looking at that mountain

I can do all things...

There are some things in life that are, quite simply, just hard. Staring up at them, I think, "God, what is this, and why is it mine to take care of?" And all at once, I start to realize that yeah, it is really huge, and there's no way I can move it, and I get stressed and worried and it's this endless cycle that just keeps getting worse and worse the longer it goes on. This is something I've struggled with a lot in the past, ever falling and trying to get back up again--and failing more often than not.

...through Christ...

But there's something we have to realize. And that's that the huge mountain we're facing can't be budged by us. It's too huge. That feeling of being swamped, of insufficient strength, is very accurate. We, by ourselves, can't do a thing to help ourselves. Yes, Jesus said "faith as a mustard seed" will remove a mountain...but he wasn't saying that we would do it if we just believed in ourselves. He was saying "believe in me; I'll do it. Just believe; I'll take care of the rest."

...which strengthens me.

Love is.... hard.

This week's topic is about Scripture that challenges us... that calls us to deny ourselves and carry His cross... to live a life set apart for His glory. In thinking about what Scriptures challenges me {and trust me, deciding on just one wasn't easy!} I picked a verse, or rather passage, of Scripture that some may say is one of the simplest and sweetest contexts... yet I see more hidden behind it.

It involves... Love. Sounds easy, right? Wrong. Love can be very hard to live at times...

As children of God, we must reflect Him. He has called us to...

"...Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

Ephesians 5:1-2

Walk in love. Well, that sounds easy enough, right? Wrong. :)

Before I walk in love, I should first learn what love truly is... so, what is love?

Well, love is

                                                                                                                                                                                    "...patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own  way; it is not irritable or resentful;  it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.

 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

1 Corinthians 13: 4-7

Oh. :) 

So, to walk in love means to be patient, kind, not envious or proud, selfless, and not irritable...

But it is hard at times.

When I am tired and exhausted and someone asks me to do them a favor, am I selfless? Am I showing love?

When some one has hurt me, am I not resentful or holding a grudge?

Am I showing love?

When all seems to be crumbling around me, do I bear all things?

Am I living love?

Love sounds easy at first, but when you realize what love is, you realize what a challenge it is to live Christ's love.But there's hope. We are not alone in our walk with Christ, for He is with us, to help us love out His love.

So when someone needs help, even though I may be worn out, He will give me the strength to serve. He will help me love.

When I have been hurt, He will help me forgive. He will help me show love.

When I don't understand why things are happening like they are, He will help me to bear it. He will help me live His love.

What a merciful Savior to help us reflect His love... to live His love daily in our hearts and lives. What a beautiful picture of love that He has portrayed through taking my place upon the cross, taking my shame and punishment so that I may be set free from my sin...showing me the depth of His love for me. By His grace, I must show His love to others...

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God."

1 John 4:7

Blessings,

Overcoming the Challenges!

What verses in the Bible do we find challenging?.......................................

This topic should be fun! 

When I use the word "challenge", what exactly do I mean by that?  Well, Websters 1828 Dictionary says,

CHALLENGE, n. Literally, a calling, or crying out, the primary sense of many words expressing a demand, as claim. Hence appropriately,

1. A calling upon one to fight in single combat; an invitation or summons, verbal or written, to decide a controversy by a duel. Hence the letter containing the summons is also called a challenge.



Credit given to Google images



2. A claim or demand made of a right or supposed right.

There must be no challenge of superiority.

So, when I say "What verses in the Bible are challenging?" I see the word meaning in this context, "What is God "claiming" or "demanding" of us (we who have been bought with a price and owe Him our allegiance).  What verses does He call us to obey and it is a struggle for us to fulfill them?

Well, which verse do I choose.  I am far from perfect and struggle every day to fulfill the commands of Christ and still I fail every day.  Yet I can wake every morning with thankfulness, knowing that:

Lamentations 3:21-23 "But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

Everyday is challenge for me to wake up with a positive outlook on life.  It is very easy for me to see the negatives and feel defeated before I even get up out of bed.  The verse that comes to mind the most is:

Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."

Whew! This is a hard one for me.  Some days are easier than others, but it can be difficult to constantly remind myself to think on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely and of good report.  Sometimes the battle against the flesh and the spiritual battle we face can be overwhelming.





Credit given to google images

 However, if I am to take the challenge God has placed before me, then removing the negatives from my mind must happen first and then I must replace them with things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely and of good report (THJPL&GR).

