Find Your Rest

Matthew 11:28-->

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

This was one of the first things that came to mind this morning. This was the first night of sleep since Sunday night and it was astounding! I woke up feeling horrible. It was how I would expect someone who is in a comma for a few months wakes up feeling like. I asked myself "Where am I? Who am I?" and "Why do I feel so horrible?" Within moments it all came back to me. Even feeling as bad as I did, I felt so much better than I had the day before! I become weary or even exhausted from may different things.

Some are mentally exhausting...others are emotionally exhausting...and still others are physically exhausting! Everyone has felt tired and completely drained of any form of energy before. But, not everyone knows of how much rest you can get from God! He helps you with ALL of your burdens. He can make a couple hours of sleep feel like a full night. He relieves emotional baggage that weighs you down. Your part in all of this is to just let Him help you. If you are feeling tired for any kind of reason, ask God for help! He will provide for you!

Stuck Down

"All I need's another day, where I can't seem to get away, from the many things that drag me down. I'm sure you've had a day like me where nothing seems to set you free, from burdens you can't carry all alone. In your weakness, He is stronger. In your darkness, He shines through. When you're cryin', He's your comfort. When you're all alone, He's carrying you!......This valley, is so deep. I can barely see the sun. I cry out, for mercy LORD. And He lifts me up again! I get down, He lifts me up!"  ---Get Down, Audio Adrenaline

Every time! This is the second night in a row that I have spent working on my graduate research instead of sleeping. For some reason my normal podcast started putting me to sleep (well, maybe it was a lack of caffeine in my bloodstream or the fact that I am exhausted). So, I resorted to watching cute animals on YouTube and then decided to be more productive and sing along with some of my favorite old school worship songs. Audio Adrenaline is still up there for Favorite Christian Musicians for me. I absolutely love their "Get Down" music video. It shows just how much fun these guys had throughout the years as a band. I also am a huge fan of the lyrics. Especially right now in a dark lab at 2:35am working on my research all alone. There is an end in sight but it doesn't seem like all the work that needs to get done can physically fit in that small amount of time. Today I quickly became discouraged after staying up all night in the lab working on getting research done for my meeting with my advisor she says in our meeting "I just don't know if you can get it all done". Yay! That is what I have waited to hear all day!!! (extreme sarcasm). So, seeing that I still had 15 more hours of research and some data analysis that wasn't hard but would take some time, I knew again that I would spend the night in the lab. And so here I am.

What is great about our God is that He gave us free will. With this free well we tend to stumble; stumble all over the place. Even though God lets us fall and skin our knee, He never leaves us there. He lets us learn from what we did, and then comes over and picks us back up. Amazing!  If you feel like your trapped down in a valley and you can't even see where the sky is, ALWAYS remember that our God is gracious and will lift us up again!!

Science Sunday (on Monday): Leaf Anatomy

I decided that I would make every Sunday's post about science. One of the reasons why I love learning about science is the simple fact that every detail and part of this world that God designed is so intricate and amazing! Yesterday was Sunday, but a different post came to mind, today will be considered 'Science Sunday'. 

Below is a picture of a generic internal structure of a leaf. When I think of leaves, I think of thin, and delicate structures. Probably people think of the veins in each leaf but there are many other components that allow trees to remain alive and healthy. 

So we have the veins. These are what carries nutrients that is produced in the leaves to the rest of the tree. They also pump water into the leaf. 

Surrounding the veins and composing the majority of the leave's internal structure are chloroplasts. These little guys use a series of chemical reactions to produce energy for the organism (tree, plant etc.). The chloroplasts are able to harness the energy from sunlight and create glucose to be used by the plant for energy. There are light dependent and light independent reactions. This is so that the leaf can produce things during the day (using sunlight) and also during the nighttime (without sunlight). 

There are also many different components of the leaf that are not depicted in this drawing but I would like to mention one of my favorite leaf tid-bits. Leaves have stoma (which are pores). The cool think about these pores are that during the night time they are open to collect water and dew from the outside environment for the leaf. In the daytime, they close so that a minimal amount of water is lost due to evaporation etc. 

