This is the place where I will share something hopefully daily. It may be something that God is teaching me, a short story or poem that I write in my "spare time" or just a random thought to get people thinking. I pray that God will take this space and use it for His glory.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Use your powers for good!

So, recently my email account was hacked into and suspicious email was sent to my contacts. Gmail shut down my email address and thus I was not able to get into my blog either. I was really frustrated for a while but in the end I don't think any real harm was done.

This incident sparked a discussion between Robbie and me. We thought about all the good that could be done if the people with the brain power required to hack into someone's email account used their powers for something useful. Here is what we came up with.

Top 10 problems solved by intelligent people instead of hacking into email accounts

10. Health care crisis
9. unbalanced national budget
8. the cause of Autism
7. Cure for Autism
6. Cure for AIDS
5. Cure for Cancer
4. Cure for world wide poverty
3. Peace in the middle east
2. prevention of hackers into email accounts
1. Stop the oil leak!

If you were smart enough to figure out how to mess up someone's computer with a virus, which of these things would you spend your energy on?

I'm just sayin'!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Creative Writing

I have always enjoyed writing. Short stories have been all that I have completed but it is my dream to write a novel. Since I want this blog to be an outlet for my creativity, I have decided that on the days that I don't have anything else to write I will write parts of a story. Here is the first installment!

The hour long drive to the new house was quiet. Both Jane and Mike were lost in their own thoughts. Jane's thoughts were full of excitement. They were finally home owners. For the first time in her life she felt like a grown up. The couple had been married for four years and had been waiting for Mike to get a full time job. This, she thought, was the key to their every happiness. When the offer finally came, she was ecstatic. Since the job came with insurance, they could finally start the family she had always dreamed of. They would be far enough away from their families to be completely on their own, but yet close enough to still be involved in all the family get togethers. It was the perfect location.

The house they had purchased was a good buy for the money. Property values in the small town of Anniston were way cheaper than those of Birmingham. So for a very low price the couple managed to score a spacious three bedroom home that sat on an acre of land. The last time Jane had lived in a house was when she was a little girl. She couldn't wait to decorate and make it her own. Since they only knew one person in the new town, they would basically be able to start completely over. Jane, who had always loved adventures, was thrilled at the possibilities of what their lives could be.

The thoughts that ran through Mike's head were completely different. The responsibility of being a homeowner weighed heavily on his mind. Could he really be the pastor of a church. Did he really have the skills that were required to do that? He knew Jane wanted to start a family and soon. He also wanted to have children, but the thought of taking on the new role of father in conjuction with the new role of pastor, as well as that of homowner scared him to death. He knew he couldn't express his concerns to his wife. She was practically beaming with excitement as she had been for the past two months as they prepared for the move. He didn't have the heart to squash her enthusiasm with his nervous thoughts. Several times since they had signed the closing papers on their home a week ago Jane had said with a wide smile, "Can you believe we own a home?" The only thing Mike could think of to say was "I don't want to think about it." He had watched her smile fade and it almost broke his heart. There was no way he could do that to her again. So, he kept his mouth shut and decided to pray instead.

God are you sure about this? Am I really ready for this? What if this doesn't work out? What if we fail? What if we can't afford the payments on our home? Is this really where you want us?

Son, I will supply all your needs.

Mike tried to remember that as he pulled into the driveway of their new home.



Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Why are some blessed with lots while some have so little?

So, I was at my mom's today and she asked why I thought that some people had so much and some people had so little. I told her this was a question that plagues me often. A couple of years ago while driving home from work, I had a long talk with God about this subject. My husband Robbie and I have always struggled with money some, more at sometimes that others. We were at a particularly difficult spot. I was trying to finish school and needed to quit my job for a while to do it and Robbie just wasn't satisfied with his job either. There just wasn't enough money to do what we wanted to do and I asked God, "why can't we just have the money we need to be able to not have to worry? Other people have more money than they know what to do with and yet we struggle to make ends meet much of the time and never seem to have any extra. It's just not fair." In the midst of my pity party the answer came to me. If I had enough money that I never had to think twice about things like tuition for school, then I wouldn't have to trust Him to meet my needs. What God wants most from all of us is to bring glory to Himself. If I had a million dollars then I wouldn't really give him a chance to work things out in that perfect way of His, thus denying him the ability to draw others closer to him via my testimony.

After this discussion with my mom today, another question came to mind. On two occasions that I can think of off the top of my head we have been more than willing to drop everything (literally everything) and go where we thought God was leading us. In fact we were positive we were doing His will. Where did it leave us? The most recent time left us broke, temporarily without a place to live, jobless, and miserable. Why didn't God bless us for our efforts? Even if we weren't doing His will, if we thought we were and had the best of intentions shouldn't that have been enough to keep us from struggling so much?I haven't found the answer to this one yet but I know that there is one. I know that God works all things out for the good of His children. It is in this that I have found my peace.