I sit here today looking back over this past year, and yes, I know that we still have 4 weeks left in this year, and God can do alot in 4 weeks...but as I look back over this year, I think I can wrap it all up in just one word if I had to. I would say this year has been ENOUGH. Maybe not in the way that you think...not in the "I've had enough", or "enough already" way, although both of those apply, but in the "He is ENOUGH" way. That's what He has taught me, that's what I have learned this year. My God is ENOUGH for me. He is more than ENOUGH for me. I don't need anything, because I have Him. I don't need a car, a job, a place of my own. I don't need love from a man. I just need Him. He is more than enough for me. If He never blesses me with another thing, if He never fulfills all the promises that He has given me, He is already more than ENOUGH. He's more than ENOUGH! He's been bigger than any dream, and desire that I have ever had. He's been bigger than any hurt, or heartbreak that I have suffered. He's been more than ENOUGH for me.
This may seem like a simple thing for some of you, good. I'm glad that you have always known that He's more than ENOUGH for you. I'm glad that you have always let Him be ENOUGH for you. It hasn't always been so easy for me. There have been times, many times, where I didn't let Him be ENOUGH for me. I wanted more than I was willing to let Him give to me. He let me have those things, He didn't stop me. But I ended up still being unfulfilled, still needing something more. I was trying to fit a man, possessions, etc, into the places of my heart that only God could fit. I was trying to let the things of this world be ENOUGH for me---it didn't work. I remember once during my prayer time telling God that I didn't want anything to distract me from Him. I wanted Him to be ENOUGH for me. I wanted Him to be all that I ever needed...from that day on, slowly, He began to remove everything in my life that I was putting before Him, everything that I was trying to make ENOUGH for me. Until one day, I stood with nothing. There was absolutely nothing left but Him. This year, I have had nothing but Him. He has been my everything. He has been ENOUGH. He has been more than ENOUGH for me.
You know what's really exciting about this---is that because I know that He is ENOUGH for me, because I really know that I don't need or even want anything but Him--His blessings for me will be more than I have ever dreamed. He will still fulfill His promises over my life. He will still give me the very desires of me heart:) He will still fulfill every dream. He is more than ENOUGH for me! What a lesson to learn! I wouldn't trade this year for anything, I wouldn't trade this "lesson learned" for anything! Because He is ENOUGH for me, because I truly know that He is ENOUGH, I won't expect someone else to fill places in my heart that are reserved for Him. I won't expect someone else to be my Savior, my Provider, my Cover, my Lover, my Peace. He is all those things and more to me! He is ENOUGH!:)
A long time ago I made a distinct choice for Him. I chose Him over everything and everyone. I chose to follow Him and His voice over the voices of others, over the voice of my own wants and desires. I wanted Him more than I wanted anything/anyone else. I knew then that making this choice would be hard, that I would lose things that I had invested in, things that I loved more than I ever thought possible, but I knew that I had to do it. I had to choose Him. This year has proven to be just that---hard, full of hard choices---but so worth it! Seeing how my choice has directed my life, and seeing how, another who made a different choice, has directed his life--I can honestly say God has been more than ENOUGH for me.
I thank Him everyday for His grace and His mercy. I thank Him for the pastor who spent months/years teaching me how to hear the voice of God, and then how to obey His voice. I thank Him for the people that He has placed in my life for guidance, counsel, wisdom, love, and prayer support. I thank Him for the person that I am today. No, I am not by any means perfect, but I have come so far. I'm excited about the future! I am excited to know that He is more than ENOUGH for me:)!
Dreaming His Dreams,
Simply Drea
Friday, November 30, 2012
Friday, November 16, 2012
All the Glory!
Satan knows our weaknesses, so that's where he fights us the most. For me, my weakness lies in my thoughts. He fights me hard here---sometimes to the point of torment. Maybe that's why I get headaches sometimes. I don't know why it's my thoughts, it always has been, for as long as I can remember. Believe me, I have come a long way. I have the tools to know how to fight back. I know what my "triggers" are. I know that if I have too much "empty" time on my hands, my thoughts get a way with me. Yesterday was one of those days. I KNOW that God's plans for me are bigger than the ones I have for myself and I KNOW that His timing is perfect. I KNOW these things, but sometimes I still feel defeated. I was sad. Sad that I still don't have a job, I'm car less, I'm living with my sister (not that I am not completely appreciative of this fact), that I am 33 and not at all where I wanted to be in my life at this time. If you would have asked me a couple of years ago, I believed that "things were looking up." I had a job, a car, was living on my own, and I had a boyfriend that I just knew I was going to marry. Things were awesome! And then everything changed...EVERYTHING changed. God completely stripped me of everything---it didn't happen all at once, but it sure did feel like it!
