Waiting, and feeling more cheerful about it

(so I couldn't come up with a more creative title. Sue me.) :)

I was reading John Eldredge's latest book, Walking with God, which focuses on how to hear God's voice more daily. One of his "tips" is to ask God simple questions - questions that are not all tied up in emotions, like, "Should I take this job?" That way, we are not filtering God out or preventing him from speaking because we have strong feelings about the subject.
Eldredge recommends asking God what to read in His Word every day. He said it gives your quiet time more resonance, because the chapters you read very often speak to what you're going through or what you will be going through. (I'm not explaining this very well, but hopefully you're getting the gist.)

So I decided to try it out. And it works! Pretty much every day, I have heard God tell me what to read. Sometimes, it doesn't apply. But more often than not (like 7 out of 10 times), it totally does.

Here are some of the verses that have jumped out at me recently. God has been directing me to the Psalms.

"Be still, and know that I am God." -Psalm 46:10

"I waited patiently for the Lord, and He inclined to me, and heard my cry." -Psalm 40:1 (that one was cool - I heard God say "Psalms" but not which one. But when I opened my Bible, it went right to this passage, and my eyes jumped to it.)

"Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord!" -Psalm 27:14

Noticing a pattern? Yeah, me too. And today, I really felt peace with the waiting. If you read my last post, you know I was struggling with this. I'd be lying if I said I was totally okay right now. But, I do have a sense of peace that feels divine - it is DEFINITELY not from me. Especially not from me, considering how insane my mind has been lately! I have not felt peace like this since I made the major decision to break up with my ex-boyfriend, 4 years ago.

It should be very interesting to see what I am waiting for. God knows. I will wait for Him - and keep listening to His voice.

Be Still?

Lately, God has been telling me to stop worrying so much. "Be still, and know that I am God." This has been reinforced by Kenton's messages the last two weeks (watch them online at www.marinerschurch.org), not to mention my own discussions with friends.

The problem? I don't really know how to be still. A few years ago, a good friend of mine called me a "Cannonball." Basically, I jump into things wholeheartedly, I fully commit, I don't do things halfway. I have NEVER done things halfway. Church, job, relationships, exercise, eating healthy (or not eating healthy...I down plates of brownies pretty easily) - they all receive the full commitment from Liz.

But what if I'm not supposed to do that? What if the other elements of what I'm diving into are not responding in a like manner? How do I respond to that? Lower my expectations for said thing? Give only what I'm getting? It sounds good, but also not so good. Especially for this cannonball. How do I cannonball halfway? Do I wade into the water? That's lame.

Plus the whole be still thing. I am a champion worrier. I love (hate) to explore all the options of what might happen in my head, running around and around until I am almost paralyzed with anxiety. How do I stop this? I'm not really sure.

God tells me not to worry. "Does this mean, don't worry about it because You're going to fix it, or because it won't matter soon 'cause it's going to end anyway?"

Sigh...

An addiction?

Wow, two posts in one day! I must have had the day off...

I have noticed recently that I love self-help books. Not the really crazy kinds, you know, "Eat your way to losing weight" or...I don't know, I can't come up with any more titles. Anyway, I love them. I read them voraciously. I have a lot of them.

Most of them are by Christian authors, and I do believe that they are meant to help us. But when we turn to them for answers, rather than the Bible or to God, are they really helping us? Just this evening, my friend was going to loan me a book that had some advice I wanted to get. But I left it at her house, accidentally. I was really upset about this - more upset than I should have been. I mean, it's just a person, right? Do they really know that much more than I do about this particular topic? (They probably do, but whatever...)

It's just something I'm noticing in my life lately. I need to remember that it is God, and His Word, that should guide my life. Not a random book that may or may not help me.

And, thus ends...

...my latest cycle of weddings.

My first cycle of weddings was right after college. Gene and Collette, Elizabeth and Barek, Alan and Monica, Tiffany and Ben, Jen and Stephen, Katie and Kolton. Bam bam bam! So many weddings all at once!

Then, a lull...for a couple of years.

Then, Ty and Jessica's (November 07).

Then, the next round, this year: Holli and Huy (May), Nate and Lindsay (August), Michael and Julianne (October), Phil and Kirsten (November) Jacky and Jon (also November, and I didn't go, I am a bad friend... :( ), Doreen and Roland (November), and yesterday, Adam and Dani.

Phew! It's been rather intense.

I love weddings, actually. The romance, the excitement. All the showers and the gifts and the laughter with girls (and guys) you love. Lots of dancing, lots of great food. Lots of meaningful reminders of why God created marriage and what marriage means today. It is a powerful thing.

I also got to bring a date to a wedding this year - twice! For the first time! That was a new experience. I liked it, actually. :) Heeheehee...

So. Done. For a bit. Although I heard a rumor that a friend may be asking soon...plus I have several friends in serious relationships. I'm sure it'll start up again in a bit - and I will love every minute of it!