Justin and I rented the movie Soul Surfer this past week. We were a little skeptical about watching a movie where a girl gets attacked by a shark, but from the reviews of others, it was an inspirational must-see.
After watching this astounding young woman's story, I was completely amazed by her. How is it that this 13 year-old girl (at the time of the attack) was so brave and composed? How is it that she immediately leaned on God for help and guidance, even while still in the hospital and adjusting to the new journey she was about to embark upon? How did she continue to find strength in her weakest moments of trying to make her way back into professional surfing? For such a young lady at the time, she had such a deep, mature faith to trust God in the most difficult moment she faced in life till that point.
I read an article about Bethany Hamilton shortly after watching the film. In this interview, she stated that a month before the accident, she was praying with her mother for a way to use her surfing to glorify God. Through sharing her journey back into the surfing community and leaning on God the entire way, sharing her faith with all she came in contact with, she definitely exceeded her requests to the Lord. Shouldn't we all strive to find our strength and courage from the Lord and in the meantime, share that important testimony with those we meet? Why don't we consistently do this as Christians? What is so hard about laying our lives down at the foot of the cross and letting Christ bear those trials for us? Do you know the peace you find when you give your entire life to Christ? And why don't we as Christians hold each other accountable to these standards? Christ doesn't just say that He would like to walk with us in our lives through our difficult trials, He says He wants us to be completely surrendered to Him in every facet of our lives. That we do not eat, sleep or breathe without our God being apart of every second of our entirety.
Bethany discovered that even through a very traumatic and horrifying trial (the attack itself and working to make her comeback into surfing) that she can do all things through Christ who strengthens her. (Philippians 4:13)
We should embrace our weaknesses, our trials and tribulations because that becomes an invitation to trust in our God. It becomes a chance to glorify Him with the next steps in our circumstance. It shapes us into a deep, mature faith-seeking Christian and defines who we become. Most importantly, it gives us the chance to glorify our God!
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest upon me. That is why for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12: 9-11
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Push On...
Hey all!! It's been a while since I have posted... sorry about that!! A lot has been happening in recent weeks, and now I get to share some of my thoughts with you!
Recently, there have been some things that are coming up for me which have been raising some anxious and stressful emotions. It is so easy to start to focus on the what-if's and doubts that life hands us. The waiting to see what is going to happen also becomes unbearable. But that's just what Satan sometimes wants from us, to try to drag us away from the truths God provides. The anxiety, the doubts, and the time to play these games in our minds. But what are we supposed to do as Christians when we have these moments in life, which inevitably sneak up on us?
Lamentations 3:24-25 says, "I say to myself the Lord is my portion, therefore I will wait for Him. The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him, it is good to wait quietly, for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young. Let him sit alone in silence, for the Lord has laid it on him, Let him bury his face in the dust- there may yet be hope. Let him offer his cheek to the one who would strike him, and let him be filled with disgrace. For no one is cast off by the Lord forever. Though He brings grief, He will show compassion, so great is His unfailing love."
What we can gain from this verse to offer to the Lord is to sit in silence with Him. Let His grace and love rain down on us. Wait on the Lord to give us the strength and courage to press on in life. We live in a world that is fallen, and we need to remember that it will not always be easy and perfect. But the best place we can rest our heads is on the shoulder of our incredibly gracious and merciful Lord. Find verses that combat the lies Satan feeds us with the truths that we can strongly stand on. Find a close Christian mentor that we can confide in to pray over us with whatever we are going through. God's truths always give me a peace that no one else can give and has a way of drowning out those doubts and insecurities that come with tough situations in life.
I know that there is a lot of hurts and doubts now and even to come with the economy the way it is, the health of our friends and family in question, or whatever circumstance you are going through right now. But God has big shoulders and we can lay those at the foot of the cross and give it all to him, asking him to carry it for us and give us the strength and guidance to push on. I pray that you push to push on with God carrying you through it. And I hope that you will pray for me through my circumstance too. God Bless!
Recently, there have been some things that are coming up for me which have been raising some anxious and stressful emotions. It is so easy to start to focus on the what-if's and doubts that life hands us. The waiting to see what is going to happen also becomes unbearable. But that's just what Satan sometimes wants from us, to try to drag us away from the truths God provides. The anxiety, the doubts, and the time to play these games in our minds. But what are we supposed to do as Christians when we have these moments in life, which inevitably sneak up on us?
