Are you reading this?

Yes, obviously you are reading this! :-) But guess what? I don't know that you're reading it (at least I haven't figured out a way to know who looks at my blog!) It feels kind of wierd to not know if I'm writing to dozens of people, or if I'm writing to myself. Probably most likely it is a little between the two extremes! Anyway, here is my suggestion for you: if you're reading this, please let me know that you do read my blog and leave me a comment. That way, if no one responds, I know I have a problem, and that I need to do some more "advertising" for my blog! :-) Thanks!!


Seeking to know Him, my Lord and Savior,
Angie

"No, Lord"?

"You cannot say 'No, Lord'and mean both words; one annuls the other.
If you say no to Him, then He is not your Lord." ~D. James Kennedy

This short quote caught my eye when I read it. It really is quite profound. So many times, as Christians, we tell the Lord that we want to do His will, but if He asks us to do something that doesn't necessarily sound like the greatest idea to us, we say "No, Lord, anything but that!"

I know, because I've done that myself! All my life, or for the last several years anyway, I've felt that God might want me to be a missionary, but, since I had grown up on the missionfield as an MK (missionary kid), I knew that life as missionary wasn't just beaches, palm tree, and tropical weather. No, it was much more than that--most of it was good, but there were also some things that weren't all that wondeful either. So, when I would feel that "nudging" of the Spirit, saying that God might want me to be a missionary, I would say "No, I really don't want anything to do with it!" All I wanted was to go to college and study music, get married, and lead a normal life, in the US!

Well, as you know, man's plans aren't always God's plans! Little by little, God began working in my heart. It was in 2005, I think, that I finally dedicated my life to God, telling Him that I wanted to do whatever He asked me to do. However, there was still a little bit of my life that was beging held back--not as much as before--but there was still a little bit of a "no" to doing anything regarding missions. Little did I know that God would totally change that!

It was August 2005, and the beginning of the semester for the Antioch Bible Institute. For the opening week, Dad invited a missionary lady, who is from a church in Fortaleza, to come with a group of young people and present a drama. This drama, however, wasn't just any drama. This drama was based on a true story of an Indian tribe that was begging for missionaries to come and bring the Gospel to their family. They had never heard the Gospel before, and when a few did, they wanted all the rest of the tribe to hear it too! The main purpose of the drama was to open the eyes of the audience to the necessity of spreading the Word and taking it to those who have not heard it.

Needless to say, that evening, the Spirit convicted me of my unwillingness to spread the Gospel. That night I prayed and told God that I would go wherever He would call me, to spread the Good News of Salvation. I was still hesitant about the where He wanted me, and how I would ever do it, but now it was different: I could no longer understand my reasons as to why I didn't want be a missionary, mabye even go back to Brazil one day. All of the reasons that I thought were so important, now seemed so weak and lame! It was amazing how, from one minute to the next, God totally changed my way of thinking!

Well, that was 2 1/2 years ago, but since that night, my focus in life is totally different! Before that day, while I wanted to work with some kind of teens ministry and be involved in a church, what I really wanted was to get a degree in music--perhaps piano or violin performance. But now, I am hoping to go to a Bible Institute www.cornerstonebibleinstitute.com , and complete the program there. I still do not know where exactly God wants me, or how He is going to use me, but now, I'm open to what He wants for me! I am really excited to see where He is going to lead me in the next few years!


While I am far from having achieved anything, I am slowly learning that if God is really going to be my Lord, I have to say "yes!" to Him and what He has for my life. As a Christian, I am never going to be totally satisfied and content in life if I'm not in the center of God's will. It is only when I am willing to do His will and to submit myself to His wishes that I will achieve fulfillment and happiness in life.

What is God asking you to do? Have you submitted your own will for your life in exchange for His perfect plan for your life? As long as you hold on to that little "something," you won't experience His best for you, for "you cannot say "No, Lord" and mean both words...."

Happy Fourth of July!!

I would like to wish every one of you a great 4th of July! My family and I are hoping to go to Kansas City to be with family to celebrate. It is almost a tradition that every time we are here in the U.S., we have to get together at a near-by park to listen to a band play patriotic music, and then watch the amazing fireworks when it gets dark! It is exciting to be able to look forward to that this year! While I am proud be a Brazilian, I am just a proud to be an American! May God bless America!