A Little Bit of Poetry

February's theme is supposed to be poetry, so I'll start it off with one of my favorite poems. However, I do have to say that the "theme" will definitely be changing by the end of the month!!

The following poem is written by yours truly. I wrote it about a year ago, and it came out of nowhere. I felt it and then had to pen it before I forgot. I hadn't written any poetry in years at this point, so I am not really sure where it came from. Please enjoy "Happenings In The Heart"! 

Electricity,

That’s what it’s like for me.

It makes my heart beat,

It makes me move my feet.

I’m excited to see

God’s will for me.

I am so ready

For what it may bring.

A river flowing,

My heart is glowing!

My happiness is showing,

It is not going.

My soul is soaring,

I feel it roaring,

Yet I’m knowing,

I’m unafraid.

Treetops dance,

I’m in a trance!

Strong in my stance,

As the spell enhances.

I can’t miss my chance.

Can I have just one glance?

Of Your omniscient plan.

Let me move for You.

I’m walking in the clouds,

Oh, can I be allowed?

To take a step out,

And start my future now?

Will you change my rout?

Should I have a doubt?

I won’t scream and shout.

I trust You with my life.

I feel like I could fly!

My arms are opened wide,

I will not run and hide.

I’m dancing in the sky!

I’m following Your light,

Trusting in Your might,

Fighting the good fight,

You have my heart.

My Theme Song For 2016

I've decided on my theme song for this year! 

Since my biggest goal is to maintain focus, I've decided that the best way to describe my aspirations for this year (and the rest of my life) go along nicely with "First."

"I want to seek You, I want to seek You
First.
I want to keep You, I want to keep You
First. 

More than anything I want
I want You
First."
-Lauren Daigle (First)

I figured that sums up my desires and goals pretty well! 

I want God to come first, regardless of whatever He sends my way in years to come.

God Bless America

There are a lot of things happening in America right now that I am certain my God is not proud of. There are definitely a lot of things going on that I am not proud of! It saddens me to see the state that my country is in and the blinders that people wear. I wish that I could show them, but they refuse to listen and it turns into a debate rather than a discussion. When I get too frustrated, I turn to my God and my Bible for comfort and guidance in my situation. I find peace in one particular verse, which I would love to share with you all.

 "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14 (KJV)

There are a few things I would like to point out with this verse. First, 2 Chronicles was written in the Old Testament, but that does not make it obsolete. Just as God is timeless, so is His Word and it applies to every day and age. Second, I believe that "My people" has become Christians, rather than just the Jews, but the verse still applies to God's people. Third, regardless of how sinful or wicked people are, God is eternally merciful if we truly seek forgiveness. It gives me hope for America, because I know that if we will humble ourselves and pray (and truly seek His forgiveness) then He will heal our land.

Knowing this, I have made it a personal goal of mine to pray for America everyday this year. I am humbling myself and asking Him to take control of my country and save it. I am doing what I can to help restore and revive America. At this point, I believe that all I am capable of doing is praying. I would, however, like to take it a step further and challenge my friends, family and readers to pray with me. The bible also says that:

"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."Matthew 18:20 (KJV)

I know that without God, it is impossible for my country to be healed. I also know that Jesus said where two or more gather in His name, He is there with us. So I would like to ask for your participation in prayer! I want to challenge American Christians to make time at about noon to pray for this country. Pray for Christian leaders, who will allow God to be the true ruler of our nation. Pray for the blinders to be removed from our friends and family. Pray for the restoration of our former Christian nation. Pray that God will heal, inspire and revive America (to borrow words from Ben Carson). Just pray for America. 

I say noon because I figure that is lunch time, and most people will have a momentary break from school or work. This provides the perfect opportunity for a talk with God. But, if you do not usually have a break at noon, feel free to pray whenever you are given the opportunity. Please do join me and my family in prayer for our nation. 

May God bless America, as He did when we served Him! 

Maintaining Focus

I promised to share with you all my aspirations for this year. So here is one of them!

I want to maintain focus on what is truly important. 

Let me tell you what I mean by that: 

• What is truly most important is God. He comes before all else--family, friends, relationships, church school, job, self, etc. He deserves my affection and attention, and this year I will remember that He is first. That is not to say that the other things are not good things, it is just that God does not want competition in my life, and I will refuse to allow any of those things to be competition. (The people in the examples ought to want me to put God first, and they ought to understand why I do that. If they do not, then they should have a talk with Him about it--not me.) 
• Maintaining focus on God means totally surrendering my life to Him. (I am a saved Christian, but I am beginning to see total surrender in a different way.) For me, total surrender is realizing that He owns my life, so I am doing with it as He pleases rather than as I desire. Literally speaking, wherever He wants me to go and whatever He wants me to do, I will obey. That is what I want to give Him, because that is all I can give Him. He knows what is best for me, so I don't ever want to be somewhere that He is not. 
• In order to totally surrender my life to God, I must listen to what He tells me. That means a lot of time spent with Him, so I can recognize His voice when He calls me. Bible time daily, and a lot of prayer. Both of those ought to be important in the life of a Christian, because that is how He speaks to us and also how we speak to Him. I don't want to do this out of duty, but rather out of devotion. My faith is more about a relationship with God than about anything else. In order to have that relationship, I have to spend time with Him. It's that simple. (Something I would like to add: knowing the Bible is quite different than knowing it's Author. I don't want to just know the Bible--I want to have a close relationship with it's Author.)
• Knowing God and knowing what He wants me to do is one thing. But being a Christian and putting Him first means that I actually have to do what He is calling me to do! That isn't always easy, but I trust that He can handle everything we go through. I will follow His lead without question or debate, (to borrow some words from a friend of mine) because I have read Jonah and I don't want to be swallowed by a big fish. I know He has pretty big plans for me, so I intend to allow Him to work in my life. 

It is important to maintain focus, and I had recently forgotten how important that was. It was a painful reminder. This year, I am living in total surrender and I am going to focus on Him. That doesn't mean that I can't have fun or that I can't enjoy life, but I will remember Who I have to thank for that. I intend to follow wherever He leads me, happily and without question. 

Listening

One thing I have definitely improved upon this past year is listening when God is telling me to do something. Whether or not I think it is a good idea for me. This probably came from a very short period of time where I wanted to do things my way, but it didn't work out for me.  It never will if I am following my desires.

Although I don't want to share that time of my life, I wanted to share with you all my realization. It is probably something you've heard before. He always gives you what is best for you, and He can see every other option. Don't be afraid to listen and follow His will for you. Like Moses, even if you are afraid to speak He will give you words.

Since about August I've been listening in a different way than before. I've always tried to listen, but sometimes I didn't consider what He might be telling me about things that are extremely personal. Because of that, I had to experience some things that could have easily been avoided. I started listening about everything, and putting Him above anything I might have considered personal. It really does happen that when you put God first, everything else falls into place! Some things that I thought were unable to mend, He fixed. But that came from me giving Him all of me and letting Him work in my life. Without the listening, the blessings do not happen. If we don't follow what He wants, how can we expect the best for us to happen?

I realize this is a very short post, but it is intended as more of a note than a story. Thank you for reading.