Praying for enemies...

There is someone in my life right now who is…. well… shady. She is trying to play games. She thinks she is sneaky. She’s trying to mess with my life and my future.

Do I think she has the power to significantly affect me in a negative way? Heck no! I have God on my side. And that’s the thing… I have God, but does she?

I tend to think that people who play games and are underhanded, are people who are unhappy with life and with themselves and probably don’t truly have a real and close relationship with Jesus Christ. Those of us who love God may not always be so secure in ourselves and sometimes maybe even find ourselves jealous of others over blessings and situations that maybe we wish we were in (we are still human afterall), but because we love the Lord, we aren’t going to go out of our ways to make the lives of others more difficult because of that envy. I would hope not at least. I know I don’t behave that way.

In the end, no matter how weak in the Lord I might be for a moment, it’s still about honoring God and doing what Jesus told us, which is to treat others the way we want to be treated.

With that said, I know I need to pray for this girl. She needs the Lord. She needs him because “who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him?” (Ecclesiastes 2:25) She needs him so that she can stop worrying about other people’s lives and start living her own.

Lord, help me to pray for this girl and to forgive her… and even to love her. Help her, Lord. She really needs you. Please also, Lord, don’t allow her to prevail against me or anyone else. Thank you, Jesus, that I know you have me always and there are 10 million verses in your word to back that up!

Prayer: All the difference in the world...

Lately I'm so thankful for prayer. Not just for my prayers and communications with the Lord, but for the prayer that people have covered me with. It really does make all the difference. When people are praying for you, you feel it. There is assurance and peace.

Thank you, Lord.

Right now I have a group of various women of God who are praying over me and another person. Normally in the type of situation they are praying for, I'm restless and unsure, but right now I feel totally at peace and like I know I can trust that the Lord has it. I know He does. I can now look back on my life and see that He has been with me and protective of me the whole time.

Thank you, Lord!

If you're a praying person, please keep me in your prayers. God knows what about. I just want His will and His will alone. Amen!

P.S. Off topic: I've now surpassed my original goal of 30 lbs lost and am at 32 lbs lost. Woohoo!! Exciting. =)

Oh and 35 days til NYC! =D

RIP Baby Girl...

There is so much hoopla going on right now in anticipation of the 10-year anniversary of 9/11. There is another 10-year anniversary that I know rocked my world. 10 years ago today, the singer/budding actress Aaliyah passed away in a plane crash.

Just like 9/11, I can remember exactly where I was when I found out that pretty much my favorite R&B singer of the time was dead. My friend Suzy and I were waiting to be called for a table at the Hard Rock Cafe at Citywalk (pretty fitting actually) when I got a call from my sister, "Aaliyah is dead. She died in a plane crash."

WHAT?!

It was surreal at first. I went on with dinner and kind of didn't think too much about it. When I got home though, it really hit me. My sisters and I were really devastated. What didn't help was the following couple of days working at the Tollgate at Six Flags. EVERY SINGLE car that pulled up to pay for parking was bumping some radio stations all-day tribute to Aaliyah. I literally had to go home early one day because I couldn't take it. That's how much I loved her.

Looking back, it's still so sad. She was really on the rise and she was so talented. Who knows what would have become of her if she would have lived. Just like Selena and others gone before their times, we'll never know. The great thing is that she left behind some great music: Four Page Letter, Are You that Somebody, One in a Million, etc.

Aw. Sad day. =( RIP "Baby Girl"

God's formula....

Oh man, I needed this:

The perfect formula for God. | Stuff Christians Like – Jon Acuff

Darn you, Jon Acuff, and your tear-jerking posts.... =)


Oh, and my favorite comment from a reader:
"If my God is small enough to predict...He isn't big enough to worship."

Amen!

Think happy thoughts...

The following blog post is designed to take my mind off of my current troubles and help me think happy thoughts. Here goes nothin...

