Journey of a Thousand Miles

We've been studying Genesis 3 in my Development Program, which talks about the Fall of Man, and we had to answer the question of: Why did Eve eat the apple? If you're not familiar with Genesis 3, let's do a little recap: But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. Adam and Eve are living on earth in perfect companionship with God. They have the whole earth to themselves and all the animals and plants they want. And they are naked and not ashamed. And then the s...

Does anybody else here have strange dreams? Sometimes I wish had my own Daniel to interpret mine because they've been so vivid lately. The other day I dreamed I was trying to take a close-up picture of a bird. The bird kept growing smaller and smaller, so I kept having to focus closer and closer. I was afraid the bird was going to move before I got a good shot, and I was running out of space on my camera. I told my mom not to scare the bird off while I ran to get an extra memory card. I was really adamant about her not scaring off the bird and didn't want him to move because I had the perfect shot. By the time I got back, the bird was smaller than a fingernail. I could barely see him. I focused closely in to take a picture, and the camera started smoking. I thought maybe I put the memory card in wrong, so I opened the camera, and the light bulb for the flash was busted. I was using an old camera, and the film was put in wrong. By that time, the bird was gone, and I lost...

In the midst of everything going on lately, I was reminded of the Serenity Prayer. I need to instill this into my daily life: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next. Amen. There are a few verses that stick out to me here. One is "accepting hardships as the pathway to peace." I hardly ever consider my hardships as a pathway to peace, but looking back on my life, that is exactly what they have been. Even the parts of my life that I regret have brought me closer to God, and I'm sure the trials I endure today are doing the same thing. Somethi...

So, after my little temper tantrum with God yesterday, I felt much better. I think sometimes it's good to know that I don't always have to be okay with the way things are. In short, it is ok to not be ok. And once we are honest with ourselves and honest with God, He can do a much better work in us. Also, I took the 5 Love Languages Assessment and discovered some interesting findings. With friends, my primary love language is Quality Time , and my secondary was a tie between Words of Affirmation and Physical Touch . And just as I suspected, in a romantic relationship, my primary love language is Physical Touch , and my secondary was a tie between Words of Affirmation and Quality Time . For some reason, I never thought of Words of Affirmation as one of my stronger love languages, but it makes sense, seeing that I constantly need reassurance and am easily harmed by critical remarks. So anyway, I would just like to say that being honest about my feelings of singledom really hel...

I went to a Bible study with a friend the other day where they give "prophetic" words, which is a symbol or vision from God that is meant to encourage others. Since I was new there, they gave a prophetic word over me, and one of the messages was simply two words: LOVE LIFE. I feel that in the past few months, I've become really happy here in Austin. Despite the fact that I miss my family and long to go back home sometimes, my fate has really turned around here, and all the struggles I endured for two years have finally redeemed themselves. My shattered dreams are starting to resurface, and this time, I am going after them with gusto and with God's support. I know why God allowed those dreams to be shattered in the first place, however. They were an idol in my heart. I had placed all my hope, trust, and identity into fulfilling those dreams, thinking that life would be simple and grand once I reached them. But as soon as I struck out to pursue them, I realized I di...

Lately I've been stumbling upon the subject of acceptance, and mostly with my past. I feel that if I can make peace with my past and accept it, then I can let go and enjoy the present more. If I can accept that my life didn't go as planned and trust that God's plan was better, then I can enjoy where He has me here and now. If I can accept the low tides as well as the high tides, then I can make peace with the mountains and valleys in my life as well. "You must accept whatever situation the Lord has put you in, and continue on as you were when God first called you. " 1 Corinthians 7:17 How can I find meaning in the low points in my life, in my regrets? I've been fighting battles in my life, and I've overcome most of them. Satan will continue to use my regrets as ammo to turn my victories into defeat. But God will fight these battles for me. Regret serves no purpose in our lives. "When Satan tempts me to despair, upward I look and find Him there." ...

Sometimes in the stillness of life is when God is doing the most work. I make the mistake of thinking that if I'm not moving and if things aren't coming faster, then I'm not making progress. But this is just not so. Sometimes after the mountains and valleys in our lives, we need to find a plateau, and sometimes God has a great purpose with those plateaus. Since I've moved to Austin, I've learned to slow down substantially. Before, I was constantly striving to achieve, trying to accomplish the next step, move forward fast, fast, fast. But now in my tired old ways, I've become weary and exhausted from running and going, and sometimes I just want to sit and wait out life for awhile. Sometimes I just need a rest. And I got to thinking that maybe God has just as much purpose during our rest points as He does when He sets us a-moving. Maybe in this time, I am building relationships with people who need me, and I them. Maybe He is waiting for the perfect opportunity to...