Mother Teresa [Let's All Take Some Notes]

It doesn't take a Catholic to realize that Mother Teresa is/was the BOMB DIGGITY! I admire her faith and her service. So in honor of the legendary lady, here are some of my favorite quotes from her. 

• If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.
  
• I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.
  
• I know God won't give me anything I can't handle. I just wish He didn't trust me so much.
  
• Intense love does not measure, it just gives.
  
• It's not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving.
  
• Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.
• I'm a little pencil in the hand of a writing God, who is sending a love letter to the world.
• I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.
  
• The fruit of faith is love, and the fruit of love is service.
  
• The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.
  

Gift This.

While recently doing some of the LoveIs work stuff (God has given us second location to start helping – YAY) a young girl gave me a gift in return for us coming out. It was a gift I most assuredly already had (of sorts) but by her giving it to me brought some sort of full circle significance to all that God has made real in my life over the past almost three years … it was a Bible. How funny that she, this girl who I have never seen - never had very any conversation with (other than the chat about 15 minutes before about who we are and the work we do in L5P), before I left to leave ran to give me a KJV Bible and speak with me on the comfort of Crocs (admittedly, I just don’t get them people.. but are they REALLY as cloud-like as everyone says?).

It reminded me of the scripture in Isaiah …

The word had been given out through-out the years to the people on the corner, and it was coming back to me in a simple gesture by whom might all accounts be an angel is disguise (yes, I totally believe in that sort of thing) by someone in locale 2 (it was our third time serving there).

We, as believers of Yeshua, all have been given a gift and have therefore have a gift to share …

So, Merry Christmas, as those who see me on the day to day hear so often. You’ve gotten your gift, now it is time to share it with the world!

Tick Tock On The Clock

As I am nearing my 30^th birthday (which is a lot less scarier then I imagined it would be 5 years ago), in combination with hearing multiple tales of young lives lost due to various tragedies recently, and a few other things the Lord has REALLY been pressing upon me the importance of time.

Recently, I saw a church sign in Cedartown, GA that read, “The only thing you can’t get back is time”. Which is so very true, but not something we really think about as we are sitting in front of a computer or television watching meaningless programs or playing attention grabbing video games as the clock hand continues to move on around. Of course we do all need downtime, to recharge, regroup and rest, but we shouldn’t trade chilling for getting stuff done that has to be done … or that which has been given to us as extra work from God.

If it sounds as if I am getting a little bit personal I am, with myself. Years ago (if you have ever heard one of the interviews that have been done for the blog you know this) I began writing devotionals in response to lessons that God was teaching me. I figured that if I had to learn, others did too. I had the curl of a hardheaded, independent teenager/young adult at that time, but through the years I have learned that it is valid, as we are all to grow together as a family of believers. So if you feel any conviction, don’t look to me to – look to the one who is steadily working to transform us into more holy (like Yeshua) people all the time.

For me, I began getting convicted when I received an answer to a prayer. Though I had been given this blessing, it did require work on my part, but I was not putting forth the time in order to enact this gift to its potential. As I pondered this blessing, wondering how I was going to get it done in the time I had while sleepily closing my eyes this verse came upon my audio bible, Proverbs 20:13 “Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread”. I realized in that moment that for weeks, sleep had become my priority; this is why I felt like I had no time anymore to get things done. I was closing my eyes to the world almost to equal (if not more-so) to the amount in which they were open. Face palm!

So to finish were we started, we only have so many seconds, minutes, hours, days, years, etc. on this Earth until the Father calls us home. No one knows the exact time they will be here, but we must make the most of the time we have been given. We have all been born with a plan and purpose for our lives, and it is up to us to make sure we are available to carry out that, whenever our instruction(s) is given.

As I recently heard from someone, “There are days I long to go home to Heaven, as I dislike this world, but I think about all of the people who are lost, what if was able to go home earlier and because of me they didn’t get shared the gospel?”

Check out some other verses on time and time-management.

May you all be blessed as you go through-out your days, ever living for and showing the love of our Savior, Yeshua – Jesus Christ.