Hey All,
Today has been a great day! Every day is a great day really :) Another day to bring honor and glory to the Lord. We had today off which was nice. I slept in, went to the store, made some vegetable soup, made some banana bread, watched a movie, did some reading, cleaning, and of course I can't forget relaxing :)
How are you all doing? It is crazy to think we are half way through the month of February. Time is flying. Since my sisters have left, it has been an adjustment. I have had a lot more time to myself. I miss being able to talk to them and them being in the same room or within ear shot at least ha. What do I do when I am by myself? Well, i always find things to do when I am alone or when I am with other people. The great thing is, we can always find something to do if we look hard enough. For me, I do a lot of reading and I listen to a lot of messages from Liberty University and other pastors. This week is Missions Week at LU. That was one of my most favorite weeks in terms of being able to listen to and hear from different missionaries. On Monday there was a missionary from India speaking and yesterday a lady by the name of Marilyn Laszlo spoke She has devoted her entire life to a people group in Papua New Guinea. She along with another lady learned a difficult language and transcribed the tribe's language into actual words on paper. It ultimately lead to them being able to translate and publish a Bible in the tribe's own language. How awesome is that? She talked about almost dying 3 times from contracting different things in the jungle. Through it all she said she saw the Hand of God on her life and the people in the village. She said this, which stuck out to me, “The safest place to be is in the center of God’s will.” What an awesome statement! This of course is coming from someone who was away from family and friends for the majority of her life. She had no internet to keep in contact with people, she was a day away from an airplane strip, she was in a JUNGLE people. If you think about it, how true are these words? When we are in God's will we are the most safe. For me, I am currently in Poland. I know that this is where the Lord would have me right now, so I can rest in the fact that I am safe regardless of me being in the same room as my family and friends or being thousands of miles away from them. God watches over each and every one of us. Is this life down on this earth always easy? No, it for sure is not, but when we turn our focus away from ourselves and onto the Lord, ultimately our perspective changes. Our perspective becomes upwardly focused rather than inwardly focused.
If you have some extra time, check out her testimony that she shared at Liberty!
http://www.youtube.com/user/libertyuniversity?ob=0&feature=results_main#p/a/u/0/zNGuUCBKsfQ
I have been reading through Isaiah in some of my quiet time and wanted to share some verses with you from the first half of the book that have stuck out to me. It is amazing how in only one book of the Bible we can find so much knowledge and wisdom. Thank you Lord for giving us your Word. I decided I would type out some of the verses :) ENJOY! I know it was an encouragement to me and I hope it is to you as well. I look forward to getting into the next 33 chapters of Isaiah over the coming days!! I encourage you to get into the Word daily...I promise you will not be disappointed.
Isaiah 7:4a “Tell them to stop worrying. Tell him he doesn’t need to fear…”
Isaiah 7:9b “…unless your faith is firm, I cannot make you stand firm.”
Isaiah 8:12-14a “Don’t call everything a conspiracy, like they do, and don’t live in dread of what frightens them. Make the Lord of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life. He is the one you should fear. He is the one who should make you tremble. He will keep you safe.”
Isaiah 12:2-6 “See, God has come to save me. I will trust in him and not be afraid. The Lord God is my strength and my song; he has given me victory. With joy you will drink deeply from the fountain of salvation! In that wonderful day you will sing: Thank the Lord! Praise his name! Tell the nations what he has done. Let them know how mighty he is! Sing to the Lord, for he has done wonderful things. Make known his praise around the world. Let all the people of Jerusalem shout his praise for joy!”
Isaiah 14:27 “The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has spoken- who can change his plans? When his hand is raised, who can stop him?”
Isaiah 19:20 “When the people cry to the Lord for help against those who oppress them, he will send them a savior who will rescue them.”
Isaiah 25:1 - “O Lord, I will honor and praise your name, for you are my God. You do such wonderful things! You planned them long ago and now you have accomplished them.”
Isaiah 25:4 “But you are a tower of refuge to the poor, O Lord, a tower of refuge to the needy in distress. You are a refuge from the storm and a shelter from the heat.”
Isaiah 25:8 “He will swallow up death forever!”
Isaiah 26:3-4 “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all those whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.”
Isaiah 26:7-8 “But for those who are righteous, the way is not steep and rough. You are a God who does what is right and you smooth out the path ahead of them. Lord, we show our trust in you by obeying your laws; our hearts desire is to glorify your name.”
Isaiah 26:19 “But those who die in the Lord will live; their bodies will rise again! Those who sleep in the earth will rise up and sing for joy! For your life-giving light will fall like dew on your people in the place of the dead!”
Isaiah 29:19 “The humble will be filled with fresh joy from the Lord.”
Isaiah 30:15b “Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved.”
Isaiah 20:18 “So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help.”
Isaiah 33:3 “The enemy runs at the sound of your voice; when you stand up the nations flee.”
Isaiah 33:6 “In that day he will be your sure foundation, providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the Lord will be your treasure.”
Isaiah 33:21-22 “The Lord will be our Mighty One. He will be like a wide river of protection that no enemy can cross, that no enemy ship can sail upon. For the Lord is our judge, our lawgiver, and our king. He will care for us and save us.”
Awesome huh? :)
I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your day!
Megan