So, if that little overview of how a leaf works didn't blow your mind, think through this. All of those structures are within one leaf. Now think about how many leaves are on one single tree. (I can't even wrap my mind around that). Now, if you were able to get through that one, buckle up. Now, think about how many trees are in your town, or a park by you, or some area where there is more than one tree. (I grew up in Maine so there are quite a few trees just about anywhere you turn) A good way to be overwhelmed by this is to look at the side of a hill or mountain. SO MANY TREES! Each with a mind blowing amount of leaves on them too! Ok, so if you still aren't impressed, now, think about how many different types of trees there are! Or even how many different plants have leaves. And to top it off, how many plants/trees are on earth!!!! Phew! God is such an artist! I hope when you are out and about today that you see at least one tree and think about how intricately God made a single leaf! : )

The Ultimate Sacrifice

Today in church the entire service was to recognize and thank any and all of the courageous men and women who have served for our country! The church was PACKED! It was a lovely service and the speaker (AMAZING) had a lot of good points and expressed the right amount of his heart for the audience. (It helped that he was completely hilarious too!) One thing that I dwelled upon a little longer than the service (since it was brought up a couple times) is that there are so many men and women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice to allow future generations have a life of freedom. Isn't that exactly what Jesus did for us too! Only, instead of dying for just one country, He died for the entire world! The speaker mentioned how in his last battle (the one where he lost his arm and eye) one of his buddies dove over a grenade to save the life of two of his comrades. A true painting of friendship, loyalty and love. If you go through any of the gospels in the Bible you come across a very similar story. There aren't any grenades but there is a cross. So, make sure you thank all the men and women who served for our country over the century but also, remember to thank God for His sacrifice for our freedom!

Trust

Today is going to be short and sweet. (at least that what I think right now....but God only knows.....) Exactly. God only knows! He knows everything about EVERYTHING! Crazy concept! That fact that he knows everything comes close to blowing my mind but, what sends grey matter all over the wall behind me is that he knows everything about the past, the present, and if that wasn't enough, the future too! Phew. What is even crazier, is that knowing everything includes knowing everything about each and every one of us.....I don't even know everything about myself! Ah.....Our God is simply AMAZING! (well, if you have read my other posts you are well aware that amazing doesn't cut it to describe Him.)

This past Sunday the Boys and Girls clubs at our church (from what I know they are sort of like the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts) stood up and sang a song for the congregation. Also, some of the kids got awards for memorizing close to if not more than 70 Bible verses! Thanks God. CONVICTED! If I were to recall Psalm 119:9-11 it is recommended for us to hide God's word in our hearts so that we can be aware of sin and keep ourselves pure. Hummm.....if this tiny little child can memorize 70 or so verses...why can't I try one a week or at least pick some good ones (haha....the Bible is chock full of 'good' verses) and learn those really well and maybe I would get better at that? (It might even help me remember people's names....). So a friend and I sat there watching these kids get their awards and we decided that we could learn a thing or two from these little ones. So....since I have been kind of in transition mode in my life for a bit I picked Jeremiah 29:10-14.....

This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."

 Huh. Well....I love these verses. I tend to get frazzled about where my life is going. Why did God have me come here to get a specific degree when I can't find a job that uses that knowledge? Where am I going? Well....this all might be God's still small voice reminding me to seek Him will ALL my heart. I get fearful of that word. That means there is none left for me to have and hold on to. But, why would I need a piece of my heart when the Almighty God who Created well...everything has planned my life? I might trust people too much here on earth but what is stopping me from trusting God? Is there stopping you too? (guess this wasn't as short as I originally thought.....)

Burn Baby Burn!!!!

Yesterday, my graduate research completely distracted me from every day life and because of that I never posted. Not a good excuse, I know, but it is the truth. I did spend time throughout the day thinking about different ideas and attributes of my life and how they have impacted me.

In middle school we learned about the Fire of '47, which was a huge devastating fire that burned extensive amounts of Mount Desert Island and also traveled onto the mainland as well. This tragedy was of great interest to me for some reason. I liked learning about how it effected the people, how life changed on MDI after the fire and how the land bounced back after such an uncontrollable blaze.

