what's on your mind...

My pastor, (and his family) are headed to Rome this month for a visit with their son, who is studying abroad so he asked me to be one of the people who would step in and speak in his absence. As I prepare, spending time in his word as well as navigating back through my journal, I’m finding myself remembering. Remembering who God has been to me and just how intimately involved in the details of my life he’s been. Noticing seasons where I’ve been in plenty and those where I’ve been in want and how He has met me every step of the way. Here's the thing, I'm not a professional speaker or a Bible scholar. I don't have a degree in theology but I am in love with the God of the Bible AND His word.  I'm not kidding, I cannot get enough of it...it's my very sustenance. I’m simply an almost 50 year old, empty nester woman, who loves Jesus and is still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.  And I love to share, any chance I get what he has been doing in my own life. So thanks Jeff, for trusting me to share with our little family called New Day Church.We live in a world where, we are completely free to share what we are thinking or feeling at any given moment. Mark Zuckerberg knew what he was doing when he implemented the phrase: ‘What’s on your mind, fill in your name here?’, into the now multimillion dollar social media site we all know as Facebook. The reason he put that there is because, whether we like it or not, we all like to talk about what’s on our minds. Let’s be honest tho, it’s not always good to hear what’s on people’s minds all of the time. Some things are simply better left unsaid or saved for a later time when we’ve had some time to process them more thoroughly.Can I get an amen to that??!!!Actually, some of you reading this may think the same thing about some of the things I’m sharing that are on my mind. Namely, Jesus and all that He has done for me and in me. If that’s the case, thank you so much for visiting my site but you’re probably not going to want to continue to read anymore today, or any other day for that matter, because really, that’s what my story is all about. It’s what all of our stories are all about…there is a God. His name is Jesus. And He is the author of our stories.And our stories, fit into this big cosmic story that He breathed into place a long long time ago, in a far away place. In fact, before He even began to lay the foundations of the earth he had each of us in mind. Isn’t that mind blowing??? The One who spoke creation into existence and blew life into the nostrils of the first man has had you on His mind since before he did that.   A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!So, I guess we could deduce, if God had a Facebook page, his post would begin like this: What’s on your mind, God….insert your name here!!!!I don’t know about you but that feels pretty darn incredible to me! I mean, my life is really not that exciting for someone to have me on their mind. Especially, THE Someone. The One who is Lord over all. Who is before all, in all, through all, and he holds all things together.(Ephesians 4:6 and Colossians 1:17)But here’s the coolest part of it all. Not only does He have me on his mind, He is working out His good plans for my life. Plans to prosper me, not to harm me. And I don’t mean prosper in the sense of him filling my wallet. I’m talking about prosper in the deepest sense of the word, the idea of making me whole, giving me peace that passes understanding, filling me with hope. That’s way better than any fat bank account!!So that’s what I’m getting ready to talk about at my church this month. Just a piece of the process that I have been in with my Jesus, in my little corner of the world. How I have learned to walk more intimately with the God of the Universe, who is known as The One who sees me (El Roi), The God who hears my cries and listens, The God who is Almighty (Elohim), The One who heals (Jehovah Rapha) the One who stands guard over me (Jehovah Nissi). I’ll share of the ways He has worked in me, how He uses others in our processes, and the places where doubt and fear are continuing to be transformed into joy and peace in my life.I’m not sure what I’m more thrilled about, the opportunity to share, the joy of looking back and taking note of what He’s done, or the simple fact that He wants to be with me in all of it. It doesn’t really matter which is greatest, what matters most to me is that my capacity to take it in has been expanded and I’m celebrating the joy of being delighted in by my true Father.