Journey of a Thousand Miles

God has been making Himself very known to me today. I watched videos about people who had gone to heaven and come back, and all of them remark about how much God loves us, knows us, and has a plan for us. They said His promises are true and can be trusted. One woman was turned away at the gates of heaven because her purpose wasn't done yet. It made me think of God's purpose for my own life and how there's a reason for everything I have today: my job, my living situation, the people in my life. God has a reason for all of that. And how do I thank Him? I complain. I complain about my job, my salary, my unanswered prayers, and what not, and I can't feel God's presence the way I want to. But He is there. Everything about my life is sovereignly purposed by God, and He will not take us home until our purpose is done here. After listening to these people talk about how beautiful life is and how much God loves us, it made me relax today at work because I realized that...

Often times in life, we are left in a state of regret. Over things we've done or things we didn't  do. So what's the best solution when there's nothing we can do and life just goes on without us? I've taken to the Bible to get some answers... "Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do:  forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead" (Phil 3:13)   "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)   "'For I know the plans  I have for you,' declares the  Lord , 'plans to prosper  you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" (Jeremiah 29:11) According to scripture, God's got this all under control. That leaves no room for regret. So whether I've done something I wished I hadn't, or wish I had done something differently, God is sove...

I want to live a great story. But living a great story requires me to get out of my comfort zone, and currently, I am battling a few fears. Running away from fear only makes it grow, I have learned.  First off, I need to get past this idea that I'm a failure.  Truth tells me that I am not a failure. Truth tells me that I am redeemed through Christ, and the Lord "has a plan for me, to prosper me and not to harm me, to give me a hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11).  I have to daily fight these lies that I am a failure and replace them with God's Truth. I have become risk-averse when it comes to relationships.  Living in a fallen world, I will never escape harm.  It's just the truth of the matter.  I will  get hurt, no matter how safe the relationship.  So I just have to face these fears if I want a fulfilling life and start risking getting close to people again and become vulnerable.  God has me where I am for a purpose. I may not underst...

Happy New Year everybody!!! I hope you are all ready to maintain your resolutions this year because I know I am. I have a heavy plate to fill, so there's no time to waste in past regrets and what not. I have a desk calendar that has daily prayers for emotional wholeness, and January 1st really touched on something that I struggle with and want to overcome this year, and I will share with you what it said: God's purpose for our lives is to make us whole- which is the way He created us to be- and then to work through us for His glory as we surrender our lives to Him. Emotional wholeness means living without negative emotions and having peace about who you are and where your life is headed. When we pray to God, we are spending time in His presence. And in His presence is where we find healing from the pain of our past. Prayer draws us closer to God, where we can get a vision for our future and better understand our purpose. The theme that sticks out to me here is wholeness, and th...

Lately I've been aching for familiarity. It's been awhile since I've been home- 6 weeks. It doesn't sound like a long time, but I usually go home every 4 weeks, so I'm finding myself a little homesick. I took a walk throughout the mall, and every time I go to the mall, I get nostalgic because it reminds of my Express days, when I had more sense of direction and more financial stability, when things were alot easier and I had work friends to see everyday. Sometimes I wonder why I ever left because I have struggled so much for the past year, but I know that if I had stayed, I would have made a very large mistake. God takes us where He needs us to go. So my nostalgia really got me questioning my current life, where I'm going, where I've been, and where I want to go. I don't think I've ever been more confused in my life. I've been doing alot of changing and alot of growing, alot of questioning and re-evaluating. And I have to say, it's mind-numb...

So I stumbled upon a book at a coffeeshop in Tomball the other day. I had actually gone in there to do some writing, but started perusing the bookshelves and found a memoir called "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not," which is a true account of a woman who struggled through love and many horrible relationships before finding God and a better man. Being a sucker for memoirs and also being able to relate first-hand with the book, I sat there and read for about an hour, taking it all in and feeling like I had just made a new best friend. But what it really did for me was make me realize that I was not alone and that God does have a purpose for all the craziness and ambiguity going on in my life right now. And, most of all, it gave me hope that something better will come along... if I just trust Him and wait. I've actually done alot of soul-searching and had several revelations during my little "retreat" back to Houston. I've realized that there are a few things that ...