One little fact I remember while studying the fire was that while right after a fire everything is dead and burned (depending on the severity and type of fire), the land normally bounces back and growth is even better than it was before the fire. Since that tid bit of information was from around 4th grade, I wanted to investigate to see if there was some validity to this. I simply googled the idea and came across this site: http://www.forestencyclopedia.net/p/p679. It was very helpful and informative and not to complicated to explain in a short blog. It is true to some extent. There are so many different things that a fire can change/effect in an environment but I come to the conclusion that it can be very beneficial to the land. While the fire might deplete the nutrients in the soil, it can increase the nutrients available to the land. A fire also releases nutrients that are trapped in dead organic matter (dead trees etc.), and even redistributes it throughout the area.

 (If you are completely lost at this point, don't fret, here is where I make the connection to our lives).

We all experience many different fires in our lives. Some of those fires are small controlled burns that remove refuse from our lives. Other fires though start with a small spark, land on something dried and dead, and quickly grows into a ragging inferno! (Today I am using fires as a 'negative' or difficult point in our lives. Many times people talk about being 'on fire' for the LORD, which is a great idea and I'll probably talk about that at some point.) What people don't realize while a fire is raging is that it can be good for the land, they are just trying to put it out. But, I am convinced that God does many controlled burns in our lives to remove things that shouldn't be there. Fire is a very quick, efficient way to destroy things. But to quote one of my favorite movies "Up from the ashes, up from the ashes, grow the roses of success!" If you have experienced an extremely hot, uncontrollable inferno in your lifetime, know that God is just prepping you for something bigger and better! The story of Job comes to mind...... : )

Our Jealous? God

For the week and a couple days I have spent in the lab working on my graduate research, averaging well over 12 hours a day in a small enclosed room staring at seemingly endless excel worksheets is quite a way to start the summer! Since the time is spent just crunching data I have the ability to multi-task and listen to my favorite podcast ('Stuff You Should Know' from HowStuffWorks.com) at the same time. The topics range from 'How LEGOs Work' to 'Did We Really Walk On The Moon?'.

Today, one of the ones that I got to listen to was all about jealousy. I never knew there was a difference between envy and jealousy, well.....there is. It is more of a technicality than anything but a difference not the less. This got me thinking about when God refers to Himself as 'a jealous God' in Exodus. He is giving Moses the commandments and in Exodus 20:4 is where God calls Himself jealous. Growing up, I developed a sour feeling to the word. Not really for any reason either. I just took it that jealously was a bad thing. Amongst the many podcasts that I have listened to in the past months I have learned SO MUCH! But today, I have answered an enduring question I have had about God's character. Why can God be jealous and not us? If God is good, how can he exhibit jealousy?

Well.....to be jealous is to have displeasure towards something or someone due to their possessions, or status....(loosely based on Dictionary.com's definition). God feels jealously when we, His precious creation, focus our adoration or even attention to something/someone other than Him. This feeling is not out of place since God is the only one WORTHY of our time, praise, or focus. He has all the right to become upset when we give things lesser to Him (which is everything) what He ultimately deserves! OUCH! One night in youth group, or youth pastor played the song 'Run' by Kutless during out devotion time. Instead of a video this time, I provided the words to the second verse, chorus, and the bridge. Every time I sincerely listen to the words I am convicted about how much of my life is not directed to the One who longs to just be with us!

'Whatever happened to the love, the love you had for me
When you first came to me
Don't you know that I died, died so I could be with
you forever.
And I'm waiting for you
And I'm waiting for you

Why do you run why do you hide oh don't you know I
just, just want to be with you, to be with you
Hey, why do you run why do you hid oh don't you know
I just, just want to be with you, to be with you...

Find a place of solitude, and I'll speak to you
As you pray to me
Don't you know I'm waiting here, waiting for you to
read and hear my words
I'm waiting here missing the time the times we shared
oh, please come to me'

Think through where you focus most of your attention. Remember, you could be spending your time with truely good things, like family. It is when that takes the place of God in our life is when we need to watch out.

