God has been telling me to share my faith on Fridays and call it Fuel For The Weekend. I wanted to do it. I thought about it. I tried to come up with ideas on my own, but I just came up short, so I put the idea toward the back of my mind, but the Holy Spirit continued to nudge me in this direction. It's my desire that the posts I put up on Fridays will give you something to think about, ponder, consider, and reflect on throughout the weekend.
Have you ever planned on things to happen in a certain way, and when you get down the road a little bit, you start to see the plan unraveling? That is sort of how my life is right now. I had imagined that my husband and I would be in a much different season of life by now. Our children are growing up so fast, and Kadesia turns 18 next month. I really thought our lives would be so different. My life now is nothing I ever imagined or asked for, and yet I am living it as I ask God to direct my steps, so I know this is His plan for my life. I just don't always understand everything.
Once I gave my heart to Christ, I did my best to live in a way that would please Him. I was so thankful for everything He had done for me, saved me from, and brought me through. I just wanted to honor God with my life and even though I failed so many times, I kept trying, and God's grace kept covering me. He helped me grow in my faith, in my spiritual being, and in all areas of my life. He never gave up on me.
I have a really big project that I am working on. I had always wanted to have a lot of scrapbooks for Kadesia at her graduation party, so she could reminisce about different milestones, events, and situations that occurred through the years. I started scrapbooking when Paul and I were dating and that has been 19 years ago now. I taught a lot of scrapbooking and faithbooking classes and have helped so many people complete their albums. I used to go with the same two friends to a scrapbooking retreat every year and I loved it. We had the best time and I got a lot of layouts completed over the course of those few days.
As I look at the calendar, it's mid-November, and my daughter graduates in early May. I do not have a lot of time. I have pictures in three big Rubbermaid totes, pictures on discs, pictures on my computer, pictures on my phone, pictures on flash drives, an external hard drive, and ..... you get the idea! So how can I accomplish such a big goal in such a short time? I have a plan!
The first thing I thought I would do is go through all of my planners. I have a large stack of planners and they are every size and color you can think of. I have color-coded some, decorated some with washi and stickers, used kits on some...just had a fun time with it. The problem is that each of those planners represents one year, so I have a lot to go through. I love to journal in my scrapbooks so when I am gone or not around to explain who the people are in the photos, my children can enjoy the pictures and remember the stories. So I am going through these planners and journals to write down important things I want to remember and capture in my scrapbook journaling.
I told you that this is a big project!! So, I started with a journal and a few planners. I started writing in a brand new notebook. It was so neat to remember things that I had truly forgotten about. I am so glad I kept notes about some of the little moments because they are precious. I read it and I am transported back in time to that moment and it is neat to relive it. This part of the process is probably going to take the longest time, but I want to do it because I desire to preserve those memories.
This post is not going to be how I break down each step of the scrapbooking process. I can do that for anyone interested another day, but for now I want to just encourage you to look back! Look back on your life. Do you have an old journal or calendar? If not, do you have a friend or family member you can talk about old times with? It's fun! I know we should not look back at the past in a way to want to live there, go back to old behaviors, or relive bad memories, but it is nice and therapeutic to have a really nice memory to visit again.
The biggest take-away from today's post, is that it is good to plan for the future. It is wise to look ahead and be prepared for what might come up. The Bible tells us to watch the ants store up, without anyone telling them to do it, making sure they do it, or watching over them as they do it.
Proverbs 6:6-8
6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
7 Which having no guide, overseer or ruler,
8 Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.
God knows that we plan our life according to the season we are in. We may think we will do certain things, have a specific amount of money to retire on, travel to various locations, but if it is not going to fulfill God's perfect plan for your life, you may find your plans are derailed!
Proverbs 16:9
A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.
You may wonder what good it is to plan ahead. We have to look at the scripture from a different angle. It isn't that planning ahead is bad, but whose will are we seeking? Are we planning things we want to do for our own pleasure and happiness, or are we truly making plans that glorify God in everything we do? Remember last week's scripture?
You see, God knows the end from the beginning. Our lives are such a short dot on the span of time that it's all we know. God sees way behind us, all our forefathers and the things they have done and not done to further the Kingdom of God. God sees far beyond us, long after we are gone and no one knows our names. He has a plan for the short time we occupy the planet. I have some good ideas, but to be honest, when some of the plans didn't turn out how I hoped, it's not been that bad, and sometimes it was a really good thing my plans failed. Other plans, I still don't understand, but I trust Him, so I know it will be okay. We just need to seek Him to find out His perfect will for us and live like He says to live.
Jeremiah 29:11-13
11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
12 Then shall ye call upon Me, and ye shall go and pray unto Me, and I will hearken unto you.
13 And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart.
I won't tell you that once you find out God's plan for your life that everything is perfect and you never have any fears, doubts, or trouble. I am telling you life will still be hard, life will still be unfair, and life will still be peppered with trouble and hardships, but knowing you are in the capable hands of the Master that orders your steps, will give you a peace that passes all understanding. You won't be able to explain it. You will just look ahead and say, "God I don't see it, but I am so glad You can! Lead me and I will follow. I trust You!"
I hope this weekend, you will take some time to reflect on past good times. It seems to help me, especially in the times things don't always line up to my way of thinking, or when I just simply do not understand what God is doing in the moment. Look back and remind yourself of all the times He has come through before and remember if He did it before, He'll do it again!
May you find strength for your journey and light for your way this weekend! God bless you, friends!
~Bridgett Owens
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