Thankful Thursday: Points of View...

So half falling asleep sometime around 11am today, this thought comes to me about how the question of "How God Is" has been a stumbling block to me quite a number of times in the past, and truthfully, sometimes it still comes up and it makes me hyperventilate and is a seed of doubt that tries to turn me away..Thank God now i'm older and wiser and know to turn to Him for shelter from that sort of foolish temptation and so i run to Him and somehow we work it out..

So anyway, back to the way it used to be a problem to me. It would be a problem in the sense that i'd think..okay, if i pin down The Nature of God, i'd know how to BE in a relationship with Him further along the journey. It used to frustrate me to no end that (what i now realize as based on MY mood) one day, He's my buddy and my best friend, and then the next you read something and go...wait, what if i have it all wrong...what if He's all severe and not so down for a laugh..am i being disrespectful? So then this distances comes up because i'm sensing Him as The God That Smites and goes to war and all of that...and each time that switch happened, i'd be mad frustrated and a lot of the time it would leave me in tears and open up the gates of the temptation that is "What if all this is just a great big lie"...and that is a very dangerous precipice to be at...like, don't go there...if you find yourself there, it is a lie..turn, and RUN.

Over time, i think i've gotten better at understanding and handling this, but sometimes the little girl in me is at the forefront and i'm like? God, could you PLEASE just tell me the WAY You are so i know how to be with YOU...

Then you think about it...it's a bit selfish, isn't it? To want God to paint Himself in one colour for you. The God that created everything, that knows everything...to be One way. So...i was asking Him to tell me that He's a fiend, or He's a bunny, basically.

I do believe at some point or the other you have come across those charts that have the names of God. The bible is not only full of just the names of God, but has titles that describe the capacities in which God IS...He is the Father, the Healer, The Protector, the Comforter, in fact..lemme just Google :

Elohay Kedem - God of the Beginning: (Deuteronomy 33:27). Elohay Mishpat - God Of Justice: (Isaiah 30:18). Elohay Selichot - God Of Forgiveness: (Nehemiah 9:17). Elohay Marom - God Of Heights: (Micah 6:6). Elohay Mikarov - God Who Is Near: (Jeremiah 23:23). Elohay Mauzi - God Of My Strength: (Psalm 43:2).Elohay Tehilati - God Of My Praise: (Psalm 109:1). Elohay Yishi - God Of My Salvation: (Psalm 18:46). Elohim Kedoshim - Holy God: (Leviticus 19:2, Joshua 24:19). Elohim Chaiyim - Living God: (Jeremiah 10:10).Elohay Elohim - God Of Gods: (Deuteronomy 10:17). 


 El HaNe'eman - The Faithful God: (Deuteronomy 7:9). El HaGadol - The Great God: (Deuteronomy 10:17). El HaKadosh - The Holy God: (Isaiah 5:16). El Yisrael - The God Of Israel: (Psalm 68:35). El HaShamayim - The God Of The Heavens: (Psalm 136:26). El De'ot - The God Of Knowledge: (1 Samuel 2:3). El Emet - The God Of Truth: (Psalm 31:6). El Yeshuati - The God Of My Salvation: (Isaiah 12:2). El Elyon - The Most High God: (Genesis 14:18). Immanu El - God Is With Us: (Isaiah 7:14). El Olam - The God Of Eternity (Genesis 21:33). El Echad - The One God: (Malachi 2:10). "ELAH" is another name for God, used about 70 times in the Old Testament. Again, when combined with other words, we see different attributes of God. Some examples: Elah Yerush'lem - God of Jerusalem: (Ezra 7:19). Elah Yisrael - God of Israel: (Ezra 5:1). Elah Sh'maya - God of Heaven: (Ezra 7:23). Elah Sh'maya V'Arah - God of Heaven and Earth: (Ezra 5:11). 


And also, I AM. He IS. The way He is, all encompassing.


