He’s Not Worried, So Why Should I? (Part 1)

“I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out” Such confident words!

–plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen. When you come looking for me, you’ll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.  God said this in Jeremiah, quoted from the Message.

The past month or so had become so increasingly difficult for me, what with being sick and unable to work, conflicts in relationships, and other challenges.  I felt I had reached a new low.  One of my precious friends reminded me that I can ask the Lord for help.  I had temporarily forgotten that I am in a war.  I am on the winning side.  But, that I have an enemy who hates me and Jesus, and the rest of the Jesus-lovers.

A friend was praying for me Tuesday night and said, “He has prepared a table for you, Monika, in the presence of your enemies.”  Suddenly, I saw myself, seated in the fray, bullets buzzing past my head, Jesus seated across from me, relaxed, smiling, “Monika, let’s eat.  Let’s talk.”  In the middle of the hell-hole, my closest friend was wanting time with me.  Alas, perspective!  Clarity.  I could see Him.  I could feel the hopelessness falling off, the despair losing its power.  There is nothing that triumphs over Jesus.  No situation.  No circumstance.  The significance of my problems were diminished as I remembered His might, His sovereignty, and how He really wasn’t worried, about my present or my future.  At all.

What am I doing here?  Sometimes the messiness of life can leave us wondering what in the world this is all about??

The events of this week have reminded me to take my stand.  To remind myself that I CAN choose to meet the challenges I am presented. We are overcomers, after all, who have the Spirit of the Living God housed in these mortal bodies. Is there anything He can’t do?

I encourage you to never be afraid to embrace the dreams and desires that live in your heart. Don’t be afraid to envision the possibilities, or to let our Daddy tell you something new about your future. Don’t be afraid to ask Him questions or talk to Him about what’s going on. Most of all, don’t be afraid to listen to His answers. He can be FULLY trusted.

Although I can’t necessarily tell you each what His plans look like for your life, I can assure you with certainty that He has GOOD plans hidden in His heart for you and they are better than you have ever imagined. (Ephesians 3:20) This is my testimony. This is my story. There is NO HURT that He cannot heal, no sin that He won’t forgive, NOTHING taken from you that He cannot restore, and NO GOOD thing that He withholds from us. Your today (or your yesterday) does not define your tomorrow. His love for you is unchanging and ALL His plans for you are GOOD. Didn’t Jesus say, “If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him”? Matthew 7

So, let’s go after what He’s put in our hearts.   Let’s forget about what’s happened already and trust our future to Him without fear.  Let’s believe in the goodness of His intentions towards us.  Let’s seek Him and love Him with all of our hearts and love others without fear. Let’s lift our heads up and look at His face without shame or fear. Let’s let Him bust up our old habits & ideas that hold us back and teach us the ways of freedom and love and grace and peace. Let’s go for it!

This is it!  This is your life!

Written Thursday, January 25, 2007.

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Compelled to Write

Everyone has something that they were created to do.

For me, one of those things is definitely writing.   Thoughts, impressions, things that haven’t yet taken form in words find expression when I begin to write.  I imagine that people who play instruments, paint, dance, or express themselves through some means other than speaking, can relate to what I’m attempting to describe.

For years, I was told, “you should write.”  It seemed like a drudgery, though.   I didn’t really want to write.   Writing seemed like a dreaded school assignment where I was trying to give someone else (a teacher) something that they wanted from me.  And, seeing as how I’m very perceptive to the desires of others, I was usually excellent at giving teachers (or whoever else) what they wanted to hear from me in writing.  How then could I begin to freely write something completely my own, with no expectations of performance, no assignment?

Well, it began one day for me sitting on the couch in the house of my old roommate.  I had been recovering from the emotional trauma of a broken engagement and all that went with it.   That particular afternoon, I was sitting with the Lord.  Oh, my heart was so full, for lack of better words.  He was healing me and I knew it.  I could feel it.  I felt that I would explode if I didn’t begin to write about what was happening to me in that moment.  I knew that what was happening inside of me was life-giving, not only to me, but to others.  I could no longer hold inside what God was doing inside of my heart.

I was compelled to write.

Could this really help someone? Could this really give another person hope or point them to God? I thought, if someone reads anything about this ugly thing that has happened to me and what God is doing to help me recover from it, that would be worth humbling myself to put it on paper.

My journey of writing began.  I opened my heart and my life and began to write about my broken engagement.  And, not in the usual way. I didn’t go on and on about how bad the guy was.  It wasn’t bitter, nor was it longing.  But, it was raw and personal and sincere and real.  And an amazing thing began to happen a I started to write.  The words flowed out of me so quickly that my hands couldn’t keep up.  Easily.  When I was done, it felt like I had invited someone to watch the details of my life unfold on a movie screen.  It felt a little revealing, but it also felt freeing and good.

I invite you to read what I have to put here on this blog .  My challenge, both  for me and my readers, is to be as authentic as we know to be.

God tells us in the Bible that all that is hidden will one day be revealed.
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”

I do not intend to indiscriminately share things about my life or share without discretion or wisdom.  But, I do plan to be as raw and authentic as I know to be.  My goal is to know Him, to walk in His light, to know truth, and to love Him with all of my heart, soul, and mind, and to love my neighbor as myself.  My hope is that this blog will be something that will challenge us all towards that same goal.  What an adventure awaits us.

(You can read that original blog here.)

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Hello world!

Hello, world!

For every person that has ever asked me to write a book, this is for you.  This is the place where I will begin posting my writing on an ongoing basis.  I have been posting in myspace and facebook, but people who are not a member of those networks haven’t had access to any of my writing.  Now, I finally have one place to house everything, and everyone can access it.  You can subscribe to my blog by clicking on the subscribe button and entering your e-mail address.  You will receive a notification when I post something new and wonderful.  =)   I invite you to engage with your comments.  Thank you for reading.  I am honored that you are here.

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