God's Desire Above Mine

        Trying to find somewhere to write at times can be really hard espically when everywhere you go there is a wedding going on. I finally ended up on my apartment lawn. Anyways, have you ever read the book "Kisses from Katie"? I'm reading it for the second time with with a different view then the first time. The second time seems more possible for me. I could see myself in the story here in AR. I could write my own story. I could see God's Desire for me being fun! :)
         The first time I read the book I got back from Guatemala and excited about what the Lord could do with me there. At the same time all the things Katie went through I knew I would go through some sort of the same things. Was I ready for that and could I handle it? Of course the only orphans too that were on my mind was what most people think orphans are.  That is children overseas that do not have parents to live with.
          Well, now that I have worked in a children's shelter with abuse and neglected children for a year and a half I have a different view and idea. I can do what Katie is doing only here in the states. I can build up a home setting for some abused and neglected children. Learning a lot about the foster care system and what it is really like plus the DHS (department of human services) is not okay with me. I always thought those service took care of the children and in a way humanly possible they are but in other ways I think they can do better.
           I never thought I would hear the phase "bad foster homes" but I do more then I should. People can be so choosy on the child they want. I know everyone is human and there is sin in this world and sometimes I just have to let go and pray.  In a way, I could be doing my part too and my hearts desire now is to be an actual house parent and then maybe a single foster parent or make my own children's home. Own a big house, maybe one with 10 rooms, and take those many children in plus help them with other needs and get the community more involved.
            The problem I think espically where I live in AR where Wal Mart  is is that people are too focused on business and doesn't notice the problems around them. Doesn't notice the need. No one speaks out if you want to know you have to get on the inside and or educate yourself on the children. While wal mart is a sponsor of places like these, community needs to see the big problems. Churches need to see the children has a chance to reach out.
              It is a touchy subject but one thing I know for sure is that God did put me in the right place.  My mom always said, "there are children here in the states that need our help too" and that was coming from a teacher's point of view but now I understand it more a lot more. I will do everything in my heart's desire to help the children around me and will Love on them with everything that I have. I'll be a missionary in the States!

Letter of God's Love

       I sponsor a little girl from Compassion International and have sponsored her for about 8 years since she was at least 5. She is about 14 now and she just wrote me a letter that I got this month. We write back and forth every so often but this letter really got to me. She just got done celebrating "Love month" which is the month of March so I guess love was on her mind.
          The strange thing about this letter was that she asked me,  "How's your love life?" Well, for those who know me I don't have a love life with a human but I do with the Heavenly Father. She just said "Love life" and I'm not sure if she knows the Lord yet so I told her about my love life with Him. That question did challenge me too for a few days. I had to stop and think about it but it is good to do that in any relationships. Where are we going, how am I growing, helping the other person to grow, and can I do more or something differently.
           Here is the letter that I wrote her:
                   Dear (her name),
                           Hi! I'm glad that you are doing good and staying busy with school and Compassion. Strange question but what is love month? What do you think matters most when it comes to love? (Theme of love month) To answer you question, "How is your love life", I don't have a man on this earth that I love yet. I'm still waiting for God to bring me the guy He has for me in His Timing. I believe if it is God's Will for me to marry then He will bring me a guy when the time is right.
            If it is God's desire for me to be single and live just for Him then I'm great with that too. It would be great to have a guy to love on this Earth but no guy can ever reach the love Jesus has for us. We all will sin and fall short of the glory of God but He never will. Just think of that kind of love. A love that will never lose sight of you, a love meeting your every need, a strong love that you can always count on, and would die in your place. A love that would take your burners and sins on Himself because He loves you that much with an Unconditional love that no human can match.
            I would rather be in a love like that and a relationship like that then be in an earthly one. Jesus died on the cross with your sins because he loves you that much. He wanted you to be free of all the bad things that hold you down and wants you to live for Him forever. Keep getting in the Bible to know His Love for you.

In Christ's Love, Tiffney

        Did this letter make you think more about God's Love for you?

God is God

        This is a little story about one of my little girls and a moment I have with her at bedtime one night. Children can say the darnest things sometimes without even knowing it. Most of the time it is something meaningful at least to me.
         One of my little girls is leaving today but I'll never forget what she said one night while we were reading the Bible together. She said, "God is God". Here is the whole conversation I had with her. We were reading Noah's Ark and of course it mentioned God. It said, "Noah loved God". The little girl said,  "I love God too". Then I asked her, "do you know who God is?" She replied back,  "God is God."
            How simple is that answer: God is God. So easy to say, but yet do easy to forget. God is God which means He can do anything He wants to. He can pull us through anything. He can provide us with whatever we need. He is there and by us all the time.
            It was funny because I was looking for this big, long answer and she went straight to the point. She thought child-like. She said it when I needed it the most. God is God and we can't do anything without Him. God is with us yesterday, today, and tommrow. It was also really cute when she said "I love God" too because it was random. I wasn't expecting that at all.
              Noah's Ark was the first story I read to her her 2nd time back. Surprised she remembered our talks and stories before this time.

