Engagement!!!!

When a man and a women meet, fall in love and decide it is time to get married it is a special time in both of their lives. Their story is what will go with them the rest of their married life (hopefully the rest of their lives). They share it with everyone who asks, but most importantly when they have children and grandchildren their story is recounted numerous times. The light in their eyes as they reminisce how they met & how their (grand)father proposed to their (grand)mother. It is special.

I wish that this post was with me adding my story for my kids & grandkids to hear, but it's not.

"Why are you writing about this then?" you ask.

I'm kind of wondering the same thing. Maybe it's because it is on my mind & my heart. Over the past month, I have heard of 4 couples getting engaged. Three of these couples had people who had pleaded with God to provide them with a spouse & continuously recounted how much they want to be married & start a family - within the past year.

• One of these couples is a girl that I was a youth leader for. I have sat with one of these friends to discuss how important it is to develop their relationship with Christ as they wait for their spouse.


• Another friend has a similar path as myself, where their previous 5 relationships ended & then their ex found the love of their life in their next relationship.


• And yet another, I had been in a prayer with her & another woman and God had answered their prayers - but not yet mine.

I know that bitterness is not an honorable thing; especially in God's eyes. Certainly, I have no place to question God. I struggle not add "but" to my next statement. I just don't understand why. A year ago, I thought for sure a friend of mine would have moved our relationship to the next level; but as you may have noticed from previous posts God has said "wait".

I am genuinely happy for my friends who have entered into this stage of their life. Each one of them have unique and individual stories. God has answered their prayers.

Father God,

Thank you for answering the prayers of Mandi & David, Emily &
Matt, Hannah & Josh, and Josh & Mackenzie. You knew from the beginning
of time the journeys that each one of them would take to meet each other and
fall in love. You have each of their futures planned as they prepare to join
their lives here on earth. I pray that you would bless them each with knowledge
of you as they begin planning their future. May each of them keep their
hands open enough to allow You to work in miraculous ways in their lives and the
people they touch. I pray that they use this engagement time to obtain a solid
foundation with their relationshp with you - both individually and as a
couple.



I thank you, Father, for knowing the future you have planned for my
life. You have already preplanned all of the story. You, being the greatest
author of all time, know everything I need and are pleased to bring yourself
glory while I wait and seek you out. Each day you have me wait is not lost. Your
plans cannot be thwarted - even though Satan wishes to challenge that truth. I
ask that you are preparing my husband's heart to have the knowledge and the
encouragment to begin our courtship. I pray that you would strengthen his faith
in you and fill him with your Spirit as you prepare him to be the husband you
have called him to be. Be with him and protect him from temptations that
threaten to steal away his purity.



Thank you for showing me that you do answer prayers, and you are
working on answering my prayers; though I have not been able to see the outcome.
I hope for what is unseen.

I love you.

Amen.

Manna = Bread = Jesus

Exodus 16:4
I will rain down bread from heaven for you.

After the Isrealites were rescued from the slavery they endured in Egypt, they were found walking in the desert. If you've ever been in the desert you may have noticed how hard it is to find something cool to drink, let alone filling to eat. Most animals hide so well, even snakes have to sneak up on them. So as the Isrealites (the millions of them) were begining their trek towards the promised land, they were faced with a need for food. So God performed one of the most amazing miracles in the Old Testament; the raining down of Manna. There were a couple of rules surrounding the Manna, and the one that I want to bring up is that they could only collect & consume enough Manna for that one day (except for the day of the Sabbath -see Exodus 16:5) Each morning they could only gather enough for that day, and whatever was left over the next day would turn into maggots & rot away.

So the lesson here is that I can only store up enough promises for today. I can't worry about tomorrow.

John 6:33
For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.

Jesus is having a discussion with His disciples about bread which then leads to a discussion about Manna (the bread from Heaven) and how Jesus is the true bread from Heaven. Since He is the one who was sent by God.

This passage in John 6 (25-59) intrigues me in a bunch of different ways.
1. Manna was bread that filled the Isrealites everyday & they had to specifically collect it everyday. Jesus is the bread of life that we have to specifically collect everyday to get through the day.
2. Jesus talked about this at a time when he had had quite a following of people. He had begun performing many miracles.
3. Jesus repeats He is the Bread from Heaven, and those who ate the Manna still died. But everyone who eats His flesh and drinks His blood will have eternal life.
4.Jesus spoke about eternal life through His bread/body at this poin in His ministry but didn't formalize the practice of Holy Communion until He was on the eve of His death.

The practice of communion has a profound new meaning to me after reading these verses. The rememberance of Jesus is the reality that we take & eat His bread/body to never be hungry and
drink the wine/blood to never be thirsty again.

The manna in the OT was the fulfillment of our need for food, just like Jesus is the fulfillment of our need for eternal salvation. Collecting Manna was a daily exercise and so is collecting Jesus and His teachings to get through each day & into eternity.

Finally, Jesus discussed with the disciples how hard this teaching was for them to understand. I find it difficult to figure out how to express why this intrigues me. Maybe it's how He spoke with such a radical mindset. But when you grow in knowledge, it begins to make more sense.

So the lesson here is that when/if I can understand the true message of Jesus that I will take & eat of it and have eternal life.

Manna = Bread = Jesus = Eternal Life

Quite possibly the best mathmatical equation to ever be written. God is good. Praise God for the bread from Heaven.

Merry Christmas.

There will be a Day

It seems to me that I tend to write in this post the continuance of waiting, and the attempt at resting in the timing of God. Maybe the reason for this is that I keep missing the boat, or maybe it is a message of hope that keeps needing to be communicated. We are all waiting for something. We are living out situations where we are unsure of the outcome. Some people are really good at hiding their distrust in God from others, or they are just truly able to trust God. There are little victories that I have received in this area, but as each victory I receive I am reminded how much further I truly have to go before I can stand up with certainity that I learned everything I needed to learn during this season of waiting.

Romans 8:18-25

Just in time for the Christmas season, the message of Christ...
Luke 2:11
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to youl he is Christ the Lord.

Sin is the reason that Jesus came. He came to save us.

My struggle is with fully trusting God. He allows many opportunities where I can choose to stand up to Satan & resist his false promises, or I can question & not trust the Hope that God has placed in my heart. Satan knows how these opportunities could best shake me, and he works quite hard to try to steal away my heart & devotion from God. But Jesus rescues me in my uncertainty and promises me that "His plans will not be thrwarted" and when things seem to be going against my plans that He will work all things for His glory. These promises both encourage me and give me hope.

Romans 8:25
But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.

He has given each one of us different promises and plans for our future. Sometimes it seems that the disappointments from today means He isn't working on His plan (but rather He is just dangling your dreams before you) but I pray that you rest in His promises and know that there is a reason for today. There is a reason for the waiting.

While I'm Waiting

While I'm Waiting - John Waller