Maybe God Has Other Plans

So today, has been a really long day. It is only 1:15 too. I had my whole day scheduled and now the schedule is not right and it is hectic. I hate it when that happens. But maybe, just maybe, I need to stop planning. Maybe I just need to ask God what he needs me to do today, not what I think I need to do today.

That is a problem of mine. I try to control every tiny aspect of my life and when it goes awry, I have a hard time getting back on track. There is always things to do, homework to finish, people to see, and places to go. I schedule my days down to the minute. And if there are minutes to spare, I and in more activities so that the whole day will be full. But when have I ever considered what God wants me to do? I feel like I just totally block his will for me out of the picture when things get busy.

So now I pray:

"God, grant me peace. Show me that it is OK to be silent and just be. It is OK to remember you and reflect on your power in silence. Show me what your will for me is and help me follow through with it. You are mighty and more awesome than I know."

In Christ and In Love,

Julie

Making Time...Ultimate Peace

It has been quite a while since I have posted, and for that I apologize. Not just to you, but also to myself. I have had many thoughts like, "Oh, I have a lot of things on my mind that I want to blog about--things that could touch people and that I NEED to share!" But Satan grabbed a hold of my heart saying "That isn't important. You don't have TIME for that. You can do it later." And so, I didn't. I did not share what I had felt compelled to share for almost two months not because I just forgot, but because I listened to the voice of the Evil One, and not to the voice of God, the Everlasting Father. So again, I apologize.

And then this thought plagued me this morning-- Why do I never make TIME for what is ultimately important? Why do I fill my life with so much and forget, or dare say refuse, to do what is ultimately important? I say that I want God to be the center of my life, but I push my time with him to the smallest part of my day, and sometimes out of my day completely! I fill my time with so many activities, am always planning ahead, and doing what the world says is great! Why then do I feel so empty, lost, and stressed?  Having God in my life should be a 24/7 lifestyle, no matter what else I have going on. I can talk to him anywhere! Why do I worry about EVERYTHING, when, if I have God, I should worry about NOTHING?!  And then I ran across this prayer from St Francis de Sales:

"Do not look forward to what may happen
tomorrow; the same everlasting Father who cares
for you today will take care of you tomorrow and
every day. Either He will shield you from suffering,
or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it.
Be at peace, then. Put aside all anxious thoughts and
imaginations, and say continually: "The Lord is my
strength and my shield. My heart has trusted in Him
and I am helped. He is not only with me but in me,
and I in Him."

St. Francis de Sales

When I found this and had soaked it in, I just felt a sense of relief, like the weight of the world had just been lifted off my shoulders. I don't need to worry about today, tomorrow, or anything! I just need to live my life for the One who saves us, and be like him, and everything else will be ok!

I hope that today, you can also find peace in Christ Jesus our Lord and remember that He is the One who will guide you through each day if you will let him!

In Christ and In Love,

Julie

The King/Queen of Instruments

In my vocal pedagogy class, we just finished discussing the voice mechanism and all of its intricate workings. It just amazes me how God created our bodies to work together in every way! The voice box is built of many tendons, muscles, and cartilage, and is only the size of a dime or nickel!! That is tiny! It not only functions to keep food out of your lungs, but controls the airflow and makes beautiful music! It is the only instrument that come from beep within a person. The music you produce with your voice is completely create by you and you alone! How cool is that?! Isn't our God amazing? He created our bodies to be instruments for him and everything in our bodies works together as one, but every piece is unique! 

I Corinthians 6:19 says:

"¹⁹ Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies"

My challenge today is to treat your bodies as holy temples of the Lord. Be Christ to everyone you come into contact with and use your talents that God has given you to bless others and praise Him!

In Christ and in Love,

Julie

Breath Prayers

My wonderful fiance and I were having a conversation tonight about many things relating to our spiritual lives. One of the things he brought up that pressed on my heart was the concept of breath prayers. All it is is a simple phrase that you think to the rhythm of your breath for example : Breathing in, think "Be still and know", then breathing out, think "that I am God." Do this over and over until for as long as you like. I found this concept so profound. Many people, including myself, find prayer as a very difficult task because they have a hard time finding the right words to say. This concept of a breath prayer shows that one simple phrase, prayed with all the feeling you have, can be so uplifting to the spirit. So I encourage you to find a scripture or phrase that is on your heart and pray it, over and over. God is an awesome God and it is so amazing that we have this avenue of prayer to connect with him,

"Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."

In Christ and in Love,

Julie

Give Me Jesus

Wow. Such strong words--Give me Jesus. This spiritual has been on my heart, and my voice for a while now. I am performing an arrangement of it for my upcoming senior recital so these words have a definite impact on me. The first verse states "In the morning when I rise, Give me Jesus." Wow. It says all I want, all day, every day, is Jesus. That's it! The second verse states "Dark midnight was my cry, Give me Jesus." When troubles are in your life, all you need to rely on is Jesus! Wow! The last verse "Oh, when I come to die, give me Jesus. You may have ALL of this world, just give me JESUS!" Such powerful words! Nothing else in this world matters...you can have it all because all I want is Jesus!

May you wake up in the morning only wanting Jesus to fill you heart and bless you!

In Christ and in Love,

Julie

Touching Hearts

Since this is my first post as an official blogger, I am excited to see what this will bring to my life. My heart has been yearning to be a voice to others and to bless lives with my thoughts. I want to be available for people to come to and discuss anything! I want to be a supporter and encourager to those whose lives I cone in contact with.

I was in choir the other day and we started singing a  new song. We started out the rehearsal by reading the words. My heart was touched by these words and I became so excited that we would be sharing these words through song to people. Here are the words--a prayer by Mother Theresa. I hope that I can be like this in my life. May God bless you with these words today!

Dear Jesus,
Help me to spread Thy fragrance everywhere I go.
Flood my soul with Thy spirit and love.
Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that all my life may only be a radiance of Thine.
Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel Thy presence in my soul.
Let them look up and see no longer me but only Jesus.
Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as You shine, so to shine as to be a light to others.


-Mother Theresa


In Christ and in Love,
Julie