I have an awesome God story to share with you all this evening, hence the title of this post!
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Over the weekend I discovered a really neat page on Pinterest. Its called "Her Binder Project". They have the coolest devotional pages to download for free and print off to store in a cute 3 ring binder. I've been wanting a super cute devotional that different from all the rest, and this is absolutely perfect! I downloaded the free 1 week set, and I can keep printing them off if I want more.
I won't go too much into detail with these devotional pages, but just incase you're curious, they are different for each day, and the ones I've seen will have blocks to fill in, places to write goals for the week, scripture to meditate on, and each page is absolutely beautiful! It makes me so excited to get up and start my day! Knowing I'm going to need at least 15 extra minutes to be able to slow down and focus on this in the morning wasn't too upsetting with me, because I was so excited to begin. I already enjoy waking up at least an hour 1/2 to 2 hours before I need to leave or do anything, because then I have time to wake up, eat a good breakfast, (-one of my goals for 2017- stay tuned for an upcoming post with my goals for 2017, and how I plan to accomplish them) take time to get ready and invest in myself, and spend time in my devotions.
I've mentioned before my devotional I do before bed, (my nice and quick "Prayers For A Teenager" or something like that-- Well, I like being able to end my day with a little taste of God, but I also wanted something more my style and easy to enjoy for my morning devotions. . . That's when I discovered "Her Binder Project." and I absolutely love their material!! I found an adorable purple binder to put my pages in, and let me tell you, I've never been so excited to wake up and make sure I had enough time to work on my devotions as I was this morning. That's such a refreshing feeling!
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You may be wondering how the story of my cute devotional discovery is a God story. Allow me to explain:
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In the past I've absolutely dreaded going to bed, because I suffered from insomnia and never knew when I'd be able to finally close the door on the day. Because of my loss of sleep I'd often be tired and grouchy in the morning. Over the past few months I've found falling asleep a bit easier, and getting up is usually refreshing, because I'm always ready to tackle another day. However, I'm not always excited to do devotions, especially in the morning. That would be why I've been doing my simple prayer devotionals at night right before shutting my lamp off and turning over to sleep.
I found these devotionals on Thursday evening, and I wanted to wait until the first day of the week (according to the layout in the devotional pages) to begin my journey of devotions through this group. It was so hard not to cheat and begin right away!!!
I found myself thinking: "I sure wish all Christians were waking up in the morning that excited to serve Christ, spend time with Him, and learn more about Him through prayer and a personal time of devotions."
I really do wish that- So I got to thinking about ways I could make my mornings better and more focused on Christ. I know 100% that God will refuel me whenever I pour out into Him. One of these ways to "better my mornings" was through finding a devotional I'd be excited to wake up and spend time on.
As I was getting ready this morning I sped through everything to ensure I had time to truly enjoy my time with God. As I was going through my first page there was a portion that read: "what is a quality of God you are going to focus on today?" I wrote down how I wanted to focus more on God's faithfulness. The next portion asked about a scripture verse to meditate on throughout the day. The "Verse of the Day" on my phone was Psalm 121:1-8. I wrote down the first 2 verses. "I lift up my eyes to the mountains-- where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth" This is part of the monologue in one of For King and Country's songs.
As I got to church this morning, one of the song we sang was Great is Thy Faithfulness, and as we sang that song I tried to think about the words-- God knew I'd write down to dwell on His faithfulness, and He planned the worship team to play that song! Throughout the rest of worship, we sang the songs Oceans and Great Are You, Lord. . . Let me tell you- I haven't worshipped like that in months. It was so refreshing to be able to pour out to God in that way.
That's only part 1 of the God story. . .
As church ended and I made my way to Sunday School, I sat down and watched a video from the series "gods at war" by Kyle Idleman.
As I watched this specific episode on the god of power, I began to think about my own life. The man talking in this episode talked about how he needed to be knocked down from his mountain to be able to truly find God and true success. I thought about my own life and how far I came crashing down before I was able to find God on a whole new level.
God's faithfulness, guys. . . He was guiding my through every session of counseling, every difficult decision I made this past year to better my life, and the strength He gave me to overcome/begin things that needed to happen. He is faithful!
