So one question: What is faith?
I’m talking about REAL faith…Honestly I just recently got a better understanding.
My husband and I have been traveling lately because of the holidays and it seems like every time we set out to go visit family or take more than an hour drive some place it sets something off in my mind to start thinking. Anyone that knows me knows I like silence + deep thinking + staring out the window lost in my thoughts= my cup of tea : )
On our most recent road trip it was a little different. Stephen played his favorite Hillsong CD and it took just one song to realize how I viewed faith. I can’t remember the exact song right now, but what I do know is the song had nothing to do with the word faith as a matter of fact didn’t even mention it; yet, that’s the message I received. You see sometimes when we speak words or rather I prefer to say “when we speak life” we don’t even realize that those words are literally capable of transforming minds & hearts internally. Our words are SO important. Our words have power to influence both negatively or positively. The things we speak- matter. The things we think- make a difference! What you think is what you say and the more you say something-the more you believe it.
Going back to my road trip, the song, and my thoughts…I started thinking while the song played “wow there really are times I think I have faith, but do I really believe it?” I literally sat in silence with my eyes full of tears because I knew God was showing me my lack of faith in certain areas. At times maybe we think we have faith, but faith is only a word when there is no belief to make it real. We can think a million positive things, but ever notice how it takes one negative comment to kill our positive thinking? One example off the top of my head: A couple years back I was going in to take one of my teaching certification exams, and as I was driving I was thinking “ok I’m going to pass this test I can do it!” But during the test I actually said out loud “man this stinks I dunno if I’ll pass” My “faith-like thinking” didn’t matter because what I actually spoke is what I really believed. And guess what? It became my reality and I did not pass. I missed it by ONE point. God has a sense of humor, but I did end up passing the second time : )
There are soo many scriptures in reference to what we speak. I 100% believe in positive thinking, but more importantly what I have learned is my words matter more than I understood. They have power. They influence my BELIEF which supports my faith….But sometimes I agree that our belief is challenged often. Maybe sometimes we can’t see a certain situation bettering itself, we can’t see a change in a person we’ve been praying for, we can’t see things looking up for us financially, everything is stagnate, and soo many other things, but I understand that having faith & believing is really not about what we CAN see, and thank the Lord He so graciously prepared us with scripture to sustain us during those challenging times…
“We live by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7
But in order to have “that” faith and be able to dismiss our sights, (aka challenges) we have to honestly examine ourselves….
What do we think about? What words do we speak out loud? End result what do we really believe?
So..one question: do you have real faith?
With love & prayer,
Est
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Cherish Life's Moments
This past Sunday after church my hubby was so kind and took me to one of my favorite places to eat: On the Border. On our drive home I got to thinking about moments. Moments like the one we just had; where all we did was just sit and enjoy the company of one another as a family. I realized that it’s moments like that, that I crave. Moments that so often get overlooked or are never shared. I spend half my day thinking about others and wanting moments with them. I don’t say this with some sort of ego as if I’m some great person because of it; really what haunts me is the realization of death. Knowing that my day isn’t promised or the day of people I love isn’t a guarantee causes me to be mindful that our time is limited here on earth. And though it is true that once we leave this place we will reunite one day in heaven our focus then won’t be on sharing these moments that we get to enjoy now…
So, yes I am a little mushy, yes I can be beyond affectionate, a tad clingy, a bit expressive, and at times because of it I get in trouble but I simply can not help it. Some people may see it as a weakness, and because of the person I am little things possibly affect me more than they should, or eat at me when things aren’t right…but even if it is a weakness it’s worth being weak at those moments, because I never want to think-- I could of, should have, but didn’t. I’d rather try and try and try then quit.
Life to me may not mean what life means to others, but knowing it could be my last day or their last day, it really puts into perceptive “how do I want to live this day?” “Who do I want to live this day for?” Life to me is all wrapped around one word—Love. I try and make a personal choice to live each day not for myself but rather to love others and only then do I feel like I’m really living. There are several people that I have met that have said their only purpose in life is to make a lot of money, get promoted, reach the top, never marry or have children because they do not want responsibilities etc and while all that may be great for them, I sat and thought about those things and, they just could never be any of my goals.
I get weird looks sometimes when I tell people “I don’t have a lay out of plans for the future” and it’s funny because the reply never fails “so you don’t know what you want to do in life?” There are things I do desire and think about obviously because I am a parent and want to provide, but I guess I do not feel comfortable consuming myself with thoughts about the future when I don’t even know that I’ll see that day. All I know is what I have in front of me today…
IF God allows me to one day I would like to open a learning center for children. I may never make a million dollars, receive an award, make the news headlines, or have a fancy title; I simply just want to live a life full of moments I cherish with people I love: my family, my friends, children, the homeless, the elderly, people that are lost looking for some sort of hope in this life and people I have yet to meet. That’s it. That’s all I want. I sometimes ask myself if maybe there is something wrong with me, maybe I should be more driven?
