I am weak but He is strong

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." ~Matthew 11:28-30... Insanely busy, crazy, hectic to the extreme sort of day, and I don't know about you guys, but I can really snap under pressure and become all stressed and well, I'm ashamed to admit, but a grouch >:( ..... Later on I look at my behavior, and I'm like "wow, I'm ridiculous... why on earth did I get all keyed up over that?" anyways, it always ends up with me replaying my actions in my head later on and thinking how inadequate I am to be one of God's children. Then comes all the depressing and deceitful thoughts creeping in trying to confuse me "Why on earth would God want me?" "Why does He keep forgiving me?" "Why did He even die for me?"... The truth is, I can't understand His unfathomable love for me, but I'm forever grateful for His undying love and forgiveness. A line in the chorus of a favorite song of mine goes "Not because of who I am, but because of what you've done. Not because of what I've done, but because of who you are." God loves me with this undying passion, and He has this perfect plan for my life, but I don't always choose to look towards the big picture, I get all caught up and stressed about lots of little things, when in reality God has absolute control and I have no reason to be anxious. "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. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," ~Jeremiah 29:11-14, compared to God, everything else seems so small..... "I am weak but He is strong" simple verses from a Sunday school song with such a profound meaning... God doesn't want us to carry all this emotional baggage around all the time. He wants to free us, wants to take that load for us. "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." ~1 Peter 5:7... Makes me think of Pilgrims Progress, when Christian reaches the cross on the hill and his heavy burden he'd been laboring with the entire journey tumbles from his back... We are free, we are forgiven, and on top of all that we are loved with a love so unfathomable. Why on earth would we stress about any of this earthly stuff, why aren't we in constant bliss of the fact that God has this perfect amazing plan for our lives and wants to lift our burdens?

Love is not love,
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.
Oh, no! It’s an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests..and is never shaken.

Is love a fancy, or a feeling? No.

It is immortal as immaculate Truth,

'Tis not a blossom shed as soon as youth,

Drops from the stem of life--for it will grow,

In barren regions, where no waters flow,

Nor rays of promise cheats the pensive gloom.

Courage

Courage ~Superchick

verse 1
I told another lie today
And I got through this day
No one saw through my games
I know the right words to say
Like "I don't feel well," "I ate before I came"
Then someone tells me how good I look
And for a moment, for a moment I am happy
But when I'm alone, no one hears me cry
[chorus]
I need you to know
I'm not through the night
Some days I'm still fighting to walk towards the light
I need you to know
That we'll be OK
Together we can make it through another day
verse 2
I don't know the first time I felt unbeautiful
The day I chose not to eat
What I do know is how I've changed my life forever
I know I should know better
There are days when I'm OK
And for a moment, for a moment I find hope
But there are days when I'm not OK
And I need your help
So I'm letting go
[chorus]
bridge
You should know you're not on your own
These secrets are walls that keep us alone
I don't know when but I know now
Together we'll make it through somehow
(together we'll make it through somehow)
[chorus]

Ana,
I hate you. You say I am in control -but you are. You tell me I will be beautiful -but it's never enough. You tell me to be strong -but you make me weaker. You tell me I am not worth it -but God tells me I am. Why do I cling to you? Why can't I escape? Why do you always pull me back into your prison. You tell me you'll make me happy -but I've never been more depressed than when you are with me. My hate doesn't seem strong enough to break us apart. I feel like I need you, that without you I'm worthless -but with you I have potential. But then I come back to you, and I remember why I left. You are slowly killing me....and you don't care. I hate you. Why can't my hate be strong enough to rid myself of you. Perhaps it's because when I'm with you, my hate for myself is stronger. I can't fight this hate to hate alone. God's love is the only thing that can break these bonds that imprison me. With Him in control I am His beautiful daughter created in His own image, although I am weak He is strong. He tells me He loves me... He LOVES me. He tells me I am worth it, He sent His Son Jesus to die for ME, because He love me. He is the only true peace... He will never leave me, He will stay with me, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." Exodus 33:14 ...... With you Ana I am always lacking, always hungering, always discontent and selfish... With God "I shall not be in want" Psalm 23:1.... Why would I choose you Ana? What do you have to offer me? Misery? Deceit? You slither your way into my life, and I let you. God give me the strength to leave you once and for all. You were everything I wanted, and now that I have you, you are nothing I want. Leave me alone, God has a plan for my future, a beautiful amazing incredible plan... and you aren't a part of it.

God's precious daughter,

Psalm 23
The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.

What is art?

Art- the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance...

Art, a short glimpse into the very depths -the core- of the artist. A statement. A manifestation brought on by inspiration and ambition. An eagerness to proclaim and declare.

For some things there are no words....

Art


"Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God."
Ecclesiastes 5:7

Lanterns and Blindfolds

A path winds through a forest so pitch black you could drown in it. Someone stands at the entrance frozen, afraid to move forward, but unable to turn back. In front of them lies a lantern and a blindfold. To your utter astonishment, the person foolishly takes the blindfold and binds it around their eyes. They begin to stumble about in the sinister and suffocating darkness, oblivious to their surroundings. You rush over to them saying "What are you doing? Why didn't you take the lantern?", but the person answers you "I don't need the lantern! I know what I'm doing! And I don't need you to tell me what to do!". So you stand there and watch as they stumble about some more, making no progress what so ever. They trip and fall over hidden objects. Puzzled you wonder why they didn't choose the lantern. You walk over and pick it up. On the underside is written in plain bold writing "Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in the darkness, the Lord will be my light." You pick up the lantern and look around you. Nailed to a tree is a small piece of paper, you go over and examine it. The paper is old and dirty, and looks as if it's been sitting unread for a very very long time. You brush off some of the dust, and manage to read "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight." You hold up the lantern and look about you once more, you see the blindfolded person still stumbling about foolishly unable to understand why on earth they wouldn't want the help being offered them. There is no chance what so ever that they could succeed on their own without the lantern, but in their blindness, they fail to recognize that. Finally you decide you've had enough of this. You march over to the person and tear the blindfold from their face, and in your astonishment and horror, you realize...the face behind the blindfold is your own........ Why do we have so much trouble trusting God to be our light, to lead and guide us? Why do we choose to stumble about blindly, instead of submitting to Him and admitting that we DO need His help, and we DO need His guidance? Why do we stubbornly refuse the Light Of The World in exchange for darkness? We need to remove our blindfold and pick up our lantern, let Him be the Lamp unto your feet and the Light unto your path :)

Today.... kinda hard... kinda stressful..... kinda depressed...... it was after a long rehearsal, I was sore, disgustingly sweaty and completely exhausted... I was heading back to my dorm for quiet time (which usually means a nap), when I felt the urge to read my bible. Ever have that feeling that God is nudging you to do something? Well that's how it was... I was like "ohhh come on! I'm so tired! Whyyy do I have to read my bible now??? Why can't I just pick it up later????" I was getting kinda frustrated, but I finally gave in and picked up my bible study booklet to prepare for the lesson I have to lead Monday... I started reading, and God sent waves of peace and refreshment over me. Not only was I well rested at the end of quiet time, I was filled with an unexplainable joy! It was incredible! And I really couldn't wait to get back to my bible study. I was excited about God, and I was excited to be excited about God:) Pretty awesome.....