Yesterday was a day that I kept allowing Satan to get in my head...I started to believe all of his lies...BUT today is a new day! Today, as I was praying and reading my blogs, my journal, letters, etc, God reminded me that HE is still in charge! I don't understand any of it, and some of it I brought on myself---just not being obedient immediately (which is disobedience). I held on to somethings alot longer than I should have. I am so thankful for His never ending love grace. I began to allow Satan to use the very things that I have been forgiven of, and the very things that God has promised to do for me, to try and bring me down. I had taken my eyes off of God and placed them on my circumstances. I KNOW better than this-yet I did it anyways.
Yesterday was a day that I kept allowing Satan to get in my head...I started to believe all of his lies...BUT today is a new day! Today, as I was praying and reading my blogs, my journal, letters, etc, God reminded me that HE is still in charge! I don't understand any of it, and some of it I brought on myself---just not being obedient immediately (which is disobedience). I held on to somethings alot longer than I should have. I am so thankful for His never ending love grace. I began to allow Satan to use the very things that I have been forgiven of, and the very things that God has promised to do for me, to try and bring me down. I had taken my eyes off of God and placed them on my circumstances. I KNOW better than this-yet I did it anyways.
In my prayer time today, I laid down on my bedroom floor and repented for not obeying God soon enough, for not letting go soon enough, for not "marrying Him" as completely as I should have this year, for not trusting Him enough. I got up with the peace that passes all understanding. I have, once again, been forgiven and have been extended His grace and His mercy. His promises are Yes and Amen. The things He has promised me, are still mine! I am learning everyday more and more about who He is, who He is to me. I am learning to lean on Him completely and live a life that is all His. Knowing that He is ENOUGH! He is enough for me. I don't need a job, a car, a husband, etc. All I need is Him. Everything else is just a blessing from Him because He loves me.
How many people truly learn this lesson? How many people take for granted these "simple things?" I'm not saying that when God does give me all those things (and He will as He has promised) that I will every moment of every day remember how blessed I am and not take one thing for granted, but I will try my very hardest to know how blessed I am. I have promised to give Him all the glory when He fulfills every promise! For my perfect (Kindergarten) teaching job, He will receive all glory. For my car (my orange 2013 JEEP wrangler unlimited sahara edition-all decked out), He will receive the glory! For the place I will call my own (home), He will receive the glory! For my husband (perfect for me, amazingly handsome, romantic, sarcastically funny, on fire for God husband), He will receive the glory! For the release (early 2013) of my brother, He will receive the glory! For the salvation of my WHOLE family, He will receive the glory! For the blessings that I don't deserve yet He gives me because He loves me, He will receive the glory!
So, no matter what Satan tries to do, no matter how hard he fights me, HE WILL NOT WIN! My God will receive ALL the glory!:)
To Him Be ALL Glory,
Drea
So, no matter what Satan tries to do, no matter how hard he fights me, HE WILL NOT WIN! My God will receive ALL the glory!:)
To Him Be ALL Glory,
Drea
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Grace
It's been a few weeks since I have posted anything...I don't know why, I don't have a job, but I have been busy...I'm volunteering my time at my church until I get my promised job;) God has been doing amazing things in my life, I wish I could really just sit down and tell you everything that He's done, has been doing, etc. But, since I can't and you probably don't have the time to just sit and read this blog for hours on end, I will share what I can!
First, I just recently read a book that forever changed my life! It's called "Captivating" by John and Stasi Eldredge. It's a book about how God created woman, and how we, as woman, should view ourselves. My whole life I have dreamt BIG dreams, "impossible, unrealistic" dreams...mostly about my future husband and how 'perfect' he would be, how 'perfect' our lives would be together...throughout my life and certain circumstances, I gave up on those dreams, realized that maybe they really were unrealisitic in such a realistic world---even as a Christian. This book changed all that for me! This book helped me discover that all those dreams, were God given dreams to me. The way I desire to be romanced, pursued, wooed. The way I love and am loved, everything. This is how God created me, as a woman, beautiful in HIS IMAGE. I am created in His image. Why wouldn't the God who created me, the One who knows me better than I know myself, know exactly how to win my heart? When God created man, it still wasn't complete. He created woman, and that was His final piece. I was His final piece. So much I learned through this book...it has forever changed my life. I highly reccomend it--for every woman, to understand the very depths of your desires were truly given by God, and for men, to understand why woman are the way we are...and what we need from you.
Second, He is enough. God is enough for me. I am 33 years old and single. I have been single most of my life. I have loved and I have been broken. Yet, I have learned (still learning) that He is enough. I am complete in Him. He is the Lover of my Soul, the Romancer of my Heart. When He chooses to bring a husband to me, that man will only compliment me, not complete me. He will write my love story, because I have given Him the pen! Everything that I need, every desire that I have is truly fulfilled by the Creater of my being. I will live this time of my life, this time of "singleness" completely and soley for Him. I will live my singleness with purpose, completely sold out to Him and His calling on my life!