REMEMBER: God is God!
        

Living Sacrifice Prayer

     Put your name in the "I" places if this is you or you can pray it like it is.

     God, make me a living sacrifice for You. Lead me in the way that would give You Glory. I want to live for You. A sacrifice is something you have to give up completely to someone or something. It is something valuable. Let me give up unimportant things for You.

       I know being a living sacrifice is not easy. I might have to go through a lot of sufferings for God. It is all for His Glory, not mine. That is the mission for me here on earth from God.

         When I'm a living sacrifice, I give up what I thought my life purpose was. Then I say,  "Here I am, send me." He has a purpose for each person to fulfill. We need to ask Him what it is and listen for the answer.

          In Christ's Love, Amen

        
        

God Shakes

        Have you ever wonder "does God shake us and if so for what"?  I've been looking at verses this past week with the word" shaken" in them or another form or word meaning the same. I compared the Old Testament and the New Testament. There are more verses in the Old Testament with that word in them. Don't take it has that's all if the 33 verses in the Bible with that word. That is just how many I found in a week.
           Here is what I learned from the verses in the Old Testament. Every time I would read one it would be about a person being shaken (aka in trouble) and God coming to save them. The phases "lean on God" and "God wants us to really depend on Him" came to my mind. It shows His grace and mercy for us. There was a lot of verses in the Psalm from David struggling.  A man after God's own heart.
            Now here is what I noticed in the new Testament. When the word "shaken" was uses it was mainly when God or the Holy Spirit was coming down to help or show people something. That could be taken as God loves us enough to come be with us and help us in time of need.
          It is just strange to me that people think the Christian life is easy but it's not. It seems easy because we have a God that we can depend on and he wants us too. We have our struggles too whether physically, mentally, emotionally,  or even spiritually because the devil will try anything to get to us. We do have to rely depend on God if we want anything done at all. God loves us more then anything in the world ever will.
          If you look these up it will help you see the story of salvation or it did me anyway. God was not there (aka He let us get to the point that of struggling before He came to help) in the old testament but He was there (when we called to Him) in the New Testament.
         Here are some of the verses if you want to look them up: 2 Samuel 18:33, 1 Samuel 28:21, Psalm 16:7-11, Psalm 21:7, Psalm 30:6-7, Psalm 55:21-22, Psalm 55:18, Psalm 62:2,6, Psalm 125:1, Isaiah 24:19, and Isaiah 54:10. Now New Testament verses: Luke 21:26, Acts 2:25, Matthew 24:29 and Mark 13:24-25, Acts 4:31, Acts 16:26, and Hebrews 12:26-29.

God Tugs on my Heart

      "I hope God Puts the answers on your heart...... All in His Timing of course."

        It has been almost a week since I last wrote in here but that doesn't mean my life has not been crazy. That is all it had been so that's my reason for not writing as much. I do have a lot that I need to write though because God has been teaching me one thing after another. See if I can remember them all and get them out the next few days.
          I've been thinking a lot about friend lately and how we came about to be friends. The answer I came up with was: it was all God's prefect timing. It was God tugging on my heart and sending me to my friend when my friend needed someone the most. Some people might think I'm crazy when I say I can really feel or realize when the Spirit of God is tugging or pushing at my heart. I like to say God has given me that kind of discerment and when you follow it enough you can tell what it is.
          I won't go into detail about each situation but I will tell you each of them. I've known this friend for about 8 years now. Scary. :) This friend was a college friend and that's where it all started. The situations might be out of order some but I'll get close to what I can remember.        There was one day I saw my friend on the sidewalk. The friend looked upset so I wrote a Facebook message that night to see what was wrong. I've heard though people and my own observations that things changed.
          I did get a message back telling me what happened but that was it. Next time God was tugging at my heart was when my friend was putting up the feelings about life at that moment. My friend wanted to talk to someone so I wrote back and asked if breakfast at 7:00 in the morning would be a time to get together and talk. My friend didn't get back to me but I got up and ready and went thinking and hoping my friend would be there. My friend came a little late but showed up. We were both hoping each would be there and we were.
          Then another time I saw my friend really down and that is after coming back after my friend was gone for a week. Again I wrote him a message and he wrote me back. A relative had passed away. Another time I saw my friend crying during and after a Bible study that we went to and I went up afterwards and asked if everything was okay. Then during one of our college's open house (that's when we get to visit the females get to visit the male dorms and vice via) my girlfriends and I went to my friend's dorm and my friend was working on an app for being an inter somewhere. That was kind of on the spot moment too.
            Those were all during college but it is still going today. I have given my friend money when he would put the request randomly out there. I have prayed for my friend multiple of times and left comments and emails of encouragement. Like here recently I asked if I could pray for my friend and my friend responded back with some prayer requests a few days later. Each time I do or have done those things it's because I felt the Spirit tug on my heart because usually espically at the start of the friendship I wouldn't have done those things that easily.
            It is strange when you build a friendship like that because in either way you never want to let go. Both of you have been through too much together without maybe even knowing. I know there have also been times where me and my friend is learning the same God given lesson at same time but different ways like now. Learning to trust and lean on God because He has a Plan for our lives. Might not be the same one but God has a plan and is getting us ready for it. Things will come about in His Timing. I know too that we are both big on pray and God's Timing.