Lamentations 3:24-25 says, "I say to myself the Lord is my portion, therefore I will wait for Him. The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him, it is good to wait quietly, for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young. Let him sit alone in silence, for the Lord has laid it on him, Let him bury his face in the dust- there may yet be hope. Let him offer his cheek to the one who would strike him, and let him be filled with disgrace. For no one is cast off by the Lord forever. Though He brings grief, He will show compassion, so great is His unfailing love."
What we can gain from this verse to offer to the Lord is to sit in silence with Him. Let His grace and love rain down on us. Wait on the Lord to give us the strength and courage to press on in life. We live in a world that is fallen, and we need to remember that it will not always be easy and perfect. But the best place we can rest our heads is on the shoulder of our incredibly gracious and merciful Lord. Find verses that combat the lies Satan feeds us with the truths that we can strongly stand on. Find a close Christian mentor that we can confide in to pray over us with whatever we are going through. God's truths always give me a peace that no one else can give and has a way of drowning out those doubts and insecurities that come with tough situations in life.
I know that there is a lot of hurts and doubts now and even to come with the economy the way it is, the health of our friends and family in question, or whatever circumstance you are going through right now. But God has big shoulders and we can lay those at the foot of the cross and give it all to him, asking him to carry it for us and give us the strength and guidance to push on. I pray that you push to push on with God carrying you through it. And I hope that you will pray for me through my circumstance too. God Bless!
Monday, August 1, 2011
Shark Week
This week is one of my favorite weeks in the summertime. Shark Week on Discovery Channel is one of those things that reminds me of my childhood. My oldest brother always loved to watch Discovery during this week, and we would watch it together all the time. It was quality time with my brother, as we would act like sharks and "attack" each other and make voices for the characters in the shows. It is one of my fondest memories of my youth.
Justin also loves watching Shark Week with me, which has been a blessed continuance of some great memories. Last night, we were watching a series of some men tagging Great White Sharks in hopes to discover new and interesting facts about these creatures. One of the sharks that they tagged was actually pregnant, and the researchers were hoping they can gain some more information about where these species go to give birth. I can't help but think there are so many things about many different species (some may still be undiscovered even) that we have yet to witness. It reminds me a lot of a book that I am reading right now called Crazy Love (by Francis Chan). The very first chapter is so convicting because it calls us to stop praying and just marvel at the creation of God. Francis Chan points out that a wise man comes to God without saying a word and stands in awe of him.
Did you know that there are 228 seperate and distinct muscles in a catepillar's head? Did you know that the average elm tree has about 6 million leaves on it? What about the fact that your own heart generates enough pressure to pump blood through your own body to shoot blood up to 30 feet? These are all amazing facts that Francis Chan brings up in his book.
If we could just take a step back and see the creativity and wonders that God has carefully and purposefully chosen for each and every thing in this world, we would be speechless. Since I started this book, I constantly am thinking about why things work the way they do and marvel at the fact that God purposed those things to operate just that way. It's wild really. Psalm 19: 1-4 reads, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour fourth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world."
Take a moment with me tonight. Instead of pouring out words to our Lord tonight, just marvel in his creativity and purposefulness of the wonders around you.
Justin also loves watching Shark Week with me, which has been a blessed continuance of some great memories. Last night, we were watching a series of some men tagging Great White Sharks in hopes to discover new and interesting facts about these creatures. One of the sharks that they tagged was actually pregnant, and the researchers were hoping they can gain some more information about where these species go to give birth. I can't help but think there are so many things about many different species (some may still be undiscovered even) that we have yet to witness. It reminds me a lot of a book that I am reading right now called Crazy Love (by Francis Chan). The very first chapter is so convicting because it calls us to stop praying and just marvel at the creation of God. Francis Chan points out that a wise man comes to God without saying a word and stands in awe of him.
Did you know that there are 228 seperate and distinct muscles in a catepillar's head? Did you know that the average elm tree has about 6 million leaves on it? What about the fact that your own heart generates enough pressure to pump blood through your own body to shoot blood up to 30 feet? These are all amazing facts that Francis Chan brings up in his book.
If we could just take a step back and see the creativity and wonders that God has carefully and purposefully chosen for each and every thing in this world, we would be speechless. Since I started this book, I constantly am thinking about why things work the way they do and marvel at the fact that God purposed those things to operate just that way. It's wild really. Psalm 19: 1-4 reads, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour fourth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world."
Take a moment with me tonight. Instead of pouring out words to our Lord tonight, just marvel in his creativity and purposefulness of the wonders around you.
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