Dear God: I'm thankful for You

Dear God,

I'm thankful for You. I thank You for who You are. I cannot imagine life without You. If I try, the only thing that comes to mind is darkness.

I'm thankful that You are You and there is none to compare.

I'm also thankful that You chose to make Yourself manifest to us. You did not just create us and then sit back to watch what happens. No; You sent Jesus to pay the price for our sins.

And that leads me to the next thing I'm thankful for about You. You love us unconditionally. Unconditionally! I don't always think about what it means to have Someone love me unconditionally, but when I do, it overwhelms me.

Thank you, God, for never changing; never making a mistake. You never look down on earth and say, "How did Courtney end up over there?!" You never have to change Your mind knowing or thinking You made a mistake. Because You are perfect. I thank You for being perfect and unchanging.

I pray, God, that as this Thanksgiving day comes and goes, that I will be forever thankful of who You are.

Amen.

Everyday I Live, I Die A Little More

I know that may sound like a sappy line from a romance novel, but it's not.

It's true.

Everyday I live, I die a little more. Because of sin's curse on this world, I am dying a little bit everyday. I am closer to dying everyday.

But then, everyday I live brings me closer to living eternally.

Romans 8:2: "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death."

Because I have trusted in Jesus as my Lord and Savior, I will live eternally with Him.

Jesus said in John 5:24, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."

No guilt in life, no fear in death, this is the power of Christ in me.
From life's first cry, to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny. 

So though I grow old, though I die a little everyday, I am a day closer to living eternally with Jesus Christ.

 

Happiness or Joy?

Think with me for a minute about the word happy. Kind of a funny word, isn't it? Say it out loud to yourself enough times and it gets even weirder.

What does the word  happy or happiness mean to you? To me, it's rather shallow. To me, happiness represents a feeling that is passing. It won't last.

Now think about the word joy. It sounds deeper, doesn't it? As if there's more depth of feeling and emotion. To me, joy lasts longer than happiness.

People in this world are constantly searching for what will make them happy. What they often find only gives a passing pleasure. The things of this earth do not provide joy. (You know, that lasting depth of feeling we talked about.) Sure you can find things that make you happy. But they won't last.

So what's wrong? What are we missing? Why is it so hard to find joy?

I can sum up the answer in two words: Jesus Christ. He is the only One who can bring joy to a person's soul.

I will tell you honestly that I am never so happy as when I am serving God.

But there's that shallow word again: happy. Perhaps it is better said, I am never so joyful as when I am serving God.

So, happiness or joy? Which will you choose?

Christ is the only One who brings joy. The things of this world are only temporary.

The choice is yours.

A Reality Check

Last night, I was once again obsessively stressing over my future. This morning I had a reality check.

While I had been selfishly focusing on myself, others had needed prayer. Desperately.

From cancer, to daily struggles, and a sudden tragic death, my problems now seem pitiful.

But even in the midst of all our problems, God is still God. He is still on the throne, ruling justly and righteously. We can't control what happens in our lives or in the lives around us.

But we can pray. Always. At any time.

"God has given us a refuge in prayer." ~ Luke & Trisha Priebe in their book Trust, Hope, Pray

My mom and I prayed for our friends this morning. We also prayed for the extended family of the family where tragedy had struck.

And there, on my bed, with tears running down both our cheeks, we found the solace that only God can give. We took the day's problems and cares to Him, and found the quiet peace that only He can give.

And in the midst of my reality check, I found that even though I thought my problems are bad, someone else was struggling with something much worse. And in focusing on myself, I missed a huge opportunity to pray for others in need.

Lord, may I never again be so focused on myself that I miss the blessing I may be to someone else through prayer.

The Beauty of Jesus

"Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me,
All His wonderful passion and purity;
O Thou Spirit divine,
May I truly be Thine
Till the beauty of Jesus be seen in me."

I have never heard this song before, but as I flipped through the hymnbook one Sunday, the words jumped off the page at me.

