Praise the GREAT God

"God has a first name—"Yahweh" or "Jehovah"—a Hebrew word that means, "I am." "Lord" should be translated "Jehovah," which means that Jehovah Almighty is His name. Jehovah is a personal name that reveals the very core of God's being, sufficiency, and holiness. God wants to be on a first name basis with us and wants us to come to Him just as we are, in our weakness and incompleteness. When we come before Him, sharing our deepest needs, with honesty and transparency, God then shares His last name, which is based on our current need in life."- Mary Sutherland, Girlfriends in God

Yesterday I had the humbling privilege of speaking in church for our Sunday morning service. Talk about nerve wracking. I've spoken on numerous occasions but in my head, there is something "different" about Sunday morning. Anyway...I talked about finding freedom. My message was entitled "Prison to Freedom, through Praise".



I wanted to share a short snippet of it on praise...and the quote from my GIG devotion this morning fit in so nicely.

Two things happen when we praise:

1. There is a shifting of our gaze (focus) to God: we become like Peter on the water...we can have the mental/emotional/spiritual and even physical strength to move out of the bondages [situations] that have already been unlocked and to move through the gates that have already been opened.
Also, praise helps us to re-align with God and to see a bit how God sees, that is...we get some insight into our situation AFTER we take our eyes off ourselves and look at God.

2. Through praise we establish, reiterate, remind ourselves of who God is, what He has done and what He is doing.

To praise means that we give commendation, accolades, honour to someone or something. We are highlighting a particular characteristic that we admire or like.  The act of praising means that there is a focus off of ourselves and onto the object receiving the praise.

When we praise God, I feel its easy to "get caught up". That is, to begin giving accolades about one characteristic and then easily be reminded that there is something else to give commendation to Him about.

For example, I can't help but to praise God for provision. He is Jehovah Nisse to me. There are so many situations where I know that it was Him who made the way...and in those situations, I can't help but think how He protected me and to be ever grateful that He is omniscient and loves me so much. So I praise Him for being Almighty God (El Shaddai), for being my protector and for being all-knowing (omniscient).  This then reminds me, that He sees everything...and particularly He sees me (El Roi) and my situation and He's working on my behalf. He is my Shepherd (Jehovah Rohi) and being the Good Shepherd, He will always lead me into truth and safety once I trust Him and I can always trust Him because He is faithful and GOOD!!!

Yes, its very easy to change our perspective from doom and gloom and despondency  to one where God becomes bigger and hope can rise and faith can be built!

Whatever your circumstance today, especially if its particularly heavy, sad, discouraging...shift your focus and begin to PRAISE. Recognize what God has already done, what He is doing and what He is about to do!

We were born to praise!

Grace peace and love,
Gia

little dog, big bone (Lessons from Ari)

I haven't done my lessons from Ari post in a while. Mostly, its because I've been away from him for most of the Fall semester and not because he has been shenanigan free. For those of you who don't know him (or never read these posts), Ari is my little fiesty protector. He weighs all but 14 lbs, barks at any and every thing that seemingly could be a threat but loves fiercely. Especially me. He's technically a mutt (1/2 yorkie & 1/2 shih tzu) but more considered a spoilt breed since he is our only "child".

Last night as I sat and just had quiet time, I was praying and thinking and teetering between those two actions for a while...and Ari sat alongside me on his couch and tackled (literally) a bone. The thing is, this bone is big. He's really a small little thing and since last year, by mistake, we've been buying him bones that are probably for medium-large sized breeds.

At first, I instructed the purchaser to return it for a bone suited for his size but since there were two and he desperately needed something to chew on, we left it with him. What we found, is the lesson for today...he was able to handle the bone that was about 1/3 of his size. It wasn't without fighting and fumbling, but consistency and unrelenting determination was what won.

Last night was no different. The bone slipped from his grasp a couple times. He had to change positions a couple times. He had to change the position of the bone a couple times..but if you look closely at the bone (gross), there is clear evidence that it is being widdled away. And I assure you, by end of Feb, all that will be left is a mere nub.