So.....what things are "THJPL&GR?"  Well, God's Word would be the first place to look. Here are some of my favorite verses that I've been memorizing to help with thinking on the things that He is challenging me to think on.

Joshua 1:8 "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."

Psalm 16:11 "You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

Matthew 26:41 "Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."

Galations 6:9 "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."

Ephesians 2:10 "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

God's Word is True, Honest, Just, Pure, Lovely, and of Good Report.  There is nothing else that we could fill our minds with and think on, that would be better than His Word.  The very first verse that I mentioned (Joshua 1:8) talks about meditating on His Word day and night "so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it."  We have to meditate and be familiar with His Word in order to be able to do what He has called, commanded, or challenged us to do.  "then you will have good success."

When we are struggling with trials that have been placed in our lives we need to claim the promises of God and find the encouragement we need in the Fortress of "Trust In Him."  When we trust that He is in control and think on things that are "THJPL&GR" then we can be sure that we are inside His fortress and can see through the "positive glasses" that God will have the victory over sin and all evil one day.  We are surrounded by battle flags of victory if we would claim them for ourselves.

Credit given to google images

Battle Flags like:

Psalm 34:8 "Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!"

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."

1 Corinthians 2:9 "But, as it is written, 'What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.'"

Isaiah 40:31 "but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."

Psalm 18:2 "The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."

Psalm 119:105 "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."

When we are feeling defeated, we need to think on these verses and so many others.  God's challenges to us are not impossible.  They are not unthinkable and unachievable.  He is our strength, our shield, our refuge, our fortress, our deliverer, our rock, our guide, our leader, our Savior, our Creator, our GOD.

Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through him who strengthens me."   

2 Corinthians 12:9 "But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

Top 5 Tips for Making Friends

If there's one complaint about homeschooling that I hear more than any other, it is that homeschool students get less socialization than students at public schools. At rock bottom, that analysis is spot on--someone who is educated at home has a great chance of meeting fewer people during the school day than someone who is plunged into a morass of hundreds of peers for 6.7 hours 5 days a week. 


What it comes down to is that if you're homeschooled then you have to work a little harder to make friends. 

Three of my most precious friends! This photo was taken
at my cousin's (on the far left) wedding.

This is something I've definitely struggled with. I live out in the country on the outskirts of a small town (think less than 700 people), my parents are not social butterflies, we attend a tiny church, and I'm not part of a regular homeschool group. 


You can see why my circle of friends might be small.


However--and this is a big however--unless your parents have locked you in your bedroom with nothing but textbooks and a violin, you have no excuse for not having friends. If I can do it, anyone can!


Now this doesn't mean that you have to have at least three hundred people you're not related to called "friends" (check out Proverbs 18:24). At one time I was in a little theater production, working with strangers several days a week, and I realized that I didn't really want to be friends with all of them. I "clicked" with a few, however, and we still keep in touch. Sometimes a deep, small circle is better than a great big shallow one, but, you don't necessarily have to have one or the other. Here are my top 5 tips for anyone who wants to make some new friends:

1. Pray. Several years ago I was a little girl with only two or three people I could call friends--and one lived in California. I distinctly remember praying with all my heart that God would send a friend to me, a kindred spirit to laugh and grow up with. And you know what? A couple of months later I was blessed with that lovely lady second from the left in the photo above. What a gift!
2. Expose yourself. You'll never make friends if you never meet anyone. When doing a little research online I discovered one homeschool girl who makes friends at fencing practice, soccer practice, poetry club, drama club, chess club, art classes, kayaking, music classes, dances at the community center, conventions, camps, events at the library, volunteering, and more! There are so many opportunities to get out there and see a few new faces.
3. Be friendly. This might sound a bit obvious, but if you're naturally shy and reserved like me, you know how hard it can be to interact with strangers. However, I know that if I don't act welcoming, put people at ease, and--perhaps most importantly--share some of myself, I'm never going to get anywhere with a stranger. For you more outgoing types, be sure not to be overwhelming! Always treat others as you'd like to be treated :)
4. Follow up. If you need a reason to be on Facebook, this is probably it. As soon as you get home from chess club, connect with that nice redheaded girl and invite her to join you in a fun activity (ice skating, anyone?). Of course you don't have to have Facebook to do this, a telephone, email, or gasp face-to-face contact will suffice. You can't expect a stranger to remember you just because of your great personality, so make an effort and keep reaching out.
5. Don't give up. Maybe you've tried to start up conversations or correspondence with strangers, but it simply goes nowhere. Perhaps you have a lot of shallow relationships, but no one you feel you really know and trust. Don't throw in the towel yet! It may take years to foster an acquaintance into a bosom buddy, but keep praying, keep seeking, and keep being a friend to everyone you meet. The Lord Jesus is the dearest friend you will ever know, so follow him and see if he doesn't bring more friends to walk beside you! 

