~ God's 3 M's ~

These past few days have been so weird for me. It's like I was so out-of-sorts. Why? I wasn't doing anything I shouldn't be. Mental Checklist:

1. Repenting of a sin when God brings it to light. Check.
2. Meeting daily with Him and seeking to know Him. Check.
3. Praying. Check.
4. Telling Him what's bothering me. Check.

Well what the heck? Why do I feel so out of control, insecure, worried, and fearful. It's not even about me! To be honest, my fears rest in the salvation of those I know and love. For the past few weeks I've been praying and speaking with God about you guys (Casey and Marissah), Josalyn, and Josiah coming to know Christ and love Him with all your heart. And then the relationship that Danae, Mom and one of my close friends have with Him.

It is consuming so much of my thoughts, time, and energy. But that's ok right? God wants me to be concern for y'all. He wants me to "snatch" you guys "from the fire." I'm being a good girl by caring and then going to Him and pouring my heart out to Him about how it upsets me and praying He'll interveine and open the eyes of your hearts.

So what's the problem. Sitting with God today telling Him for the third day in a row that I feel out-of-sorts with Him, I decided to play Kutless. There song, All Who Are Thirsty, was on the Fish on the ride home and I love the line "deep cries out to deep" because it was one of the 1st spiritual conversations I had with Nathan before we were dating <3.

Basically Nate when home and researched it and found out that David was talking about the deepest part of him, knowing and talking with the deepest part of God. WOW. That's cool to me. So I asked God for that to happen with us.

You know what He showed me?

He showed me that I've been TELLING Him about my problems and concerns, but I haven't GIVEN them to Him. I haven't placed them in His willing, good, perfect hands. I haven't trusted Him to work and settle each one of these situations to His glory and our good. He IS working. He IS on my side. I'm not in this alone. I don't have to fix everything or talk God into joining my cause. He wants this MORE than I do.

& He wants for me to give this over to Him because He cares. About. Me.

So all that just to say I want you to know and do the same thing. God cares about you. Tell Him your problems and cares - no matter how small or dumb they are. How evil or selfish. Tell Him. Then give them over and trust Him with them. Tell Him if that scares you. Tell Him you're unsure and need His help. He'll always come through.

I. FEEL. SO. MUCH. BETTER. All the sudden it was like I could breathe again! Now I'm listening to a bunch of songs about breathing on Spotify. But seriously, He revives me. He gives life to my soul. He wakes me up and the suffocating stops. He takes my cares, makes them His own, and makes me feel better.

What a friendship!

The 1st M.

Songs:
Breathe into Me - Red
Breathe You In - Thousand Foot Krutch

Casey I think you'd really like them : )

I think I may be laying it on a bit thick - so this one is going to be short and happy ; D

This is my FAVORITE BIBLE VERSE EVER!!!

God is near you. He is mighty to save you from EVERYTHING. He is our hope, our shelter, our safety.

God DELIGHTS in you!! He is SoOoOo glad to have you around! Casey, God LOVES that you're here. Marissah, God is thrilled that you're alive!

God wants to quiet you, and calming you with His love. He wants to replace all your fears with His love.

Ok, this is my favorite part: God sings for us!! :D haha He sings OVER us. Happily! So next time you're down or hating life, think about how He's - or ask Him to - sing a song over you! He wants to. I am so grateful that He would do that for me. I feel so honored. So cherished. So welcomed. So wanted.

You guys are too. The King of Kings sings over YOU! Let that sink in. ; )

The 1st M,
Morgan

Acts is a really exciting book. It's written by Luke (who also wrote a gospel). Luke was a doctor, and wanted to write to his friend to tell him all he was learning about Jesus so that his friend would come to know Jesus too and be saved!

"From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth" - God made us from Adam. God's will for mankind is that we would populate the earth, take care of it, and have a deep friendship with Him. Makes me think of Dad's favorite Hymn: In the Garden "& He (Jesus) walks with me and He talks with me - and He tells me I am His own! And the joy we share as we tarry (take your time) there, none other has ever known."

"He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live." Did you catch that? WHOA! God choose exactly for Marissah to be born on February 20th, 1991 and Casey on June 5th, 1999! Not only that but He WANTED for you to be born in Ohio, grow up in Thompson. He chose for Danae to be your birth mother and worked it out for Lonnie and Shirley to raise us. Not only that, but in His goodness He brought Danae back to us and is continuing to work in that relationship today.

Why????
"God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him" - This is perhaps one of the most beautiful verses I have ever heard. God choose where you would live and when because it was the perfect place in all of time and space for you to come to know Him. He wants you that badly. He longs for a relationship with you, Casey. He's craving time with you, Marissah. Think about it: all that so that you would seek to know Him - and reach out for Him. He PROMISES in His Word that if we seek after Him with all our hearts, we'll find Him. (¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, - Jeremiah 29:13-14).

"Though He is not far from each one of us" - God isn't far. He's everywhere. He's not just sitting up in heaven on some thrown watching us try and figure out life - He is CONSTANTLY, sweetly, tenderly trying to call us into a relationship with Him. If He does seem far away, like He's not real, it's only because we don't see Him clearly, we don't recognize Him. He's always sending us gifts. Imagine that that breeze that hits your face when you go outside is really God stroking your cheek. He thinks you're beautiful. Imagine that rainstorm was sent just for you because God thought you might like to dance in it and have some fun. If He feels far away, ask Him to come close. He PROMISES He will: "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." James 4:8. It's ok if you dont' "feel" Him or think He's there - He is. And as time goes on and you keep looking for Him - He'll become more real to you than the shirt on your back.

"For in Him we live, and move, and have our being." Our every breath comes from God. He allows us to wake up in the morning, to walk and talk, and He delights in our personality. Marissah, God loves your hilarious humor. You seriously crack Him up (when it's not sinful). And Casey, God can't get enough of your sharp witt! He loves to watch you and see what you'll come up with next. He is so real. He is so good. And He really likes you. He really, really loves you.

"We are his offspring" - Do you want to be in God's family? Romans 8 tells us that if we give our lives over to Jesus to rule and know us that we will be adopted as sons and daughters into God's family. We'll enjoy fellowship with Him and Jesus and He will walk us through every hard time we face. He will give us strength and courage. He will fight our battles for us. He will be our hope. He longs to pull you close and never let go.

He wants to be your best friend.