This struck me as fascinating as my prayer and thoughts at this point was centered on a fairly big dream that I've been developing (more on that later). As with most of my dreams, this seems impossible. In fact, this is building upon...expanding, if you may, on a super size dream of The Mercy House which I've introduced in past posts.

What I need to do, though...is finalize the vision. Identify the baby steps and begin chewing one small piece at a time. I need to be flexible to realize that sometimes I may need to change my own position or adjust the dream a bit..but the idea is to steadily, slowly keep chipping away.

First things first though...getting the full vision realized and identifying those smaller goals/objectives.

I'm down for the ride!

Grace peace and love,

Gia

Life as a puzzle

Every now and again, purpose would slap me upside my face and I'd smile because I realize this is a part of me emptying myself so that whenever it is my time to die, I know I would have fulfilled what God placed me on this Earth for.

So you may be asking, what exactly does "purpose slapping me upside my face" look like? 

It looks like my original plan for my dissertation being too big and my first draft falling flat. 

It looks like me taking a step back to my original plan and remembering that I wanted to explore life as an "orphan". 

It looks like me getting an opportunity to do some volunteer work (learned about this in November) with girls who are orphaned and me being over-the-moon excited about it. So excited, I was like..."why didn't I think of that"?  

It looks like me asking myself and then God, why is it that this group of individuals pulls to me the way they do. 

Then it looks like, a friend suggesting that I work with her to potentially counsel orphans (got this request last week).  By the way, the friend knew nothing of the changes to the dissertation which came in November, neither was she aware that I will be volunteering with this group for another project next weekend.  She just thought of me as an ideal person for the task at hand.

It is not by chance, or even not by my own doing that all of these opportunities are presenting themselves. This is purpose slapping me upside the face. I'm still waiting on the full "understanding" from God about the extent of my involvement (now and in the future) with this group of individuals. I've been even wondering if this is the direction for Mercy House (not first time I've had that thought either).

I love when it happens like this...just like the pieces of the puzzle of life coming together. Some people say they don't know what their purpose is. I believe that if we take 2nd and sometimes 3rd looks around us, we can see how our talents/passions can make a change.  We can also see how we are drawn to certain things, people or groups. Somehow, like me, it just so happens that multiple opportunities present itself over and over and so you find yourself doing something that you enjoy, and never actually pursued it. That's purpose slapping you over the head.

I was so taken with this post on JeremyStatton.com this morning, that I decided to just redirect my readers there....(click title below for full post). For me, the last bullet points (white background) just made my heart scream "YES!"

Excerpt taken from the post To die is to live. Enjoy.

"The point is to be fully alive.

• To focus on doing the things that will matter forever.
• To understand the value of time and stop wasting it.
• To silence distractions.
• To focus on relationships.
• To realize that some risks are too important not to take.
• To stop worrying about failing and to start doing.
• To love because in the end, there is nothing else."

Grace peace and love,
Gia

Monday meditations

Sensor your thoughts, maximize your future.

http://pinterest.com/giavana81/word/

Side note: ever grateful to God for keeping us and our nation safe throughout Hurricane Sandy and I send prayers towards those living along the East Coast of the US.

Grace peace and love,
Gia

...in abundance and in famine

This post is somewhat of a part two and this was much harder than most because I'm being totally vulnerable here.

This lesson began a couple weeks ago (see here) and as the season of famine has continued, I have seen greater lessons for me. Nothing new or earth shattering mind you, simple truths I know but of course were challenged with life and my struggle to not only know of them (truth) but to live it!

Quick review: Earlier in this year, I was in abundance...full-time-student kind of abundance. I juggled 3 jobs and full time school (research, reading and writing) from January to about August and the cumulative pay was enough to cover all my expenses and then some...

End result: I was very proud of my savings. Not that I was boasting to anyone about it..no one really knew it existed but in my heart, I'd somehow (as I shared here) transferred my dependence from God to my savings.

Well as I shared a couple weeks ago, the savings had started to dwindle. What I didn't share was that was just one savings. (insert embarrassed face here). Yup. There was a back up savings to the savings...(I'm a girl-isn't there always?) And now that the savings is gone, the back up savings has dwindlied and once again, I felt the pinch (more like onslaught) of anxiety. It's crazy since I just went through this....

