My eyes were opened this morning to the fact that we are never guaranteed a tomorrow...

You are never guaranteed a next breath...

How is it that all of us can take life for granted so easily? As Christians it is so dangerous to do that. Let us not forget that every single breath is a gift from God. Every moment of the day we have the chance to bring glory to God or not. We have the chance to show love or not. The chance to forgive and serve.

I don't want to waste my time here. It's selfishness that holds me back. It's pride. 

It's Monday morning and as we are headed to work, school or even just staying at home, I encourage you to think about it...really think about the fact that, as Mother Teresa said, “Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” Let us show love. Let us apologize and forgive. Let us encourage. Let us serve. Let us do everything we do to bring glory to God who is the giver of every breath you and I breath. And in doing so, let us pray that hearts would be changed and given to God. 

Grace and peace to you today and the rest of the week!

-Ally

Here comes the rain again...

There's a flood watch in effect for Western Washington today!!

I have started writing this and then deleted it a few times now.  I suppose because I am not feeling so profound in thought - but feel like there is something I want to express about the strong feelings that seem to accompany a change of seasons.  Fall is truly my favorite time of year - and yet - conversely - it is tinged with a certain melancholy.  Somehow, the season seems to make me focus more inward and I am not always comfortable with what I find there.

In the summer days of my life - oh I am really getting profound and metaphoric now - I need to focus all the more on knowing my Savior and serving him.  It is easy in those days to instead just be immersed in the sunshine and pleasure of life outside of my walk with the Lord.  Instead I should be cultivating and growing spiritually to prepare for a harvest that will leave my storehouses full when the rain and storms set in. My joy cannot be ultimately founded in summer sunshine, the crisp mornings and colors of Fall or any other external factors.  These seasons and times come and go.  A heart that is focused on the Lord will know joy and stability throughout any season of the year or of life.

Lord, I look to you for all of my needs as I know you alone are sufficient.  I pray you will fill my heart with your joy and sustain me through this day.  I want to be able to give myself away to others instead of getting caught up in my own head and focusing on me.  Thank you for the sun.  Thank you for the rain. Help me to not be constantly up and down and blown by the wind - but set my feet solidly on the rock and give me the strength to stand.
-mike






...metaphoric??

Embrace the process

Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, Psalm 119:2

Think about it...

We are supposed to love The Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. To seek him with our whole heart.

It's much easier said than done.

I mess up so much. If it wasn't for Gods forgiveness, and grace, I don't know where I'd be. I would feel horrible all the time. And I should feel horrible about sin. But because of what Jesus did on the cross there IS forgiveness and second chances! 

Don't linger in your wrongdoings! LET IT GO! GET RIGHT WITH GOD! 

We will never love The Lord with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength if we're stuck in our past. We've got to give it to God and seek him with all we've got. 

A lot of times Gods will for our life isn't obvious to us. (No wonder with all the distractions.) Knowing Gods will is soooo important. We need to LOOK, and SEARCH. It's our desire...our passion that leads to the "Big Reveal"

In the meantime, as we search, we need to serve people, tell them about the love of Christ, and trust God. Even while we're waiting we need to be running this race with perseverance!

And once we know his will we need to DO it. 

Faithfulness pays off. (Being loyal, constant, and steadfast)

Embrace the struggle, and the process, of finding your personal call. God told us he would be with us. So I'm trusting him. I'm reaching out. I'm super excited to see where he leads!!!