Thursday, August 26, 2010
Balance vs Change
What are your priorities? How do you balance a busy lifestyle? More importantly, how do you adapt to the curve balls God throws you?
I'll respond this weekend with an update of the wedding plans to date! Love you all!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
The God Chisel
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Reflecting God's Glory
Reflecting His Glory
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1, by Os Hillman
08-11-2010
"They will tell of the glory of Your kingdom and speak of Your might, so that all men may know of Your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of Your kingdom." Psalm 145:11-12
How do you measure your effectiveness in God, or should you even be thinking like this? The early Church turned the world upside down in that first century. What made them so effective? Was it their theology? Was it great preaching? Was it due to one man's influence apart from Jesus?
The Scriptures are clear as to what made the early Church effective. It is at the core of God's heart, and it is quite simple. God desires to reflect His nature and power through every individual. When this happens, the world is automatically changed because those who reflect His glory affect the world.
We serve a jealous God. He is a God who will not share His glory with anyone. God sets up situations in order to demonstrate His power through them. He has done this since the day He created man. His desire is to reflect His glory through you and me, so that all men may know of His mighty acts and the glorious splendor of His Kingdom. The apostle Paul understood this principle: "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power" (1 Cor. 2:4-5). If you do not see His glory being reflected through your life, then you need to ask why. He has promised to do so if we will walk in obedience to His commands.
Today God Is First (TGIF) devotional message, Copyright by Os Hillman, Marketplace Leaders.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
Our Story-Part 2
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
- Our story
- Our ministry/Kevin's wisdom gleaned in our relationship
- More Wisdom, Conclusion and Recap
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
The Wedding Dress:
So yesterday I went dress shopping. It was the single most stressful event surprisingly. Not because the people I took made it stressful. In fact, they were a great crowd, very anti- "say yes to the dress" if you know what I mean. Instead they were kind and loving but I still left extremely disappointed. Dress shopping opened the door to an extreme amount of insecurity in me. I realized that the dresses I loved were overly simple. Meaning, so simple, I would look underdressed for my own affair. Why you might ask? Because that's all I'm comfortable in. I tried on one dress that everyone loved, and I, well, didn't hate but didn't love either. It was a princess type of gown, a-line. While I loved the embellishments, the fit was so not me.
I left that day with a better idea in mind at what I wanted, and a very stark contrast to what God expected. Do I say this to mean that God expects me to be more outlandish? No. But He's been really stretching me with this wedding. This thing is extravagant! As something that is expressing God's love should rightfully be, but its more than I can imagine, and even worse, feel I deserve. I trust God to bring His vision to pass, but honestly, I just feel like a small town girl and that a small town wedding is all I deserve. I've never pictured myself in white, because that was reserved for true virgins in my mind, which reveals my lack of belief that I have really been purified in the blood of Christ. Somewhere in the back on my mind that thought doesn't override what I've always believed. My dad took one look at that dress and said I looked like a princess, and unlike the other dresses, I didn't just blend in with everyone else. He said it looked like it was my day, and I was the bride. My mom almost cried, my sister wouldn't let the train go (she's my maid of honor) and then promptly told me nothing else would look as good as that one. But how do I pick out a dress that screams "its all about me!" when I've centered not only this wedding but my life around Christ being glorified, and serving His people. I mean, I picked out my bridesmaid dresses first, and discovered that the wedding dresses I liked the most put me as just another person on that day.
I left so disappointed with myself for not liking the dress everyone loved, and moreso I think because it donned on me that I don't feel I deserve it. I don't want to be a princess I want to be me, the same ole Brittany, who puts everyone else before herself, and Christ first, no matter what the cost. But where is the balance? I am so conflicted and perplexed on the inside that I honestly don't know how to express it all. What do you mean it's what I want? Huh? Smch…clearly not, because God is trying to elevate me to a level I don't feel I deserve, or ought to accept. It's almost like I don't know how to operate like this. So, to pick a wedding dress is almost like to pick an identity where I get to say, its ok to not be mediocre and settle, and that God desires to bless me with more (even if I don't deserve it). I'm stuck in the mentality, who am I to be chosen to be loved like this? What does this mean to me?
So, the search continues for not only my dress, but for who God really wants me to be? Can I say like Ruth and do what Esther was anointed to do, just because I'm comfortable that way? Or is it time for my period of purification for a lifestyle elevation, just because it's God's plan to bless me to be a blessing? Can I accept it and get there? Only more time with the Father will tell.