...but something inside me just doesn’t allow me to live beyond today…
So what’s the point of my blog? Partially I just like writing down my thoughts, but also I’d like to give a friendly reminder to all my readers that even though this life is hectic and at times it can be easy to get swallowed in its busy schedule; I encourage everyone to take time out of their day to share moments with special people, give a friendly smile to someone in need, extend a helping hand, send a text or call just to say “I’m thinking about you” or “hope all is well” because those you love and those around you may be here today, but certainly not forever..
So...cherish life's moments.
“A friend loves at all times” Proverbs 17:17
With Love,
Est
So, yes I am a little mushy, yes I can be beyond affectionate, a tad clingy, a bit expressive, and at times because of it I get in trouble but I simply can not help it. Some people may see it as a weakness, and because of the person I am little things possibly affect me more than they should, or eat at me when things aren’t right…but even if it is a weakness it’s worth being weak at those moments, because I never want to think-- I could of, should have, but didn’t. I’d rather try and try and try then quit.
Life to me may not mean what life means to others, but knowing it could be my last day or their last day, it really puts into perceptive “how do I want to live this day?” “Who do I want to live this day for?” Life to me is all wrapped around one word—Love. I try and make a personal choice to live each day not for myself but rather to love others and only then do I feel like I’m really living. There are several people that I have met that have said their only purpose in life is to make a lot of money, get promoted, reach the top, never marry or have children because they do not want responsibilities etc and while all that may be great for them, I sat and thought about those things and, they just could never be any of my goals.
I get weird looks sometimes when I tell people “I don’t have a lay out of plans for the future” and it’s funny because the reply never fails “so you don’t know what you want to do in life?” There are things I do desire and think about obviously because I am a parent and want to provide, but I guess I do not feel comfortable consuming myself with thoughts about the future when I don’t even know that I’ll see that day. All I know is what I have in front of me today…
IF God allows me to one day I would like to open a learning center for children. I may never make a million dollars, receive an award, make the news headlines, or have a fancy title; I simply just want to live a life full of moments I cherish with people I love: my family, my friends, children, the homeless, the elderly, people that are lost looking for some sort of hope in this life and people I have yet to meet. That’s it. That’s all I want. I sometimes ask myself if maybe there is something wrong with me, maybe I should be more driven?
...but something inside me just doesn’t allow me to live beyond today…
So what’s the point of my blog? Partially I just like writing down my thoughts, but also I’d like to give a friendly reminder to all my readers that even though this life is hectic and at times it can be easy to get swallowed in its busy schedule; I encourage everyone to take time out of their day to share moments with special people, give a friendly smile to someone in need, extend a helping hand, send a text or call just to say “I’m thinking about you” or “hope all is well” because those you love and those around you may be here today, but certainly not forever..
So...cherish life's moments.
“A friend loves at all times” Proverbs 17:17
With Love,
Est
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Interesting, Ears--They do more than hear
Have you ever been so caught up in life that you inadvertently get off track on your regular devotion routine, regular prayer schedule or time spent with the Lord? That definitely happened to me these last couple weeks. Preparing for my trip back home had me so excited I couldn’t think about anything, but packing and planning. I said my prayers and read as much as I could, but I hadn’t been as dedicated as I usually am. Anyway, while I was home from about 6 am to 11 pm my day was scheduled and I was go go go-- with that being said it left me little time to get any one on one with God. No excuses totally my fault.
The Monday after my week long vacation came and I woke up extremely dizzy. I had never experienced such dizziness in a very long time if even ever; I showered, ate breakfast, drank water, and took my time getting dressed but nothing I was still dizzy. I worked through an 8 hour shift and nothing. Later on that afternoon I was on my way home from work I decided to get back to my usual routine of tuning into my Christian music radio station to hear some of God’s word and kind of unwind from the day. I have a bit of a drive from work to my home so I was able to hear a good testimony and a few great songs that really pulled at my heart strings…but then something interesting happened..I noticed I started to become less dizzy with every lyric I heard, with every word I sang, my dizziness grew more and more faint…then right there smack in the middle of my drive and in the middle of my worship I felt like the Lord visually showed me picture. It was a picture of an ear.
Yes, you read it right an ear. You know how when you look at something for a while then close your eyes you can kind of still see it? Well, that is kind of what it was like.
I didn’t understand why I had a picture of an ear in my mind until later when I was lead to research what an ears function is. #1- Ears do more than hear. They keep you balanced. According to my research in the inner ear, there are three small loops above the cochlea called semicircular canals. Like the cochlea, they are also filled with liquid and have thousands of microscopic hairs.
When you move your head; the liquid in the semicircular canals moves, too. The liquid moves the tiny hairs, which send a nerve message to your brain about the position of your head. In less than a second, your brain sends messages to the right muscles so that you keep your balance.
Sometimes the liquid in your semicircular canals keeps moving after you've stopped moving. To understand this better, think of filling a cup halfway with water. Now when you move the cup around in a circle in front of you and then stop you’ll notice how the water keeps swishing around, even after the cup is still. That's what happens in your semicircular canals when you spin in circles or go on a ride at an amusement park.
