Oprah came on the tv the other day and I actually watched it! "In her first television interview in more than five years, Shania Twain opened up about her painful divorce, losing her voice and the domestic violence she witnessed as a child" (Washington Post). Listening to Shania tell her story just made it so much more inspiring to hear her latest song, "Today is Your Day" and watch the music video featuring her friends, new husband, and every day life!
You got what it takes you can win,
Today is your day to begin.
Don't give up here, don't you quit.
The moment is now, this is it
Know that you can then you will
Get to the top of the hill
Part of the fun is the climb
You just gotta make up your mind
Is God's will for us something He wants us to eventually get to or is it something we are always living? If we're always living it, then are the failures we experience God's way of preparing and teaching us or can we ever make a mistake and turn away from His will? How would that work?
But If God's will is a place, lifestyle, etc he wants us to get to, then are our failures His teachings or us walking away from Him?... and how do we know the difference?
Where are you? What are you doing? Are
you listening? Paying attention? Stay fo-
cused. Stop looking at your phone. Turn
it off. Put it away. Be here. Now. In the
present. Be with who you're with. Talk
with them. Live with them. Take some
time. Think. Do you understand who you
are? What you were called to do? Pause.
Take it in. What is your community?
Who is your community? What does local
mean to you? Do you have a presence? If your church left the comunity what would happen? Would you have left a
mark? Lead in the place you're called to.
Don't worry about the past. The future
will come later. It's all about now. Here.
Go all in. Be rooted. When you're home,
be home. Focus. Look at the big picture.
Look at the small pictures. We need your
undivided attention. October 5-17, 2011. Atlanta. Be present. CATALYST.
Dare I go where I can't see
And if I do will You go with me
Maybe it's time that I just learn to believe
That I may never be a millionaire
Funny I don't think I care
May never see the mountain view
I guess I don't need to
I may never drive a fancy car
Or be a movie star But I'll be, I'll be, the light of the world
Some recent events amde me stop to remember that God directs our life in His perfect way...we need to listen to Him allllll the time. He gives and takes opportunities for us and if we are faithful in our relationship with him, he will reveal our path and will help us along the journey!
Justin and I both love to go fishing. He takes it much more seriously than I do, but I still enjoy it! :) On Wednesday, we were fishing at our secret hot spot when he caught this 21.5 inch large mouth bass! He made the catch pretty early on our trip. It was so cool to see the excitement in his face and hear it in his voice as I lifted the fish from the water into our boat!! We paddled back to shore to keep it on a stringer in the water so we could take it back home when we were finished for the day. We had a relatively slow day, each catching about 2 or 3 fish a piece, including the big boy! Despite some inactivity, I enjoyed spending time with Justin out on the water in the middle of no where! We love spending time amidst the beauty of God's creation and I'm so thankful for that!
Lord of all creation
Of water earth and sky
The heavens are your Tabernacle
Glory to the Lord on high
God of wonders beyond our galaxy
You are Holy, Holy
The universe declares your Majesty
And you are holy holy
So the Student Pastor, Matt Paxson, at my church Fairview at Riverclub, delivered a powerful message today about dreams. One of the things that stuck out most in my mind was Mark Batterson's phrase "You are the moon and God is the sun". The moon innately has no light of its own, it only shines the light that it gets from the Sun. God gives light to us and we are called to shine that light for Him! It made me think...we are supposed to be a reflection of the "Son"!...such an interesting play on words, right!? I will end this post with a passage of scripture that Matt also shared during his message. It spoke to me in a great way. I am part of an organization for suicide prevention and awareness called "Out of the Darkness". This passage reminds me that even in our times of darkness...God is still there! He will give us the strength to make it through.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast. 11If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,” 12even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you. 13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
Psalm 139:7-14
I had a BLAST tonight at the DSFred (Down Syndrome Association of Fredericksburg) Family Fun Night! So many kids had a great time playing with each other and I know the parents had a great time as well! I'm so glad that I have been given the opportunity to be involved with such a wonderful group of children and parents! Great job to Pam Neal and the rest of the DSFred board for planning such a great event!
My family and I celebrated my little sister's 17th birthday with a trip to Virginia Beach to go to a star-studded concert! Brad Paisley, along with Blake Shelton, Jerrod Neimann, Edens Edge, Brett Eldridge, and Sunny Sweeny put on a FANTASTIC show! We all had a great time...they are all such wonderful entertainers! God has certainly given all of them such wonderful gifts! In the middle of Brad's set, he mentioned that God sure gave us a beautiful day to have a concert! He was SO RIGHT! The weather was absolutely beautiful! Of course, mom was a little chilly, but what's new!
So I'm new to the world of blogging...but very excited! When I sat down this morning to begin creating this site my mind went back to a song I heard at Fairview at River Club, my home church, a few months ago. Andrew Peterson's "Dancing in the Minefields" was played during our service as part of a series on love and relationships. I could not have heard the song at a better time.
My boyfriend and I had been talking about getting married and our plans for the future. We felt like God was calling us to take the next step and there was no doubt in our minds that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives with each other, but uncertainty came when we began to talk about all the logistical changes that would happen in our lives once we said "I do". This song was a great reminder that if we wait until we feel the "perfect time" to take the next step in an earthly relationship, we might end up waiting for a long time. The devil can always give us a reason to delay following God's calling.
Some face that challenge not only in earthly relationships, but also in their relationship with Christ. God wants us to commit our lives to Him and when we do, we might be signing up to go "dancing in the minefields". He may lead us to do things that scare us, things we never would have done before. However, we should not delay making that commitment to go all in to follow HIM! As this song reminds us, as Christians, "We bear the light of the Son of Man, so there's nothing left to fear"..."He promised not to leave us, and his promises are true".
My recent engagement has inspired me not only to go "dancing in the minefields" with my new fiance, Justin, but also to renew my relationship with Christ. I hope that through my blog, "In the Minefields", I can inspire others to walk with God, to go all in, to recommit...to go dancing in the minefields!
