Tag: christian blog

illuminated qoute board

WADDUP

Published on by VelvetLeave a comment

Listen up everyone! Today is a new day so let’s make the most out of it. Whatever things you keep putting off saying you will do it tomorrow…. do it today! Tomorrow is not promised.

These flowers don’t look like anything very impressive but I am proud to say that they have been living in this vase for over 3 weeks. Actually, it’s been 1 month. I’m truly shocked and delighted in these little guys. It’s amazing what pouring a little bit of water onto something living will do.

Speaking of living water, let’s pour “living water” of encouragement and love into our relationships. Everybody out here is living this hard life and trying to make the best out of their situations. The least we can do is support one another and show compassion. Things may be easy for me today and hard tomorrow, and vice-a-versa with someone else. We don’t need to add to the hatred in the world and kick other people when they’re down and add to the madness.

It’s amazing what a smile will do 🙂

I just want to take a moment to show some gratitude to God. I look around and realize that everything I have came from Him.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17

God does not change. He’s not nice today and rude tomorrow. He doesn’t get tired of loving us. He doesn’t give up on us and stop pursuing us and fighting for us. He’s not fickle and flaky.

He’s firm. Foundational. Strong. He doesn’t crack. He’s supportive. He upholds. He protects. He’s welcoming and inviting. His presence is comforting. He is peaceful to be around. I am so thankful for Him.

Lord, thank you so much for letting me know you. Thank you for answering my prayer ten years ago. When I asked for your help. Thank you for leading me in righteousness and helping me to choose your ways. Your ways are so much higher than my ways. I choose selfishly and narrow-mindedly when I’m not relying on your wisdom to guide me to make the right choices. You long for me to be dependent on You and trust you to live this life with you, not apart from you. You are my best friend, my guide, my Truth. I live because you live in me.

I hope your day is more fragrant than this rose, more pleasing to your eyes than its’ petals, and flourishes more vivaciously than its’ leaves <3

xxx

V

Expectations

Published on by VelvetLeave a comment

Wow.

It really is all about expectations. Like ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

As Christians, our expectations shouldn’t change. We should be (based on scripture) ever-growing in joy, peace, love, faithfulness, gentleness, kindness, goodness, patience, and self control. We should be counting our sufferings as joy, turning the other cheek, living without fear or worry. These are the things the bible says.

If only it were that easy. To trust and believe these things and live them out. It takes discipline. It takes being in a constant posture of prayer and humility. A posture of receiving from the Lord. The knowledge that we can’t do anything apart from Him (John 15:5) but with him, all things are possible (Matt. 19:26).

If we lived this way, I dare to say that we wouldn’t be disappointed. Or at least we wouldn’t live in a state of disappointed. We wouldn’t be surprised at the world and at broken people. We wouldn’t take it personally or remain shocked that a person could be so vengeful. We wouldn’t gossip to our friends and family about how so-and-so offended us.

We would communicate clearly and directly what we want, what we expect from people. We wouldn’t fear people or their outcomes. We would say what we mean and mean what we say. We wouldn’t wait until we’re ready to explode to communicate our thoughts and desires.

We wouldn’t beat around the bush, get stuck inside our heads, constantly overthink everything, justify ourselves constantly when we wrong someone. We wouldn’t be quick to point out other’s mistakes and slow to admit our own… if we really believed what the bible says.

The only way to know what the bible says is to read it. To listen to it. To meditate on it day and night and not let it depart from our lips (Joshua 1:8).

The more we study the scriptures the better people we will become. Because the journey of being a christian is to become like Jesus more and more everyday. That happens slowly over time and only with the power of God living inside us. “Don’t you know you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?” 1 Corinthians 3:16.

The bible helps us set expectations. The bible helps us meet other’s expectations.

The bible helps us communicate directly and not use empty words.

Words words words.

Wordy words.

But what about the Word?

The Word of God is not a book of nonsensical ramblings. It’s the way, the truth and the life. And it’s ours, for free.

Whatever you’re going through right now, whether it’s in your job or with your partner or with a friend or someone you serve with at church or at a volunteer organization, know this:

We are to speak the Truth in love. And we aren’t always going to get it right. We’re going to fall short a lot. We are going to wish we had set an expectation with someone that we did not, and now we’re suffering for it. We’re going to learn what we expect from people as they let us down and only then do we realize how much somethings bothers us. We’re going to try and fail to keep someone’s set expectations. We’re going to get disappointed sometimes, frustrated sometimes, and hindsight is quickly going to become 20/20.

And the good news is, we can move forward. We can move on. We can re-state our expectations, explain what needs to be done or not done or changed in order to meet them. We can confess and apologize and move forward when we let someone else down. We can learn to formulate our thoughts and feelings into words in order to communicate our desires to others.

Move forward.

Move on.

Communicate clearly.

Be patient with people. Think of how long-suffering God is with us as we learn so so slowly how to abide by his word.

Forgive people. Remember, we forgive because God first forgave us. What other reason do we have? We know it’s the right thing to do because he tells us so.

View others with lenses of compassion, not condemnation. Not without forgiveness. Not despicably. Everyone starts somewhere. And we can’t expect others to know what we know. We can’t.

Do you have a good story of expectations and disappointments?

xxx

<3

V