... God's calling your name, are you listening?

A lot of Christians are going to get to heaven and find out that God offered so much more than they experienced. Steve Brown

this is SO true. i see so many people that claim to be christians but i don't see any joy in their lives.

i feel so blessed and i have such joy and i wonder 'why me'

the only thing i ever wanted in life was to be loved. my father died before i was born. the year i was born my mother's husband, father & grandmother all died. for me it was like she never recovered from her grief and didn't know how to love me.

i was 12 when i ran away from home the first time. i didn't have a great young life but although there were a lot of struggles i'd have to say it was pretty good for the most part. there was emotional, physical, verbal & sexual abuse but i don't know too many families that haven't experienced that so i'd have to say all in all i had a pretty normal childhood.

to say that that was a normal childhood sure makes it sounds like we live in a pretty sick world. and the older i get the sicker this world seems to be. i had a couple of marriages, normal; several relationships looking for love, also normal?

i didn't find true love until i became a christian. i still wanted to be in a relationship. but i think it's being single that has brought me closer to God. i am alone and it is in being alone that i have so much more time to spend with God than a married person would have.

i don't have very good people skills so i don't have a lot of friends. so again i am alone a lot. but i am never alone. God is always here with me. i spend time with Him and it is in spending my time with Him that i find my joy. married people and people with lots of friends spend their time with their spouses and their friends. people spend their time with family or friends or doing activities but how many people actually spend their time with God.

don't pity me. believe me i've done enough of that mayself in the past. but consider this - whoever you are spending your time with is who you are developing a relationship with.

if you are bemoaning your singleness you aren't drawing any closer to the lover of your soul. if you are spending all your time with family and friends when are you spending time with God.

ask anyone that knows me - i always wanted to be married, to be in relationship, to be loved. now i'm not so sure about being married. i am in relationship now and i am deeply loved. and i love deeply.

last night i thought i wanted to write something that would be read after i died. i wanted to have the last say. i wanted to say something that was bold. i wanted to say something to people that i was never able to say while i was alive.

so many so called christians have absolutely no idea about what it is to truly be a christian. they spend time in God's house one hour a week, sunday christians and have no idea what joy is waiting for them if they would actually take the time to spend time with God.

God really is offering so much more than they are experiencing but they won't know it until they change their life. don't know how? can't do it? how many times does God have to tell you 'ask, seek, knock' He's just waiting for you to ask Him.

the bible is truly THE guide to life, abundant, joyful, blessed life. why struggle with day to day living waiting to enjoy life, love and joy when you get to heaven. sure daily life can be a struggle but if you are truly, madly, deeply, in love with God He carries you through all that.

prayer - is your prayer time 2 minutes or 2 hours. you get what you give. are you praising God and thanking Him and praying for others? or is it all about you?

bible reading - you've just finished reading the bible for the first time. you've been a christian for 10 years and it's taken you this long? it truly is the living Word of God. start each january and read the bible each year - you'll be surprised at knowing that you've read the same things several times before but all of a sudden you finally understand it. you want answers - God's given us all the answers we'll need this side of heaven.

giving - i think this is the hardest part of being a christian. God blesses us but we hoard it. God says we need to be good stewards of His money. it is HIS money you know. you wouldn't have the job without Him. you wouldn't have the income without Him. everything we have is from Him. what is a good steward? someone that puts their money in the bank to save it for a rainy day? well we've had a lot of rainy days lately. are you content? are you joyful? or is a good steward someone that gives it back to God for His joy, His purpose? ever since becoming a christian i wondered about being a good steward. i used to be so far in debt i thought i'd never see daylight. then i lived on a small pension for almost 2 years without a job and although i don't have a dime in savings, now, excluding my mortgage, i have no debt, i am joyful and content beyond my imaginings.

do not worry - that is a command, but does anyone listen? how much of your day do you spend worrying? are you worried about finances? are you worried about health? worrying about anything is going to affect your health and quite likely your relationships.

trust - worrying about anything is saying you don't trust God to take care of you. if you are saying you don't trust God to take care of you how do you think that is going to affect your relationship with Him? He promises to always be with us. He promises to give us what we need. don't be anxious wondering when or how God will give us what we need. just trust. He says He will and He will. He will provide for what we need WHEN we need it and not before. He will comfort us when we mourn. He will give us peace when we need it. He will protect us.

i think romans 8:28 is my favourite verse "that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him" whether in sickness or in health i believe this. we may not understand how death or disease is His working for our good but consider how He did not spare His own Son because He loves us so much. how many of you love your child so much that you would gladly give your life for theirs. how many people unselfishly have given their lives for a friend. or as i think of the martyrs who have died so that others might live to know Christ. or as jim elliot said when asked if they would protect themselves against the waodani indians in ecuador 'they are not ready for heaven, we are'

are you ready for heaven? are you going to get there and be blown away by all the blessings you missed out on while here.

one way God blesses us is giving us spiritual gifts. learn what they are and how you can use them. if you are serving in the areas of your giftedness you will be blessed and know God's joy.

don't do something just because you can. don't do something just because it's a paycheque. find out your gifts, discover your passions and work out of those and you'll be amazed at the difference between working for a living and living for God. the first is a day to day grind, tiresome, weary, an endless rut. but the second is a joy, almost that you would do it without pay, tireless, something to look forward to.

i wish there was something i could say to people that they would know / have the same joy i have.

so many singles that don't have the joy of an intimate relationship with the one perfect love that's just longing for a relationship with them. so many married people that don't have that joy.

i know some pretty awesome people that have been christians for a long time and they don't have joy. why am i so blessed? someone very close to me has been a christian for about 30 years but i don't ever recall seeing joy. has she forgotten her first love? she worries about money, health, doesn't show love or forgiveness. i wonder if because she is lukewarm, neither hot nor cold will she be spit out (rev 3:16).

i think i'd have to describe myself as a needy person. maybe because i am i spend so much time with God. i've always thought i was able and capable of taking care of myself. i was a survivor. the only one thing i ever wanted i couldn't have. i, like most little girls i imagine, dreamed of once upon a time living happily ever after. i kissed a lot of toads looking for my prince.

and then i found a King. and in Him the one, true, perfect love i had been searching for all my life.

so as a needy person i have come to the right place. He fulfills my every need. He is the lover of my soul, i hunger for Him and He fills me up. my joy and my life are complete in Him. sometimes i ache i long so much to be with Him. and when i have hurt Him i am completely heartbroken and desperate to be reconciled to Him. i am desperately, madly, deeply in love with Him and i submit to Him in anything and everything. whatever He calls me to i willingly do.

are you still searching for your prince / princess? surrender to the King of Glory and know the joy of His deep intimate love that He's just waiting to lavish on you.

as one friend told me just before i went to costa rica - i was just transferring my needs to something else. that i was running away and would never find what i was looking for. but i have found what i was looking for and more.

do you hunger for something more? do you think this is just a fairy tale? an impossible dream?

it isn't. God is alive and real and waiting for you to come to Him. i wish there was something i could say that would convince people of their need for God but i know there isn't. we can only let the Glory of God shine His light in us as a beacon to light the way for others to follow.

is your cup full, half full or half empty? let the abundant joy of God in your life spill over into the lives of others.

don't wait to get to heaven to experience the incredible joy of God's pleasure. enjoy heaven on earth, right here, right now. He's calling your name, are you listening?