If not for this... and shoes!

After an awesome dinner with one of my friends- I have realized (as I do again and again) that God gracefully chooses to teach us and put us through so many life lessons- if not for any reason but to be able to relate to and share ourselves with another one in need.

 There were a few points in the night- where we shared what God had been teaching us- or what scripture he had put on our hearts- and we both said- if not for this reason alone I do not know why the Lord has been teaching me this. He gives us insight and experience maybe to teach us something- but maybe even more to be able to share those words or lessons with a friend. To comfort them. To encourage them. To enable us to better come alongside them in their experience and say- I've been there. 

So I encourage you- my few readers (do I even have readers yet!? haha) to say what the Lord is putting on your heart! Share those verses- you do not know who he wants you to speak them too! And WOW he rewards our obedience to the Holy Spirit.

Okay- on a lighter note- look at these cute boots I finalllllllly bought after oogling them for a year!

 And these....

 And if I get brave enough, these....

.

Hi my name is Colleen. and I am a shoe addict.

Back in Pharaoh's Care.

Deuteronomy 4:9
⁹ Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.


Deuteronomy 4:15- 20
¹⁵ You saw no form of any kind the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, ¹⁶ so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, ¹⁷ or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, ¹⁸ or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below.¹⁹ And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven. ²⁰ But as for you, the LORD took you and brought you out of the iron-smelting furnace, out of Egypt, to be the people of his inheritance, as you now are.


Most people think the Old Testament is "boring" and filled with "lists of weird names".... well sure- it is filled with lists of names- but those names are our history. Those names represent people who lived God's word before it was written. Those names represent people who felt God's holy spirit while also seeing it BLAZE as fire above the temples. Those names... mean something to me. But more importantly, the stories in the OT teach me so much about myself. Sometimes more than the stories in the NT. Why? Because of the constant struggle. Israel, the chosen people, those who God lead out of Egypt. continually. failed. over. and. over. Moses failed. Kings failed. Everyday people just like me failed. At the simplest of tasks. 


What did God want? Many things. Here are two that stand out to me.


Faithfulness.
Obedience.


These two things are scary for me. Not scary to actually live them out. But scary to me because of how afraid I am of failing at them. Scary because I watch so many people fail at them. Not just in their faithfulness to God (which is the most frequently broken)- but faithfulness to their families, friends, employers, selves. Obedience is a thing I will talk about MUCH MORE later on. Sheesh the Lord has been teaching me about that all year long.


I am reminded constantly, that we are all prone to failing in these areas. We are all prone to think we could do it better, faster, easier, on and on. But remember later in Deuteronomy (well maybe you don't remember- but you should GO READ DEUTERONOMY and see what God is trying to teach YOU through it) when the Israelites curse Moses for bringing them out of Egypt? They said it would be better to be enslaved, then to trust on God's provision. Wow.


Gut check. What am I currently holding onto- that I would rather be ENSLAVED to it- than to wait on the LORD? I could list a few...


career
money
babies
house
car
image
education


and so I read on.....


Deuteronomy 7:8
But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.


Thank you Jesus for REDEMPTION. 
Thank you God for your SPIRIT who IS faithful to me and never leaves me. 


It is because you LOVE me. 

Well... there goes that.

My old blog has been lost. And so I say, well.... there goes that.

I am going to be a bit more fun about what I post. In an attempt to avoid too much structure- I believe I will post about anything and everything. From food, outings, thoughts, pictures, and memories- whatever I'm feeling- is what you're getting.

Stay tuned for more.

Currently reading the book of Galatians. Wow. It's amazing how God points different things out to you every time you read a part of scripture. Doesn't matter how many times you've read it.

Galatians 5:6 "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love."

Working on realizing this today and everyday. Faith. Expressing. Itself. Through. Love.

Love God. Love Others.

Love others through your attitude, smile, words, touch, service, sacrifice, company, time, money, food, photos- what are you doing to show those you encounter that you love them?