Ponderings of the Heart

Anyone who has known me for a while knows that I have a fear of bad weather. Even though I grew up in Florida and lived through lots of hurricanes, I still am scared! (In fact, I don’t know that I have ever slept a night through during a hurricane. It was my job to keep the night watch!) Well today, I got to revisit my fears. I had heard that we could have a small thunderstorm or some pop-up showers throughout the day, but what we got was totally different! When Trent came and picked me up for our lunch together, it was only sprinkling. Soon after we headed down the road, it started POURING! Then we ran into Wendy’s (yes, I know, a nice gourmet lunch). The wind was crazy and the rain seemed to be falling harder and harder. Might I add at this point that Wendy’s doesn't have walls, but instead is nothing by windows. So I can see everything that is happening outside. So we stand in line a while and finally order lunch. After we sit down, pray for our meal and start to ea...

This morning, Trent and I set off for our trek to Arkansas, the "big town" of Etowah to be exact, where he was preaching. I love to hear Trent preach, so I wanted to share what God spoke to me through him today. His sermon this morning was from the text John 11:17-36, where Jesus goes back to Bethany, where his friend Lazarus had died. He meets with both of Lazarus' sisters Mary and Martha, who are (naturally) grieving over the death of their brother. So, in short, the main message of the sermon was - in times of grief or despair, go to Jesus! Really, in general, if you are in need - go to Jesus! He is the only one who can meet our needs! And ALL of them at that!! --Specifically in this case, Mary and Martha were seeking compassion and completeness. Jesus had that for them...and only Jesus had it for them. They could be around as many people as they could find and still not find the compassion and completeness found in Jesus. Even though we can't fulfill thi...

I sometimes turn my ipod on to "shuffle songs" while I am at work and then listen with one earphone (so I can answer the phone with the other if it rings). Well today I did just that and heard the following song. It's amazing how you can hear the same song you have been listening to for years, but it sounds like its the first time you've heard it. This song by Casting Crowns follows the account in Matthew 12:22 when a man was full of demons....until he met Jesus. I see a great picture in this song of where our lives are before we accept Christ, and where we are after we give our all to Him. The question for everyone is "Do you want to be free?" John 8:26 says, "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." Truly free! Romans 8:1-2 says, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death." Set Me F...

So I was reading through Ephesians today, and really enjoyed it! Over the past month I have really been getting into the writings of Paul. The way he writes is so beautiful and yet pierces your heart as well. What I have enjoyed so much though is reading the whole books, so that I can get the whole picture. Ever since I started in January reading the Bible chronologically, I really have started to see the importance of context. It all fits together so much better that way! So here are a few "nuggets" that were spoken to me today in Ephesians. Ephesians 1:18 [I pray] that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the glorious riches of His inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power to us who believe, according to the working of His vast strength. At first glance, we would normally just read over this, without fully understanding what it means...or at least I always did. Bu...

I have recently seen a jump in the number of people I know who have blogs....I am amazed by each of them in their own ways - creative, beautiful, eloquent words, realness, fun...So from seeing all of these came the thought, "maybe I should try to do a blog!" Then immediately my reactions were 1)what would I say? and 2)when would I do it? But I know all these other people have busy lives as well and are still sharing their hearts. So as I was doing my Bible reading last night, I had the thought again, "I should do a blog!" I feel like God is teaching me so much through His Word (especially through reading it chronologically) that I should share it! Why keep such good things to myself? So this blog's purpose is not to be about me necessarily, but about Him! This will be also be a good tool for our family and friends "back home" to see what is going on with us and what we are learning in our new home. So I titled this blog "Ponderings of...