right time for everything

Ecclesiastes 3:1 - 8

¹ There's an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth: ^{2 -8} A right time for birth and another for death, A right time to plant and another to reap, A right time to kill and another to heal, A right time to destroy and another to construct, A right time to cry and another to laugh, A right time to lament and another to cheer, A right time to make love and another to abstain, A right time to embrace and another to part, A right time to search and another to count your losses, A right time to hold on and another to let go, A right time to rip out and another to mend, A right time to shut up and another to speak up, A right time to love and another to hate, A right time to wage war and another to make peace.

timing is everything. for me, i tend to be very impatient and i want things to happen right away. i'm learning to go with God's timing. it isn't about when i want things but when God wants things to happen. i'm also learning to be more open. to try things out. last night, i attempted to put myself out there and realized that as good as something may seem on paper doesnt mean its right. i'm not rushing what God is doing. instead i'm stopping to enjoy the view and wait for his timing and not my own. i don't know what is ahead and i'm over racing to try to figure it out. he is letting it unfold day by day and i'm excited to see what is still to come

why me??

2 Corinthians 4:16-18
That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are quite small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever! So we don't look at the troubles we can see right now; rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever.

This weekend for me was a rough weekend. Through that I had a moment of doubt, I let the devil get in my head and question why I'm doing what I'm doing. I doubted that I was good enough to be the band leader. At that moment I didn't see past my failures and forward to what God was about to do. We had 60 students at Sawgrass this weekend and 5 of them were baptized. That's awesome!!! Even through what I saw as my failure, God succeeded. I was challenged to look, think and pray about being relentless. I looked it up and found this definition - steady and persistent, never ceasing. NEVER CEASING! That's how I want to live for Christ in all that I do. At home, at church, in TheRush. I want to NEVER cease. To be unstoppable (as Scotty K would say). I want the band to grow together and become a united front. For them to join as a team. The verse 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 really got me yesterday as I was in my rut. I don't want to give up. I may have some troubles right now but there are joys to come. God has me where I am at for a reason and although I may not understand why, I'm going to keep doing the best job I can do and know that he will use his power to make things perfect in my weakness.

love is...

love is patient and kind. love is not jealous or boastful or proud. love does not demand its own way. love is not irritable and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. it is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. love will last forever.  -1 corinthians 13

tonight as i got to spend some quality time with my sister, we randomly started talking about relationships. the type of guy we wanted, past relationships. that sorta stuff. well as she's now off to bed i started thinking and began reading 1 corinthians. love, relationships, friendships, random strangers. how do i "love" on a daily basis? talking with her also got me thinking about the type of guy i want when i eventually get into a relationship. so here ya go...

MY STANDARDS

above all, he must be a christian. i want a guy who is a spiritual leader. who will help me to grow stronger in my walk rather than bring me down.

a friend. i want someone who isn't just a guy i like but also my best friend. jenn miller always said that before you get in a relationship with someone you need to be their friend.

confident/independent. i want a guy who is confident in what he believes and independent enough to stick up for it and not follow the crowd.

communication. someone who will listen to me and able to talk with me through the good times and the bad.

kind and compassionate. is kind not just to me but to others and shows compassion

laughter factor. someone who can make me laugh. and laughs along with me, even at my stupid corny jokes

easy-going but not a pushover. someone who can deal with me even in my bad mood and can help me to not treat others like a doormat

r-e-s-p-e-c-t. someone who respects me and my opinion. while we may not agree on everything he respects me enough to hear what i have to say.

family matters. i want a guy who can get along with my crazy wack-a-doo family. to be able to talk with my parents and hang with my sis. 

these are some of the standards i want in a guy. now i also was thinking about the kind of person i want to be. here's some things i came up with:

genuine

kind

an example to others

passionate for Christ

trustworthy

honest

joyful

loving 

unique

independent

sticks to my morals

i want to be the kind of person who is true to herself and isn't defined by those around me. i want to be the woman God has created me, confident in myself. i don't want to be another fad but instead a lasting creation. i want to be one-of-a-kind the way God intended me to be. i want Him to be proud of who i am.

now back to the verse, what is love? am i being an example of love? am i patient and kind, never losing faith? i want to show love but i think i have let it be on my terms rather than how God wants me to love. i pray that i can love the way Christ does, unconditionally. 

how do you "love"?