A little thought...

A thought by Elisabeth Elliot:


"The original sin, pride, is behind my "poor self-image," for I felt that I deserved better than I got, which is exactly what Eve felt! So it was pride, not poor self-image, that had to go. If I'm so beautiful and lovable, what was Jesus doing up there, nailed to the cross and crowned with thorns? Why all that hideous suffering for the pure Son of God? Here's why: There was no other way to deliver us from the hell of our own proud self-loving selves, no other way out of the bondage of self-pity and self-congratulation. How shall we take our stand beneath the cross of Jesus and continue to love the selves that put Him there? How can we survey the wondrous cross and at the same time feed our pride? No. It won't work. Jesus put it simply: If you want to be My disciple, you must leave self behind, take up the cross, and follow Me."

Lord break my pride and renew me. Help me to leave self behind and look towards your beautiful cross.

A Little Bit of Seeking...

"Rushing wind, blow through this temple,

Blowing out the dust within;

Come and breathe your breath upon me:

I've been born again."

~Keith Green~

This is my prayer. That my Lord's rushing wind would blow through this dusty temple of mine and breathe His breath upon me.

Lately I've been feeling a bit spiritually stagnant in my walk with the Father. I desperately want him to reveal new things to me, but often times I feel like He's silent. I've been doing so much since we moved home that I haven't MADE the time to really wholeheartedly seek him. Needless to say, I can't wait for Christmas break.

Yesterday, I decided to take Shauna to the new library that just opened. It's only about ten minutes from our house, which is nice and convenient. It's SO nice compared to the old one! There is a lot of room for expansion as well.

Anyway, as I was looking through the shelves, I stumbled upon some audio books. Now, I haven't really listened to many audio books before, just because they don't usually have ones that I want. However, I found one yesterday that I decided to check it out called "The Secret Things of God - Unlocking the Treasures Reserved for You". The author of the book is Henry Cloud, who is also the author of "Boundaries" which is a book that I just finished reading. (It's GREAT by the way!)

Yesterday, as I was listening to the first few chapters of this audio book, he was talking about seeking God. The verse that almost everyone knows in Jeremiah 29 says:

""For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

However, most people only quote that one verse. Verses 12,13, and 14 are equally beautiful in my opinion:

"Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord."

The Lord PROMISES that we will find him if we are faithful to seek! He says that he WILL be found by us! How amazing!

It suddenly struck me in the car last night. My problem has been that I whine and complain about not knowing his will and not finding him, but then I also fail to spend consistent time reading His word. I don't consistently search for Him with all of my heart... but He promises that if I do... I will find Him.

He wants to be found by me.

"Oh Lord, please make me faithful to you! Make me yearn to spend time with you and be close to you. I want to consistently seek you because I long to find you, Lord. Fill my heart with a desire for your word and purge my heart of selfishness. You promise that I will find you if I seek you with all my heart... so blow out the dust within this temple and help me to be faithful."