Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Seeking God's Will

So, I haven't been keeping up with my blog at all lately. School has kept me busy and there are just so many things that have gone on since I last wrote! It's really been a struggle for me over the past several weeks in some different areas of my life. Lately whenever anyone asks if I have a prayer request I've been saying my biggest prayer request is for the God to give me stronger patience. I've been really struggling lately with seeing everyone at college get boyfriends or get engaged and getting discouraged and impatient with me still being single. I know God has Mr. Right out there for me somewhere (I may have already met him) and I am really working on being patient and waiting for God's perfect timing. There are so many times when I get upset about this and want to just give in and compromise for whatever/whoever comes along that seems interested (even if for the wrong reasons). My flesh just longs to be with someone and not be lonely, but my heart knows that I need to wait on God's timing for the man that God has for me! I was emailing my Assistant Pastor (Pastor Mosier) from home and he said, "It is hard to wait for God’s timing especially when so many others in college seemed to have that big piece figured out already. Keep encouraging…and preaching…and teaching…and exhorting yourself with the verse that you have at the bottom of your email. God has an awesome plan, but with His plan comes His time." That was encouraging to read. (And the verse that I have at the bottom of my email is Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.") That is one of my favorite verses that I have clung to over the past year or two through all the trials and temptations I've come through. I know God has a great and awesome plan in mind for me--otherwise I don't think He would have bothered to keep me from so much trouble and harm that I've almost gotten myself into due to my own lack of care/faith in God. And I'm really am excited to see what that plan in my life is that He has for me.

Something really cool that I got to experience about three or four weekends ago was I got the opportunity to go to a woman's conference (for free--paid for by one of my professors so I could go) with sessions by Elizabeth George, author of A Woman After God's Own Heart. I heard she was going to be at this conference and I could not pass up the opportunity to go hear her talk! She is my favorite Christian author of all times and that book of hers has really made a huge difference on my life! (hence the name of my blog)! To tell the story of how this book really helped me...I used to get myself in trouble a lot with talking to guys online that I didn't know that would pop up on AIM or would friend request me on Facebook, etc. I would talk to them and more times than not they would want to meet up with me just to get physical. And I wanted to feel cared for and wanted so I would usually agree. I remember it was New Years Eve and I was watching a movie with the family while talking to a guy (where we got to that point) and after that I went up to my room to talk to him away from the family and for some reason I was flipping through the pages of that book which I had just got for Christmas from my best friends mom and I don't even remember what it was that caught my eye when I was leafing through the pages, but something did and I read it and right then complete guilt and conviction washed over me for what I was talking about with this guy. Since I was still talking to him, I was like, "Hey, I can't do that! I'm a Christian woman who needs to be following after God!" I praise God everyday that I went through that book and was convicted! The guy said "Ok, we all have our beliefs we need to follow" and that was it! I can't say I still haven't struggled with this issue but God has definitely done a work in my life and I can gratefully say that amidst the number of times that I have gotten myself into one of these situations with a guy I have, by God's grace, never actually gotten to the time or point of going through with any of it. God always worked in me before it happened (one time even the day before I met a guy!) Wow, I can't even fathom the great mercy and love of God but I am very thankful for it!!! What a great and mighty God we serve. I just can't wait to see what God has in store for me and want to serve Him for life and with my whole heart--being a woman after God's own heart!