Continue Thanksgving

Thanksgiving makes me sad. Well, not all of it, but one thing in particular. Why one day? One day of thanksgiving? Why do we often times forget to thank God and wait until thanksgiving to praise Him as much as we should? Why can't we make a habit of praising and thanking God for all the blessings we receive, daily, or even multiple times daily? The truth is that we can. David was shepherd, a psalmist, and a king from the Old Testament. He gave God a lot of thanks. The Book of Psalms is filled with David's praise to the Lord: Psalm 124:1-3 1 If the Lord had not been on our side— let Israel say— 2 if the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us, 3 they would have swallowed us alive when their anger flared against us; Psalm 144:1 Praise be to the LORD my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. Psalm 145:1 I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Psalm 65:1 Praise awaits you, our God, in Zion; to you our vows will be fulfilled. Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. David didn't shy away from publicly declaring his love for his Creator 2 Samuel 6:14-16, 21-22: 14 Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, 15 while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets. 16 As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart... 21 David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord. 22 I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.” (caps and italics added in by me; verses from the NIV Bible) How often do we shy away from praising God in public? Now I'm not talking about praising God in order to gain the approval of men, I'm talking about our acknowledgement of Him. Do you feel embarrassed praying in public, do you worry about how you appear to others? Are you ready to share your beliefs with others, or do you compromise them to fit in? Are you constantly on 'good behavior' when you're with other believers, but change your habits when you are with your non-believing friends? I stumble in this too at times, and I hate it. It's something I will have to work on and keep in check everyday of my life. And I will gladly do it for Him! GOD DESERVES OUR PRAISE! In fact, God is the ONLY one in this universe who deserves anything. So check out the planets and stars tonight, take a hike, or simply settle your mind down, and praise God for the beauty all around you, and for the gifts God has given you. Don't be ashamed of the One who saves, loves, lives, and died for us! 2 Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 1 Peter 4:16 However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. Luke 9:26 Whoever is ashamed of me [Jesus] and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. God bless you all today and always! Delaney

Emotions

approx, 70 days hasta Honduras I have so many emotions right now. Some are good, and some are bringing me down. I feel the need to take a million deep breaths right now. Ok, that was one. It's hard to be different. It's hard to have relatives who are non-believers, who don't understand your passion for God's will in your life. It's hard to be 17, and when people ask you if you're going to college, you say, "I don't know." It's hard to be in your senior year of high school, and not have a best friend. It's hard to keep answering people who question your motives and misunderstand your intentions. It's hard. And yet, I have no reason to complain. I have a loving mother and father who support me and what I feel God has called me to do. I have an opportunity to show the love of God to young Honduran students. I have a chance to invest in young people, to be a role model. I have a warm bed, I have lots of food in my belly, I have a perfect God who looks down on me and says, "she's Mine. And I have some pretty great plans for her." That's pretty incredible. I went on a weekend retreat with my youth group this weekend. And I learned something. If I want to influence the world and live out God's will for my life, I need to stop letting satan win over my emotions. People are going to be mean. People are going to misunderstand me. And people may not want to be my best friend or confidant. BUT. I have an everlasting, loving, Creator who wants me to look outside myself and to peer into the hurts and hearts of others. He wants me to focus on their needs, their wants, instead of focusing on my own being fulfilled. It should be pretty obvious to the average Christian. But sometimes, we need a little push, a little kick in the rear end to get us going, to open our eyes to things outside of us. I say I want to help others, I say I want to be a changing force in peoples' lives, but I have to act. Talking does no good if it doesn't produce fruit. And fruit is the real mark of a Christian. It shows that you are living out your faith.

1 Samuel 2:3 “Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the LORD is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed."

James 3:13 [ Two Kinds of Wisdom ] Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

1 Peter 2:12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

James 2:25-26 Faith and Deeds 14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. 20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless[d]? 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”[e] and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. dead.

LORD, I pray that You will make me humble today and always. I pray that I will look outwards to others' hurt instead of inside to my own hurt. I pray that my faith will not be dead, but will be expressed through the deeds that you have predestined for me to do. I pray that I will be a source of encouragement and wisdom to others, I pray that I will shine a light so bright for You that those around me cannot fail to see it. I love you, and I am so grateful for all the opportunities that You have given me to serve and impact the lives of those around me. I pray that You will empty me of myself and any evil inside of me, and I pray that You will fill me up with Your love and truth and Your desire and will for me. Amen.

Writing time

So I'm writing a book. About my experiences in missions (which are few right now), my experience with depression and anxiety which helped to shape my view of God and missions, and my love for a righteous God and a country that I'm absolutely in love with, Honduras. Sounds kinda cheesy, and truthfully, I think the book will be. But, even if it never is published and if nobody but I reads it, that'll be ok. To God be the glory. My life, and my 'book', are not about me. It's about miracles that happen everyday when we let God work in our lives. It was a good time earlier too when I was putting in the story some of my journal entries from when I was in Honduras. I cracked myself up. Oh boy,,, It's funny how your previous sentiments look when you are a little farther down the path of life. I can't wait till I'm eighty, and how this coming year will look to me then. God is continually shaping us and recreating us for His purposes. It's pretty mind-blowing. All the praise up to HIM!! Love, Delaney

80 dias y contando

80 days and counting!!! Approx. eighty days until I leave for Honduras. That is less than three months!! So crazy to me how God has worked everything out for this to happen. It is so incredible. I'm 17 years old. I'm going to a country that I am absolutely in love with for around 10 months. I am graduating by the end of 2012. It doesn't even feel real. It so radically blows my mind. I don't deserve any of this, yet it is freely given. Where I couldn't see a path or a way, God paved the road. A way that seemed untravelable became a straight path. It's still hard, but it's possible. No matter what criticism or doubts people throw at me, I know that God is still rooting for me. You know who else thought that they were in hopeless situation? Job, watching members of his family drop like flies. The Israelites, burdened under the tasks of the Egyptians. The Israelites again, in the desert waiting for God to relieve them of their punishment, The Jews, waiting for their Messiah in a part of the world controlled by the Romans. These people were waiting, praying, hoping, even some were mourning. Many of them didn't see a light at the end of the tunnel. Many of them didn't see any hope on the other side of the equation. But God did. James 5:11 As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. Job 42:1-6 Then Job replied to the Lord: 2 “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted. 3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. 4 “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ 5 My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. 6 Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” Exodus 2:25 So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them. Exodus 3:7-9 New International Version (NIV) 7 The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. Deuteronomy 31:23 The LORD gave this command to Joshua son of Nun: “Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land I promised them on oath, and I myself will be with you.” 14 [Joshua] “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. Matthew 4:13-17 13 Leaving Nazareth, [Jesus] went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— 14 to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: 15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— 16 the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”[a] 17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” "Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God." Psalm 42:5