40 Days.

40 days til Time Square, Central Park, Brooklyn, pizza, boots & scarves, Broadway, taxis, Grand Central Station, delis and pastrami sandwiches, World Trade Center, Serendipity, Harlem, etc.

=)

Seems like forever ago that my sister and I started planning this trip to New York City and in just a little over one month, we will finally be there. To say I'm excited is an understatement. I. Cannot. Wait.

I know it's going to be AMAZING! Oh, NYC, I love you so very much! You are my most favorite city in the whole wide world! I'm coming, baby.

$990

$990 is how much it is estimated that I will now be paying in mortgage payment (if this short sale is ever approved) now that the interest rates have gone down. That is like the going rate for a studio apartment right now. Crazy! Man, the Lord is so good to me. That was pretty much the ideal amount of money I wanted to have to pay every month, and if the rates still continue to go down before the bank approves the short sale, I'll be even more blessed.

Man, thank you, Lord. You always give me so much more than I even deserve. Wow! And with this new promotion, if it too is approved, I will be able to save up some money and hopefully give back to Your kingdom.

Oh Lord God Almighty, please continue to shower me with your favor, even though I don't deserve anything wonderful. You are amazing!

Forgive me also for not trusting in you enough. You know my circumstances and I know that you are protecting me and looking out for my best interests. Thank you, Lord. Thank you that I have nothing to fear because you are on my side. Thank you that you are my advocate and my defender. Thank you that no harm can come to me because of you.

Amen!

Sometimes, looking at the good things that are going on helps you to see how unimportant the bad things are. This blog was a good idea. =)

Encouragement...

Why are you discouraged, my soul?
Why are you so restless?
Put your hope in God,
because I will still praise him.
He is my saviour and my God.

Psalm 42:5

AMEN!

When your instincts are telling you the truth...

I just got back from a turnaround trip from LA to stateline (the border of California and Nevada).  It was a work charitable giving thing.  I knew I shouldn't have gone, but I went anyway.

I'll say it again.  I knew I shouldn't have gone.

My instincts told me that the person who invited me was not someone I could trust, but I went anyway, despite warnings from a trusted person, because I like to give people the benefit of the doubt... even though everything in me wanted to pull out and not go.  I should have listened to my inner voice.

Have I mentioned that I KNEW I SHOULDN'T HAVE GONE?  lol

Well, now it's confirmed that I can't trust this person and she's out to get me, and never again will I let my guard down with her.  I won't get into what happened or why I can't trust her... all I'll say is that I don't trust women for a reason and I think this trip for her was a case of "keep your enemies close," not her trying to be my actual friend.

From now on, she will be kept at arms length.  She has no power to do anything significant to me because I have God on my side, but she's definitely now someone I have to watch out for.  Pretty sad.

I guess the only thing I can do is pray for her, since afterall we are called to love our enemies and pray for them.  Help me with this one, Lord.

All of a sudden the verses from this previous post are extremely relevant...

My own understanding...

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding." Proverbs 3:5

I read this passage in a whole new way. Whenever I've read it, I understood it to say, "Trust in the Lord completely and don't trust in the things you know/learned through life." Today I read it as, "Trust in the Lord completely, and don't trust in what you THINK you know in a situation."

I do that a lot. I think I know about a situation, even when I don't have all the facts, and I jump to conclusions.

Then WHAM! Guess what, Kristina? You had no idea what you were talking about. Stop trying to be in control and let God handle it. That is what he's saying to me  in this verse.

The next one (verse 6) says, "In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."  The only thing you need to do is acknowledge he's in control and he'll figure out the rest.

It's so dang simple. Simple information for simple people. Yet we still don't get it.

Man, Lord, You are so awesome. You really are patient with us. I'm so glad I am not You because I'm not as patient and gracious. I would have gotten fed up with me and given up a long time ago. I might have even laid the smackdown on me. lol

Love you, Lord. Thanks for your little truths...