Hey everyone!  Sorry it has been so long between posts...TIME gets away from me, as it does for us all!  I continue to be amazed that time seems to race by us when we want certain seasons to last forever and then it seems to settle and quietly refuses to move when we want it to pass quickly.  You know what I mean....When you are waiting for your three-cheese pizza and you're starving, it seems like it takes forever, but then when you're spending time reading a good book or time with someone you enjoy, you look up and the time has evaporated.  It is this thought which led me to my next sentence...Let us not waste any more of the precious time that we have seeking things that will not last!  Jesus told us to build up treasure in a place that will last forever (Matthew 6:19-21). We only have a limited amount of time on this earth and God allows us to choose how we will spend it, what we will pursue and who we will impact.  I become so discouraged with myself when I think of all the time I have wasted and continue to waste.  Just like writing this blog...it was on my heart for so long and things kept getting in the way.  I was derailed so many times by disappointments, struggles and temptations (I will save those stories for a future post).  
When God placed it upon my heart to write this blog, I hoped two things would happen.  One, I hoped that fellow believers would read it and find comfort and encouragement and two, that those who didn't yet believe would come to know Christ and His love and plan for them.  As I write this, I want each and everyone of you reading this to know that I daily lift my voice to Him and ask Him to bless this blog and those reading it.  God is so good and I am so thankful that I get to do this.  I struggled for so many years to know what I needed to do for God and if you are seeking His path for you, please know that just sitting before Him and having a willing heart is the first step in that process.  God doesn't NEED our work to accomplish His will, but He is gracious enough to allow us to be used so that we can receive blessings through that work!  Think about how beautiful a gift that is! But don't think that because you haven't been called to be a missionary in some remote part of the world that God doesn't have a plan made just for you!  He has placed us all in our current roles to accomplish for Him what He has designed for us to do, so just ask Him, seek Him in His word and discover who He really is while there is still time!  He wants us to share His love with a hurting and dying world while there is still time.  Remember this my friends, as long as you draw breath, you have time and He has a purpose for you.  Please live in that Hope and thank Him for that every day by loving those He has placed in your life!

I LOVE being comfortable!  I know this is not unique to me alone, so let's indulge for a moment....Nothing is better than that feeling when you've just gotten out of the shower or when you crawl into clean sheets in a nice fluffy bed or when you plop down on the sofa after a long day, tv remote in hand and your mind feels free of the "stuff" that makes you uncomfortable.  You know the "stuff" I'm talking about.  That stuff you HAVE to do instead of WANT to do, like paying bills and sitting in traffic and doing laundry and going to the grocery store and the gym and the post office and wearing a mask.... pretty much anywhere or anything you think of as your own private hell on earth.  I know, that may be pushing the analogy a little too far, but, you get the idea.  
So this idea of comfortable is something we all want and something we all love, but if you will allow me to step on the toes (mine included)...not something that encourages and nourishes growth.  It's also, relatively speaking, a fairly new concept in the span of the ages and was not really much of a concept for the common man until the beginning of modern conveniences.  I am not a professional historian, but I remember the stories my grandpa told me about growing up miles outside of town with no electricity or indoor plumbing.  It was too expensive to incorporate those things when survival was your goal.  But in our modern, developed countries, we don't have to worry about just surviving, we now have time to focus on our health, entertainment and comfort.  
I know that as a believer who lives in a modern, comfortable, convenient place where I can have anything I want in 1 to 5 days, I take much for granted and often forget that the very  things that make me the most Uncomfortable are the same things I need to grow things like patience and strength, appreciation, authenticity, courage, understanding, learning to give and receive love, God's will manifested in my life and actions.  These things can't happen when we're sitting on the couch, watching TV and ordering items online (yes, I just placed another order this morning). And guess what? God is not concerned if we are comfortable.  I know, you’re cringing right now and I get it.  You may be thinking, “How can someone say that, God loves me.”  And you're right, He does love us more than we can imagine, but let’s talk about perspective.  God sees and knows everything that has ever happened or will ever happen.  He was there at the beginning of all things and is already present at the end of all things, so let that sink in for just a moment. I have to remember, like we all do, that although God cares for everyone throughout all of time, our comfort may not produce His will for our lives and those around us (that's right, I said it....our lives aren't just for us). If God is pushing you out of your comfort zone, try to embrace it and seek what is to be learned from it.  Your comfort may be keeping you from blessing someone else, growing your soul or God's Kingdom.  I am speaking from a place of experience.....I started talking about this blog about 5 years before I finally said "yes" to God.  Please don't wait like I did.  Try to remember that a little discomfort now will result in eternal comfort with Christ, not only for you, but maybe for untold numbers of others who need to hear your story, know your struggles, share in your joy and experience salvation.
The pleasure and comfort we seek never lasts.  It’s all temporary and we always need more and more and more to keep us satisfied….. We seek ways to forget, ways to comfort ourselves, ways to numb the pain, prevent the aging process, slow time, speed up time, stop the grief, the pain, the shortcomings, the faults and failures, but we just can’t.   I don’t say this in defeat but in relief.  I am glad I don’t have this kind of power on my own because it would negate my need for my savior and His love.  He knows how long forever is and He designed our souls to be eternal beings.  This flesh and bone that houses our souls and who we are, is decaying, but our souls will just change location when it finally meets its end. We are given only a little time to make our eternity count for something. I am often uncomfortable with life on this earth, but what joy fills my heart at the thought of eternal comfort with the one who loves me beyond reason and understanding!