Thoughts on Jesus and Life

So I was cleaning the Bathroom sink today and had the wind knocked out of me. God spoke so clearly. It started last night at about 2:30 or 3:00. I was reading late into the night, Francine Rivers again. In this book, a widower is contending with a non-believer and slowly falling in love with him. I know it sounds totally cheesy but it is much more than that. Anyway, she is struggling because she is confused about her emotions. She says her love for her first husband was sweet and he showed her who God was and now she has this on fire passionate feeling toward this other man. My heart stopped and my heart cried out to God (Nathan was asleep next to me, so I really couldn't scream like I wanted to). These same thoughts plague me. Nathan is my sweetness. He has shown me so much of God's love and forgiveness. I was crying out to God for Him to not take Nathan from me because our love was not passionate. And then God asked me why He can't be my passionate love affair...

So I was reading Daniel earlier today, specifically about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Most know their story but if you don't here's the gist. These three wouldn't bow down before Nebuchadnezzar's idol, so they were thrown into a furnace. An angel appears to walk with them inside of the furnace. The king lets them out and everyone is praising God. Pretty simple until I started to really look at it. When the three men were brought before the king because they would not worship the idol he threatened them about the fire. Their response was "go ahead". Even if God didn't move they still said they wouldn't bow down to the false idols. What a faith they must have had! Not only to go in there willingly but also to go in without knowing whether God would deliver them. I want to think they were sure they were going to die. They were ready. And God did protect them, he sent an angel down to walk with them. They were delivered out of the furnace ...

God really worked today while I was at Hastings. He gave me the strength to love so many people today and for some to love me back! I love it! And I was just bursting at the seams to talk about Jesus! Can't wait till tomorrow! Jess

I have read my blogs again to see God working in my life. While at Crichton surrounded by all my Christian friends I was truly happy. Then Salem died and I got married. I shut myself off, and Nathan was not the cause. I am sorry for this. I feel like I have had a great renewing of my spirit in the past week. So much has happened. I just finished the second book in the Mark of Lion series, and it is also fantastic. My mom will start reading them soon and if you guys can pray for her salvation I would really appreciate it. She is everything to me. I also took a spritual gift test again (my third, the other two were taken in high school and college). I felt God kept putting in circumstances where we were asked to take it. My top 3 included shepherding, exhortation and....PROPHECY! Prophecy is being screamed at you because it is actually my gift. I got full marks in it and the other two are just side notes. After going through my blog I realized how much of my life has been ce...

So I never wanted to touch a Francine Rivers book because she was so popular with Redeeming Love, which I thought was just another Christian Romance, but I will not go into the different genres of Christian Fiction. My mom LOVED this book and I may need to point out she is not a Christian. I finally decided to give Rivers a shot with her Mark of the Lion series. I recently finished the first one, all of about 500 pages of it in under 3 or 4 days. It was FANTASTIC!!!! If you have never read this book give it a shot. It is set just after Jerusalem's fall by the Romans, and follows a Christian slave and her relationships with the family she serves. I have never been touched by literature this much before. Actually you don't have a choice in the matter, READ IT!! AND there are two sequels! The other wonderful thing about this book is I now have a wonderment of the Old Testament that I have never had before. I am currently reading Daniel which I have never read before and...