What Are Your Fears?

I started reading a new book called The Forgotten God. We are getting ready to do a bible study that goes with this book with our 11th and 12th grade girls. The book is about how as Christians we seem to have forgotten about the role of the Holy Spirit. I am only a couple of chapters into the book, but I have to say it has brought forth lots of thoughts for me and made me take a good hard look at the role I allow the Holy Spirit to play in my life.

The author reminds us that in John 16:7 that Jesus tells the disciples it is to their advantage that He leaves them and go to be with his Father so that God can send 'the counselor". So if it is to our advantage to have the Holy Spirit within us why do we not push Him aside? Why do we not listen? Why do we not feel the Holy Spirit or allow the Holy Spirit to work in they way He needs to?

These were some of the questions the author asked. At the end of one chapters he challenges us to think of our fears we have about the Holy Spirit, what causes us to keep Him from working in our lives and to write them down. God already knows our fears but he encouraged the readers to write them down and then to pray to God about each of them. Asking God to help us understand and deal with those fears. Remember that when we go to God requesting we have to pray expecting He will answer. We can't go with doubt in our heart. I thought of it this way. Sometimes before Katie ask for something she starts it off with " I know you won't let me do this, but..." I tell her why do you always think I will say no just because I have had to say no in the past. She comes to me with doubt. That is the same thing I do with God. I will bring something before Him, but it is not with an expectation that He will deliver. I need for that to change within me. I have to go to Him with expectations and not doubt.

So with this in mind I go before Him requesting with expectations that He will resolve my fears and will help me to allow the Holy Spirit to have daily presences in my life. Trust me, it is only because I block the Holy Spirit as to why I don't experience the presence of Him more.

I challenge those who my read this that if you feel that the Holy Spirit is not present in your daily life that you make your own list as to what fears you have and take them before God.

Planting Seeds

I started this second blog middle of last year. I can honestly say that I should have posted more blogs than I did. There were so many times that I wanted to write about but fear stopped me. Fear of just putting those private thoughts or feelings out for others to read, fear that what I was trying to say may be interpreted wrong, it could offend or even worse I could misrepresent God to someone. I think the thing I fear the most about speaking up for God is that I am going to do it in the wrong way or at the wrong time. I just don't trust God enough to let him guide me, so that is my goal for this year. To blog more on this site and just let go and let God lead. Because you just never know how God will use your words or actions to plant a seed in someones life.



Perfect example of this was shown to me today. As most of you know Chris and I lived in Asheville NC for what seemed like a blink of an eye, I think it was only six or eight months at the most. For a long time I thought why in the world did God move us there only to turn around and move us to Oklahoma. To me it just seemed like one big mistake, on our part. Chris and I just wanted to get out of MN that I felt he just took a job to take it so I would be happy. Today, I realized God had a much bigger plan for us being there. Three years later Chris and I got a glimpse of what that was. We don't always get to see the results of what our work for God does, but I am so thankful that He allowed us to see this one.



Please click here(you need Quicktime to watch it will ask you to download if you don't have it) and watch this video of Chris' friend Edwin Robling. Chris worked with him in NC. This video made me cry, God spoke straight to my heart and gave me the ultimate reassurance that He is in control and that if we just trust Him, even if we think it seems crazy, He has the plan. Thank you God for continuing to believe in me even when I doubt following your lead.