Praise Him for the roses. Thank Him for the thorns.

“And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake:for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

2 Corinthians 12: 7-10

                  Until recently I was guilty of skimming through these verses. I focused more on what Paul’s mysterious thorn in the flesh might be than the lessons to be learned from it. Once they were pointed out to me, this became one of my favorite passages.

                  We often question why we suffer. We don’t understand. Paul admitted several things about his “thorn in the flesh.” He admitted that it kept him humble. He acknowledged that Satan often used it against him. He admitted that he had asked God multiple times to take it away, but he accepted that God was using it to help him. He awed in God’s ability to something good come from a flawed man.

                  There is an old saying, “That which does not kill you makes you stronger.” God is often using our fleshly thorns to make us stronger.

Praise Him for the roses. Thank Him for the thorns.

- adapted from Under the Juniper Tree podcast

available via The Light Network

Links to Love

What Crazy National Holiday Falls on Your Birthday? Find out here and start your Monday morning off with a laugh. (Seriously, some of these are crazy!)

God's Handiwork in Ireland - Admiring photos of faraway places is something I love to do and apparently I'm not alone...don't believe me? Go over to Pinterest and you'll find a plethora (new word for the day) of people who do the same thing. Emily Hatfield (gifted writer & sister-in-Christ) has had the opportunity to study abroad and shares some beautiful pictures of Ireland here in her post: God’s Handiwork. Ireland is one of my personal favorites. It just looks so romantic, doesn’t it? 

The First Day of the Last - This spunky blogger is super excited about being close to completing her college career. She chose to stay home and earn her degree (a choice that is becoming more and more popular. In this post, she lists a few reasons why pursing a degree online was the right path for her.


DON'T Follow Your Heart - This is an older post but one worth your time. It's so easy to get caught up in the "follow your heart" concept, especially when you're young, Hannah Giselbach does a great job of reminding us why that isn't good advice after all.

Hello, 2014.

                  After a (rather long) break, we are launching back into 2014 rejuvenated and reenergized! We have some exciting things planned for this year which we hope will encourage you in your daily Christian walk! First up, let’s set some goals together. Yes, I realize we’re well into the month of January and the usual goal setting time is the New Year, but it’s never too late to resolve to do better. 

For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth.

Zechariah 4:10 KJV

                  Often after being baptized into Christ, we are on fire. We are so pumped and we want to tell the world about Jesus, but after a while that feeling fades. We have great plans, but for whatever reason our resolutions begin to overwhelm us. We become lukewarm and our desire to share the gospel takes a backseat. If you aren’t a New Testament Christian yet, you may be wondering how to prevent this from happening. If you are a Christian and fall into this category, you probably want to know how to get out of this rut.

                  Start by setting small goals. Achieve those and you will recognize them immediately, allowing yourself to see progress. Small steps allow us to believe in ourselves. Write down Philippians 4:13 and post it in a prominent place. Read it everyday. Focus on taking one step at a time. Make a goal of getting to Bible class on time (or even early) on a weekly basis and soon you will see those weeks turn into a month. Rather than taking on the rather daunting task of reading through the Bible in a year, make it a goal to read one book per month and take notes while doing so.

- adapted from Under the Juniper Tree podcast

available via The Light Network

Even when it’s hard to move, take small steps forward; because every step will lead you farther away from where you were yesterday.

-unknown

The man who moved the mountain was seen at the beginning carrying little buckets of soil.

-Chinese proverb

Little things make the difference. Everyone is well prepared in the big things, but only the winners perfect the little things.

-Paul “Bear” Bryant