Timing...

I am in complete awe of the perfect and undeniable timing of God. He never ceases to amaze me!!!

Over the past few months I have prayed countless prayers about my future and that God would open doors He wants opened and that He would close doors He wishes to be closed in my life. I realize that prayer is not answered instantly in many cases, but when it comes to my future, many times have I prayed a prayer that God would let me know "beyond a doubt" about a specific subject, and nearly every time, within minutes, my eyes are opened a little bit wider to God's will in that area of my life.

I am so thankful to have a faithful and real God who answers my prayers - sometimes almost instantly! He is full of awesomeness! =)

Changes..

There is good change and bad change in our lives (or so we see it anyway). Like, I don't like when my keys change position from the last place I thought I saw them. I don't like when I wake up to work and my computer won't turn on any longer (it's okay, I fixed it). I don't like when my favorite shirt ends up with a stain on it that won't come out. This is negative change.

I experienced major good change in my life when I found out I was carrying a child within me. I experienced change that night in the basement when I finally surrendered my life to the Lord. I experienced change when moving away from a town full of memories of my past. I experienced change when my daughter first smiled at me, first crawled, walked, said "Momma," among other "firsts" that one generally experiences with a new life. The changes that continually occur in my walk of life as a follower of Christ (sanctification). The change of my relationship with my Mother, who has turned into my best friend who I share everything with. The change I have experienced as a person through motherhood coupled with my relationship with Christ. And then there is another significant change which I will not fully mention here today, but it is there, and it is very good.

I am seeing that our perception of change is often blurred. Whether the change is good or bad in my eyes, as long as I've surrendered my life to the Lord, it is for the greater good and good will come out of it as long as I submit to His will and not mine. Even the initial "bad" change I can see the good in with the new kind of joy one experiences as a Christian. This, however is not always the case. Sometimes we experience bad change (in our eyes) and don't recognize when the good change comes from it.

Whether I go through something good or bad in my eyes, I need to remember that God is in control and He allows these things to happen. In the bad times, instead of saying "Why me?" why not say to God "If need be!" There is a reason for that negative and eventually you will again find yourself saying "Praise be to God!"

I pray that this might encourage you even just a tiny little bit when reading this! :)

Love,
Courtney

I love this poem.

"Wait..."

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried:
Quietly, patiently, lovingly God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate,
And the Master so gently said, "Child, you must wait".
"Wait? You say, wait! " my indignant reply."
Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By faith, I have asked, and am claiming your Word.
My future and all to which I can relate
Hangs in the balance, and You tell me to WAIT?
I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign,
Or even a 'no' to which I can resign.
And Lord, You promised that if we believe
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
And Lord, I've been asking, and this is my cry:
I'm weary of asking! I need a reply!
Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate
As my Master replied once again, "You must wait."
So, I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut
And grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting.... for what?"
He seemed, then, to kneel, and His eyes wept with mine,
And he tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens, and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead, and cause mountains to run.
All you seek, I could give, and pleased you would be.
You would have what you want - But you wouldn't know Me.
You'd not know the depth of My love for each saint;
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint;
You'd not learn to see through the clouds of despair;
You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there;
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence were all you could see.
You'd never experience that fullness of love
As the peace of My Spirit descends like a dove;
You'd know that I give and I save.... (for a start),
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.
The glow of My comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight,
The depth that's beyond getting just what you asked
Of an infinite God, who makes what you have LAST.
You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that "My grace is sufficient for Thee."
Yes, your dreams for your loved one overnight would come true,
But, Oh, the loss! If I lost what I'm doing in you!
So, be silent, My child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me.
And though oft' may My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still, "WAIT."

- Author Unknown