Saturday, February 21, 2009

Hi! I hope you had a wonderful week :)
Well i'm just going to jump in and start writing...
In John 14:23-26 Jesus says to his disciples, '..If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. he who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the father who sent me. all this i have spoken while still with you. but the counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything i have said to you. Peace I leave with you, my peace i give you. I do not give you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
I love this scripture, because it holds such deep truth and comfort for believers. We can rest assured knowing God has given us His spirit. Now just stop and think about this for a minute with me. Each of us has a spirit, the part where our inner most thoughts are. I like to think of it as the secret part of us.
God has given us HIS SPIRIT, the secret part of Him! How great a gift...
God didn't only give us the ultimate gift, (Jesus' death on the Cross) He also blessed our hearts with Himself. What does his spirit even do? According to John 14:15 the Holy Spirit-God's spirit is The Counselor and the spirit of truth. His spirit is given to those who accept Him, and from that point on He is transforming that believer to be like Him.
As i study the Bible i am being transformed with new ideas and challenges. I am so imperfect and desperate for a Savior!
I just started my first in depth Bible study in the book of Esther. I have never picked apart a book of the Bible this way before. This week i was absorbed in the teachings of this book. God is NEVER mentioned in the entire book, but His hand in the story is so evident. What a thought...in our lives God plays the main role and sometimes we don't even realize.
My next thought is this; So much of my life i spent as a christian because of what God did. I went to church, stayed happy, read my bible on occasion, prayed here and there, i knew people looked up to me and i felt pretty good about myself. Something was missing though, there was this huge ache and longing for something more, and this bothered me beyond belief!
Soon i began to kind of sit comfortably where i was, the confusion was too much to deal with so i let my heart go. Please don't give in ever dear friend! The pain after sin is so much greater then the pain of a confused heart! Marriage didn't satisfy the void i felt and i began to pity myself in the pit i slipped into. It was in a grocery store cafe when i realized my life was pitiful and depressing. I was so ruined and lost. I knew that no one would ever look at me the way i was as something wonderful. I could have cried my eyes out right there!
A few events occured that encouraged me to get out of my pit, and fast! I started hearing God's voice loud and clear and i was stunned. He started revealing Himself in ways only a humbled person would hear. I got down on my knees and let Him speak truth into my broken heart.
I found this new truth, My faith was based on what God did, but it needed to be on Who He Was! I jumped into the Bible and began studying who He was, i began praying to Him. My thoughts were consumed with thoughts of Jesus. His death on the cross became more real to me. I cried out to him from the deepest part of my heart repenting. I had wronged Him in more ways then i'd like to admit.
I was never able to love well because i didn't know what love was. Oh beloved friend! His love is unconditional. I failed Him horribly and he should have cast me away, but He didn't, He pulled me out of my pit and showed me love. The Bible is filled with stories where someone deserved the worst, but God kept loving.
"I'm waiting, waiting on you lord, and i am hopeful, i'm waiting on you lord though it is painful, but patiently i will wait. and i will move ahead bold and confident taking every step in obedience...while i'm waiting" This song by john waller paints the picture where i believe many of us need to be.
It is a true test of our faithfulness to God when satan takes a blow to our knees. I'd say i've had my fair share of those! We have to be willing to look to God's face still. We live in an evil world but having a hope in Christ makes a huge difference. This love for God is incredible but it's not enough for me, i need others to know what God is offering them. I need you to realize this God isn't for neat perfect people, he is for messy people like me.
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Thank you for letting me share with you! I know that was a little crazy and random but i hope it made some sense! have a great saturday :)
<3laura

