Please help (a prayer)

~Saturday Stories~

Dear God,

My thoughts are scattered. 

The to-do list is huge.

I don't know what I'm doing.

I haven't been reading

The Bible consistently.

You still hear me, though, right?

I don't have too much time

Left with my family.

I feel so torn. Again. Again.

I feel so happy sometimes 

Then I cry in the bathroom

Because there is a lock there  

Dear God,

I have nothing figured out

No matter how hard I try

Please help

I know you are with me

You hug me so tight

Even if I don't see it right now 

And in the middle of my ache 

You will never leave 

Thank you. I can't thank you enough

How about you? Have you ever felt utterly helpless? How has God made His presence known to you lately?

There is a poll on the left sidebar that I would love if you checked out. It's about how often you think I should post, something I have been thinking about lately and would love your opinion on.  

Why I relate to the Psalms

~Tuesday Thoughts~

What's up! I was working on a project this past weekend. While I'm extremely excited about sharing it this Thursday, I am sorry about the lack of posting this weekend. Also, there is a poll on the left sidebar, that I would absolutely love if you checked out! It's about how often you think I should post, something I have been thinking about lately and would love your opinion on.  

Just recently I decided that I will be reading the Psalms. I have been having trouble with having consistent Bible reading and prayer times for a while now (anyone else?), but hopefully, since I have figured out what I will be reading exactly, I might get back on track.

The main reason I picked the Psalms was that I feel I relate to a lot of them. So many Psalms are outcries of a heart in pain, a heart afraid to hope. And God hears those prayers. 

God reminds us again and again that He is our hope. The Lord is our Deliverer. He will never leave us, even if we've spent the first half of the psalm crying that it feels like He has. God hears those prayers, those screams about the unfairness of life and the horrors of it. He hears them, and He answers them. 

 "You have put more joy in my heart

    than they have when their grain and wine abound.

  In peace I will both lie down and sleep;

    for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." Psalm 4:7-8 (ESV)

How about you? Have you had times when your prayers to God are mainly crying for help or asking Him if He's still there? How has God answered your prayers and shown you His presence?

Excruciating Pain

~Good Friday~

Something I heard on K-LOVE and also thought myself is that on Good Friday it is easy to think only of the good that came out of this week. Honestly, with the knowledge of the upcoming incredible death-defying resurrection, it is easy to gloss over the atrocities of Friday. And, of course, Sunday is indeed incredibly important, a day without which our faith is utterly useless. 

Yet we dare not forget the pain, the excruciating pain our Savior went through on Friday. Imagine a time when you hurt physically. He felt that and more. Imagine a time when you were lonely. He felt that and more. Imagine a time when you did someone good, and the recipient slapped you in the face. He felt that and more. The amazing Creator, without whom nothing would have been made, the Healer, whose incredible love extends to prostitutes and taxpayers, the teacher, who taught of the possibility of rebirth, became the SAVIOR of humankind by HIS DEATH and resurrection. 

"For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." Colossians 1:19-20 (NIV)

This is not an easy day. Let us remember that as we rejoice in our Savior's death and the upcoming defeat of death! 

You know that pain

~Saturday Stories~

1. You know that pain
That you don't let yourself feel
You know that ache
When you try to make yourself numb
You know that hurt
That you don't remind yourself of
You know...

Chorus:
So you box if up
In a neat, neat box
And send it far away
I don't want to deal with this now
So you block it off
And you build a wall
No one can see and you're all alone
No, I don't need any help right now

2. You know that pain
That invades you when you're all alone
You know that ache
When you can't take it anymore
You know that hurt
That haunts you in your dreams
You know...

