Fredrick

This is probably one of my favorite ah-ha moments that God has given to me so far.

I was on the way home from a friends house, it was dark, I was alone, uncomfortable and I wasn't one-hundred percent sure how to get back to my house.  So I turned on my GPS, who I call Fredrick ( yes, I'm a nerd) and typed in my house address.  The GPS planned a route for me, it was one I recognized and was comfortable with so I followed it.  Once I had driven far enough that I new exactly where I was and was comfortable enough driving with-out Fredrick I turned him off and put him back in the passenger seat.

I took control again.

It wasn't two minutes after I had turned the GPS off that I got to thinking...

How often do we do that with God?  The answer is a lot.

We get into situations where we're uncomfortable, unfamiliar, we don't know where to go or what to do, we might even be alone and we decide to turn to God.
We go to church more often, pray a lot more and and probably pick up our Bible again.  We ask Him to plan a route for us to take and preferably one that we are familiar and comfortable with. 

So, He does.  He helps us out, gets us back on our feet and eventually back into a situation that we are "comfortable" with.  
That's when things change.
Once comfortable again, we " turn God off" instead of relying on Him in the good and the bad and when we know what to do and when we don't. 
We put Him back in the passenger seat of our life.

We take control again.

We treat God as a GPS- only when needed.
Instead of treating Him like a GPS we should use Him like we use and need gasoline- and my car uses A LOT of gasoline! ( It's a three quarter ton suburban that get about eleven miles to the gallon which usually feels like one mile every eleven gallons.  It has a name too by the way, Sally.  I know, I know - I'm a nerd ) 
Any ways, we have to have gas to go places whether we are in a familiar neighborhood or not.
We need to be in a relationship with God where we use and rely on Him whether we really think we need to or not.  We need God every day and He wants to guide and direct us every step of the way.

Go to Him, seek Him and ask for directions - He will give them to you.
Be ready to listen and obey, no matter what the directions are - they won't always be easy- but that's another lesson entirely.

Don't treat God like a GPS - Rely on Him always.


Matthew 7:7  "Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you shall find,
knock and the door will be opened to you. "

- O

Thankfulness ( Part 4 )

 It really is amazing what God will show you to be thankful for when you ask Him to open your eyes! : )

(76)...Wall heaters - our house has these old heaters built into the wall and I would freeze without them.
(77)...Calculators
(78)...The human voice
(79)...Text messaging
(78)...Paints
(79)...The Kelly Family
(80)...The Butler and Madey Family
(81)... A clean room ( at least it is for now.)
(82)...Children and their pure joy
(83)...Fresh fruit
(84)...The inexpressible blessing and joy it is to love and be loved. :  )
(85)...America!! The land of the free and the home of the brave.
(86)...The feeling of giddiness...huh, I'm such a girl
(87)...Slippers
(88)...Vaseline
(89)...A warm bed
(90)...Mr. and Mrs. Bennett, my wondrous Sunday school teachers.
(91)...The Bible - Thankfulness is really an understatement. More like lifesaving and the answer to all
                            problems.
(92)..Girl Talk - Again, what can I say, I'm such a girl and a real sucker for the love stories of people I know.
(93)...Facebook - used in the right way ( as with anything else) it can be a great tool for furthering God's      
                             kingdom and to be honest I really don't know how I ever knew anything before...I mean                    
                             really. Oh, and you know it's not official unless it's Facebook official. ; )
(94)...Our core youth group...I love these guys
(95)...TEXAS!!! - Rangers, Stock Show, weather, food, everything about it.

