We were fine until I had to move my stuff….
We were fine until I had to move my stuff….
— Read on thesarahgriffithblog.com/2018/08/24/we-were-fine-until-i-had-to-move-my-stuff/
This is the family God placed in my oldest daughters life and I am so excited to watch what He has in store for everyone involved!! Thank you Jesus!!
Why does life have to be so hard? We try to do what is right only for others to see it differently. Then in an attempt to explain our motives, the problem somehow gets even bigger.
For years I have been on a journey with Christ that is unlike anything else I have ever experienced. After trusting no one but myself, God stepped in and revealed His heart. Even to this day, His love and understanding shake me to the core.
After a series of events that took place about a month ago, God revealed that the time had come for some dramatic changes to take place. I trusted Him, setting some very clear boundaries. These boundaries weren’t to upset the other party, but to protect my heart from further damage.
As expected, those boundaries created quite an uproar. I then find myself wanting to revert to previous behaviors just to end the madness, but God said to stay, so I am listening. I am trusting Him and following His lead.
After an evening of second guessing myself, which ultimately is me questioning God, I woke up with a sense of peace that I have never felt. And as if that wasn’t enough, God shows up.
A little while ago, I put in the video for a new bible study that begins tomorrow. Instead of the DVD going to the menu for me to select Session 1, it started on its own. So I watched.
These were the words that God shared with me…When someone has ears to hear God’s voice and follow His guidance, He provides an unquenchable thirst for righteousness. He tends to tap that person for help in solving a societal ill. It is the eerie calm before the storm, where God places a quiet whisper of insight into us, then He sits back to watch as a storm of justice begins to build. Once that person follows that initial direction, all bets are off. Their world gets irreversibly rocked as their role in this world takes a radical, justice-focused shift.
It wasn’t until the session ended that I realized I had just watched the last session. I was overwhelmed with such a tremendous sense of love. Not only does He know, but He cares even more that we do and He has a plan.
I don’t know what your being led to do for Christ, but I do know this: He is speaking to each and every one of us in profound ways. He is calling us to step out of our comfort zones and to fight battles that seem impossible from where we are standing. But He is God and He can use anyone He wants to bring justice to the world. It is only our job to obey, no matter the cost!
The words God shared with me came from, “The Power of a Whisper” by Bill Hybels. If you want to hear from God but aren’t sure how, I highly suggest reading this book. The way you see and hear from Him will be forever changed
The Bible is very clear about tithing a tenth of our income. We are to give back ten percent of what we have been blessed with to The One who gave it to us in the first place. One day while I was spending some alone time with God, he challenged me. He told me that if I was to give a portion of my income, then why wouldn’t I do the same with my time? That question shifted my perspective in regards to giving God the time He deserves. We are given twenty-four hours in a day, so if we use the ten percent rule of tithing, we should be giving God two hours and forty minutes. As followers of Christ our alone time with our Heavenly Father is crucial to the depth of that relationship. The more one on one time we spend with Him, the deeper the relationship. Think about it this way, if you are dating or married it is crucial to spend alone time together to keep the relationship alive and thriving. Failure to do so would result in the death of that relationship. Or think of it from a food standpoint. You cannot eat one meal a week and expect that to provide the nutrients necessary to fuel your body for an entire week. So why do we as Christians think that going to church on Sunday is enough food for our souls the remaining six days of the week? Well, it isn’t. God created us for relationships and our relationship with Him must be our top priority if we want to live the Godly lives He created us for.
My challenge to you is to put God to the test in this area. In Malachi 3:10, God says, “Test me in this and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” He promises that if we tithe what He requires of us, His blessing will overflow.
Once you have started this challenge, please share your experiences and stories as a result of taking sure a bold move in your walk with Christ.
Trey & I grew up in the same town and even went to the same high school for two years, but our story begins much later. I was friends with his brother, Brent, and fell in love with their parents, Butch and Peggy, when I met them at the age of 16. I had always stayed in contact with Butch and Peggy and even sat in front of them at church for years. They were like second parents to me and God was definitely laying the foundation of trust with them before bringing Trey into my life. God knew my deepest desire for a loving extended family that I could trust would love me and my girls like their own and I found that in Butch and Peggy many years ago.
One step closer
I have died everyday waiting for you
Darling don’t be afraid I have loved you
For a thousand years
I’ll love you for a thousand more
Time stands still
Beauty in all she is
I will be brave
I will not let anything take away
What’s standing in front of me
Every breath
Every hour has come to this
One step closer…
Now we have the rest of our time on this earth to love one another with everything we have and raise our kids in a God centered home that models what a Godly marriage is supposed to be like!
Shannon Vaut 