God’s Will

Post #1 of Sarah’s Post-It Note Inspirations Blog Series

Here is my first post to kick-off Sarah’s Post-It Note Inspirations Blog Series – I hope you enjoy this short and sweet post about a topic I have learned a little bit more about recently, God’s will.

So many of us are caught up with discerning God’s will for our lives. We especially begin to ponder what He really wants from us when we have a decision to make that will impact our life greatly. I have learned that even in these stressful times, the comfort I receive from knowing that God has a plan and already knows what will happen outweighs the stress of making the “right choice.” He already knows what decision we will make, and because of this, I believe that no matter what, everything will work out the way it is supposed to. This doesn’t mean that we should just throw in the towel and not care what happens next, but we should continue to pray to God about our situation, follow His promptings, and have peace about where He is leading us.

Recently, another truth has come to mind pertaining to God’s will: He is more concerned about where our heart is than what we are actually doing. He is more concerned about who we are becoming than our accomplishments. So wherever we are and whatever we are doing, we are called to focus on always improving the state of our soul and our heart. Wherever life takes us and whatever difficult situations come our way, we should continue to fight to improve ourselves for the glory of God.

One last thought to conclude this post about God’s will: I learned at last week’s church service something I have never thought about before. The lesson comes from a simple few verses from 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Read carefully, and you will see that these verses reveal what God’s will is for all of us. His will for us is clear, we are called to rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances. No matter what happens, He is with us. He is always there. And in this we rejoice and give thanks. 

One Strength Update: The start to year #3

Two years ago today, my first post was written & One Strength was created. That post launched a two year blogging journey, and 77 posts later, here I am, at the start of year three. Here’s a short note about two years of blogging and my hopes for the future:

I would like to say thank you to my family and friends who continue to support me in my writing, read my posts, and share my blog with others. You are just as much a part of One Strength as I am because without you, my mission to share and spread the love of God would be lost, so thank you for your continued support.

As I continue in my faith journey and this adventure called life, I am continuing to seek God’s direction, His purpose, for my blog and for my writing. This year, I am beginning with a blog series I would like to call, Sarah’s Post-It Note Inspirations. For those of you that know me well enough, you know that I LOVE post-it notes. I write to-do lists, project ideas, goals, verses, quotes, thoughts….pretty much anything you can think of…on colorful post-it notes (because those are the best kind) and I leave them everywhere. So, this year, each post will contain a picture of maybe one, maybe two, or maybe multiple colorful post-it notes that I have written, and my writing to go alongside it. Below is the first Sarah’s Post-It Note Inspirations picture to kick us off, featuring a few of the post-it notes I wrote down this summer. As you can see visually in the picture, inspiration that comes from God’s Word and His truth will continue to be the center of my writing.

I am looking forward to what God has in store. Again, thank you for your support. May He continue to be our One Strength. 

When nature measures-up to the magnificence of God (well, almost)

Have you ever found yourself in your “happy place” in nature? I am talking about the instant when your mind stops running, and your world stops spinning, just for a moment, just enough time to think, “it could not get any better than this,” or to even in the state of awe to stutter out the word, “wow.” For some, this place might be in a field with the smell of grass and flowers surrounding you. Staring at the painted sky over a canvas of deep blue, a sunset over the ocean. The view standing at the top of the cliff you just climbed, the sound of the rushing water below. The view of snow-capped mountains in the distance, captured by your camera with the perfect frame of tree branches. Opening your front door and stepping into the cool, crisp air, blinded by the color white, snow falling gently. In your “happy place” in nature, you may feel feelings of peace, calmness, comfort, beauty, power, strength, and complete wonder and awe.

Can you think of this place for you? How does it make you feel?

For me, my favorite place in nature is a path through the trees. When the trees stand tall overhead, and the sun peaks out of the gaps of their branches, beaming down on you as you pedal. You are on your bike, and you feel like you are flying, as you soar down the path, surrounded by the woods. The trees make you feel small with their giant stature, but also protected by the way they perfectly surround the path, one after the other, deeper and deeper into the woods.  In this sort of moment, I feel completely free.

I think in these moments, these breathtaking moments, is when we get the closest we will ever get on earth to the sight and feelings we will experience when we come to meet our higher power, our God, at the end of our life. Nature demonstrates God on earth, which makes perfect sense as it is He who created our favorite nature place. The feelings we muster up in these moments are the feelings God blessed us with, and these feelings are the same elements that make up His character, and therefore, how we should think of Him. He is gentle. He is peaceful.  He is powerful. He gives us strength. Because of Him, we are set free. He is the Lord Almighty. We are in wonder of His love and beauty.

Experiencing nature gives us a glimpse of the magnificence of God. Just think what we will experience when we meet our Master face to face, the One who created nature, who created us. Wow.