Always True

Happy Sunday, everyone! It really has been a happy Sunday. I got a good night of sleep last night, and then woke up and went to Apex in Kettering today to hear Rob talk about sexuality for citizens of the Kingdom. It was really good. I also got to see my lab instructor for Bio last year get baptized! That was pretty cool. Hearing people's testimonies and seeing them declare Christ is probably one of my favorite things. After church, I went to Target to get a new hair straightener...which I'm super excited about! Ha ha what girl doesn't love using a new straightener for the first time?! Then I went to Panera for lunch and studied for a while. A good bowl of soup just makes a day all the more better, ya know? I got back to campus and Han and I watched the last episode of season 2 of Downton Abbey. It was SO GOOD. Ugh. I'm so sad we have to wait so long to watch the third season, since neither of us have Hulu Plus. Meh :( So I've been doing some homework and such while Han is at her small group.

So tonight I'm giving my testimony about my freshman year to Grace's (my RA from last year in Printy) unit this year. I'm really excited about it! I've been hoping and praying that God would use my tough experiences last year to relate to and encourage others. It's been happening more and more this year, and it has truly been an honor and blessing to experience God answering that desire and prayer of my heart. As I was preparing what I'm going to say (which I only have 15 minutes to talk...15 minutes?!), I opened up Always True, which is one of my all-time favorite books. It's written by James MacDonald, who has written a couple of other books that I hold close to my heart as well. I read always true when I was kinda going through a funk the summer before I came to CU, which kind of marked the beginning of a deep, deep valley I would soon enter. I was hoping to use something I underlined in the book to share with the girls tonight, except I think I underlined just about the whole stinkin' book! It's just THAT good. But I did find something that actually brought me to tears.

"You've got to know that God sees you too. He's not missing s single detail in your life. He hears your conversations with your spouse. He sees your checkbook. He knows your unspoken fears. He's also watching the depth of the water. He's monitoring the heat of the fire. He's pouring out the strength that you need to endure the minute you feel you can't go on. At this moment, God is watching your life and at some point in this trial, He will say enough. You don't need to falter."

Sigh. Does that not grip your heart?! James MacDonald uses fire and rising water to illustrate trials in this book, just in case you found that confusing ;)


Here's another one I found that I liked:

"Have life's difficulties caught you off guard? Do you wonder today if God is good? If He wasn't going to use that hard thing for your good, it wouldn't have happened. He had to sign off on every single thing that touches your life (He's sovereign, remember?). If He let it happen, He's going to use it for good..."

And another:

"I have never, not once in my life, trusted God and regretted it. But I could fill pages with stories of the times when I've doubted God and made bad choices. God has never let me down! His sovereignty has always been at work. You don't have to be worried about whether you can trust Him. God will be faithful to Himself and to His promises."


Okay, last one!:


"And that's where we're so much different from God. When God says, 'I promise,' He delivers, because He can, and nothing will thwart or delay His intention to do exactly as He has promised. He doesn't forget or get distracted...He cannot lie and He cannot fail. God always follows through on time, every time! When He makes a commitment, He keeps it. When He gives His word; it's a done deal."

That's the nature of our God. WOW. So thankful!


If you happen to read this before 9:30 tonight, pray that the Lord will give me the right words to say and that He will use me in these girls' lives!


May His Kingdom be furthered!