What it boils down to is this; speaking for myself, i know that there are times when i view God subjectively, based on MY own mood or state of mind at the time. Recognizing this isn't the way to go, i start searching for the Objective God. This is where i make my huge mistake and look for One Way in which He ought to be...and this simply isn't possible or true in any way...God Is. Avoiding the subjective view of God would be to avoid seeing  One of the many Sides to Him simply because it is convenient for you at the time.


As much as i hate drawing parallels between God and man to avoid squeezing Him into human boxes, i have to point out that if we, as humans were asked to give a one word description to ourselves, we won't be able to, because it just wouldn't be true. Based on situations we can be called upon to demonstrate our compassion, at another time, the situation calls for us to be more reserved or even make decisions that seem mean, but have as their motivation The Right Thing.


We can only call upon character traits that we possess. Some have more of one sort than the other and maybe this is what we use when we classify them as "good" or "bad". We cannot use or demonstrate what we don't have within us.


What is true of God is that no matter what side of His nature He has to demonstrate in any situation, we know that it is Right, and Perfect, and is motivated by Good, and by Love. LOL i know how this sounds..even now, if i saw someone else write it, i cannot promise that my eyes wouldn't have rolled..but hey..


What i know is that God loves me...and in those moments where i (finally!) just chill and "be" in His presence, with my mouth sealed shut...i can feel the Love, i can feel His jokes, i can feel Him smile and i;m just overwhelmed by it...so i know that no matter what side of Him i may be seeing or feeling...He is there, and He loves me..above all...that rocks my world.


I am thankful for Life


I am thankful for Love


I am thankful for His presence


I am thankful for His faithfulness....dooooood! can you imagine i'm here? looking at my past history of my walk with Him...it's a big deal...This January i prayed that no matter what, He shouldn't let me go this time...and He is faithful..the joy is indescribable


I am thankful for my family...i really don't need much when i'm with them...yes, love just wraps all around you


I am thankful for laughter...my sisters and i laugh ourselves into hysterics on the daily!


I am thankful for my sisters...they are just awesome...so intelligent, so compassionate, so uber funny, so kind and supportive...:D


I am thankful for food! see the joy i get from cooking eh! and feeding my babiesss :P


I am thankful for my friends...i have some truly amazing ones..especially in moments when i am difficult, and they understand me and my quirks and don't stay mad or upset or take it personal


I am thankful for prayer...for more than just being able to talk, but for being able to listen..and as i recently discovered, feel. Prayer has gone 3D people!


I am thankful for my parents, for my grandparents..


I am thankful for care


I am thankful for thoughtfulness


 am thankful for lessons learned, lessons being learned...


I am thankful for lessons learned through relationships..every friendship, every acquaintanceship sef, leads you somewhere, makes you grow..got a book on this recently too..i know how it has been in my life and can't wait to read it! will get back with a review of it :P


I am thankful for books! and for Condios bookstore in PHC...they always have books that feed the soul..God bless that lady mahn! She's doing a blessed service


I am thankful for Lady P..i am thankful that God placed her in my life because her friendship is awesome! :D


I am thankful for unlikely pairings


I am thankful for signs


I am thankful for Understanding


I am thankful for wisdom


I am thankful for growth


I am thankful for kindness


I am thankful for patience


I am thankful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thankful Thursday: Keepin' it real...

I legit almost totally forgot that today was thursday and i had to type this..i came online to print out my devos and the flicker of a reminder somewhere in my head just went off..so yay that!

Of course, the progression of that was me realizing that while it's all good and well to have remembered, i have no topic and no theme...

Not to worry though...i thought of what struck me i recent times, and i really didn't have to look far. You see only yesterday, God somehow used a Jon Acuff post (again!) to really touch me...for the past week or two, i've felt slightly apart from God..not in the way it gets when it's bad and i all out drift away..but just knowing that i could do better, but still somehow end up putting off God time and not spending enough time in His presence and limiting it to devotional times in the morning and evening..like, not enough prayer, not enough listening, not enough meditating..and that eats at me somewhat and it kinda makes me feel guilty...

