Caught Up

"Seek Him."  ~Matthew 6:33

The older I get, the more I come to realize how much I need the Lord. I look back over my life and I can see how many times He has pulled me through, how many times He has carried me when I was weak. He has been the one true constant throughout everything and there are those who know the miracles that He has performed in my life. Without God, I would truly be nothing. 

Though many of us know this, there are still times when we lose our grasp on keeping our time with Him a priority. We get caught up in things that are going on in our lives, needs of someone else or ourselves or we simply lose focus. When this happens, it shows in every part of our lives. We start losing our peace, our perspectives starts shifting more and more to that of the world. We're not as strong, we can't stand as firm. Our emotions get the better of us more often. Allowing ourselves to get caught up in anything other than Jesus is not a good thing. If affects our lives in a negative way.

Yet when God is the priority, what an amazing difference it makes! He trumps all our circumstances and we can focus on Him rather than our problems! He lifts us up and supports us so we don't get knocked back down. We're able to function in His strength rather than our own. There are so many reasons to make and keep God number one in our lives. Everything we build in Him is lasting treasure. We get to experience Him in a whole new way, as King and Holy Father!

So how do we know when we are slipping into worldly ways? God will show us what we need to know by praying and reading His word. When we ask Him to give us a heavenly perspective He will! 

Thank You Lord, for being so loving, and merciful! Thank You for being so willing to help us be better! 

Beauty In The Broken

When I think about different parts of my life, I feel like Humpty Dumpty. I am so grateful that I have a God who could take the pieces of me and my life and put it all back together again, but I cannot tell you how many times I thought of myself as damaged. The truth is, there is beauty to be seen in the broken.

Mosaic art is made from pieces of broken porcelain or glass. The Japanese used to repair their pottery with gold and silver making them each piece that much more beautiful. When we give God our broken pieces, we surrender in a more complete way, and he makes such a beautiful masterpiece with our brokenness. You see, when He has our weakness to work with, that is when He is the strongest in us, and can really do His work. 

I spent a long time fighting my weakness and need for Him, because I wanted to maintain strength and independence. What a mistake that was. I am at my best when I am functioning in God's strength, not my own. I don't need my independence, I need Him. I can stand strong when He is supporting me, and when I don't have the strength on my own, He keeps me going with his strength. He also uses my scars to tell a story of hope to others. He can do the same for you!