Guard Your Heart

Proverbs 4:23 "Guard your heart more than anything else, because the source of your life flows from it." ~ GWT

I was talking to my friend Ames the yesterday and was informed that this is the verse of the week, so I figured I'm spend a little time blogging about my thoughts and this verse. However, I don't think that we can take this verse out of context, so below is a little longer excert:

Proverbs 4:20-27

"My Son, pay attention to my words. Open your ears to what I say. Do not lose sight of these things. Keep them deep within your heart because they are life to those who find them and they heal the whole body. Guard you heart more than anything else, because the source of your life flows from it. Remove dishonesty from your mouth. Put deceptive speech far away from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead and your sign be focused in front of you. Carefully walk a straight path and all your ways will be secure. Do not lean to the right or to the left. Walk away from evil." ~God's Word Translation

Many times simply verse 23 is used when talking about relationships, especially with the opposite sex, and when taken out of context, it seems to make sense. However, when you look at what God is saying around that verse, it's not talking about our relationships with the opposite sex as much as it's talking about guarding out heart from the misconceptions that Satan would have us believe about life, love, the world and even more so, our FATHER, GOD! God is wanting us to keep our eyes focused on Him, the one who gives us true life and love eternal. He's warning us against falsehoods that Satan would try and have us believe. As we trust in God, the promises that He has made for us will give us life eternal, which is where life flows from: the promises of God.

Now, I'm not saying that this doesn't have to do with relationships, because Satan will work in those around us to try and sway us away from the love of our heavenly Father. Satan will tell us lies and make us believe falsehoods about ourselves and those whom we encouter in our lives to make us feel inadequate or completely the opposite, better than those around us.

But that's not what God intends. God is calling us to guard our hearts because He has given us the gift of salvation and He doesn't want for us to be swayed by deceit away from that belief. He wants us to focus on the goal: Life eternal with the Holy Trinity.

So my dear friends, guard your hearts that you never loose site of God's eternal plan for you. However, don't miss out on the earthly opportunities God puts before you because you don't know what is in store for you in relationships. God gave you free will, and unless you take some chances the bench will always be warm. Sometimes God calls us to take risks that are a little scary and we're putting ourselves out there. Never compromise your relationship with your Heavenly Father, and don't miss out on something great because it might mean a broken romantic heart. God can always heal our pain in relationships, He's got the best band-aids ever! As long as your eyes are always focused on the ultimate goal of life with Him, a little brokenness will only bring us closer to Him.

Anitidotes on Shoes and Love

Last night I found the most wonderful pair of shoes! I was out with my friend Kellie at the mall, not planning on buying anything, but can you really pass by shoes and not look? Absolutely NOT! So we stopped and I found these wonderful shoes! I was at Kohl's so finding them on the self was a challenge, but I accepted and went to work. I found every size but my own and was beginning to get frustrated when there they were! Size 8.5, brown, and beautiful! I walked around in the store for about 5 minutes wearing these wonderful shoes and my friend Kellie looked at me and said you are buying them because I'm not listening to you talk about how you should have bought them all the way home. So I went up the the cash register to buy them. Just so you know, these are also lucky shoes. The woman in front of me in line had an OK license and I asked where she was from and she said, actually, Texas, by Ft. Worth, in Weatherford. Let me tell you that she knows Doug's dad who was a football coach while she was in high school.

Anyway, I got home and called my friend Ames in Kansas to tell her about my beautiful new shoes and we started talking about how when you find the right pair of shoes it's like falling in love and here is why:

1. We women want what we want right now. Sometimes we really just want to make-out, sometimes we want a little longer fling, but most of the time we wake-up and think, "Can I send him packing?" Many times buying shoes is an impulse buy and you look at what you bought and say to yourself, "WHAT WAS I THINKING? Do I still have the tags for that?"

2. Sometimes women will date every guy in the world and wind up wanting none of them. Or we're presented with too many choices and never make a decision. When you don't have an idea of what you want everything looks good with too many choices all at once and instead of making a choice we go and buy a skirt instead.

3. Women tend to complain about not finding men to date, but we're sitting around in our houses eating chocolate, dreaming about say Tom Everett Scott or Mark Ruffalo but have no idea what's out there. If you want a pair of shoes, you have to GO to the shoe store before you know what's available.

4. Men that look good aren't always cracked up to be the best for a relationship. Personality differences, such as not sharing a love of Chinese food can cause major realtionship problems. It is the same as those sexy red stilletos. Sure, they look hot on your feet, but they can make walking alomst impossible and you always end up with blisters. Leave them on the self and chalk them up to eye candy!

