0.... 10

I cannot believe it's 2010 already, it's weird to say too. Before I would say 09 but it seems odd, though not incorrect, to say 010. But anyway today I was folding laundry in the bedroom, I grabbed one of Tom's shirts and shook it hard to get all the creases out and what not. Then Lupin (my cat) sat up and was staring at the wall behind me with his scaredy cat face. I teased him and thought it was odd since I had been shaking out shirts and it hadn't bothered him till now. I figured it must have been a reflection on the wall so I turned to see what was bugging him and there it was



yep, my sock. Maybe next time I won't forge the dryer sheet.

Thoughts/Reflections from my TAWG (Time Alone with God):

Part of our Navigator training is to learn the Topical Memory System (TMS). It's about 60 Bible verses that are good verses to start on for memorizing. It's been a challenge for me but I have enjoyed it too. Today I was going over some of the ones I have already learned and I came across a verse that was not part of the TMS but I decided to learn because I liked it so much and Tom and I have discussed a lot with each other and others when we talk about our lives and ministry.

Acts 4:13 (NASB)
Now as they observed confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.

I love this verse because Peter and John had confidence but it wasn't by their own works, they were not better trained or had higher educated then other men. The difference between them and anyone else was they had been with Jesus. Peter and John had confidence because it flowed out from them knowing Jesus intimately, spending time with Him as Jesus showed them again and again just how deep and wide his love for them went. They were confident because they knew Jesus' heart. And they only way the discovered Jesus' true character was because they spent day after day with him. They walked, they talked, the learned, they questioned, they ate together, fellowship together in times of joy and sorrow.

I think about my ministry. When I try to reach out to others on my own abilities, I might be able to help some but I am a broken person, my motives are not pure. No amount of training or discipline will change that, I just may be able to fake it better. In 2 Chronicles 12:14 (NASB) "He did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the Lord" It doesn't say he did evil because he was bad or because he desired evil. He did it because he wasn't first seeking God. God is good, His will is perfect. If we don't seek Him how will we know what is good? We may stumble upon it from time to time but we can do the right thing with completely selfish motives.

When Jesus was about to go die on the cross and leave the disciples, He told them that it was good He was leaving because when He left then the disciples would receive the Holy Spirit. John 16:7 (NASB) "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you." No longer would only a few be able to know Jesus intimately, anyone who loved God and sought His will would be filled with the Holy Spirit and be able to fellowship with Him at any place or time.

I want so badly for my confidence to flow out from a deep friendship I have with God. These last few months it has been such a blessing as I have been able to have time alone with God on an almost daily basis. The one-on-one time is great but we also much be with Him together. If you have a friend, don't you introduce them to your other friends? Or if they already know each other won't you all go out and do things together? The sweet thing about Church is it's a room full of people who love Him! We get to come together and talk about how we love Him, how He loves us. Encouraging each other to spend more time with Him and get to know Him even more!

My relationship with Jesus is so far from what I desire it to be. I hope someday that when anything happens in my life, good or bad, that He is the first one I desire to share with. That I pray without ceasing i.e. that I remember that I am in His presence constantly and therefore talk with Him as I would my best friend, that He become my best friend. I look forward to spending time with Him, to learning more about His character. It has been a sweet journey and this is only the beginning, what exciting times there are to come!