forgiveness, and the hope of Heaven; there is no other correct response to this reality than to live lives of self-denial and service to Him.

NOTE: to deny self is not "to think less of myself"...but to forget myself. To not even consider myself because when I follow Jesus and believe/obey His word, I surrender control to Him and He is faithful to meet every need while I am/should be busy serving Him. 

*This is a conscious daily choice we must make, to take up our cross and follow Him.

As my pastor says: "We live better under the weight of the cross."

Continual Hope, Continual Praise

 

“But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.” 

{Psalms 71:14}

Ebbing feelings do not undermine or determine the validity of our praise.

Your season of despair, doubt, loss, grief, pain, uncertainty, trouble, ups, downs, highs, or lows in no way changes the reality that Jesus gave His life for you- out of love and in showing grace, for we are oh so undeserving- so that you might have life and have it more abundantly. The Bible tells us in Matthew 26:39 that He would have passed that cup of a cruel death if there had been any other way to pay the price of our sins...but despite that momentary feeling, He gave us the greatest example of surrender to and contentment in the Fathers will that considers the big picture where we only see the hardship. "Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." (26:39b)

He is worthy of all and above our worship and adoration; even our ability to praise is a gift to us, as without Him providing the necessary sacrifice that we praise Him for in the first place we would face only hopelessness and separation from Him: a living death, until eternal death.

We can praise him in all circumstances because - even if He didn't use the good and bad ones for our benefit, which He faithfully does to grow us - He is our life-giver; supplier of our every breath and very being; our hope not only in this physical life, but of life for all eternity in His presence, though we so often take Him for granted.

Besides, what are valleys when He has moved mountains to shade you there?

Reality Check

"The more we walk with God, the closer we get to reality. The more time I spend with God, bringing parts of my life to the surface to deal with them, I am invited to walk with the reality of life and find the beauty within the muddy and the mundane.

Here's the hard truth: things don't look how you thought they were going to look. Where you might see this as a letdown or a tragedy, I see this is as a great invitation into your real and actual life.

As long as we romanticize what is there, we are not actually being present to what is. When I finally let go of the narrative I'd scripted for myself, I started to see freedom in my own story and letting people off the hooks I'd built for them."

-Hannah Brencher-

Hibiscus

 

{This post has nothing to do with hibiscus.}

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." 

-Matthew 11:28-

Rest and peace come only by the knowledge of God; a soul in unrest is focusing on something besides God. We must discipline our minds to dwell on Him- to believe what is true about Him and cling to those truths at all times- He will calm our souls and renew our minds as we shift our focus off of ourselves and our worries and onto His Word and all that He is.

"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind." 

-Romans 12:2a-

The One About Buffalo

So I've had a thing for buffalo ever since reading this book by Hannah Brencher.

Not like an obsession that transitions into a sudden influx of buffalo print everything around my house...but definitely an awareness of them. (As if you could miss one, right?)

Her book was the first place I read that buffalo are the "storm chasers" of the animal world... While most hunker down or seek shelter to wait out an incoming storm, when buffalo sense inevitable bad weather coming, they run straight towards it in order to come out on the other side quicker. (Pretty brilliant.)

I find a subtle inspiration in them now, knowing that. (They're like my life mascot!) When God allows a "storm" in my life for the purpose of teaching me something and drawing me closer to Himself, am I really helping matters or protecting myself if I avoid or hide from it? God will teach us what he wishes to, however long it takes.

I want to be a "buffalo Believer", facing these tests and "refining fires" head on; faithfully relying on God's grace and wisdom to see me through and bring me "forth as gold" (Job 23:10). Even if I could outrun the storm or manage to just get caught in the tail end of it, there's no telling what blessings I would miss out on OR what bigger things I may face in the future, less prepared than if I had allowed God to prepare me in storms for what He may have coming in tidal waves.

My God is a mighty fortress, an unfailing bulwark; our helper through mortal ills.

"The Way Of a Ship In the Midst Of the Sea"

-photo sent by a friend, while she was visiting London-

"To reach a port we must set sail –

Sail, not tie at anchor

Sail, not drift."

-crochet ship art, seen (and nearly bought) at a resale shop-

Still

"Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure." (Isaiah 46:10)

⬆We so often use this scripture (rightly) for comfort and reassurance, knowing that God is in total control and nothing surprises Him...guess what? He's still the same. He still knows the end from the beginning and all that hasn't happened, and all that does happen is part of His plan - whether you or I can see how & why or not (although, *hint*, it's safe to say whatever it is has to do with pointing us and others to Him and working surrender and salvation in our hearts, seeing how He died for that purpose).

Perfect love (still) casts out fear.

God is (still) love.

2+2(still)=4.

Truth is (still) truth.

God is (still) in control.

God (still) knows the plans He has for us, start to finish.

Let's represent Him well, brothers and sisters. Don't let's be the ones getting caught up in the hype and fearing what goes on in the world when we know Who's (already) overcome it.

"That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world." (Philippians 2:15)