Chorus:
Still, you box if up
In a neat, neat box
And send it far away
I don't want to deal with this now
So you block it off
And you build a wall
No one can see and you're all alone
No, I don't need any help right now

3. That pain, that ache
You know how much it hurts
Those screams, those tears
When you think no one else will know
Those cries for help
Uttered in the darkness
So,

Chorus:
Please don't box it up
In any box
Open it up
You need to deal with this now
Please don't block it off
Or build a wall
God sees you when you're all alone
We all need help right now

Bridge:
What if you said
I can open up now
What if you said
God, help me with my healing x2

Chorus:
I won't box it up
In any box
I'll open up
'Cause I need to deal with thiis now
I won't block it off
I'll tear down that wall
God sees me when I'm all alone
I need help right now

Friendships... hard stuff

~Friday for Friends~

Jamie Grace has a video about friendships: "Friendships... Sometimes They Hurt".

I have a story about giving up on a friendship I could have still worked on.

How about you? Have you had friendships that hurt? How did God help you through? 

Hope and Someone to live for

~Tuesday Thoughts~

 I get it. You feel stupid. Useless. Guilty. Worn. Not good enough. I can’t even count how many times I’ve felt that way too. It’s crazy. But you know what? There’s always this Someone I can turn to when life sucks. God. And I know this might seem weird or trite or just an easy excuse not to solve a problem, but it’s none of that.

  You see, God loves you like crazy. You think you love someone? I tell you, that’s nothing compared to how God loves you. He’s not delusional; He knows you’re messed up and I’m messed up and that every single human being is ridiculously messed up. He knows that and still loves us. Even better, He made a way that we can get out of this pit, this darkness that constantly envelopes us, these mistakes we make again and again and again.

  The Way to get out of it is Jesus. I know you might have heard about Jesus before. I wouldn’t be surprised if you have wondered about who He is and what He did, but then, looking around at all the people who call themselves His followers, decided it was a big joke. But it’s not. Because even though His followers aren’t perfect in their behavior, Jesus is perfect. He is God, yet He also became a human being. How? To be honest, sometimes you don’t know exactly how some things work, but you still know they’re true.

 So, Jesus came to Earth, lived on it without making any mistakes at all, and then paid for our mistakes with His death, resurrecting on the third day. He paid the debt we owed for messing it up. It’s like if you owed $100,000,000, to someone, and then that person went out of his way to cancel that debt. Now all you have to do is sign that piece of paper that says you believe him, that it’s a done deal. God can make your life into something way better than you ever imagined, and all you have to do is say that you believe He canceled your debt. Plain language, no double meaning, just talk to Him.

   Will life be painless? No; I did this at six, and life has been anything but painless. But you’ll have hope. Hope and Someone to live for, because that Someone died for you.

"God knew how I'd ached" and more quotes

~Saturday Stories~

"God knew how I'd ached." - Skylar, So Over It

“Jesus told his disciples in the book of John that people would know we are His by our love for each other. Not how we look or how much we do for His Kingdom, but by our love. It all comes down to love.” -Scott, Worth the Time

"Seriously, if God hadn't intervened in my life, well, I don't know where I'd be right now. Maybe I'd be dead like Lisa." - Andrea, Harsh Pink

"You're going to make enemies, you two."

"It's about time." .... "I never thought I was going to get any enemies here." ... "I figure if nobody hates me, I'm being too wishy-washy."  -Mrs. Abbey & Wyatt, "B" is for Bad at Getting into Harvard

How about you? Have you ached? Have you shown Christ's love or noticed it in others? What has God saved you from? Have you made enemies while standing for what is right? 

"They know they've been forgiven" and more quotes

~Saturday Stories~

"...the only difference between them and you is that they know they've been forgiven." - Josh, Like Moonlight at Low Tide

"Our pain can help others." - Beth, The New Recruit

"Not making a decision is the same as making one. It's like saying you like how things are going, that you want to keep heading in the same direction. But I think that's a bad choice. I mean, why would you want to live a life that makes you miserable? It makes no sense." - Andrea, Harsh Pink

"Remember that God made you in His image, and therefore, you are beautiful." - The dedication in Skinny

How about you? Which quote touched you? Can you share some quotes you like?