How Quickly Things Can Change

Just the other day, we were sitting at a restaurant and the owner came up to our table. He greeted us with the usual, "Hi, Folks. How are y'all? Are you enjoying the food tonight?" Then, his tone changed, "I just wanted to let y'all know there's been a tornado spotted up the road from here (still a few miles away). It may be headed this direction. Our plan is to pile into the cooler, if we need to. We will keep you informed."

One minute, we had been enjoying our meal...ya know, just talking and laughing like normal, but in the next minute, things drastically changed. Suddenly, our minds started racing..."Should we leave? Should we stay? Lord, help us to know what to do." It was hard, after that, to really focus on anything "normal". Well, as it turned out, we were fine and ended up riding home in some very dark clouds, but that was it (thank you, Father). However, as I thought about it later that night and as I sorted through photos of areas of the Southeast that were hit by devastating tornadoes, I was impressed by just how quickly things can change. And it also made me think about this:

"When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah's day. In those days, the people enjoyed banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat and the flood came and destroyed them all. And the world will be as it was in the days of Lot. People went about their daily business - eating and drinking, buying and selling, farming and building - until the morning Lot left Sodom. Then fire and burning sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. Yes, it will be 'business as usual' right up to the day when the Son of Man is revealed. On that day a person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. A person out in the field must not return home. Remember what happened to Lot's wife! If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it. That night two people will be asleep in one bed; one will be taken, the other left. Two women will be grinding flour together at the mill; one will be taken, the other left."  Luke 17: 26 - 35

On THAT day, when Christ returns, alllllll the stuff that we debate, argue, and go round-and-round about will not matter one single bit!!! When I was sitting at that table thinking about what to do next if the tornado came our way...the trivial stuff like our house or our car, those things didn't matter. What mattered was the life of each member of my family around that table! Don't you know the same thing will matter on that great day when our Lord appears?! It will be all about LIFE and if you chose to hold onto yours, living it by your own standards, or if you chose to give it to Your Heavenly Father, letting Him take full control. It is by that decision that you choose where you will spend all eternity.

When the Lord returns, the Bible says it will happen in the "twinkling of an eye". There will be no time to make a final decision about your eternal life. The time for that is NOW, while you have a chance!!!!

If you've been thinking about making a decision to follow Christ, please seek Him right now by CLICKING HERE.

And, please, let me know if you are seeking Him! I would love to encourage you and send you some links to help you. (I read all comments prior to publishing them and will not post yours on this blog if you ask me not to do so...promise!) Please read my previous post called Nothing Compares. You will find that I am CONVINCED that there is nothing better to be found (in this life or the next) than a relationship with Jesus!!!

Please turn to Him while there is still time, for none of us knows what tomorrow holds and things can change quickly.

For His glory,

Nothing Compares

Just the other day, I started thinking about the times in my life that have been the most precious and the most memorable. You know, times such as falling in love, getting married, the days my babies were born, special Christmases and Thanksgivings, etc. If each of us made a list, we probably all would come back to the same basic things. But you know what? As precious as those times were, I can now look back and say with all sincerity, those times will never compare to the intimate times I have spent with my Lord…those sweet times when His very presence rests upon me. I LIVE for those moments and I long for the next time that I get to be alone with Him. I guess you could say that I’m ruined for His touch. I’m like a kid in a candy store craving more, more, more of Him! 

 

I have a sweet family member who recently said exactly what I used to say as a young girl and it is this, “I hope the Lord doesn’t come back before I get married and have kids.” Come on now (if you are a Christian) haven’t you said that at some point in your life too? If you didn’t say it, I bet you at least thought it!  I totally get that feeling and understand it (it is a worthy desire), but in a way it makes me sad. Why? Simply because it showcases a classic trap. 

As an adult, I now realize that having those feelings of longing for something else are satan’s way of distracting us from what truly matters. He tries to get our minds on future goals so much that we forget about God in the here and now. He plants thoughts in our minds like, “If you could just find the love of your life, you would be fulfilled. If you could just have a child, then you would have joy. If you could just have a big house, you’d be happy.  If you could just have a wife or husband like that other person has, then your marriage would be awesome, too. If you could just land your dream job, all your problems would be over. If you could just prove yourself to others by doing (insert whatever), then you will have arrived.”

Are you seeing the pattern? As long as he can keep you grasping for something you don’t yet have thinking it will fulfill you, then he has you trapped! He has you distracted. He has you running in circles and getting nowhere. He doesn’t want you to seek THE REAL ANSWER to all of your deepest needs. Those answers can only be found in a LIVING, ACTIVE, COMMITTED RELATIONSHIP TO THE LORD JESUS CHRIST!!!! He wants to keep you thinking that SOMETHING in this life is going to fill you up and finally make you truly happy.

I hate to burst your bubble, but it’s never, ever going to happen. Take it from a person who, although I called myself a Christian, tried to fill my deepest needs through so many other things. I was drowning in the lie and chasing a fantasy...a façade. Now that I’ve lived a few years and have experienced much, I can tell you from the core of my being…THE LORD IS “IT”!!! In Him, humanities deepest desires are met, and not only that, they are surpassed to the ten thousandth degree!

God is my Center, my Father, my Lover, my Best Friend, my Everything! All good and perfect gifts flow from Him (and I am richly blessed), but He is the SOURCE of it all!!! And His presence, I’m telling you… NOTHING COMPARES to it. It is indescribable and utterly amazing and ultimately life-altering!

If you have been searching and trying to fill your desires with anything other than Him, I encourage you to repent and go after HIM ALONE. Pursue Him like your life depends on it, because it truly does. Matthew 10: 37 - 39 (NLT) says, “If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you cling to your life you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.”

I’m begging you to give up trying to put other things in God’s rightful place. I’m begging you to quit searching for fulfillment outside of Him. Give up your life, your goals, your dreams, your ambitions and go after God…and through Him TRUE LIFE, TRUE LIVING, AND TRUE RELATIONSHIP WILL BE FOUND.

Nothing, absolutely nothing, compares to Him!!!!!!!!!! I personally guarantee it;)

For His glory,

This Melted My Heart

Just the other day, my first grader came into the room with a card in her hand...

It reads:

"Mommy, I love you. You're the best mother I could ever have! And thank you for doing homeschool with me and being my teacher. I love you a googleplex plus a googleplex more googleplexes! Love, S"

Literally, I had to fight back the tears.

My heart swelled with pride.

And I gave thanks for my big girl...who is growing up way too fast.

Oh Lord, help me to savor every single moment with Your little princesses.

Now, are you wondering what a googleplex is? Well, here's your answer.

May our Lord shower you with a googleplex of blessings today:)