She Reads Truth: Living the Surrendered Life

After my soul detox I truly started to heal I think. Christy Nockels' album Into the Glorious is what I played on replay. And am still listening to all the time. The words in her songs are about growing, healing, being loved by Him, inviting God into the everyday mundane things, telling God how much He means to us, singing for brokenness in the world, and my favorite lately, that God is already all that I need. Yes, she is my favorite singer, but if you only knew the background of her album and songs you would realize what a special worship leader she is. She prayed for the people that would hear these songs as she was writing them. She wanted them to touch, heal, encourage....and they have done just that for me. She said that she couldn't even get through recording them without having to stop and weep and pray. Did you know that her and Nathan had two miscarriages? Just another reason I think I can relate to her. I am just thankful that this album was released at the perfect time to help me! I felt ready to start going through the process of being reminded how to live a surrendered life again.

The first day of Livng the Surrendered life was about worry. I get it honestely, but worry is a big battle of mine. I can get consumed by fear and worry pretty quickly. Worrying boils down to not trusting God. I realized that I really needed to work on that.

Disappointment and rejection were discussed. I loved this, "If our dreams have not consulted God, then they often lack vision and purpose toward a higher goal."
Proverbs 3:5-12
Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
don't try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
he's the one who will keep you on track.
Don't assume that you know it all.
Run to God! Run from evil!
Your body will glow with health,
your very bones will vibrate with life!
Honor God with everything you own;
give him the first and the best.
Your barns will burst,
your wine vats will brim over.
But don't, dear friend, resent God's discipline;
don't sulk under his loving correction.
It's the child he loves that God corrects;
a father's delight is behind all this.

Gratitude and contentement. We can choose to be grateful or not. I find myself struggling with that often. I was always thinking about the next stage in life or our next move, etc. I've recently really been able to stop myself and choose to be grateful. I have so many blessings in my life. I've also been able to enjoy the season of life that I am in and look back at how far I've come. I don't want to wish away my days-always looking to the next thing.

Prayer. I've never been a prayer warrior, but I've always wanted to be. I want God to make me a person of prayer.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.

Patience. This day might have hit me the hardest. I thought this often, "What is God going to reveal to me in this time of waiting? What kind of life lessons will I learn in this season of waiting?" I loved this: "It's in those days, months, and years of waiting where we start to look a lot more like Christ." AMEN

Some questions for thought (they made me think for sure): Why is it so hard to stop complaining during the waiting? Are you in a waiting room right now? How well are you waiting on God? What do you want me to learn?
Romans 12:11-13
Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.

Ezekiel 36:26
And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.

Overall, I've been learning that my identity is in Christ, NOT what I do or how good I am at things. Y'all know me, I am always on the go. I have something that I'm involved in every single night of the week during the school year, and a lot of times that isn't enough, I'm still looking for more ways to serve or occupy my time. Staying busy has always helped me cope. I don't have any time to think, if I never stop. I've found some areas in my life that I was trying to hold on to, I wanted to surrender them, but I just wasn't. All I want is to live a surrendered life. Right now, that is going to take me getting on my knees (or flat on my face like Beth Moore) and surrendering my dreams, desires, and just everyday little things in life to Him. Over and over. That's where I'm at right now.