As I continued to dwell on this past year I was reminded once again how God used every tear that fell from my eyes to change me into the warrior He created me to be.
Warrior. A word I've used to describe me, personally, over the past few months. "A warrior is that woman who gets up, despite the enemy trying to destroy her. A woman who declares victory before seeing it. A woman who believes she will receive her miracle because she knows the Lord she serves is alive and by her side."
I got so excited driving away after church, just thinking about God. No one was in the vehicle with me, but I was actually laughing and cheering at how great God was. I asked Him this morning to reveal His faithfulness to me. . . and He came through in greater ways than I could have imagined.
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Oh snap, guys! He did it again!!! I'm listening to Britt Nicole's new Deluxe Album, and the song "After You" just started playing, and I've got all the feels right now. I've included the link to the song on youtube because this song describes my situation. It's exactly what I needed to hear right now. I can't tell you enough how great God has been to me. I can't believe how amazing today was.
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-To think all of this happened as a result of seeking Jesus first thing in the morning and actively seeking Him throughout the day. Like I've said before: We can't ask God to do great things in our life if we don't change anything about our attitude or location. If I'd written down what I did in my devotional and then just slummed throughout the day rather than looking for God in my life, I would've missed the miracle of discovery.
God is so good. I encourage you to find a devotional, or some form of Bible study that gives you this feeling of excitement or anticipation in the morning. I love being able to go throughout my day knowing I started on a good note and didn't let anything else steal the time that I spent praising Jesus. . .
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The last part of my God story from today is this:
I've been stressing out financially, to the point where I feel nervous buying even the smallest items. Thing's add up, friends.
First, my car totally went out of commission 2 weeks ago, and God placed my Grandma to live with us for a few months at the exact right time. She has 2 vehicles, and I've been able to use her vehicles on and off when I do all my hectic driving. (I named her tiny little red truck "Lil' Red". He's a sexy little beast who gets stuck even on the tiniest hill. His tiny chevy engine is so cute- like a kitten. I'm hopefully getting my car back this week, and it'll be brand new. Silly heat gasket has a mind of its own.
Second, I was handed a check this evening and I was paid more than I normally would be. I was not expecting that.
Third, I was given a raise at HyVee a few weeks ago. DEFINITELY not expecting that. And yesterday afternoon one of the bakers told me I would be training a new closing employee in the next few weeks, and she proceeded to tell me I was the best worker they have currently in the bakery and that's why she requested me to train this new employee. She REQUESTED ME!!! I'm not saying this to be cocky or arrogant, but I'd been feeling very down about work and worrying about how I was doing the past little while. That was so cool to hear!
Finally, I was given a "Thank You" card from a family at our church tonight as well for something a few weeks ago. They sent me a letter tonight with money in it, and I wasn't expecting that either! I just looked at the money and the card and I smiled saying out loud "thank you, God."
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I can't pay for all of college with the gifts I received tonight, but right now the stress from wondering how I'm going to make ends meet has gone down. Vet bills, unexpected car bills, school tuition, and gas bills can be a weight on my shoulders I don't like to face. But God came through once again. Shame on me for losing total faith in God that He would supply just what I needed when it was more needed.
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I've got some great posts coming up in the next few weeks, so check back frequently! Also keep an eye on my youtube channel! I'm hoping to start uploading some vlogs I create on my commute to school with different topics, some new covers coming your way, and hopefully some better quality video, too!
Also, I've never shared my blog specifically to any site or anything. It is public, but recently I've felt God tugging on my heart to take this blog to the next level with sharing what He's doing in my life. If any of you feel led to share a specific post somewhere, you can totally do that!
~ What happens on the mountain with God CANNOT stay on the mountain ~
God wouldn't have me writing all my thoughts and experiences on this blog if He didn't want me to share it with others. . . This is a major fear I have, to open up to certain people and totally share my heart, but God is faithful in guiding me an giving me the strength to take this next step with Him beside me!
"Even when we're in too deep, we're solid like concrete. The heart break is over tonight."
-Concrete by Britt Nicole
Sarah
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