For more tips, check out "How to Make Friends As a Shy, Homeschooled Girl".

Choose Your Friends Wisely

“Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence. True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand 

the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to appellation. ” 
―George Washington

{via google images}

In our lifetime, we will encounter a variety of people.  Friendships that we develop will be vast and varied.  There will be friends who make you laugh.  Those who you have deep heart to heart conversations with.  Ones you have known all your lives.  Or simply friends God has placed in your path that need to hear the Gospel.  You name it!

We need these friendships.  It is important to have these relationships for the sake of fellowship and acceptance.  However, it can often be frustrating to have a "lack" of friends.


“Good books, like good friends, are few and chosen; 
the more select, the more enjoyable.” 

― Louisa May Alcott

We shouldn't make friends just for the sake of having them.  Who we choose for our friends is very important...we must take time to consider it wisely.  As God tells us in His word, 

"He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: 
but a companion of fools shall be destroyed."
Proverbs 13:20

All too often people get into trouble by having "companions of fools."
We do not want that.  Most importantly, we need friends that walk with God and point us to Him.
These will have the greatest impact in our lives and prove to last the longest.

Another thing to do is pray about your friendships.  God will provide just the right amount of friends in your life that you need.  Too often, the case is that true friends are hard to come by.  In the end, He will be your truest friend {Proverbs 18:24} and always knows what is best for you.  If we go through life with even just one true friend, we should count ourselves blessed!  

         {Want to hear more about my thoughts regarding friendships?  Read this post!}  

friends through joys and troubles

What is a true friend? 

This is a question that has often come up in my life. I've seen many friendships, both between me and others and amongst the people around me. It's an interesting flow to watch--the constant shift of personalities and motivations, the way people work with others and sometimes love and leave them. Then there are the few gems of the bunch, the shining exception to the rule of shallow, transitory acquaintanceships. These friendships are more akin to sisterhood than the friends-by-convenience liaisons of others. They are deep. They go beyond what is on the surface. These two people are so like one another that, sometimes, their names become inseparable (Diana and Ann, Huck and Tom, Robin and Little John, Sherlock and Watson), and they're forever seen trailing after one another. Even long after they've grown and moved who-knows-where, these two are still known as The Pair, the two who can never be parted.

So what is a true friend? What comes closer to Christ? There are many verses in the Bible that deal with the issue of friends by naming them. Here are just a few:

 My friends scorn me: but mine eye poureth out tears unto God. - Job 16:20  

 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. - John 15:13  

...all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies. - Lamentations 1:2 

A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. - Proverbs 17:17 

In these verses, two ideals are severely contrasted. One, the friend that deals treacherously, that scorns those who are in the midst of hardship. This is the friend that is only in the relationship for his own gain. Sadly, most people approach friendship from that stance. What can I get from this? What will this benefit me? Can I get something good out of this?

Someone once told me that marriage isn't a 50/50 deal. It's a 100/0 deal--on both sides. This same principle can be applied to true friendships. Friends are supposed to be supporters. It's supposed to be the purest form of support. A person laying down her life for her friends, loving no matter the circumstances, sticking through thick and thin just because that person is her friend. We, regardless of what other people are doing, are supposed to give 100% to a relationship. It can be difficult, of course.

But I believe that that is what a true friend is: someone who is willing to give everything to a friendship, regardless of what troubles, roadblocks, or drama may come.

Faithful Friends...

Friends.

We all have them some are... they are gifts to be cherished.

They add joy and laughter to our life...

They help us and pray for us when we face struggles...

They cry when we cry, and giggle along with us as we giggle...

They encourage us to walk with the Lord each day...

They forgive us when we fall short and accidentally hurt them...

They are a tool that the Lord uses to sharpen us...

Friends are to reflect His love, which is patient, kind, not envious or rude, seeking the interests of others,  and placing others desires first before your own... forgiving each other and helping each other to be more like Christ.

 "A friend loves at all times,

    and a brother is born for adversity."

Proverbs 17:17

Friends are faithful to you, sticking to your side in the good times and bad...

They are tools that the Lord uses to help you grow in Christ.

