ouch.

YEOWCH!

It was was 2 in the *morning.* getting ready for a wonderful conference (that was four-five hours away). It was going great. Until then. ;)

I stepped directly onto a piece of jewelry wire sticking straight up from my carpet. It hurt! my foot started bleeding (yuck) and I was very frustrated. I could barely walk.

My mom told me to clean it out. ouch. that hurts too.

Then I put a band-aid over it. That didn't hurt so much, and it was much easier for me to walk, so I went downstairs to complete my preparation for the day.

I walk into my room. What's the first thing I see? My Bible, lying on my bed.

Cosette, I let that happen on purpose. Do you get what I'm trying to teach you?

     Yeah, I've learned to work on jewelry over a table over tile floor!

That's not exactly the point.
     
      Point taken.

When I say "point taken," it was. I believe that God's purpose was to remind me of the prophecy that says that Satan will bruise the heel of the seed of Eve, but that her Seed would crush his head. I sit here writing this post while my foot is doing that weird throbbing thingy, and I am reminded of what happened leading up to that point.

The night before, a situation had come up that I blamed myself for. I was super discouraged, but it was one of those things that I entertained in my mind that wasn't true and it certainly wasn't healthy! I even came to the point of tears, believing that lie. The next morning, a little wire in my foot straightened me out. I could now look back and see that I had let Satan bruise my heel through those thoughts, but then, recognizing my failure, I turned it to Christ, who overcame the situation and crushed the head of the enemy.

I mean, it wasn't as easy as it sounds. Nothing really ever is. Those negative thoughts really hurt badly, and taking them out kinda hurt too. Then I had to clean my mind of those thoughts. Here comes the hydrogen peroxide ;) . It stung. But it had to be done, or else I would get an infection and those thoughts would keep penetrating my mind, further and further. But it didn't end there. I put a bandaid over it. You see, the only bandaid that works for sin is the blood of Christ. He covered that wound with his blood, love, and grace, and when you look at that wound, that's what you see. The bandaid. The bandaid also provides padding so that I can get up and keep moving.

via pinterest

So, take this little illustration to heart. :)

WHO AM I????

Who am I?

We've all asked that question at least once in our lives, and I stumbled across it this week. And while thinking it over, I kept saying, I am.... I am....

And then it hit me. I kept saying, "I am" and it reminded me of a song......

"Not because of who I am,
But because of what You've done.
Not because of what I've done,
But because of Who You are!"

Who is God?

Well, so many words pop into our minds, one of which is the great "I am."

Did you catch that?

God is the great I am.

As a Christian, I belong to God.

So I don't really have to wonder who I AM because I am the child of the GREAT I AM THAT I AM.

Love Poured Out

Pouring out love, not anger. 

That's something I had to do the day before Wednesday, because I was in the confined car with two other people, and you know how that can be. Anything gets on my nerves in that situation, but I determined not to let that get the best of me. I also determined to have a wwjd attitude.

And that was hard.

But it reminded me that I love my brother more than my DSI, meaning that even if he ever did completely destroy what I spent lots of hard-earned money on, I still wouldn't give up on him by blowing up. With love, I still wouldn't have that right. {Which he didn't break it at all, by the way}

And that brings me to a great Valentine's Day story. It's a story of a guy who truly loved his girl more than any work or possession.

Read it here.

What a cool story! Something I didn't notice before is that Jacob worked for seven years after her married Rachel, which shows that he probably forgave Laban for his deception.

Suppressing rage is pouring out love, and that's one of the ways I poured out love and gave of myself this Valentine's Day.

Valentine's Day

It's Valentine's Day.

Some of you reading this are married; some may be in a relationship; some are single. I fall into the last category, and yes, I am celebrating Valentine's Day; because, even though the background of it may not have to do with singles, love does.

I do not have to be in a relationship or be married to love. The Bible says that love is a fruit of the Spirit, not a result of romance.

That means that I, as a Christian, can love, even if I don't have a significant other.

Enough about what love is not; let's talk about what love is.

Today, I am celebrating Valentine's Day by choosing to be loving through the strength of Christ.

I will choose to be patient, waiting on God's timing for romance.

I will choose to be kind, especially to my parents, who introduced me to singleness.