Thankfulness (part 3)

I'm thankful for...
(41) ...Chick-Fil-A
(42) ...Aubree Allen...never thought we would of been so close.  *blessed* <3
(43) ...Sunrises and Sunsets
(44)...that God's plan for our life is bigger and better than our greatest dream
(45)...the Davis'
(46)...knowing that God has my future under control
(47)..."Duct Tape Bible"
(48)...the many ways to communicate with eachother
(49)...to have a car
(50)... Cody and Elizabeth Lain
(51)...the invention of the camera and  for pictures
(52)...God's steadfastness
(53)...and think it so cool that we can use a special trick on our fingers to remember our 9x tables. haha
(54)...for the desire to love...that God has placed in us
(55)...Co-op
(56)...the shear awesomeness of God
(57)...when we call out to God and say "I need you",  He ALWAYS answers!
(58)...the change in the weather
(59)...fellowship with friends over food
(60)...finding a black v-neck t-shirt in time for senior pictures.
(61)...boundaries
(62)...coupons...because everything is better if you can save money on it.
(63)...brain games...to keep our minds from withering away
(64)...empty days that allow me to catch up on school
(65)...the earth being 93 million miles away from the sun...because that is exactly where it need to be : )
(66)..that God designed the family and children to be raised by a mommy and a daddy
(67)...children and their imagination
(68)...that the color of cotton is white...only God could of known that it needed to be that color
(69)...having a nice home
(70)...youth ministers...specifically Cody, Jeff and Josh.
(71)...stars and the night sky
(72)...family
(73)...massages
(74)...swimming pools
(75)...Christmas decorations

Thankfulness (part 2)

Things I'm thankful for. (tbc)

(21) I'm thankful for firefighters
(22) ...Jane Austin's books and the movies that have resulted from them
(23)...empty days when I have nothing to do
(24)...the strength God gives me to get up each morning and carry on with another day
(25)...the Allen family <3
(26)...goosebumps ( not the series)
(27)...Hannah Frailey...friends forever : )
(28)...the Lord working in my life
(29)...being a girl
(30)...that I live in a stable home
(31)...nurses, because they have to know a lot
(32)...friendships
(33)...instruments and the music they create
(34)...hot running water
(35)...Skype
(36)..."See You At The Pole"
(37)...Cleaning supplies
(38)...volleyball
(39)...the beauty and enjoyment of rainy days
(40)...90.9 kcbi and "The 20 countdown magazine" haha

Thankfulness

I don't know what it is about one o-clock in the morning but I seem to be productive on the computer about that time.

At the beginning of the semester I decided to try and come up with one thing each day to be thankful for. My plan was, and still is, to write it down on a sticky note and place it on my wall. I designed the blue notes to ( hopefully) spell 2012 when I finish the project. : ) So far God had shown me 74 things to be thankful for and by June first ( my graduation date) I hope to have over 200.  With prayer and a determination to experience the many, many things God has given us to be thankful for I hope to continue this project with purpose and a glory for God. 
Gratitude is not thankfulness until expressed. - quote
Be Thankful!

- O

THE FIRST 20

(1) I am thankful for administrators and teacher
(2)...the GPS
(3) ...the continuing advancement of technology
(4)...my parents staying together for over 27 years! : )
(5)... the ability to conference call
(6)...the simple pleasure and excitement that comes form gathering sea shells
(7)...that Christ feels our gaps and takes our mistakes and uses them for His glory
(8)...my parents that take the time to guide and help me
(9)...for being healthy
(10)...the opportunity to be on the missions team
(11)...the invention of Ibuprofen
(12)...our troops
(13)...having both arms
(14)...to live in a country of free religion
(15)...the many beautiful creatures God created
(16)...the unity that two fellow Christians have between each other that comes from the Holy Spirit
(17)...when God reveals parts of His plan to us
(18)... the opportunity to make money
(19)...the fall of man ( I will explain this one sometime)
(20)...the absolute uniqueness of the human body

The first step...

Okay, I did it.  I finally started a blog.  I'm not 100% sure what I will post about but I know Christ and life will fill these pages.   : ) Oh, this excites me... ( I get excited over the little, even silly things ). Well, I should probably go to bed considering it is almost 1 o'clock in the morning. 

- O