Women of Joy

For starters, in yesterdays blog I mentioned the book, The Lies Women Believe by Nancy Leigh Demoss. I was excited to find out that she will speaking at the 2009 Women of Joy conferance along with some other pretty big names including Candace Bure (DJ Tanner from Full House) and Kirk Cameron (from Growing Pains). The conference also will feature music from Casting Crowns and Point of Grace. Here is the link for more information:

http://www.womenofjoy.org

On another note, lately my church has been talking all about dating, marriage and relationships. If you haven't studied Song of Solomon you should get your bible out and take a look at it. God gives very complete and indepth instructions on what courtship, dating, marriage and even sex should look like for Christians. He gave us these to protect our mind, body and soul. Because when we carry emotional baggage or give ourselves away even emotionally to other people we cannot come before God or our Spouce's whole.

Now many of us including myself have not been perfect saints and we have already made these mistakes, but thats what is so great about God's grace. He can when your ready make you whole, and begin to heal the deepest aches in your heart. I had my doubts before I began to experience the forgiveness myself.

I was holding on to things from my past that I thought defined who I was as a person. I knew that God had forgiven me, but how could I forgive myself. Thats when I realized that I wasn't letting God in. I wasn't giving him complete control of my life.

One night alone in my bed I said a prayer of recommitement to God. I told him I was sorry for the things I had done in my past and that I had not made him my top priority. I told him that I would not make the same mistakes. That I would surround myself with people that bring me closer to him not drive me farther apart. I asked him to help me trust in him. To give me discernment between right and wrong.

I spend time nurturing that relationship as if it was a marriage. I lift up my thoughts to him everyday. Especially when I start to worry. That is one of the hardest things for me. The giving up control. In the past and still occasinally when I lay down to go to sleep my brain seems to go into overtime. A million thoughts run through my head. What I have to do tomorrow, what I didn't get done today, did I say something wrong to so and so, did that conversation come out right, where is such and such that I lost a few months ago, am I ever gettting married, what If I can't have children, what if I wake up and my parents get sick and pass away, what if I'm never successful. If I thought about every question I would never get any sleep. So instead of over the counter medicice which only works temporarily anyways I learned to control it. I do exactly what the bible tells me do when these situations arise. Pray.

"Don't worry about anything; instead pray about everything; tell God your needs and don't forget to thank him for his answers. If you do this you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus."‑‑Philippians 4:6‑7

Say this verse to yourself every night before bed and you will sleep like a baby. It works better than tylenol pm ever could. My next blog will have some great tips from my church about dating so keep reading.