And then came the post...(it's on Stuff Christians Like, btw, about typos in the Bible)..Jon uses Proverbs24:16 as illustration, and it says :Proverbs 24:16 “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.” 


Then he used this phrase that really clicked with the mood i was in..he said something about how we rate our righteousness in terms of pre being saved and post being saved and how we expect of ourselves that we should be perfect and not fall, and falling is a shameful thing to let happen...okay, those were not his words..but it's kinda the point, and it really hit home with me..and the verse says it clear as anything, that though the righteous man falls...it doesn't say "if maybe impossibly"...That one is righteous does not mean one is fall proof..it is that we get up each and every time and continue what we have started, and God will see you through it..


The second part of what really touched me about the entire post was that Jon keeps it real. Very often, in line with the demands we put on ourselves to be perfect, we project that same image to the world, convincing ourselves that the world expects it of us. Even when we slip up, we put our big girl and boy pants on, put on a brave face and look like we have it together...and then we look at each other, and think that everyone has it together...and enter major panic mode because we think we are shams and we are faking it and we can never never truly hold it together...but it's all a lie and an illusion...


It's always a huge relief when Christians share the real stuff, the struggles, the challenges. Not because we want to stare with mouths wide open and enjoy a spectacle, but because we are all going through the same things, and knowing that you are not the solitary loser is sometimes all the encouragement you need. Sometimes we need to know that everybody, no matter how "together" they seem to have it, also go through the struggles, and you facing a particular challenge does not mean that you're bad or a weak christian or anything of the sort....So keep it real..it's not about running about bemoaning your existence to all who cross your path..it's just knowing when to say look...i'm not in a righteous bubble..there is no holiness shield that keeps problems clean away from me...we all face them the same, we all turn to God and Him alone to see us through our struggles...


*i might come back and edit..but mahn i gotta run!


I am thankful for life


I am thankful for God


I am thankful for Love


I am thankful for my friends


I am thankful for family


I am thankful for food, for cooking...my joy currently knows very few bounds


I am thankful for protection


I am thankful for forgiveness


I am thankful for grace


I am thankful for my relationship with God


I am thankful for Prayer


I am thankful!!

Thankful Thursday: interlude

I am thankful for life, that i have it, that it is dynamic, for friends and for family,  for experiences and for growth. Life is beautiful, life is complex, and most of all, that God is there with us every step of the way, especially when we tap into the amazing recource that that is. God is always there, God is always God, whether or not we allow Him into our lives, He's always there, and we are the ones who limit ourselves by not fully entering into a relationship with Him.

Surrendering is not always the easiest thing, for some reason we are wired to want to fix things, and comin g from that sort of logic, the free for all that surrender is is something quite hard to do. Think of it..surrender calls for you to give up your cares and worries and allow someone else handle them...yet we still try to sort things out even when we give them over to Him...it's a continuous process, learning to surrender all. Like...all...not keep any standby bits somewhere in the recesses of our hearts...

Gah i'm going to be honest..this post is...not it..i'm not even sure the theme i'm trying to explore..So maybe i'll just leave it until next week...

RIP to all the people who died because of the Dana Air crash in Nigeria, and i pray God consoles and comforts their families and loved ones...

I need to come back and do a re-do of this post...maybe it's because i'm typing from M's room and we are about to go out and this is a very new turn of events as concerns my plans for today and this evening...maybe i'm not comfy, maybe i didn't get in da zone...but i had to post this..if only for my conscience


I am thankful for life

I am thankful for God

I am thankful for His revelations

I am thankful for his guidance

I am thankful for His blessings

I am thankful for Love

I am thankful for His perfect plan

I am thankful for friendships

I am thankful for my family

I am thankful for my relationship with God and how He has been faithful and saved me and i'm still here

I am thankful for growth

I am thankful for forgiveness

I am thankful for understanding

I am thankful for wisdom

I am thankful that He keeps me safe

I am thankful!!!