When you stop spinning or step off a ride, the fluid in your semicircular canals is still moving. The hairs inside the canals are sensing movement even though you're standing still. That's why you can become dizzy, become unbalanced. Once the fluid in your ear stops moving, your brain gets the right message and you regain your balance….so what was God telling me?
I figured out that He used my physical dizziness to show me just how spiritually dizzy and spiritually unbalanced I was…I was so busy going in circles from here to there and everywhere, that I had an unbalanced agenda. I was completely off my schedule of devotionals, prayer time, bible studying and because I did not stop in my tracks to hear from Him… I got dizzy in my spiritual world ha, amazing. Now that I’ve let my world settle and opened my ears back up to hear from Him, I realize the significance of why God showed me just a picture--He didn’t speak, He didn’t correct me right then, He simply placed a picture of an ear in my mind and now I understand what He wanted me to know…
He wanted me to know that our ears, even though they are such a small piece of our bodies, they can really make a difference in how we feel. My 2 weeks off preparing for vacation and being on vacation you would think, such a small amount of time away from Him in comparison to the time I’ve been devoted, but it makes all the difference in how I feel…God wants us committed everyday, no breaks even when on vacation : ) and I’m ok with that because otherwise my world is hectic and so unbalanced. I never would have thought that I would be learning a spiritual lesson on ears, but they were really meant to do more than just hear…they are what keeps us balanced physically and more important spiritually. Always keep your ears open to hearing God’s word in anyway you can because I first hand know it's what brings balance to our lives..what’s funny is I’ll never look at Romans 10:17 the same…
“So faithbalance comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ”
I get it now.
The Monday after my week long vacation came and I woke up extremely dizzy. I had never experienced such dizziness in a very long time if even ever; I showered, ate breakfast, drank water, and took my time getting dressed but nothing I was still dizzy. I worked through an 8 hour shift and nothing. Later on that afternoon I was on my way home from work I decided to get back to my usual routine of tuning into my Christian music radio station to hear some of God’s word and kind of unwind from the day. I have a bit of a drive from work to my home so I was able to hear a good testimony and a few great songs that really pulled at my heart strings…but then something interesting happened..I noticed I started to become less dizzy with every lyric I heard, with every word I sang, my dizziness grew more and more faint…then right there smack in the middle of my drive and in the middle of my worship I felt like the Lord visually showed me picture. It was a picture of an ear.
Yes, you read it right an ear. You know how when you look at something for a while then close your eyes you can kind of still see it? Well, that is kind of what it was like.
I didn’t understand why I had a picture of an ear in my mind until later when I was lead to research what an ears function is. #1- Ears do more than hear. They keep you balanced. According to my research in the inner ear, there are three small loops above the cochlea called semicircular canals. Like the cochlea, they are also filled with liquid and have thousands of microscopic hairs.
When you move your head; the liquid in the semicircular canals moves, too. The liquid moves the tiny hairs, which send a nerve message to your brain about the position of your head. In less than a second, your brain sends messages to the right muscles so that you keep your balance.
Sometimes the liquid in your semicircular canals keeps moving after you've stopped moving. To understand this better, think of filling a cup halfway with water. Now when you move the cup around in a circle in front of you and then stop you’ll notice how the water keeps swishing around, even after the cup is still. That's what happens in your semicircular canals when you spin in circles or go on a ride at an amusement park.
When you stop spinning or step off a ride, the fluid in your semicircular canals is still moving. The hairs inside the canals are sensing movement even though you're standing still. That's why you can become dizzy, become unbalanced. Once the fluid in your ear stops moving, your brain gets the right message and you regain your balance….so what was God telling me?
I figured out that He used my physical dizziness to show me just how spiritually dizzy and spiritually unbalanced I was…I was so busy going in circles from here to there and everywhere, that I had an unbalanced agenda. I was completely off my schedule of devotionals, prayer time, bible studying and because I did not stop in my tracks to hear from Him… I got dizzy in my spiritual world ha, amazing. Now that I’ve let my world settle and opened my ears back up to hear from Him, I realize the significance of why God showed me just a picture--He didn’t speak, He didn’t correct me right then, He simply placed a picture of an ear in my mind and now I understand what He wanted me to know…
He wanted me to know that our ears, even though they are such a small piece of our bodies, they can really make a difference in how we feel. My 2 weeks off preparing for vacation and being on vacation you would think, such a small amount of time away from Him in comparison to the time I’ve been devoted, but it makes all the difference in how I feel…God wants us committed everyday, no breaks even when on vacation : ) and I’m ok with that because otherwise my world is hectic and so unbalanced. I never would have thought that I would be learning a spiritual lesson on ears, but they were really meant to do more than just hear…they are what keeps us balanced physically and more important spiritually. Always keep your ears open to hearing God’s word in anyway you can because I first hand know it's what brings balance to our lives..what’s funny is I’ll never look at Romans 10:17 the same…
“So faith
I get it now.
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