Maddy's Weblog

maddycakes — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 05:27:17 +0000

IM BACK!!!!!

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Job 39

maddycakes — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 21:57:48 +0000

WOW. I loved this chapter. It described the ways of all the animals and how God knows each and every thing and fact about them. I love to think that God knows every hair on every persons head. That is so amazing to me. That God knew me before I was even born, that he had a purpose and a plan layed out for me. I am a natural planner, so it is great comfort to know that there is something in store for my life, and that it is something wonderful and exciting.

Thank you lord for your knowledge over my life. You know where every bird flies, and where every fish swims. Thank you for knowing me. I hope one day I can be as close to you as you are to me right now.

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Job 37 and 38

maddycakes — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 23:52:45 +0000

These chapters have brought me so much relief and encouragement. I was beginning to think that God would never answer God, and that he would never answer me either. I have been (and still am) struggling with the fact that I don’t feel “on fire” for God. I know that he is real and I believe in him, I just don’t feel like he’s there. I see so many people around me who are so close to God and are so excited to do anything he says. Like Job, all I see is trials and emptiness in my life. I don’t feel God and I don’t hear from him. I pray and pray for so long and so hard for him to speak to me and to make me on fire for him. And I wait and wait for him to answer me, to speak, and show up in my life. I go to him expecting something but all I receive is the empty silence of my waiting. I was getting discouraged, and seeing how much Job went through made it even harder to keep on waiting. Then I read this chapter. It made me so hopeful. I know God is in charge of everything. He is waiting for the right time to speak to me, just like he waits to command the skies to rain and snow. I don’t have to feel God in my life to understand that he is real. I believe in him, and my feeling s can deceive me. All I need to do is trust that he is alive and working in me and when the time is right he will tell me all I need to know. These chapters have shown me that through everything, god is present, I realize now that all along he was trying to speak to me. He was trying to tell me that I just needed to trust him. Today at church we were worshipping and for the first time, I just broke down. The feeling of loneliness and abandon were just too much, and I couldn’t do it anymore. I was tired of feeling worthless and alone, so I just asked God to forgive me for not listening closely enough. I asked for his healing and for his comfort, and immediately felt lighter. The book of Job has shown me that I need to trust in God, even if it may be the hardest thing I’ll ever do.

Prayer: Thank you Lord, for showing me the areas in my life that I need to improve. Thank you for being patient with me. I ask still for your patience, because I am still learning. I ask, Lord, that you continue to help me learn and deepen my relationship. Help me to be “real” and help me to open my heart and be needy. I ask for blessing over my life. Make me feel your presence and make me into a person you would be proud of. Make me into a witness for your kingdom. Thank you lord for everything that you have given me. Help me to use it to bless and serve you. I ask for your guidance in my life.

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Job 36

maddycakes — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 15:29:22 +0000

Verses 22-25: God is exalted in his power. Who is a teacher like him? Who has prescribed his ways for him, or said to him, ‘You have done wrong’? Remember to extol his work, which men have praised in song. All mankind has seen it; men gaze on it from afar.

Reflection: I love God so much. Some things are going on in my family right now, and it is so comforting to know that all this pain I am feeling, I can just offer up to God. There is no teacher like him, no caregiver like him. No one else I know can take all of my worries away. All I have to do is ask.

Prayer: Thank you lord, I love you

Job 35

maddycakes — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 00:58:09 +0000

Reflection: Right now in school we are reading “the crucible”, and I just can’t stop thinking about all of those women who were hanged for being “witches” They went through trials just like Job, but their faith remained strong and consistent. I think God was trying to tell the people of Salem not to prosecute those women, but they were ignorant to his messages. I wonder if the prosecutors are in heaven?

Prayer: Lord give me strength like the women in the salem witch trials. They endured so much but remained true to you.

Job 34

maddycakes — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:55:11 +0000

Verses 31-32: Suppose a man says to God, ’I am guilty but will offend no more. Teach me what I cannot see; if I have done wrong, I will not do so again.’

Reflection: I loved this chapter and it was so hard for me to choose a couple of verses to really think about. I chose these 2 because they just demonstrate the mercy and Grace God has for us. I mean, we are all sinners and we don’t deserve God’s goodness. He willingly gives us the opportunity to know and have a relationship with him. AND if we have sinned, all we need to do is ask forgiveness and everything is forgotten. I love that it is this way with God. My Father was always one to hold a grudge and remember past wrong doings, when something came up, and for a while I was the same way. It would take me a long time to finally forgive the person who had hurt me and move on. I am always in such awe that God can take all of this hurt and just forget about the sin instantly, only if we ask him. I love God so much and it hurts me to think that every day I hurt him, but we were born into sin. All I can ask is that God try and help me to stay on the right path, and when I do sin it is a comfort to know that forgiveness is just a prayer away.