Third, His grace is all suffiecient! I am so thankful for it. I would not be where I am without it! I am seeing that as I look back on my life, just how important of a role His grace (and His mercy) has played in my life. Because of His grace, I am single. I know that may sound weird to some, but to me it makes perfect sense. What 'could have been' would have been detrimental to the calling and anointing He has on my life.
Fourth, I choose Him! I chose Him:) I chose Him. That's a huge feat in my book! I made the choice to follow Him with everything that I was, everything that I am. Even in my brokenness, in my pain, I still chose Him. I would like to say that it was an "easy" choice, but that would be a lie. Choosing to give up love, a life of happiness and fulfiullment with a man who I loved, and loved me, not knowing if I would ever get this chance again...wasn't an easy choice, BUT I did it, or rather, in the beginning someone else made this choice for me, but ultimately I chose because in my heart, in my soul, I KNEW there was something more...I knew that He had a plan for me that was greater than the one I was living.
Looking back, I can be confident in my choice. I can be confident that the choice that I made to follow after Him, to STAY exactly where He told me to, when noone else understood, I chose. I know now, that His promises for my 'happily ever after,' my 'dreams come true,' and 'beyond my wildest imagination,' are right around the corner...yes, obedience sometimes requires sacrifice, but it is so worth it! I am not the same! I am higher than I have ever been, happier and more content that I could have dreamed. My only cry is for the soul of one who didn't make the same choice...he chose to follow after what he could see, what he could touch, what made sense, and now, his soul is lost and he doesn't even realize just how far...
Thank you God! For you love, your passion, your desire for me:)
Dreaming His Dreams,
Andrea
First, I just recently read a book that forever changed my life! It's called "Captivating" by John and Stasi Eldredge. It's a book about how God created woman, and how we, as woman, should view ourselves. My whole life I have dreamt BIG dreams, "impossible, unrealistic" dreams...mostly about my future husband and how 'perfect' he would be, how 'perfect' our lives would be together...throughout my life and certain circumstances, I gave up on those dreams, realized that maybe they really were unrealisitic in such a realistic world---even as a Christian. This book changed all that for me! This book helped me discover that all those dreams, were God given dreams to me. The way I desire to be romanced, pursued, wooed. The way I love and am loved, everything. This is how God created me, as a woman, beautiful in HIS IMAGE. I am created in His image. Why wouldn't the God who created me, the One who knows me better than I know myself, know exactly how to win my heart? When God created man, it still wasn't complete. He created woman, and that was His final piece. I was His final piece. So much I learned through this book...it has forever changed my life. I highly reccomend it--for every woman, to understand the very depths of your desires were truly given by God, and for men, to understand why woman are the way we are...and what we need from you.
Second, He is enough. God is enough for me. I am 33 years old and single. I have been single most of my life. I have loved and I have been broken. Yet, I have learned (still learning) that He is enough. I am complete in Him. He is the Lover of my Soul, the Romancer of my Heart. When He chooses to bring a husband to me, that man will only compliment me, not complete me. He will write my love story, because I have given Him the pen! Everything that I need, every desire that I have is truly fulfilled by the Creater of my being. I will live this time of my life, this time of "singleness" completely and soley for Him. I will live my singleness with purpose, completely sold out to Him and His calling on my life!
Third, His grace is all suffiecient! I am so thankful for it. I would not be where I am without it! I am seeing that as I look back on my life, just how important of a role His grace (and His mercy) has played in my life. Because of His grace, I am single. I know that may sound weird to some, but to me it makes perfect sense. What 'could have been' would have been detrimental to the calling and anointing He has on my life.
Fourth, I choose Him! I chose Him:) I chose Him. That's a huge feat in my book! I made the choice to follow Him with everything that I was, everything that I am. Even in my brokenness, in my pain, I still chose Him. I would like to say that it was an "easy" choice, but that would be a lie. Choosing to give up love, a life of happiness and fulfiullment with a man who I loved, and loved me, not knowing if I would ever get this chance again...wasn't an easy choice, BUT I did it, or rather, in the beginning someone else made this choice for me, but ultimately I chose because in my heart, in my soul, I KNEW there was something more...I knew that He had a plan for me that was greater than the one I was living.
Looking back, I can be confident in my choice. I can be confident that the choice that I made to follow after Him, to STAY exactly where He told me to, when noone else understood, I chose. I know now, that His promises for my 'happily ever after,' my 'dreams come true,' and 'beyond my wildest imagination,' are right around the corner...yes, obedience sometimes requires sacrifice, but it is so worth it! I am not the same! I am higher than I have ever been, happier and more content that I could have dreamed. My only cry is for the soul of one who didn't make the same choice...he chose to follow after what he could see, what he could touch, what made sense, and now, his soul is lost and he doesn't even realize just how far...
Thank you God! For you love, your passion, your desire for me:)
Dreaming His Dreams,
Andrea
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