How do you describe God?

So, this morning I got to have a little praise and worship time with God and my guitar. I played a couple songs that I had pulled for Bible study. It is really fun to just get to play any praise song you want to and most times I find some song that relates exactly to what is on my mind at the time (funny how God works like that). I came across Cannons by Phil Wickham. After only a couple lines of singing I realized that this song went PERFECTLY with what I was thinking about yesterday! So, long story short, The song below is a continuation of yesterday's post! 

After my mini jam session with the Most High, while getting ready for the day, another song came to mind. A Todd Agnew wrote a song about how no matter what we come up with to praise God; His glory and majesty is still far beyond anything we could ever describe. Any combination of adjectives we compile or string of praise we present will always be a drastic understatement of God's superior splendor. 

To put this in terms we might be able to picture. You most likely have heard about the artist Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, well, actually, you have probably just heard about Michelangelo. If the name doesn't ring any bells (which normally names don't ring any percussion instrument in my head) than maybe the Sistine Chapel is more familiar?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Musei_vaticani,_cappella_sistina,_retro_02.JPG

Well, anyway, Michelangelo demonstrated a mastery of may art mediums as well as a strong knowledge of science and anatomy. 

When people go and see, in person, what remains of Michelangelo's works, most are simply in awe. If someone were to see his work and refer to it as 'ok' or simply 'good' they would be not giving credit where credit is due. To paint with as much detail in even one part of the Sistine Chapel, let alone all of the paintings in that building! What makes them even more impressive is that most of the paintings are on the ceiling! (I struggle rolling paint on a ceiling, let alone any detailed artwork). 

Our language puts barriers to how we can describe or praise God. Nothing we find on earth can compare to Him. 

Let Everything that has Breath, Praise God!

First of all, if you have never watched the video of Louie Giglio below, it is well worth the fourteen minutes! 

This morning I final kicked my lazy mental state of mind out the door (literally) ha ha. I was able to wake up, throw my clothes in the wash and go out for a short run! FINALLY! Since it was damp and dreary out, there was no one else at the park. The road goes through a nice small area of trees (kind of a mini forest). My 'God Sighting' today was listening to the birds and rain in the forest. 

I slowed down to a walk (which isn't that much of a change from my running pace) and just listened to my surroundings. It was a lovely start to my day! And reminded me of one of my favorite Psalms. 

Psalms 150

Praise the LORD.

Praise God in His sanctuary;

praise Him in His mighty heavens.

Praise Him for His acts of power;

praise Him for His surpassing greatness.

Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet,

praise Him with the harp and lyre,

praise Him with the timbrel and dancing,

praise Him with the strings and pipe,

praise Him with the clash of symbols,

praise Him with resounding symbols.

Let everything that has breath, praise the LORD.

Praise the LORD. 

So, for all of the animals that haven't figured out how to strum a harp or lyre or don't own a symbol or two; God has provided to them their own ways to praise!!!! Find your way to praise God today!

Seeing God Through Songs

For a while now I have been not actively seeking out God. Sure I want to be following His plan for my life because I know it is good (Jeremiah 29:11) but I have been avoiding putting effort into my relationship with Him. I am creating this blog to try to track the 'God Sightings' I witness each and every day. Perhaps while I am seeking God and providing my mini eureka moments my thoughts might inspire or encourage anyone who might stumble across this blog.

Today I posted both of these paintings I did in 2011 while visiting one of my favorite families (Jeremiah 29:11 Ministries) in Georgia. Today in church two of my favorite new worship songs were played. (I would tell you the names but I can't remember them right this second. I'm sure that the lyrics will be posted sometime later on because they still bring tears to my eyes, not because of sadness but of bringing the sheer greatness of God to the front of my mind and overwhelming me.) This time of worship is an example of how music (singing, playing instruments, and yes, even dancing) is how many people 'feel' God's presence. I personally am dependent on worship based music/lyrics to bring me into a state of worship and it is a way for me to calm my nerves and even focus for a little while. Think about what your favorite way to worship is........