Want to make God chuckle?

Way too often, I like to think I have got it all figured out. I have these ideas in my head of what my life will turn out to be, ideally, in five, ten, even twenty years from now. I will be happy married with a cute little family and a decent sized house with a backyard that can contain a bunch of little husky puppies. A girl can dream, right?
Somewhere, in all of that mess of imagination, I get lost. I lose focus of what really matters. I forget that God's plan for me is way better than any plan that I can even think of. His plans are among the things we cannot even fathom, or begin to understand. Somehow, they just work. Sometimes, we don't see it right away. Sometimes, we may never see it, ever. But every single path that we travel is not unforeseen. God sees the future, the present, the past, and He will never leave your side during a single moment.
So why do we plan out our future, as if it will actually happen the way we want it to? I think a part of it is because we are worried that He won't "come through", or satisfy us in the end, which is actually very ironic.
In the bible, there are endless times where it has been said that the only thing that will truly fully satisfy you, is searching hard and unapologetically after the Lord. As humans, we tend to complicate things way too much, and that is when things start to get real messy. We look for satisfaction in material things, as well as other people. Sometimes we look for satisfaction in a certain relationships, or sometimes it is just in the approval from certain people. Other times, we try to find it in our new fancy clothes, makeup, or even gadgets and toys. Isn't if funny how, in the end, we are left thirsty for something more? We cling so tight to our ideal images of security, happiness, and success. Why is it all just so hard to let go of?
Thats where our human trust issues come in. We don't trust Him completely. We are afraid to give up our scrapbook of hopes and dreams for our future in return for His plan for our lives here on earth. We forget the bigger picture: that none of this really matters. We came into this earth with nothing, and we will leave the same way. What does matter is how you spend your time here. Are you going to spend your time here glorifying God, and spreading His word to those who need to hear it? Or are you going to spend your time messing around with money, fame, and other fake treasures?
I have come to the conclusion that every time we try to plan out our own lives, God just sits in His throne and literally LOL's at all of us. I'm not talking some light giggles, I'm talking hysterically laughing so hard that He is probably rolling on the floor by the end of the thought.
All in all, I believe that the will to trust and be obedient to God has shown me some of the most amazing and beautiful stories in lives of the people around me. I have had friends who travel outside of the country to serve the Lord, and return saying that it was the greatest and most humbling experience they have ever encountered before. Would they have imagined traveling overseas to do missionary work five years ago? Never. Were they completely satisfied knowing that they listened to the Lord's plan for them? Yes. In fact, one of my friends are moving back overseas to serve the Lord, and it encourages me so much knowing that this was not in any way her plan for her life. She listened to God's tug on her heart, and was immediately obedient.
Of course, it's not in God's plan for everyone to move overseas, but it could be anything. A trial, a move, an illness, a death, a divorce; these are all real things that happen. These are also all things that we learn from, grow from, and hopefully learn to understand. These things are all part of a very specific order of events that only God knows, before they even happen. You can't prevent these things, or come close to predicting them, either.
Matthew 11:28 - Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
John 14:27 - Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
So now, let me ask you...are you willing to let go, and let God?

xx
Ash

Psalm 16:11 - You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

p.s. follow my friend, Amanda, as she travels to Australia to serve the Lord for two whole years on her blog: https://simplyamandablog.wordpress.com (love you Mandy) :)

13 drafts

I opened up my laptop again this morning just to end up closing it after a chunk of time was spent writing with subdued ideas. Looking through my drafts from the past two months or so, I found it frustrating that my words weren't good enough for my own satisfaction, let alone someone else's.
It got me thinking: why do I really care that much, honestly? Why do I let other's opinions control my actions, and furthermore, my life?
More often than not, I let the thoughts of [you're a fake and a swindler, or you are not important and your voice doesn't matter] get into my head. It is a terrible habit to think like that, but I think that in different ways we all struggle with how we react to the opinions of others. If we didn't, we wouldn't be human.
In the bible, there is a boy named David, who is the perfect representation of the courage we should have in God. David was no mighty man, as he tended to his sheep on a day-to-day basis. The Israelites were terrified of a warrior of the Philistines, Goliath, whom had challenged them to send out a man to battle him. The deal was: if no man could defeat Goliath, the Israelites would become slaves to the Philistines. David went off to Saul to tell him that he was going to fight Goliath himself, because he did not fear the giant warrior. When Saul agreed to send David, this tiny sheep herder with no fighting experience, to fight Goliath, the largest and scariest warrior known at the time, everyone doubted that David would return. Honestly, I would too. David however fought in the name of the Lord, and he successfully defeated Goliath with a single slingshot and stone. Imagine if he would have listened to the opinions of those people who did not believe he could come through. His people would have been enslaved for their lives.
I was talking with my mentor a while back about social media and the extent of its purpose. The conversation began with the belittling of any and all social media sites, as it gives room for boasting, temptation, selfish motive, jealous intention, and even dangerous oversharing of information. While social media "sin" tends to be a very slippery slope to fall into, it was also a resource that God allowed us to have to use for good. Think about all of the people you follow, or the people that follow you, whom you don't see on a daily, weekly, or even monthly basis. They see what you post, regardless if they "like" the content of it. Think of the impacts you could make on the lives of those people if you used your social media site as your ministry. Don't you want someone to look at your life and say: what is so different about them? Where does their true joy come from? What separates them from the world? Following up those questions, don't you want them to see that the only answer is Jesus? You are completely capable of shining a light from afar, and social media is among one example of ways you can.
So, the point of this post? I just want to tell whoever is reading this that you are important. Everything you say has an impact on the receiver of the message in some way. God uses His people through ways that we will never understand.
Be courageous with your words and your faith, but be gentle in the meantime. Love those around you, no matter if it is directly or indirectly. Go the extra mile to serve others without expecting anything in return. Pay attention to the little things. Pray with the kids you babysit before bedtime. Talk about God as if he is your best friend. Be transparent with people. Practice what you preach.
Have the same courage that David had in God; He will never fail you, and that is a fact.

Sincerely,

"Published" Ash.
xx