Stock plunge

Our stock investments have depreciated by about 35% in the last year or so.  I have not felt much anxiety at all about this.  I have peace and trust in the Lord to provide – which is a fruit of the Spirit.  Rejoice!

Reason for Everything

As I have been compiling my journal entries from my Word doc into this program, I realized that the whole reason why I felt led to dive back into K-House Revelation study was likely because on 10/31, I listened to the session that introduced me (again) to The Rock Church in San Diego.  Since then, I have been very engaged in learning from their sermons, which has brought me to learn how to pray more effectively and brought me into a more personal relationship with the Lord.  God is amazing!

The Shack

After putting the book down for quite some time after reading a pretty disturbing first 25% of the book, I have now picked it back up and am really learning from it (even though it’s a fictional novel). This has come at a time when I’ve been lead to focus on my relationship with God, rather than book learning (after having read in Experiencing God about the love relationship. I felt that that was an area that I felt lacking, and it’s the one area that matters most.

The Shack has given me some good perspective on how the relationship with the Lord is very personal, and some good perspective on the loving nature of God. It would even be worth another read to capture notes.

Experiencing God

I don’t need to continue reading Experiencing God until my relationship is right with the Lord.  Take it step by step this time.  The point is not to finish the book.  The point is to grow powerfully in my relationship with Christ.  Other Christian studies need to be evaluated with regard to whether they draw me closer to Him, period.

Led to Relationship Through Prayer

The Holy Spirit is leading me toward a more intimate relationship with the Lord through prayer.  Focus on the love.  Knowledge is nothing without the relationship.

On Fire

My learning seems to be exploding right now.  I feel as though God is leading me to spend the time necessary to gain the insights that He has in store for me.  It’s like I can’t get enough.  I truly do get the sense, too, that God is leading me to specific teachers, based on what I need to learn and how to grow closer to Him.  It’s amazing.

Greater Responsibility

God has revealed to me that with greater truth comes greater responsibility.  By asking him to reveal truth, I am asking for the things that go along with it.  For example, the idea of the Sabbath has been raised to my attention.  If the Lord reveals that this is an expectation to observe, that does represent growth in the Lord, while representing a new responsibility to respond to that truth with head (decisions) and hand (deeds).

Mysterious Ways

God works in mysterious ways… I accept that anything I have felt God calling me to may be for other reasons that I intuit

Asking for Feedback

I looked back at an email I sent to my dad a couple weeks ago. It said, “Please take a look at the attached project plan for the website venture when you get a chance. Let me know what I’m missing or not considering. The dates are pretty aggressive, but in my experience I prefer to push myself with aggressive dates than to take a casual approach.”

Problem is, this is worded in a way that puts the credit on my shoulders, which is asking for failure for something that God is calling me to do. There even may have been a problem in that I was seeking human feedback instead of simply trusting God.

Experiencing God

I have been feeling lately that I have failed in some way, or that I’m growing more distant in my relationship with the Lord.

Today as I was reading Experiencing God, I began to be aware that even the feeling of distance or failure could be God’s way of bringing me closer to Him. The feeling that I may have failed Him in some way could lead me to become more sensitive to learning how to continue to grow in my relationship with my Lord and savior. I feel that I’m doing the right things, but there are definitely areas to improve or raise the bar: prayer, tithing, obeying, etc. I want God to lead my life. I recognize that my life is not my own, but only what God gives to me.