5. When we finally figure out what it is that we want we're on the hunt for that perfect man/shoe. What's in our head is never what's sitting on the self at the store and it may take a significant amount of time before we can find anything close enough to try on. Sometimes it's like walking into Goodwill, going to the shoe department finding that perfect pair of shoes and realizing that they're used up. But if we're presistent what we want will come into style... or NIKE will let us design our own. And when we find that shoe/man it doesn't matter how much it costs, we're willing to pay the price to have what we want.

6. Finally, there are those of us who have an idea of what we want but aren't really looking. We're at the store but we're just window shopping, gazing... if you will... at the scenry, when BAM! it hits us! There they are... the perfect pair or shoes... staring us right in the face. We weren't planning on spending any money or even trying anything on, but you know that if you don't take them home with you, you'll never forgive yourself!

The Trouble with Love

The song that is posted below is a song I haven't listened to since before I left Oklahoma; mainly because it completely reminds me of Doug and I couldn't bear to listen to it, knowing that things were more than likely completely over. Actually, I haven't listened to much music since I left because anything that even sounded like a love song reminded me of him, and ANYTHING oldies reminded me of him (he used to come over and change my station automatically to Oldies).

I love this song though because it can now possibly have a happy ending. Before I left, my best friend in OK, Hanni, kept telling me that she didn't think that Doug and I were over, and to have patience with God. She kept telling me to pray for patience and once I got here, she told me to pray for patience even more. She's an amazing friend and I love her very much! I hate patience, and it's always the one thing that God will give you an abundance of if you ask for it. I didn't want to be patient though. I wanted to know if there was a possible future for Doug and I, or if I just completely needed to forget about him. I was so scared of what the answer might be that I simply prayed for God to make my heart okay, RIGHT NOW!

Well, my ever wise friend is smarter than she thinks. When Doug wrote, it took me over two weeks to respond to him at all. Who wants to have their heart broken by someone that they care about so much it hurts? Apparently though, he misses me as much as I miss him. It's not over for us. I know God has something that isn't revealed yet.

The trouble with love is this: You really do have to be patient (which I'm not) and you have to trust that God knows more than you (which is hard but true) and you have to trust that if you love someone and they love you back that there will be a way for it all to come together (patience again).

I don't know what exactly the future holds for Doug and I. But I do know that I want to see where it can go and what God might reveal along the way. I'm willing to put my heart on the line and trust that Doug will be careful with it, just like I know he's trying to trust me to do the same. I know that I can't make it without the support and love from my friends. But like the passage where my blogger name comes from says "Is anything to hard for the LORD?" If we trust in God, nothing is out of reach!

A Plain Morning

It's yet to be determined,
but the air is thick,
and my hope is feeling worn.
I'm missing home,
and I'm glad you're not a part of this,
there's parts of me that will be missed.
And the phone is always dead to me,
so I can't tell you the temperature is dropping
and it feels like.

It's colder than it ought to be in March
and I still got a day or two ahead of me
till I'll be heading home,into your arms again.
And the people here are asking after you.
It doesn't make it easier.
It doesn't make it easier to be away.(to be away)

I'd like to hire a plane.(a plane)
I'd see you in the morning, (morning)
when the day is fresh.
I'm coming home again. (I'm coming home again)
Coming home again. (again)
Coming home again. (again)
When the day is fresh,
I'm coming home again.(I'm coming home again)

But it's warmer where you're waiting.
It feels more like July.
There's pillows in their cases,and one of those is mine.
And you wrote the words "I love you",
and sprayed it with perfume.
It's better than the fire is to heat this lonely room.
It's warmer where you're waiting
It feels more like July.
It feels more like July.

It's yet to be determined,
but the air is thick,and my hope is feeling worn.
I'm missing home,
and I'm glad you're not a part of this,
there's parts of me that will be missed.
And the phone is always dead to me,
so I can't tell you the temperature is dropping
and it feels like.