What does beauty look like to you? As a young woman, society and culture pushes their idea of beauty on me from every side. When I was a little girl, my mother would remind me that true beauty comes from within. I never truly understood that till I grew up.

It doesn't matter if your hair is perfect all the time. Or your make-up for that matter. Without Jesus, your beauty is only skin-deep. I would rather have a soul made beautiful by Jesus than the most fashionable outfit.

Beauty is fleeting. You won't be beautiful forever. But if you have a soul made beautiful by God, you will still be beautiful when you grow old. I want to be one of those ladies who grows more beautiful as they grow older because they have Jesus.

"Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me,
All His wonderful passion and purity."

I want Jesus to be radiating through me, so that when people look at me, they see the beauty of Jesus.

Rest in Me

I am one of those people who like to be in control. And know the when, where, why, and how something is going to happen.

It kills me when I don't know what is going on and there is supposed to be a plan. The worst part is when I am not in a position to control the outcome of the supposed plan.

My life is a giant plan that I have no control over. Sometimes I wish I do. The future boggles my mind. It can become rather burdensome.

I was struggling with that very thing today. I was literally crying out to the Lord to guide me in the path that I should take. I was also wishing at the same time that He would just drop a blueprint in my lap for me to follow. In other words I would then be in control.

My heavenly Father then reminded me of a song, whose words have often brought comfort in times of confusion and restlessness:

"When confusion fills my mind,
And my world inside is torn apart,
Or the road just seems to rough,
And discouragement just grips my heart,
I lift my eyes and see,
The One who died for me,
Is standing there beside me,
And says so tenderly:

Oh, be still, My child,
And know I'm your God.
Rest to know,
The King of glory is on your side.
Let Me bear all your pain,
And carry your load.
Oh, be still, My child
And rest in Me."

He is my God. He is in control of my life. His plan is perfect. He wants me to trust and rest in Him.

I need to be still and rest in Him. Trust His word. Live everyday to honor and glorify Him. And He will lead me in the way He would have me to go.

Proverbs 3:5&6 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not on thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths."

A Letter to a Friend

To My Friend:

I miss you.

I miss the person you were.

I'm scared of the person that you've become.

I miss you.

The old you.

When I see you in person, I smile. I'm happy to see you. Honest. But sitting behind the computer screen where the life you really live is displayed....

I'm petrified.

Scared. To. Death.

I can't stand seeing you grasp the world. I love you too much. Honest.

I love you.

The old you.

In all practicality, I still see you as the girl I knew four years ago. The girl I came to know and love. I have a hard time accepting the girl you've become.

Can you believe it was only five, maybe six, years ago we met? So much has changed since then. I have changed, and so have you. We have both mentally, and spiritually moved in opposite directions. I have watched you, my friend, take hold of the world.

And it scares me.

I love you too much to let you go down the path you have chosen.

So I pray for you. Everyday.

Honestly, the summer when things changed was a very hard summer for me. I was so confused. I loved your family to pieces.

I still do.

But God used that summer in an amazing way. I grew so much in my faith. God brought me closer to Him.

I missed you all terribly, and wanted you back more than anything. But in retrospect, I wouldn't have you back for the world.

God did amazing things in my life that summer, and that wouldn't have happened if He had not removed your family from my every day life.

I'm still going to pray for you. Everyday. I pray that God will get a hold of your heart and that you will follow Him once again.

I love you, my friend. Too much to let you take this path.

Love,

Courtney  

 I'm sure we all have friends that we wish to boldly, lovingly confront about their walk with Christ. I know I do. Although this is a letter to my friend, (who may never read it - let alone know it was written for her) let me encourage you to pray for that person in your life. I believe in the power of prayer. PRAYER WORKS! It really does. Prayer is the most powerful thing that we can do for them. GOD ANSWERS PRAYER. But in His timing, not ours. Pray for that person. If you see them on a daily basis, encourage them in His Word. You never know what they may be going through.