So yes, the lesson last time was that I had shifted my dependence and forgot WHO was my source. This time though, I recognized that the anxiety wasn't so much the fear that God wasn't providing (or wouldn't provide)....

I KNOW that God always comes through for me. Sometimes its really tight deadlines but nonetheless He comes through. ALWAYS. So in my quiet time, I tried to gain understanding that if I really do know and believe that He will come through...why am I still getting all bent out of shape....and there the realization slapped me in the face....I recognized the unspoken question that I was entertaining [subconsciously]:

What happens when it all runs out? 

Of course the "it" here is not my meager, barely-hitting-4figures-savings...

The IT here is God's provision. 

The continued lesson to this is a revelation of my own trust issues. ouch. [Now you understand why this is very hard to share]. I'm a Christian. I LOVE Jesus. I believe. But oh there is still some shaky ground to how I TRUST Him...more accurately, how much I trust His character, who He says He is.

Head knowledge dictates: He's the God of the Universe. His provision is the very air I breathe. So clearly it can't run out...but that doesn't stop the broken, scarred little person inside of me from questioning whether or not this is really true. :sigh:  

The cool thing as I wrote and reflect, is that this is what these lessons are about. Uncovering the holes and inconsistencies in my relationship with God and (re)surrendering my heart so that the relationship can be taken to another level.

I'm riding this out as I type...and I do not know what else this soul-searching will reveal but I'm here and I'm continuing on in the course. Rolling with the punches and extra careful to glean the lessons and whenever possible, share them with you. Humbly.

Grace peace and love,

Gia

Provision

I want to briefly share this past week's experience with provision. I've talked enough about it, that you know I spent a week in Guyana and it really was not a cheap trip. I gave up some things and intentionally took a summer job just to be able to carry my own weight on the trip.

Well before that trip, I had a couple of jobs and life was good. I was living comfortably and creating a lovely savings for myself. What I didn't know was that God was setting me up for this season. So upon my return to Canada, which has really been less than 2 weeks, I've watched a fairly healthy savings (think full time student savings..not full time fancy profession savings :) ) just drizzle down to virtually nothing. It's not only basic needs but now my car is sucking the very life out of my financial existence.  Ironically, I now live 1 hour from school so a healthy, properly functioning car is not only a luxury but a NEED.

I began to get very sad...somehow I had begun to transfer my faith from God as my source, to the savings account as my source. After realizing this mistake, and getting things back in line, things took a completely different perspective. I began to really see how God was not only using my almost-depleted savings to help ensure my needs were covered but also other ways too.

I recall one particular day last week when the mechanic not only found me two slightly used tires for $90 (I was looking at $250 otherwise) but he also offered to fix my muffler ($500 job) on credit with the arrangement that I pay him in installments. Additionally, he went and fixed my hubcap on his own--glued it on so it didn't fall off on one of my journeys back and forth from school to home...

I need ya'll to know that I visit this particular auto shop, maybe once-twice a year and I don't know him from Adam. He does remember me and my husband from bringing the car over the past 3 years but somehow God has touched this man's heart to favour me so that I can be safe.

That same evening, I wanted to go to the grocery store but was tired and opted not to. Came home, checked the account, it was down to $20 so thought..hmm happy I was tired...I would have been sooo embarrassed if the debit transaction was declined. The thought crossed my mind about what would happen for food for the next couple days but I didn't worry about it.

A couple hours later, my roommie comes home with platters of food. SERIOUSLY. Platters. We definitely had enough food to keep us through the weekend and maybe even into early the following week if we creatively combined pieces to make meals.

Did I mention that this was the same day, hubby texted me that the scholarship cheque was ready? Praise Dance. Scholarship cheque means that every 2 weeks, I can get a couple dollars for the gas and food bill. This won't kick in until October but I'm not worried about the days in between. Praise Dance



It is all about where your eyes are focused. I could have easily missed these many instances of favour had I been all consumed with what was in my bank account..but re-fixing my eyes to Jesus who is the one who began and completes this faith journey, I am on....gave me a completely different outcome.

How has/is God provided(ing) in times of "lack"?


Grace peace and love,
Gia