"You're Beautiful." Part. 1

How often are you seized by God's goodness? Seized by nature? Seized by Godly provision?

 

During Paul's second missionary journey, he writes, "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone LIFE and BREATH and EVERYTHING ELSE. (Acts 17:24-25) To put it simply we are needy, He is not. 

I'm currently writing this blog at my aunt and uncle's dining room table in Las Vegas on a hot Sunday afternoon. I sit here pondering what all has happened over the last week here on vacation. What has seized me?

Continuing in Acts 17 verses 26-27 says, From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boudaries of their lands. God did this so that they would SEEK him and perhaps REACH OUT for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us."

These gifts point to a Giver.

Our God is good, he is creative, and he wants to share himself.

I love my beautiful mitten shaped state of Michigan. The beautiful lake front, the green pastures, colored trees in the fall, the misty foggy mornings, and the snowcovered trees in winter. But what I love about heading westward is the gorgeous sunrises and sunsets over the mountains that leave me speechless, the dry baren but open desert, and the coolness of the mountains. As we headed even more west into CA and onto Huntington Beach for the day I stood in awe of the vast ocean, the magnificent waves, the sea breeze that brings my senses into a paradise uknown to a country girl like me. I was seized by God's magnitude, creativity, and greatness over and over on this trip.

So sorry to have to cut this short, but family time is calling me! I would love to continue sharing my thoughts...which will happen in Part 2. Get Excited. Pictures will be shown.  

No Expectations.

 This past weekend I was blessed to reconnect with someone I have always considered a standard in my life. I drove down to lansing with slight hesitation to meet up with a bunch of Michiganders at the very tasty Pizza House close to the campus of MSU. *Go Spartans.* Little did I realize my hesitation would be fully forgotten as the night flew by, and I found myself on my way home crying tears of awe on how God works.

I met this friend about 5 years ago at my cousin's wedding out in Las Vegas. (Heads up, my aunt and uncle are church planters out there. In case you had any slight thought on Vegas.) After dancing the very last song together at the reception, we continued staying in touch via the classic facebook and phone convos. Went to a wedding with him a couple years ago and enjoyed a bonfire at his family's house in lansing that year as well. I was blessed to have him as a tour guide when I visited Vegas two years ago, as we hiked in the mountains and enjoyed karaoking for hours on end during that visit as well.

After hardly talking at all for 2 years, I was humbled and blessed by a long phone conversation about a month ago as we caught up and discussed the ever challenging book, Radical by David Platt. (If you have not read it, I encourage it.) As well as life lessons and how God is working within our lives.

As for the pizza night, I sit here smiling as a ponder what all happened, between meeting some great people, catching up with a few people I hadn't seen in years and being humbled by the group of brothers and sisters in Christ living their lives in response to God's leading and calling. Sweet.

Driving home, I did in fact cry, I also just praised God through a grateful heart for blessing me with an incredible night. No expectations are a blessing.

Forgiveness.

I am humbled as a sinner the way Jesus paid the ultimate price for the our sin. I am even more humbled as He continues to forgive our daily sins, over and over and over. Yet, I'm curious as to why it can be so hard to forgive just one person when they have wronged us? On June 20, 2012 sitting in the backyard of the house I was dog sitting at, I asked God to soften my heart to forgive someone who had hurt me, direspected me, and weighed me down with issues that were not mine. I prayed God would give me grace to forgive. I also prayed that God would forgive them too.

Little did I know, several weeks after that Wednesday, I would recieve a phone call from that person asking me to grant forgiveness to them. To which I replied, with tears in my eyes, that in fact I had and do forgive them. There is blessing and struggle to let go, even if it is easier to wallow in bitterness and speak through anger. God's grace is amazing and I blessed to have been filled with it.

Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven. (Matthew 18:22 ESV)
How hard it is to forgive, yet it really is not that much when I think of all HE has done for me.

Tenth Avenue North- 'Losing'.
"Well truth be told it doesn't matter if their sorry or not
Cause freedom comes when we surrender to the sound
Of Your mercy and Your grace, Father, send Your angels down!"

I want to leave you with the lyrics of Matthew West's new song...

It's the hardest thing to give away
And the last thing on your mind today
It always goes to those that don't deserve

It's the opposite of how you feel
When the pain they caused is just to real
It takes everything you have just to say the word...

Forgiveness
Forgiveness

It flies in the face of all your pride
It moves away the mad inside
It's always anger's own worst enemy
Even when the jury and the judge
Say you gotta right to hold a grudge
It's the whisper in your ear saying 'Set It Free'

Forgiveness, Forgiveness
Forgiveness, Forgiveness

Show me how to love the unlovable
Show me how to reach the unreachable
Help me now to do the impossible

Forgiveness, Forgiveness

Help me now to do the impossible
Forgiveness

It'll clear the bitterness away
It can even set a prisoner free
There is no end to what it's power can do
So, let it go and be amazed
By what you see through eyes of grace
The prisoner that it really frees is you

Forgiveness, Forgiveness
Forgiveness, Forgiveness

Show me how to love the unlovable
Show me how to reach the unreachable
Help me now to do the impossible
Forgiveness

I want to finally set it free
So show me how to see what Your mercy sees
Help me now to give what You gave to me
Forgiveness, Forgiveness

God is good. Be blessed.
Marissa