When God Says "No"

{This is a follow-up post to "Just Ask!"}

At the end of my post, "Just Ask," I said that "God is waiting, wanting to give us the good things He has in store. All we need to do is ask." Although that is true, it doesn't follow that just because we ask, God  will give us what we asked for.

Sometimes He says "No."

Sometimes the answer is "Yes". Sometimes the answer is "Maybe," or "Wait." But sometimes the answer is "No."

Then what? Do we stop believing in the goodness of God? Is He no longer good, because He said "No"?

The movie, God's Not Dead, popularized the known phrase, "God is good all the time." And added the response of: "And all the time, God is good." However cliche it may sound, the statement still rings true. God is good. All the time. Even in the tough times. Even when He says "No." 

This may be hard for some to believe, but God only has your best interests at heart. 

Really? MY best interests?

I know right?! It's awesome! The God of the universe has your best interests at heart. 

But what about...... You fill in the blank. Any trial, and hardship, anything! And I will still tell you that God has your best interests at heart. Even when He says "No."

Ask Him, then wait patiently for His answer. Whatever it may be. It may not be what you think best - but believe me, God knows best.  

New Every Morning

I'm done! I cannot do this anymore! I'm at the end of my rope! 

You walk away and lower yourself into the chair. You're fed up with the problems and difficulties of the day. Later, in the sanctity of your room, you pour out your problems to whoever will listen. If no one's listening, you just say things out loud to yourself. The pent-up tears flow freely now. All you want to do is sleep. But the looming question which keeps you up is "How will I face tomorrow?"

"(His mercies) are new every morning...." Lamentations 3:23

God gives us just enough grace to get through today. Whatever may come your way today, God's got you covered. He never gives us more than we can handle through His grace.

"Today's mercies are for today's troubles. Tomorrow's mercies are for tomorrow's troubles." ~ John Piper

That is why you may feel like you're ready to die at the end of one day, but then ready to take on the world the next morning. You've used today's resources; tomorrow, the mercies will be new.

"Great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:23b

Just Ask!

When my family and I travel to see my grandparents, we often listen to audiobooks. Our favorite series is The Chronicles of Narnia.

The Chronicles of Narnia often parallel ideas and/or ideals of the Christian faith. In The Magician's Nephew, two children named Digory and Polly are on a journey with a flying, talking horse named Fledge.

Digory makes a comment about how they should have asked Aslan for a particular item for their journey. Then he has a palm-to-the-forehead moment when he realizes that Aslan probably already knew that they needed that item. Fledge made a point by saying that even though Aslan knew, he still liked to be asked.

How many times have you tried to do something on your own, but then realized that you couldn't? Then, instead of asking for help, you simply let yourself fail. Your palm-to-the-forehead moment comes when you realize that someone could have helped you. You didn't have to fail at all! But because you didn't ask for help, you failed.

"Ask and it shall be given you......" Matthew 7:7

God knows everything. But He wants us to ask. We are to rely on God in everything, for everything. Asking God to meet the needs in our lives demonstrates a certain degree of trust in God and a reliance on Him. If we never had to ask for anything, and it was just given to us, we would never learn hos to wait patiently. Nor would we learn to really, truly trust. Asking God for something demonstrates the childlike faith we are to have.

God is waiting, wanting to give us the good things He has in store.

All we need to do is ask.

Welcome!

Ever After is magical. There's just something about the phrase that implies peace, and automatic happiness without having to say "Happily Ever After".

My name is Courtney, and I'm still waiting for mine. I'm waiting for my earthly ever after as well as my heavenly one. That's right; I'm a Christian.

This blog is going to be about my journey as I wait for my heavenly ever after. I promise not to bore you with my personal relationship issues. :) Rather, I will share with you what God is, or has been, teaching me about Himself while I wait for His return.

I'm a writer. I love to write, and that is what I'm going to do while I wait for Ever After.