Yet in thinking about what friends are... or rather what they are to be, I must ask myself "Am I that kind of friend?"

When struggles arrive or hardships come, am I a faithful friend?

Do I love like Christ, seeking others interests above my own?

Do I encourage others by my words, or do I hurt them with careless lips?

Am I forgiving, patient, and merciful?

In striving to be like Christ, we must daily pray for His strength to help us be faithful to the friends that He has given us... that our friendships may reflect His love, faithfulness, and joy.

I know that I have fallen short, that I have not always been a faithful and loving friend, but the Lord is teaching me, and through HIS strength alone do I seek to be a faithful friend.

Value the sweet kindred spirits in your life... cherish and treasure those whom the Lord has sent into your life to add encouragement,  joy, and to help guide you as you tread on this narrow path... may we

strive to be a faithful friend, loving like Christ, and reflecting His light!

Blessings,

Godly friends are tools which the Lord uses to mold you and sanctify you, as Proverbs 27:17 says...

 "Iron sharpens iron,
    and one man sharpens another."

A Random Taste of What Is To Come....

Hello Girls!  Our topic for the next two weeks will be on friendship! This should be an awesome two weeks as the topic is an important part of our lives and has taught so many of us so many lessons.

However it has been really busy at our house for the past few weeks, so for this post I'm going to take some inspiration from some other sources :) 

The Gift Of Friendship

Found on Google Images

Friendship is a priceless gift
That cannot be bought or sold,
But its value is far greater
Than a mountain made of gold -
For gold is cold and lifeless,
It can neither see nor hear,
And in the time of trouble
It is powerless to cheer
It has no ears to listen,
No heart to understand,
It cannot bring you comfort
Or reach out a helping hand -
So when you ask God for a Gift,
Be thankful if He sends
Not diamonds, pearls or riches,
But the love of real true friends.

Helen Steiner Rice

 

What does the Bible have to say about Friendship? A lot!  Here are some of my favorite verses on the topic!

John 15:12-15 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you."

Luke 6:31 "And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them."

Proverbs 27:17 "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another."

"Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe unto him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up."  ~  Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

What do some of the great men of history have to say on the topic of friendship? Well, let's find out! (This was fun, finding all these quotes =])

“Is any pleasure on earth as great as a circle of Christian friends by a good fire?” C.S. Lewis

"But friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life, and thanks to a benevolent arrangement the greater part of life is sunshine."
Thomas Jefferson

Friendship is born at the moment when one person says to another, "What? You too? I thought I was the only one." ~ Anonymous

“The next best thing to being wise oneself is to live in a circle of those who are.”  C.S. Lewis

But friendship is the breathing rose, with sweets in every fold. ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

 "A friend is a gift you give yourself." ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me." ~ Henry Ford

"No soul is desolate as long as there is a human being for whom it can feel trust and reverence." ~ George Eliot

“Family not only need to consist of merely those whom we share blood, but also for those whom we'd give blood.”
― Charles Dickens



Found on Google Images

And what do our favorite heroines have to say?

Well.....

"Kindred Spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It's spendid to find out there are so many of them in the world." - Anne Shirley in Anne of Green Gables

“Good books, like good friends, are few and chosen; the more select, the more enjoyable.” ~ Louisa May Alcott =]

“There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature.” ~ Jane Austen Northanger Abbey

"If I take offence easily; if I am content to continue in cold unfriendliness, though friendship be possible, then I know nothing of Calvary love."  ~ Amy Carmichael

Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. ~ Helen Keller

"Stay is a charming word in a friend's vocabulary." ~ Louisa May Alcott


  I hope you enjoyed this small taste =] It was neat to see how many famous people left quotes having to do with friendship.  It is truly a very important ingredient in this walk through life.

Have a wonderful week!

Soul Rest

How many of you feel like you're carrying a load like the woman in this picture? 

Schoolwork, special projects, a job, homemaking, planning for the future, hectic schedules--we all have our own set of tasks and responsibilities that weigh on us, and then we're supposed to add growing in Christ and fulfilling our life purpose into that mix? Sometimes I think, "You've gotta be crazy. I've barely got time to do the minimum, much less bother with spiritual growth and working for a higher purpose." I have the tendency to say, "When I get it all done, then I can concentrate on the big picture."

