OK I'm up...

Today the Lord woke me up at 3am.  I don't remember what I was dreaming or even if I was.  All I know is that all of a sudden the refrain of the song, Waiting here for You is playing over and over in my mind...and good morning to me.   Usually when God wakes me up it's because I need to pray and meditate on Him.  Do I like waking up at 3?  Absolutely not, but when He wants me up, I'm up.  But why did He use this song, and why so early?

I do know the answer to that.  He wants to know where my focus lies.  He wants to know that no matter what I'm going to be looking to Him for everything; living a life fully surrendered.  Now let's be honest, God knows the answer to all these things before I even think them.  So in reality He's asking me to examine myself and see where I'm focused.  Am I being pulled away by all the silly little nothings; putting other things in front of my relationship with Him; when I've laid something at the foot of the cross, am I trying to pick it back up.  (something I really like to do...)

Focusing on God is can be easier at certain times.  I love going to church & I love worship.  You know why?  Because I can feel pressed down by life, but when I walk into church I become focused on my purpose.  I love worship because it takes my focus from myself and turns it to the One who knows me.  Now, I should be able to feel this way where ever I go because the Spirit of the Lord doesn't reside in a building.  He resides in me.  I carry my purpose with me, but I have a tendency to muddy it up and then it's not so clear what my purpose is.  But, then I remember to worship, pray, and put my focus back on Him; and the clarity returns.  The clarity that God loves me, wants to be in a relationship with me, and wants to guide my every step.

Thank you Lord for waking me up so I could focus on you.  Thank you for your Holy Spirit that guides me and fills me.  Lord, let there be more of you and less of me.  Let me walk in your ways and love like you do.  Lord, I praise you for not leaving me to do life on my own.  I love you Lord!  In Jesus name, ~Amen

Legacy

The way God works is so amazing to me.  I will have lots different things happen in the course of a day that I may think are not related, but God shows me His single strand that holds them all together.

This morning as I was reading in the one year bible, I was getting distracted.  The first reading was from 1 Chronicles 2:18-4:4.  This passage is all about linage.  Who was the father of so-and-so, who was born of whom...it can get boring.  (especially if you can't pronounce half the names correctly.)  I started thinking that I really need one huge gigantic family tree, that would really have helped me a lot.  What God planted on my heart was not the names but the legacy they left.  The legacy through:  who and how they worshipped; their family; and their service.

Later this morning I was privileged to stand by a sweet friend and sister-in-Christ as she said her earthly goodbyes to her loving grandfather.  Her PawPaw's pastor talked about legacy.  (coincidence...I think not!)  Her PawPaw left a wonderful legacy.  He loved Jesus and showed it through his actions and words; he showed his family he loved them by the kind of man he was; and he served his country in World War II and then served his church faithfully for many decades.  Legacy....

I love the song Legacy by Nichole Nordeman.  It's not anything about me that creates my legacy.  It's about who I am in Christ and what I do with it.  Did I share Him with others or horde him?  Do others see my love for Him or love for myself?  Do I give His love freely away or make people try to earn it?  There are so many ways to carry out the sharing and love of Christ, and each one of those leaves a legacy.  A marking through time where you can see God smiling and saying:  "good job y'all, you made me proud today".  What will my legacy be?  When it is time for me to leave my earthly home, what will others say about me?

                                 I know I want to leave a legacy, what about you?

Dearest Jesus, You showed me what legacy is.  You left Your mark on this earth through your love of God the father and people.  Help me to love like You do.  Help me to not grow tired of doing what is right.  May my words be life-giving, my hands be uplifted in praise, and the words of my mouth praise and share Your name with others.  My want is for all of this to bring you honor and glory forever.  May this become my legacy.  In Jesus name, ~Amen

Life through Rose Colored Glasses

1 Chronicles 16:9-11

Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.
Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.

I love my sunglasses.  I love what they make the world look like, especially the sunrise & sunset.  You see my sunglasses are rose colored.  Have you ever heard the saying:  "That you see the world through rose colored glasses?"  It means that you see things as good and right, and nothing is going to spoil your outlook.  A lot of people see others who look at the world that way as simple and foolish.  But I would have to strongly disagree.  (1 Corinthians 1:27)  Look for glimpses of Christ in our world.  He makes Himself known everywhere and in everything.  Keep a piece of paper handy one weekend and write down all the places you see Him, it will amaze you.

Why should we as Christians look at everything through rose colored glasses?  Why should we try to find
Christ in all that we see?  Why do we focus our lives to Him?  It's simple really.  When we choose to look for Christ, He will show up.  (Deut 4:29, 2 Chron. 7:14, Ps 9:10,  Luke 11:10, Hebrews 11:6) 

Does God show up because He knows He's all that & a bag of chips?  No, He knows we need Him.  Pretend in your mind you see a friend drowning in a lake.  You're in a deep part of the lake where it's about 100 feet to the bottom.  You know it will be bad if you don't get your friend help.   Are you going to quietly talk to your friend as you try to throw them a life preserver, or are you going to be yelling at them to reach for what you know will save their life?  When you choose to look for Christ, worship and praise Him, and live for Him, He is your life preserver.  This world can be a very sad place.  Things have happened throughout history that are horrible, and will continue to happen until Christ returns, because we live in a fallen world.  But Christ is our pair of rose colored glasses.  (Romans 5:17)  He lived the life of a man and faced all the things we face so we would know He understands;  He understands our hurts, our dreams, our very lives.  He gave all He had for me, and I choose to follow Him, love Him, and live for Him.

Choose to look through His rose colored glasses this week and see how you feel.  Write down for one day everywhere you see Him & what you find will amaze you!

In Him,
~ashley

PS~ Make sure you look up the scriptures if you have time.  You should do it to verify what I have said for yourself.  Don’t trust my words, trust His.  It will be a blessing to you.

Here is the regular view out of my garage door.



And here is the same view through my rose colored glasses.