I will choose to reject envy, especially envy of couples.

I will choose humility, not boasting or prideful of a loving heart.

I will choose to suppress rudeness, especially to those who treat me differently because of my singleness.

I will choose to be a servant, even to those who have a significant other.

I will choose to reject anger, even towards my situation.

I will choose to reject a record of wrongs, especially those wrongs done due to my singleness.

I will choose not to delight in evil, especially lies that would tear me down.

I will choose to rejoice in truth, the truth that God's timing is best.

I will choose to protect my heart and others' hearts from lies.

I will choose to trust, especially in the Lord of my life.

I will choose to hope, especially in God's Word.

I will choose to presevere, even through this time of my life.

For then, I will love!



A re-definition of Valentine's Day:

This Valentine's Day, I dedicate my heart to the Lord of my life, Jesus Christ. Let His strength prevail, for I am fallen and weak, and cannot love on my own. May He work through me as He molds me and purifies me. I surrender my life to Christ, the Author of my life, and the Author of love!

What I am thankful for Today

What I Am Thankful for Today

waking up

hearing the sound of children preparing for church

the crunching of cereal

worshiping my Lord

the lesson I learned from the sermon

the smell of, well, the outdoors

the little boy that surrounds me with a hug

-and warms me with a smile

my privilege of being the tickle-monster

the dependent, yogurt-splattered, cabbage-patch 

face whose eyes meet mine as I spoon some more 

food into her smiling mouth

Forbearance

Forbearance.

Forbearance is calming every nerve in your body that tells you to scream when your brother is innocently squeaking the dog toy but it's biting at your pulsing headache.

Forbearance is calmly accepting the fact that you must learn how to waltz for drama class.

Forbearance is holding it the stomp and yell in when you just brushed your fake-hair clip five times, and, five minutes after you put it on, you must walk a ways in the cold harsh wind to your co-op class.

Forbearance.


Forbearance is a type of reaction to a situation that's completely out of our control. Yeah, forbearance is that type of reaction that is glorifying to God. Forbearance is putting up with it (suppressing anger) while loving which means fully forgiving which happens due to the Holy Spirit within us which in turn leaves no room for bitterness.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance, against such there is no law."

~Ephesians 5:22-23 (emphasis mine)

And, since I will be on a road trip all day tomorrow {all the way to Tennessee!} with my brother and my mother in an enclosed space, I think I will need some forbearance. But, by definition, I can only do it through God. I am excited to see what God will do in me tomorrow as I live this out. :D

Busy, busy, busy! and Small Choices

You know you're week's been busy when you've substituted brushing your teeth with an Altoid and skip a shower for four days straight. Well, I guess it means you could be really tired, too. But, seriously? My room looks like a junkyard, my {many} dirty clothes smell like one, and I feel like one! My goals of having a clean room and getting my laundry done and blogging and spending free time on more meaningful things crashed. And then, yesterday I had {not had, chose to get up late} to do my eye-shadow and such and read my Bible on the car ride to church.

And then I read that verse that pierces me every single time:

Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number.

yeah. ouch!

Innocently "forgetting" was no excuse to tell an omniscient God. He knew that I made the choice to get up late almost every day of the week. He knew that I made the choice to neglect putting on the armour of God. But I thought I was all set because I had read my Bible everyday. But I did it to keep my record straight, forgetting God for "days without number."

a small choice made with God's guidance is a beautiful thing.

I made the choice. That's something I've been learning: that my small choices add up to a larger result. My "small" choices of pressing snooze on the alarm clock added up to a week of sleeping in and quick Bible reading. I only got a sliver of what I could've gained from my time with God.

Please don't make the same mistake I did. It might not be pressing snooze on the alarm clock, but there's probably some small choice that adds up that you will be making this week. Make the right choice.

Rubber Bands

The other day I got a rubber band put in my mouth. It attaches my top braces to my bottom braces, in such a way that it will pull my bottom teeth to the left.

I've been thinking about it. I am actually starting to see a lot of analogies for my life from the rubber band in my mouth. :)

A rubber band is elastic-y. Even when it is stretched out, it will bounce right back to its original shape. {Too} many times I will become very angry when I am "stretched." My "stretching" can really be anything from a trial to my brother accidentally getting into my stuff to gossip that is spread about me. Too many times I react in a harsh way, such as yelling or what have you.