It's colder than it ought to be in March
and I still got a day or two ahead of me
till I'll be heading home,into your arms again.
And the people here are asking after you.
It doesn't make it easier. (easier)
It doesn't make it easier to be away.(to be away)

I'd like to hire a plane.(a plane)
I'd see you in the morning, (morning)
when the day is fresh.
I'm coming home again. (I'm coming home again)
Coming home again. (again)
Coming home again. (again)
When the day is fresh,
I'm coming home again.(I'm coming home again)

~Dashboard Confessionals

Gifts of Grace

Galations 3:1-5 "You people in Galatia were told very clearly about the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. But you were foolish; you let someone trick you. Tell me this one thing: How did you receive the Holy Spirit? Did you receive the Spirit by following the law? No, you received the Spirit because you heard the Good News and believed it. You began your life in Christ by the Spirit. Now are you trying to make it complete by your own power? That is foolish. Were all your experiences wasted? I hope not! Does God give you the Spirit and work miracles among you because you follow the law? No, he does these things because you heard the Good News and believed it. "

I have been reading Galations a lot lately, simply reading it all the way through. This part always strikes me because so many people I run into still allow themselves to be controled by the law. When we allow ourselves to be slaves to the law we are still slaves to sin, and even worse slaves to Satan. The only thing that can save us is believing and trusting in the GRACE that God has shown us!

Paul hits it right on the head when he asks where the Spirit comes from and where our "works" come from. It's nothing we do ourselves. Everything that is good comes from God, and everything that isn't good comes from sin and the Satan. There is no other source. We can't do anything good on our own, nor can God do anything bad.

After Hurrican Katrina hit Mississippi and Louisianna there are many people who seek to point fingers and place the blame. There is so much devestation and sadness that there must be someone to blame. Yet, how could any human being be held accountable for this? I can understand the need to vent frustrations and anger and bitterness and sadness. What I can't understand is the need to point a political finger! I can't stand that people are trying to blame one political party or another for failing to respond as they feel should have been done. What we need now is not pointing fingers, not guiltful glares, and snide comments; but GRACE.

So many people need love and hope right now. The only place that we get those things is from God our Father! We need to come together and show the grace that God has shown us to those around us. It's undeserved and much desired! It's unexpected and much prayed for! Instead of pointing fingers and assigning blame, let's remember where hope comes from! It comes from the Spirit of Faith. It comes from salvation in Christ. My prayer is that those who did lose their lives were believers and that they are with Christ! The part that scares me more is that many of the people who died may not have been believers. The blessing is that those who survived have another chance to hear God's grace and trust and believe!

May God be with you. May His grace abound in you. May your hearts be open to the undeserved forgiveness and grace that only faith in the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus can give!

Not Closed Yet!

Okay, so many of you know that I have been struggling since I've left Oklahoma to move to Wisconsin. The hardest part was leaving behind someone that I truly care for. Don't get me wrong, leaving behind my friends was horrible and I miss them greatly, but I get to talk to them all the time, and we won't stop being friends simply because of geography. But when there is space between two people in a romantic relationship, that space can seem like a universe!

So, about three weeks ago I got a letter from Doug. It had his picture as he was coming home from Saudi Arabia a couple years ago and a beautiful picture of a field of blue bonnets, and then a short letter. This from the boy who doesn't like to write! I'd given him a out, but he didn't take it! When he moved into his new house, I had no way of contacting him. But he didn't take it.

When I got the letter I was a mess, because I honestly hadn't expected him contact me, even though he said he would. I should have had more faith in him, because every time he's said he's going to do something, he's done it. About a week ago I finally called him, but he wasn't around and so I just left it in God's hands. Friday night... well, actually Saturday morning, I got a phone call that I was simply going to ignore! Glad I didn't because it was him! He'd been in Vegas for training, which if I'd thought back, I would have remembered. Anyway, we talked for over an hour and I was so happy to hear his voice it took me another hour to go back to sleep.

Then Saturday he called just to laugh because OU had lost to TCU, which was evil! But hey, at least he called! I figured it would be a while before I heard from him again, but last night he called and we talked for hours! I didn't realize how much I miss him, and how much I laugh when I talk to him. He'd asked if I was coming out to visit during the first call this week and I told him definitely fourth of July, but I wasn't sure before then. During this call he asked me again when I was coming out, and I said I wasn't sure. I have been looking at tickets, and possibly next spring. He told me that was too far away and that I should come this fall. This from the boy who didn't seem to want to continue anything once I left.

I then got in trouble because we started talking about tornados and apparently when we had all the storms up here he was worried about me. He was also upset that it took me so long to respond once I got his letter. For once, I can tell that he really misses me, and I really miss him too!

I know that sometimes God shuts doors so that He can open windows. But every time I've thought He's shut this door, it seems to swing back open. I don't know what is going to happen, and it's a little scary. But I know that as long as God, Doug and I are in this together, it's not going to matter what I can see as long as I know who's with me. Thank God for unclosed doors, and open hearts! I look forward to what God has in store, and I pray that He continues to protect both of our hearts as we move through this journey.

Blessings!