Meditate

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:8, 9

I absolutely love the beginning of this. To me, this is a reminder to keep the word to keep YOURSELF in meditation and that just because you believe in the word doesn't mean to aggressively shove your beliefs or the word down other peoples throats. Yeah you should go out and spread the word. But to those who want no part in it, to keep pushing and pushing, could make their hearts harder and harder towards Christians and towards God.
And being couraged and reminded that God is with us where ever we go. I often forget this. Or take it for granted. And find myself sad, isolated and feeling alone in general. It wasn't until just recently that my husband pointed out that God has put me in this season for a reason. And instead of being upset about it, I need to take advantage of it. I think sometimes once we have accepted Christ into our hearts we forget that it's not just an easy walk in the park. That building a relationship with Him and growing in faith takes hard work. I have always been a bit of a social butterfly and this is the most difficult thing that I have encounter. I have not experienced a discipline such as this requires. Meditation in the word daily and continuous prayer?! The only thing I've ever had to do daily was work or school and you even get 2 days break from that. Jesus doesn't ask for perfection. He asks for an effort and a renewal of your mind. And as you do this, these daily "tasks" become daily desires that stir your heart in the middle of the night. Let's encourage one another and hold each other accountable.

Traveling.

I never realized how different cities were. I am currently in Sacramento, California. I am spending 15 days down here. Longest trip I have ever been on. I am from a small town in Washington called Smokey Point.

Everyone knows everyone and we all generally try to be nice to each other. However, California is very different. Everyone is in a hurry to go somewhere and everyone is all about themselves. For example, the other night Justin and I were driving, and dancing in the car and just having fun, and some dude threw gang signs up at us and started following us. But luckily to my awesome driving skills, we lost him.

Then a few days before that, we went to a Starbucks. And we had to walk in so I had a very nice conversation with one of the barista's there. She ended up giving me a discount on my drink. I honestly think it was just because I was nice to her, something that was so unfamiliar to her.

What has this world come to if we are overjoyed when one person is nice to us, and rude people are just a thing of the norm?? Again, I started thinking where is God's love? Stuck in the 4 walls of the church? Stuck in our small groups, or just our friends and family?

We need to learn to step out and spread love to everyone. What good is it if people who are already in a relationship with God and are actively seeking him, they already have had a glimpse of God's love. Think about how radically you could impact someone's day just by showing them God's love. Think about it. Off to Yuba City we go. Signing off for now. :)