However, God's Word tells me to do things much differently. There is no need for my anger or harsh reaction; there is need for my forgiveness, compassion, mercy, and understanding.

Of course, I must forgive whoever has done me wrong.

Then came Peter unto him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

~Matthew 18:21-22

I must show love to that person.

This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you.

~John 15:11

That's definitely a challenge. We have done so much to hurt Him, yet He shows love. Immense love. And He commands us to do the same to others, whether they hurt us or not.

I must show purity, peaceableness, gentleness, openness, mercy, and the fruits of the Spirit to that person with the right attitude.

For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of the righteous is sown in peace of them that make peace.

~James 3:16-18

I should try to relate to that person.

And as ye would do that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

~Luke 6:31

Well, that sums up a great challenge for my week. I personally am going to write these things down on an index card and keep it in my pocket, so that every time my tongue touches that rubber band, I will read it and remember. And ask God to fill me with His Spirit, 'cuz it's not gonna happen naturally. :)

The Tenth Day of Christmas: The Christmas Carol

I was sitting there in the third pew from the back. The Christmas program was beautiful. Next up were the Patch kids. I knew that they were very rambunctious from past experiences. They scrambled up onto the stage, in a loose single-file line. The lines were said and acted, and the song began to play. The kids started singing. Well, I was surprised at how loud seven kids could be! {Of course, one in particular belted out the words the best he could.} The first verse rolled along quite quickly, and the kids invaded on the chorus.

"LOVE REACHED DOWN TO ME!!!"

My mind started racing. What? I had heard many patch the pirate songs before, but this one struck me in the heart. Do those kids even know what love is? Here it came again:

"LOVE REACHED DOWN TO ME!!!"

They didn't write that song; I thought. Ron Hamilton did. And I'm sure he understands what love is. But, these kids???

And again,

''LOVE REACHED DOWN TO ME!!!''

But they seem so persuaded of it... And then a cracked note interrupted my thoughts. I smiled remembering being up there myself.

Next, my friend sang a solo. If you've never heard "A Breath of Heaven," you should find it and listen to it. Her voice, void of background soundtrack due to technical difficulties, attracted my mind. I listened to the lyrics... describing how Mary may have felt... wow. I don't think I ever realized how much her and I have in common. But then again, she was favored of God. I didn't think that I was as special as she.

The pastor started his message. About the Christmas story, of course. But not in Luke 2. In Luke 1. Luke 1 is like the prequel. About what happened during those nine months that Mary was pregnant. You know what? She praised God for His goodness and mercy. But then again, she was favored of God.

After the message, we sang a Christmas carol out of the thick maroon hymnals that had the word "Majesty" printed on them in gold letters.

"Hark, the herald angels sing

Glory to the newborn King!

Peace on earth, and mercy mild

God and sinners reconciled!

Joyful, all ye nations rise!

Join the triumph of the skies!

With th'angelic host proclaim

Christ is born in Bethlehem!

Hark! the herald angels sing

Glory to the newborn King.

Well, sounds familiar, right?

Christ, by highest heaven adored;
Christ, the everlasting Lord;
Late in time behold him come,
Offspring of the Virgin's womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail the incarnate Deity,
Pleased as man with man to dwell;
Jesus, our Emmanuel.

Hark, the herald angels sing

Glory to the newborn King.

Mild he lays his glory by,
Born that man no more may die,
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.
Risen with healing in his wings,
Light and life to all he brings,
Hail, the Sun of Righteousness
Hail, the heaven-born Prince of Peace.

Hark the herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King.

Come, Desire of nations come,
Fix in us Thy humble home;
Rise, the Woman's conquering Seed,
Bruise in us the Serpent's head.
Adam's likeness now efface:
Stamp Thine image in its place;
Second Adam, from above,
Reinstate us in thy love.

Hark the herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King.

{~Charles Wesley}

If you just skimmed through those lyrics, read over them slowly and carefully; the words are powerful! And so they were while I stood there singing. What a message I was receiving! At this point, I felt like belting out the words like that one particular kid in the patch group. Only the song was over, and I may have sounded crazy with my mix of sobs, bad key, and loud voice. :-)