Monday, February 16, 2009

<3


Hello friends!
What a great weekend! Darren and I had a wonderful time friday night with our friends eating chinese and then some coldstone! Isn't it great to be able to have friendships? We really do need people along this journey.
Saturday my sweet husband hid a special gift in the cooler in the closet. I had to climb the step ladder to reach it but the treasure was perfect! It was a beautiful necalace, he said 'laura this isn't some cheep jewelry from Jc penney, it's from the same place i bought your ring.' I love my man!
I was able to do a little shopping saturday at kohls, it's truely a dangerous zone for myself because i'm capable of racking up a big spending bill. I think i did farely well and came away with some great purchases. Looking forward to going back again, hopefully soon! That night Darren and I went to dinner and then rented a couple movies, one being nights in rodanthe, i love that movie :)
Sunday I woke up and went to church, it was an amazing time of worship, and teaching from the Bible. I'm so looking forward to this friday night for their fireproof movie night!
Today the bank was closed for president's day, so i was able to relax and hang out all day. I went to our women's bible study, it was an incredible teaching, about the book of esther. It was a great night and i'm glad i was able to jump in and talk with a few sweet ladies there. I'm looking forward to next week!
Have a good day tomorrow :)
~Laura Moore

Friday, February 13, 2009

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I was driving home and the song that was playing was about how sometimes God shakes things up and it's a bit chaotic. I thought, 'wow, lord that sounds very familiar'.
Living in the hardest hit town in the U.S. has been depressing. Especially working at a bank and facing people who are so lost now that they've lost their jobs and don't really know how they're going to pay the bills. Darren and I are in a similar boat but he's found another job for the time being. (In april we'll find out if he was accepted as an officer in the Air force). It's scary not knowing what route things will take to get better, or if everyone's situation will get better.
As I've been studying in my bible the life of David, i've realized that he's one of my favorite characters in the bible, even in the midst of hectic situations he trusts God's hand and follows. In this world's loss i'm trying my best to trust that God is aware of everything, and who knows maybe this is a result of sin, or just life, either way God hasn't failed and He will be glorified through this bad time.
At work i read up on the news a little too much and i've come to a crossroad, i can either look at the bad and say this world is hopeless and it's too messy, or i can look to my amazing Savior and say, His death for us was big and he saved..and i've been blessed to know the good news and share it with the friends and family around me.
I grow more and more everyday and learn a little bit more about myself. I hate finding myself in the midst of confusion and doubt, but i'm thankful that the Lord allows us to be in these places, because it's the questions i have that ultimately pull me closer to His heart, and the wisdom from reading the word is a great thing!
I've never disliked a president so much, and it hit me the need to pray for Him. I was reminded that in the book of 1 samuel david had multiple oppertunites to take the life of his king (Saul) but he wouldn't because he said God appointed Him, and He'd be the one to remove him. That was huge for me because I was reminded by God that He allowed Barack Obama to be the president and He needed my prayers.
Frustrated as i was I kept wondering why America was given a president that rooted on 'It's all about you!' I think that's the heart of this country though, selfishness. It's breaking my heart to see the many groups like abortion groups, seperation of church and state groups, gay-marriage, etc, grow louder and louder as they fight for their freedom to do as they please. And now there is a president that supports them. I never believed the path i follow was going to be an easy one and that there'd be a ton of people along the road, but the future on this planet looks a little dim for christians. I think i'm ok with that because it never was easy for Jesus as He walked this world.
There has always been sin that marks back to adam and eve, it's no new thing to God, and it's in myself as well. I just look forward to the Day Jesus returns and completes all He said He would do. There's coming a day when we'll all stand before Him and give an account of our lives and i think we'll be a little surprised. I know a lot of my thoughts and ideas are immature and i'm sure i'll grow out of some of my 'crazy thinking' but i know i'll never lose this love for Christ that drives me to pursue deeper thoughts.
Well on a lighter note! i'm going to hobby lobby because it's 50% off and i'm going to enjoy my long weekend! Darren and I are having dinner with two friends tonight so that should be fun :) I hope you have a great night! Stay warm, it's suppose to snow :0 can you believe it was so warm and beautiful this week? I was very happy!
<3laura>