That's when Jesus speaks to me. Sometimes it's with a whisper, sometimes it's with a skillet being banging over my head:

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

-Matthew11:28-29                             

The Jews of Jesus' day had plenty to worry about. According to one website, a Jewish woman had to "obey her husband, mill the grain, cook, wash, make the meals, nurse the infants, work the wool, and, in some cases, wash the face and feet of her husband....To the young girls was given the duty of feeding and dressing their father, (and) of helping him when going out or returning when they are old.... The father was also able to sell his daughter as a slave. Only a girl older than 12 and one half years of age was autonomous regarding her own marriage."

That doesn't sound like a walk in the park. 

So Jesus was talking to people who had just as much--probably more--on their plates than we do. And yet he told them that he would give rest. The part of this verse that says "you will find rest for your souls" is actually a reference to Jeremiah 6:16:

"Thus says the LORD,

'Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths,

Where the good way is, and walk in it;

And you will find rest for your souls....'"

This is what life looked like under the Old Covenant. "Follow the rules, and you will have peace." But that isn't how  it works now. Now we are to come to Jesus. We are not expected to carry the load alone. Isn't that wonderful?! The idea of a yoke is that two oxen are pulling together, in unison; when we take Jesus' yoke upon us that means that we are pulling together. He is giving us strength that we could never have by ourselves! 

When we become Christians it's easy to imagine that we've left one set of rules and now we have to follow another, but peace and rest is not found in rule-following. Right before that verse in Matthew, Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." It is in knowing Christ that our rest is found.

I said earlier that I sometimes fall into the trap of believing that when I "get it all done" I'll be able to focus on things like spiritual growth and ministry. But the truth is that I'll never get it all done. You know that from personal experience, I'm sure. There's always something else to do. But rest is found not in checking off tasks on a list, or trying to grin and bear your burden, it's found through knowing Christ.

So the question is, how do we get to know Christ? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, girls.

Photo: Heavy Load, a photo by Iey on Flickr.

Work Cited:
Manns, Frederick. "Everyday Life in the Time of Jesus." Christus Rex. Web. 06 Apr. 2012. 

What Does It Mean to Carry the Cross?

I'm not very good at picking favorites, so this week, I'm bombarding you with verses. But they all center around a main theme; in Jesus' words:

“If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”
Matthew 16:24

You may have noticed that my posts here all seem to go back to that theme: the cross. This subject has been on my mind a lot lately, because when you think about it, it's the whole basis of Christianity. So if we want to understand our faith, we must understand what it means to take up the cross.

Carrying the cross is a big deal. It's all or nothing. We can't hoist it on one hip and a bag of groceries on the other. We can't juggle it with worldly pursuits (Matthew 6:24). We must deny ourselves--even our very lives, if we must (Luke 14:26)--and bear the weight with every ounce of our being. There's no turning back (Hebrews 6:6).

Jesus laid out this very example:

Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Philippians 2:8

And He demands the same of us:

Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
Luke 14:27

We are to follow His example of obedience to God, even when the going is rough, even if we must drop what we are doing, leave our homes and our jobs and our friends and our family, even if the world turns against us, even if we are persecuted for so doing--even if we die. Clearly this is something more than popping into church for an hour every Sunday. This is a radical change of lifestyle. No--it is our life.

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
Matthew 16:25

So why I do find such solace in these morbid thoughts? I guess I find it comforting that there's more to life than the fleeting pleasures and entertainments of this world. There's more to life than life itself. There is a purpose in life; in fact, that purpose extends beyond life. It is everything. Frankly, there is nothing else. Everything I do, in some way, works toward that purpose.

E'en though it be a cross that raiseth me
Still all my song shall be, Nearer, my God, to Thee;
Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!



A Lamp Unto my Feet

Try walking around in a room  blindfolded.  It isn't easy.  Even in a place you know well, you will bump against objects you forget are there because of the lack of one of your five senses.

Lantern, a photo by m.prinke on Flickr.

It is the same in our Christian walk. We live in a dark world full of stumbling blocks to those who walk on the narrow way. While fumbling around in the darkness, it is easy to get lost or confused by lies the world tries to tell you or whatever it may be that causes you to fall.

When we walk the path of life and can't see past a few feet, we can loose our way or run into obstacles and stumble because of being in the dark!  That's why we need a lamp to light our way. 

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." 

~Psalm 119:105

Wedding Lanterns, a photo by TheGiantVermin on Flickr.

We can obtain this lamp by going to God's word for guidance or direction.  

So, if you ever wonder what direction to take, just stop, pray, and look to His Word for answers... 

For it will be a light unto your path!    

{disclaimer: photos via google images}