forgive me for being so ordinary

Recently I began reading The Journals of Jim Elliot.  Jim's life, his story, and his faith captivate me.  I wanted to get into the mind of this man who was so completely sold out to furthering Christ's kingdom.
His zeal and his determination to follow God's plan for his life is inspiring but also incredibly humbling.

The more I read in God's word and about the lives of those who are/were so surrendered to serving Him, the more I am convicted that I should be doing so much more.  I am disgusted at the time I have wasted on such trivial things and I desire to give more and more of myself to His service.
All of my goals and aspirations seem really small and unimportant.

I am so thankful for a Savior that is so patient with me as I stumble along the path of life! God, forgive me for being so ordinary.

Psalm 145
I will extol You, my God, O King;
And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
² Every day I will bless You,
And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
³ Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
And His greatness is unsearchable.

⁴ One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty acts.
⁵ I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty,
And on Your wondrous works.
⁶ Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts,
And I will declare Your greatness.
⁷ They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness,
And shall sing of Your righteousness.

⁸ The Lord is gracious and full of compassion,
Slow to anger and great in mercy.
⁹ The Lord is good to all,
And His tender mercies are over all His works.

¹⁰ All Your works shall praise You, O Lord,
And Your saints shall bless You.
¹¹ They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom,
And talk of Your power,
¹² To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts,
And the glorious majesty of His kingdom.
¹³ Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.

¹⁴ The Lord upholds all who fall,
And raises up all who are bowed down.
¹⁵ The eyes of all look expectantly to You,
And You give them their food in due season.
¹⁶ You open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living thing.

¹⁷ The Lord is righteous in all His ways,
Gracious in all His works.
¹⁸ The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth.
¹⁹ He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He also will hear their cry and save them.
²⁰ The Lord preserves all who love Him,
But all the wicked He will destroy.
²¹ My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord,
And all flesh shall bless His holy name
Forever and ever.

In Him-
McKenzie

Inspirational

"He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it."

Matthew 10:39

 

This music video really spoke to my heart and I wanted to share it with you all.

May you have a blessed weekend!

In Him-
m.e.

Me and God

2012 has by far been the most eventful and challenging year of my life, so far.  If you had told me all that I was going to experience this year I would have called you crazy.  A lot has changed and a lot is continuing to change.  Honestly, there have been days over the last year that I didn't even desire to get out of bed.  I walked through my days questioning the will of my heavenly father and feeling like my life would never be truly happy again. 
When I felt the Lord leading me to end my courtship, I was so confused and wondered why in the world I had to go through that painful experience.  I would constantly seek the privacy of my room and through tears pour out my heart to the Lord, begging Him to show me what He was doing. 
I have often wondered if God grew impatient with how many times I asked Him, "Why?"
Then, after many days of trying so hard to figure things out on my own, God began to speak to my heart. 

He began to show me that there were still "pieces" of my heart that didn't truly belong to Him.  There were things that I held on to, desiring my will in those areas to be accomplished and not His. 
He showed me that even the "good things" that I desired had become idols in my life.  I discovered a love for the world that I didn't even realize that I had.  Certain areas where I would have passionately believed myself to be strong in, I found that I was very weak. 

I always knew that my joy wasn't supposed to be found in my circumstances, but when my life was going the way I wanted it to, it was so easy to be happy.  When God began to move me into a totally different direction, I realized what it meant to really find your joy in Christ. 


My greatest fear in life is that I would miss what God has for me to accomplish.  I know that wherever I am, whatever I am doing, if I am in the center of His divine will, I will be truly happy...I will have joy!

To help me keep my focus where it needs to be, I remind myself why I am here. "What is man's chief end?" "To glorify God and enjoy Him forever."  I was created for His purpose, not my own.  Life has so much more meaning when you live each day with a burning desire to please your creator.

I did this post simply because I want to be able to look back over this time in my life and see God at work.  I want to remember the things He is teaching me and showing me as I blindly move forward on the path He has set me on.  I have no idea at this point what is in store, but I can honestly say that I am smiling at the future.

In Him-

m.e.