What is Unconditional, Friendly Love?-Part 2

         "We Love because He (God) first Loved us."

         I have so many entries to write still but this one has to be the other longest and the others can be short. This entry is another story I promised about the way God is showing me that unconditional love can be given and/or received. I will try to tell it the best I can with out giving out any names or situations that has happened recently but doubt if I can do that especially with the situation part.
         One of my friends has this business/ministry/ TV show that he runs and is the founder of. It has been going on for about 4 years and it encourages me a lot to go after my own dream because everything he is doing was his dream to start with. It has to do a lot with huntin' and to make this story even more interesting I will say I had my doubts like any other person but that is when I was still in college and I didn't want it to happen because he might be moving from where he was and I might have been moving to where he is now. We would have missed each other by a year in other words. To be on the safe side I had my doubts.
         Once I moved to AR and things were back to normal for me I started to encourage and talk to him a bit more and follow him too. I would watch his little videos that he would make and put on youtube and so on. As I was living in AR and still to this day, his show is still growing bigger and better everyday but in some cases I would like to think it is because of prayer that I did along with the hard work him and his team did. He wasn't pushing it much at the start but as the years went on and he was learning more of what to do and getting things he needed he started doing a lot more. He really got to me when he went on TV last Fall for a season. Didn't get to watch any of his shows on TV so it is still hard for me to believe but it happened. :) Now the show and ministry is one of the biggest huntin' shows online.
           The show is mainly about huntin' and land management for deer mainly. It is full of Christian based and family based vaules. It has his family in it and the team is not to share their faith in it. It is about God's Creation and the time spent out in it while huntin' and plantin'. The staff has grown up some way in the outdoors and loves it. It can give you tips and ideas on how to hunt or plant things for deer to come to. It has grown to 5 people to 19,000 people and 4 staff to 10 staff. It is growing and I'm proud and it makes me what to start my dream.
            Back to the unconditional, friendly love and what it has to do with this show is a lot with me sitting on the sidelines and watching it grow bigger and better every season. They are in their 4th season. I'm supporting them behind the big picture. I don't care if I ever get to be on the show or if I ever get to see the land or other things. I'm just supporting through my words and prayers for them. It has been hard in ways for me because there is that hope that just someday maybe things will die down and get easier for the host and he could focus on other things but then I have to remember it's not about a person, it is about God and for his Glory. Yes, I am his friend and I'm there to support him but I don't want the frame. The team and God deserve it, not me. I support it because I want to do it. I have seen the impact it has made in other people's lives, my life, and his life and I want that to happen for other people. I want a impact to be made on people and this is just a different way to reach a different group of people that are passionate about huntin'. I just have to remember and get back on track and I am fine. I might not be getting any response back or I will every once in awhile but I have to remember it is not for me. Hopefully, it will help that person and that is all that matters. GOD KNOWS AND HE IS THE ONLY ONE THAT NEEDS TO KNOW THAT PERSON'S HEART.
            We all get into that selfish desire about what is in it for me if I support them or do this and that for them and really it isn't about that. In this situation, it is about showing and telling people God's Glory and that the show is growing because people are liking that. Unconditional, friendly love is being there for your friend or people even through the hardest times whether it is for them while they are trying new things to grow or waiting on things to you wanting what is not yours right now or may never will be (aka selfish desires). You are there for them for a reason right now and it might be for 4 years or it might be for a 4 months. GOD HAS A REASON FOR EVERYTHING AND AS GOD'S PEOPLE WE SHOULD LOVE JUST BECAUSE THAT IS HIS PURPOSE AND MISSION FOR US, TO SHARE HIS GOOD NEWS WITH ALL THE WORLD! Other people might get things out of that love or they might not it is up to God and them in the end.
           
             I will go ahead and give you all the names if you want to look the show up:

Website: www.thg-tv.com

Facebook at: The Huntin' Grounds

YouTube at: search "The Huntin' Grounds".