Bloom where you are planted

Bloom where you are planted...that's been my conviction of the day. The honest truth is, I haven't been blooming lately...I've given up and decided that I want to be somewhere else.

That's a terrible thing...I expect God to pick up and bless me with something new, when here I am having a bad attitude and expecting to be rewarded.

Tonight I was flipping channels on cable and I came across "Facing the Giants" of all shows. And I knew that this was God's way of speaking to me. He had a lesson that he wanted me to learn tonight...and I'm listening. Don't give up, and BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED!!!

Right now, I'm planted in Chicago...thus I must make the most of it. If I cannot bloom and flourish here, what makes me think that a new bit of scenery will change anything. It's not about my surroundings, it's about my heart. And I've got to make sure that my heart is for the Lord, all the rest will come in God's due time.

Footprints

"It was then that I carried you".......

Footprints

One night a man had a dream.

He dreamed he was walking along the beach

with the LORD.

Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.

For each scene he noticed two sets of footprints in the

sand: one belonging to him, and the other to the LORD.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he
looked back at the footprints in the sand.

He noticed that many times along the path of his life

there was only one set of footprints.

He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest

and saddest times in his life.

This really bothered him and he questioned the
LORD about it:

"LORD, you said that once I decided to

follow you, you'd walk with me all the way. But

I have noticed that during the most troublesome

times in my life, there is only one set of footprints.

I don't understand why when I needed you most you

would leave me."

"The LORD replied:

"My son, my precious child, I love you and I would never

leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when

you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."

Written by Mary Stevenson

Why I hate newspapers....

Ok, I'm as polite as the next person, but I draw the line if you have something on your face. I refuse to let anyone in my vicinity walk around looking like a goon because I was too "polite" to tell them they had broccoli in their teeth or a big black smudge on their face.

Today, I started my morning off reading the paper...I don't always read the paper, I usually have no extra time in the morning. But today, I had a few extra minutes to grab a paper and read it with my morning coffee. Apparently while reading said newspaper my fingers were coated in that lovely black ink that all newspapers leave behind.

At noon today...NOON!!!! I was talking to a friend down the hall from my office and she said, "Oh Regina, did you know you have a large black mark on your nose?" Did I know I had a large black mark on my nose??...NO, I did not know that. Do I know when I got said black mark on my nose??...YES! I got said mark at 7:00 AM this morning....FIVE HOURS before my nice friend brought it to my attention!!

So the moral of this story, PLEASE don't be polite....TELL a sister if she's got something ON her face, IN her teeth, or even IN her nose...she'll thank you later...I Promise!!

Summer-itus and Uncertainties

WOW! Do you ever look back at certain points in your life and say to yourself, "is this it?" "Is this all I'm ever going to do, all I'm ever going to be?" That's where I am right now. I've reached a wall in my career.... basically, I've decided that this is NOT the career that I want. This is not the job that I want to be doing for the rest of my life. BUT, now what do I do??

There in lies the ultimate question. I'm unsettled, I'm uncertain of my future, and I'm done. But again, what do I do now?? And the answer is, PRAY!!!.... PRAY A LOT!!! For the past year I've felt as if God was moving, leading me toward something. I've felt Him working and I've known that a big change was coming, but I wasn't exactly sure what that change would be. I'm still not certain of the change, but I do know this....I've got some large decisions to make.

First and foremost, what do I want to do?? If I don't want to do what I'm doing, what is it that truly strikes my fancy, floats my boat, makes me kick my heels together in glee?? And right now, I honestly don't know the answer to that question. I'm praying and asking God to lead me to it. Because I've got to tell you, I'm completely at a loss.

And secondly, where do I want to be?? And by this, I mean do I really want to stay in Chicago?? I've made a life for myself here, but I don't think this is really where I want to BE to STAY.... Where I want to spend the rest of my life. So then, where do I want to BE?? Where would I be most happy and settled?? That's another question for God. I have a few ideas, but they all seem so far fetched. I'm simply praying and asking God for His direction, for His peace, for His strength to continue the search. I'm open to whatever he holds in store for me. I'm willing to go where He leads me, I'm just in need of His direction.

If possible, I'd prefer the whole lightening bolt in the sky approach, but I'll settle for anything.

So please pray for me. Please pray that God continues to work and continues to direct my life. And please pray that I will have the strength to follow where He leads.

True Love

While in Wigan a few weeks back, I was fortunate enough to attend a wedding. At this wedding, they read a beautiful poem that I would like to share. We're not exactly sure who wrote said poem, but that doesn't really matter...it's the words that count.

-- True Love --

True love is a precious flame
That burns perpetually
And none can dim its special glow
Or change its density

True love speaks in tender tones
And hearts with gentle ear
True love gives with open heart
And true love conquers fear.

True love makes no harsh demands
It neither rules nor binds
And true love holds with gentle hands
The heart that it entwines.

Author Unknown


Oh that we would all be so fortunate to find that one "true love" some day.

Distance

Have you ever felt shy with God?? You get on your knees to pray and it crosses your mind, "I wonder what He's going to say, what He's going to do when I tell Him this?"

Or your'e simply too shy to even get on your knees with Him in the first place. You feel as if you can't tell Him something for fear that He won't answer you.... or for fear that He will. Sometimes it seems easier to hold on to something so that you don't have to trust the Lord with it. You feel that if you're holding on to it, you don't have to wonder what God is going to say or do.

You've got it all wrapped up nice and tight....and it begins to FESTER. This thing you're holding on to begins to sour the rest of your relationship with God. By not giving Him this ONE thing, you've infected the rest of your spiritual walk. And it begins to grow.... if you're not careful, you soon have a malignancy that is slowly killing off the rest of your faith.

I know, because this has been my recent struggle. I've been shy of going to the Lord on my own behalf. I'm great when praying for others, and I truly trust that the Lord will be there. But when praying for myself, I've been empty.

And I can feel this lack of communication, it affects the whole rest of my walk. I can feel my attitude slipping, my heart gets a tiny bit harder.... And it's all just little things that could be attributed to having a bad day or stress. But the truth of the matter is that this is being caused because I'm not communing with God, I'm not talking to Him. I've closed our line of communication and by doing so, I've let fear and doubt take over. And we all know that these are NOT from God.

So I'm trying, I'm trying to talk to the Lord. It's still difficult, but slowly and surely I know that I will make my way back to that closeness I felt just a short time ago.

The crazy part is, He's there waiting for me, urging me to come to Him and give Him this burden that I carry. I know this!!.... it's just difficult sometimes to trust.