Problem Solving

For quite sometime now, I have been trying to live a stress free life. Obviously stressful things occur quite frequently, but my goal is to not let it get to me. I got to the point where I was tired of anxiety and stress. It typically was silly, because once I accomplished my mission, I realized it was not so bad to begin with. Now with prayer, strength from the Lord, and remembering past lessons, I do a fairly decent job of remaining calm. I still have my moments, but God has really helped me in these efforts.

Well today a problem came up. It was the kind of problem where I was between a rock and a hard place. Every solution I was coming up with seemed to have another problem attached to it. I must admit instead of asking for God's help, I teared up. I will finish my tale, but to help me along, I found some quotes.

Mary Kay Ash said, "For every failure, there's an alternative course of action. You just have to find it. When you come to a roadblock, take a detour."

I could not agree more. I am a firm believer in where there is a will there is a way. My mind started sifting through compromises I could make to satisfy all sides in my situation.

Theodore Roosevelt said, "Got a problem? Do what you can where you are but with what you got."

Of course one BIG thing I have is God on my side, but as my mind worked on the problem, I began to think that there was something I could do, without setting myself up or the other party for further stress and worry. Then BAM it came to me. A simple solution, where everyone wins including some who were not involved to begin with. Now this solution will require a little extra time and energy on my part, but God has me here in this place. Solutions to our problems may bring up some inconvenience, but if we force fight for our way, others will be inconvenienced. The other party came and spoke to me in love and has always been a big help to me. That person has troubles of their own, so the least I could to was find a way to solve their immediate problem, before thinking of myself.

I don't say all this to brag on myself. I shed some tears of this and thought selfishly at first. Then I remembered how annoyed I get when others force their problems on others selfishly. I see it a lot. My fear was that if I did not seek for a compromise or something of that sort, I would become hypocritical.

Henry Ford sums it up quite well, "Most people spend more time and energy making problems than trying to solve them."

In order to solve your problems, you may have to give up of yourself. In the end it will be well worth it. God can use it to stretch you, and you will save yourself a lot of heartache. Of course not every solution will be easy to come by every time. So in these cases remember....

Psalm 121:2, "My hope cometh from the Lord who made heaven and earth."

As a fairly new lover of math, yay for problem solving!

Rain is a Good Thing!

Many people get depressed by rainy days, but in them I find pleasure. To me it is God's way of providing rest. You have to slow down, take it easy, but not stop carrying out His purposes all together.

Today I took in the cool rainy air through my window, I listened to soothing music, I drank tea. For lunch I had comfort food - tomato soup and grilled cheese. Today has been wonderful.

Maybe getting soaked walking to classes is a little less enjoyable, but I cannot help but love it overall. There is nothing like a good walk in the rain.

Rain is a good thing (and not for all the reasons that Luke Bryant sang about ;-).)

Revelation 21:5 says, "And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful." God does make all things new. As the spring rain comes, the ugly brown and signs of death disappear from winter's harsh elements and spring brings new life. How much brighter does the sun shine after it comes out of hiding. Rain is indeed a good thing.

Even the rain storms of life can beautiful. Just as you enjoy the sun after rainy days, you can enjoy life's blessings more when you appreciate where you came from. Rain is a great thing!

Today it is raining and my heart is thankful.

Simply Trusting

This year at college I have heard a lot about Christians and trials. I have heard it before, but it has really gotten to me this year. I had a feeling I would be facing a trial sooner or later, but in the meantime I carried on with life.

The time has come for a trial in life. Without going into much detail, this particular trial brought me to tears when I first heard about it. As I was crying about my problem, I realized that there was absolutely nothing I could do except pray. The amazing thing is that prayer is the best thing to do. Why should I carry this burden? God knew a long time ago I would be going through this and He already knows the resolution. In fact, only 3 days after the situation arose, solutions and possibilities have arisen.

I could spend my time worrying and fretting over this, but that would be silly. Sure it is a whole lot easier said than done, but I cannot think of one time when my Heavenly Father failed me before. So today I will wear a smile on my face, accomplish what needs to be accomplished, and let God take care of the rest. Besides this tid bit of bad news, I had a lovely weekend, so I will praise God for it all. He is so good!

"It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23

Murmurings and Disputings

Philippians 2:14 - "Do all things without murmurings and disputings."

The more I ponder the different issues I see in life, the more I realize how selfish I as a human being can be. This past school year I have really tried to practice self-control and stop complaining. This is not something that comes easy to be as I am a selfish human being who wants things my way and life to be easy. Of course, it does not work that way.

I really hate to other people complain about certain things. Sadly, the things I hate to hear complaints about tend to be the things that I myself complain about. Did I mention how much I cannot stand hypocrisy. This always makes me think of what Jesus said in Matthew 7:5, "Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote of thy brother's eye."

