Pleasing Aroma

^{Galatians 1:10}Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

I have just a few minutes to spare and I wanted to get this posted before I get my punkin' from school. I got up this morning and read my one year bible, then got Morgan ready for school. Our routine in the car is praise music and then we pray. Last night she rushed down stairs (no lie) and said mommy you have got to get upstairs and hold hands with me and daddy and pray. Long winded as I am, she got tired of holding hands and Rod fell asleep. This has nothing to do with my post...

I sat in our church parking lot and cracked open my bible and Esther. I am so aware of my poverty apart from Christ. I do not know where I would be without Him. And when I have strayed I have realized that I am truly miserable apart from dwelling in the shadow of His wings (ps 91). In the dead silence (which is not often) I was listening for that still small voice. Then, after I finished bible study I began to voice some things to the Lord. Some things so personal to me and that says a lot from someone like me who likes to SHARE EVERYTHING.

I talked with the Lord about my calling in life. I assume most of you who read this care about the calling God has put on your life. We all have a calling during this brief tenure on earth and I don't want to miss it. As we seek God I believe we will fulfill our callings. I so desire to make His name famous, not mine. Anyway, I have been wrestling with the whole calling thing and it occurred to me that part of my problem is trying to walk by site and not faith. Morgan was asking me the other day where God was and what does He look like. When I was explaining to her she said, "momma I can't see Him." Then she said, "I know where God is. He is in my bible." I loved it. Another deterance of mine is people. I will look at certain situations, feel defeated, and think God have you forgotten about me here. The Lord has given me a passion to teach and it is like a fire in my bones. We are told to fan into the flames of our spiritual gifts. I so long to do that...but there seems to be no open doors. When I see that doors are shut I have to trust and rest in God's plan and not what I think man thinks of me. That is why I put the verse in Galatians at the top. You will find over and over in the new testement where it says "Paul, a servant of Christ." That was his identity. That needs to be ours until we finish this race ____ (name) a servant of Christ. I struggle so much with discouragement and it is just plain frustrating. But if I stay focused on His word and who He is and the fact that I am just a servant of Christ mans opinion seems to fade. (I have 5 minutes...gotta hurry...sorry for errors)

Paul was speaking in context about proclaiming the gospel and sticking to truth and not any other gospel. Christ and Christ alone is the only way to God. So if we are going to serve God we have got to quit worrying about what everyone else thinks. I want to be like David where he says this in 2 Samuel 6: ²¹ David said to Michal, "It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the LORD's people Israel—I will celebrate before the LORD. ²² I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes.

No one knows my shortcomings better than me and the Lord. Yet I truly want us all to press on with God regardless. He made us, he knows how we are formed of mere dust. We are weak in ourselves. I know some things are on my heart for ministry but I began to tell Him in the car all of my "I can'ts. Then, of course I was like duh...in my weakness He is made strong. His power is made perfect in our weakness.

Ok. Out of time but I wanted to close with these verses that the Lord has literally gone out of His way to bombard me with and then still I am like Lord do you have a plan for me? O Ye of Little Faith I am sure He has said.



“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. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:11-13