simple helpings of joy

spiritualinspiration:

Waiting for God’s Best
By Rebecca St. James

I’m often asked how I remain patient with God’s plan for my life when I’m still single. I’ve talked so much about it, it’s no secret—eventually I want to get married. The truth is that there have been many moments when I’ve been tired of waiting for the right guy to arrive. My mum challenged me once. “You need to let go and trust God with this,” she said. I started tearing up. She was right. I asked, “How do you let go of something so important?”

Relinquishing this to God has been quite a process, but I don’t want anything for myself that God doesn’t want for me. Where are the joy and abundant life in settling for something that He doesn’t desire for my life? Releasing this was incredibly freeing. I still believe God will grant me this desire, but I will trust God either way. Until you come to that place of abandonment, the grass always looks greener on the other side. If you can’t surrender something of such importance, the danger is that when it comes you will cling to it and suffocate it, and you may end up hurting the very thing you have longed for. I now feel that I will be able to go into marriage as a whole person. A better prayer than “God, when will You bring the special guy into my life?” is “God, I don’t know what You have in mind for my future … but I await whatever it is expectantly, knowing that You know me better than I even know myself.” I don’t want any less than what God has in mind. I want the best that He has in mind.

Preachin’

(via spiritualinspiration)

spiritualinspiration:

The next time you feel like God can’t use you, just remember…
Noah was a drunk.
Abraham was too old.
Isaac was a daydreamer.
Jacob was a liar.
Leah was ugly.
Joseph was abused.
Moses had a stuttering problem.
Gideon was afraid.
Sampson had long hair and was a womanizer.
Rahab was a prostitute.
Jeremiah and Timothy were too young.
David had an affair and was a murderer.
Elijah was suicidal.
Isaiah preached naked.
Jonah ran from God.
Naomi was a widow.
Job went bankrupt.
John the Baptist ate locusts.
Peter denied Christ.
The Disciples fell asleep while praying.
Martha worried about everything.
Mary Magdalene was, well you know.
The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once.
Zaccheus was too small. Paul was too religious.
Timothy had an ulcer…
Lazarus was dead!

And God isn’t finished with you yet.

typographicverses:

“For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime” Psalm 30:5 designed by Ashley Hill.

Ending Valentine’s day with a tradition of writing my future hubby a letter. I wonder who the lucky guy will be.