You see, I can get all fired up about others who complain, but what about myself? Until I can control my own thoughts and tongue, I cannot talk about anyone else. I realized that even when I do vocalize my complaints, the thoughts running through my head are just as bad. When you consider I am a poor college student, I really am not bad off. I have been given so much, yet it never seems to be enough. I need to stop complaining and be grateful for what I have. Everything could always be so much worse.

I was inspired to write this post after seeing an event some friends were having at their college. They are having a no food complaints day at school. I know here at my college that a lot of us complain about our food choices. I always hate when people do this in front of the cooks, but the other college made a good point - we could really be fed poison and rotting vegetables, but we are not. So even if I do not vocalize my complaints in front of the cooks, my heart attitude is not right. I may be paying a lot of money for it, but if I was being fed top class gourmet food, it would be a lot more money. Anyway, this is just one example of my complaining issues yet to be conquered. It will be a constant battle, but I hope to be more grateful as well as work on my own attitude rather than complaining about others. What a vicious circle! God is always good through it all, and my heart is happy.

Super Bowl Saga

So yesterday I found myself fully indulged in this competitive spirit I had been trying to smother for years. My family loves sports and I have always enjoyed team spirit. My freshmen year of college I got excited that my team, the Baltimore Ravens, were starting to do better. It was also my first experience at a Super Bowl party since my college hosts one. Unfortunately, that year that Pittsburgh Steelers prevented the Ravens from getting into the Super Bowl. Since then, I have this vendetta against them.

Last season, it was pretty harmless, but this season, the Steelers and Ravens were always neck and neck. Once again, the Steelers made it to the Super Bowl. I was thrilled to see them lose, but today I am so frustrated on how I let it get to me. I mean, everything I cannot stand about the Steelers could be said about the Ravens in all reality. I think what it comes down to, it when I am at home, I get support from my Ravens loving family. When I am here at school where no one likes the Ravens and most love the Steelers, I really miss being home. All I hear is the Steelers being praised, and the Ravens being put down.

Who really knows who deserves what critique. In the light of eternity, it doesn't matter. I cannot remember who played in last year's Super Bowl or who the Steelers beat the year before. I won't care about any of these games in the days to come. I will still have my family to go home to, I am still having a wonderful semester of classes in this Steeler loving state, and most importantly, I am still a child of God. It really does not get much better than that.

Don't get me wrong, I am glad Green Bay won, I will still cheer for my Ravens, and I will root against the Steelers (I am all for sticking to your roots), but I need to stop letting it CONTROL me. I would do much better to stop saying I and focus on what God has for me. Right now that would be getting some homework completed that is due this week for classes, so I better get to it!

The Lord God made them all

So if you know me, it is no big secret that I am not a science lover. From the time I was in elementary class, I have never done well, and so I simply do not like the subject. I have always been satisfied with if it works, it works. I do not need to know the big terms behind it. I realize this seems like a care less attitude, and sometimes it is. However, there are times when I love it, simply to see the wonder of God's Creation.This past week in my biology course, my teacher was gone for the week. Instead having a week off, we were instructed to watch videos that prove evolution to be false. It was amazing to see how God has created each creature to declare His handiworks. For example, did you know about the Australian Incubator Bird? It is amazing how they can test the exact temperature of their nest and keep it to exact warmth their babies need to survive. That is only scratching the surface of these unique animals. I could go on forever about all the animals and even proteins I learned about, but that would take a while.

Anyway, I have been reading a devotional called Horse Tales from Heaven by Rebecca E. Ondov. In it, she tells a story about an adventure with a horse from her experiences and relates them to spiritual truth. Thinking back, I thought of a horse tale from my own life that expresses God's design. Not only has God shaped each animal to fit their environment and way of life, I have also seen how God has formed each personality for survival. The first foal ever born at the stable I used to help out at was named Spring. Not too many months after Spring's birth, her mother Cruz died of Potomac fever. Spring still needed nourishment, and if you know anything about animals, bottle feeding is not always the easiest solution. Well Miss Spring "just happened" to be one of the most independent foals you would ever meet. A bottle was never needed, she just licked the formula right from the bucket. Even better, her fraternal grandmother became like a surrogate mother out in the pasture, and the two became close. How could Spring's personality just have evolved into what she needed? It couldn't. God knew what would happen in her young life, and He created her to withstand it.

Now if God cares that much about a little filly, how much more does He care about me? What an amazing Creator I serve!

An Invitation to Grow

This is my second attempt at blogging. I find that writing out my thoughts enables to me to see how God is working in my life. This week I have been sent to notes of encouragement. One said "Keep going, Meg, because you are growing beautifully." I am not sure if this is true, but the same card says that God sends us trials to invite us to grow. I have seen this time and time again in my life.
Lately, I have learned how important it is to let go of the past. There is no future in the past. It's gone. It has been freeing to come to this realization. Now I need to find contentment in the here and now.I do not know what lies ahead, but God has been so good to me. I can't wait to see what He has in store.

Lamentations 3:25 - "The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him."