I don’t mean that a person should sin with reckless abandon, knowing that they will always be forgiven. I wonder if God sees through the apologies that sometimes people make, him knowing that they are just going to do it again. It’s a tough subject for me, but I take solace knowing that God is never going to hold a grudge against me, nor will he ever deny me of forgiveness.

Prayer: Lord help me to not make empty apologies. And help me to give forgiveness as readily as you do.

Job 33

maddycakes — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 23:53:32 +0000

Verse 6-7: I am just like you before God; I too have been taken from clay. No fear of me should alarm you, nor should my hand be heavy upon you.

Reflection: This was just a reminder to me that we can’t judge other people. We are the same as the murderer and atheist because we all need Jesus.

Prayer: I pray for patience and strength so that I will examine myself before others and not judge them.

Job 32

maddycakes — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 21:33:51 +0000

Verses 7-8: I thought, ‘Age should speak; advanced years should teach wisdom. But it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding.

Reflection: Instantly this brought to mind this time that I was at a Christian festival thingy, I don’t really know what you would call it. Anyway, there was singing and dancing and a bunch of messages from different speakers. Well, this little boy about 10 or 11 years old got up on the stage and began to preach. It was truly amazing. He was speaking like an adult but he barely came up to my chin. This just shows me that Jesus can appear in any way, size, shape, and form. From dreams to small boys, God continues to amaze me.

Although, I must agree with these verses, it is also true that wisdom does come with aga more often than not. I know that I have a hard time understanding that because adults have gone lived longer than me and experienced more, they are wiser. For some reason this idea brought a certain memory to mind I was sitting in church during worship and was looking around. Everyone had their hands raised, reaching out to God. I just remember feeling out of place and shy. I wanted to reach out, but felt that if i did, people would silently ridicule me because I was too young and unwise to want to touch God. I know now that it was silly to feel that way because God welcomes everyone into his heart. And if my heart was ready to accept him, he would enter into it. No matter what age I was.

Prayer: Lord, so much has been going on in my life right now. I know that in the past, I have doubted that my faith was real because of my age. I ask that you continue to strengthen my faith and help me understand that just because I am not an adult, I still can’t have an amazing relationship with you. Thank you lord for all that you give me. I pray someday that I can have the wisdom and solid faith of the adults around me.

Job 31

maddycakes — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 02:34:36 +0000

Reflection: I really don’t have a lot to say on this chapter. I feel so sorry for Job. He has been obedient to God and had served him well, and God still lets horrible things happen to him. It is so hard for me to understand how such a loving and caring God could out us through so much pain. I understand the concept that it is to test our faith and belief in him, but I’ve always wondered if there might be a different way of soing that. It is a difficult question that nobody really knows the answer to. Except God anyway. I guess I’ll just have to ask him.

Prayer: Lord I ask for understanding and patience.

Job 30

maddycakes — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 01:30:55 +0000

Verses 9-11:And now their sons mock me in song; I have become a byword among them.They detest me and keep their distance; they do not hesitate to spit in my face. Now that God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me, they throw off restraint in my presence.

Reflection: All I could think about when I read these verse was how some people will turn their backs on you when you say you believe in God, but then have something horrible happen to you. It raises so many questions for me. Right now as I write this my family is downstairs watching an episode of Planet Earth. I am completely in awe of God, but I often question how he can put the people he loves through so much pain. It certainly doesn’t help our case when trying to evangelize. I am just imagining that I am a person who doesn’t believe in God and have just heard this speech about how much God loves me. I look at the person telling me this and consider their situation. In this situation, my evangelizer is in the middle of a broken family and has suffered a lot. OK, I say to myself, sure God loves me. But if he loves me so much then why does he make me go through so much.

I can remember a time a few years ago, I think I was 8 years old. I was seriously questioning if God was real. My parents had just gone through a divorce and my Father was remarrying. It was a really difficult time for me and I remember praying to God and asking him why he did this to me. I was a confused 8 year old who didn’t know why her parents couldn’t get along. I still wonder why god makes us suffer. I can understand that he does it to test us, but I often wonder if there is an easier and more enjoyable way that we can show our faith in God.

My thoughts are a little jumbled on this one and I need to pray about it

Prayer: Lord, I know you love me, but how can you put us through so much pain?