choosing jesus

so the Holy Spirit has been at work, once again. daily He works in our lives, but do we realize it? i realized recently that i have many idols in my life. my Jesus is not in His proper place. why? because i do not choose Him. i see the world around me, and i choose the world. daily i have a choice to make, and daily i make the wrong choice.

as i continually do this, the power of God seems to shrink, at least in my mind. i forget that my Jesus is all-powerful. that He is able. that He is in control. that the Holy Spirit dwells inside me!!!! that i have but to ask, and He will do it. the less i acknowledge the presence of my precious Savior, the more satan grabs ahold of me. i forget that i am no longer a slave to sin. that i do not have to give in. that i do not have to make the wrong choice.

what is the chief end of man? to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. what does that mean in my life? THAT MEANS THAT EVERYTHING I DO IS TO KNOW GOD MORE. the more you know Someone, the more you love Them. the more you love them, you cant help talking about them to everyone you see. you cant help but want to do things for them. and thereby others will come to know Him more, and the ultimate purpose of man (the glory of God) will be realized and fulfilled by more people each and every day.

EVERYTHING I DO IS TO KNOW GOD MORE. this truth extends into every aspect of life. i wake up so that i can spend the day getting to know God more, and thus fall more and more in love with Him. i open a door so that i can go into a room and encourage someone else towards jesus. i eat so that i am alive and well to know God more. i work so that i can have money to pay for school so that i can know God more. i talk to family and friends because we are made in the image of God, and so to talk to them meaningfully inceases my understanding of God and perhaps theirs as well. i brush my teeth in the morning so my breath does not turn others off toward Him (i hate brushing my teeth. seriously).

now shoot. dont i wish i would remember all that through out the day. but as i daily realize the presence of God with me every moment and my thoughts turn more towards Him, WHEN I REMEMEBR THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT INSIDE ME, i already start choosing the right thing.

my Jesus. i pray that you may know Him more daily, and thereby love Him fully.

Well, its a new day. :) As it is every day! How sweet to take hold of God's word when He says that "His mercies are new every morning."

Lamentations 3:22-23
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

i am learning to realize God's presence at my side every moment of every day. It's much easier for me to see Him at work when i am realizing His presence near to me. Every day He cares for me, gently helps me along. Yesterday He finished paying my school bill for the year for me. :) He is so good! Now He is preparing me to serve Him someday, where ever that may be. :) It's a hard journey.

i babysat a little boy today at school for a few hours. He was a precious little man, about two years old, with hugo brown eyes and the most adorable laugh in the world. The first half hour he balled his fists up in his eyes and refused to remove them. Then all of a sudden, he sticks out the biggest tongue i have ever seen on a little boy, and leaves it hanging out practically the rest of the time (an hour). Yes, he was trying to lick me. No, he did not succeed. ;) Back in the saddle again. Would life be complete without children? i think not. i cant imagine a day going by without a child nearby. One of my good friends back home has the cutest siblings in the world. Everything that comes out of their mouths is completely original adorableness. i cant help but laugh. "tace." she says. "they're really not saying anything funny." Oh, but they are, they are. Not only is everything a child says funny or sweet, but sometimes it has great philosophical meaning to it.

A quote from my five year old brother: "I heard what you said! I was closer to you than your mind was to your mouth!"

Hmm. well, the time has come. soon i'll be heading back to school. sigh. this morning i babysat for my neighbors. they have three darling children ages 6, 3, and 2. i'll miss them rather much.

we danced, did gymnastics, and ate pepperoni and yogurt together. delicious. babysitting normally consists of dancing. like the entire time. we've passed the days where lyd, em, and i would dance to "Jesus loves me," and have moved on to dancing to switchfoot, chris tomlin, and brandon heath. mmm. delightful. the littlest boy, ezra(ezzie) is 2. he gets rather tortured, as his sisters like to dress him up in ballet outfits, dresses, makeup, and fingernail polish. poor little guy.

lydia, em and i have many conversations. they go like this.

#1 me: em, whats your favorite color? em: red! me: lydia, whats your favorite color? lyd: tacie whats your favorite color? me: blue, green, and brown. lyd: oh, mines blue, green and brown too!!

#2 me: emily, what do you want to be when you grow up? em: a princess. with pink hair. me: oh thats nice! lydia, what do you want to be? lyd: tacie, what do you want to be? me: a missionary. i want to tell people about Jesus in india. lyd: yup, thats what i want to be too! a missionary!! in india, of course. tacie, we're like the same person!

mm, i think you get the picture. strange how small children want to be exactly like you. :D but at the same time, i always get this warm fuzzy feeling inside me, and want to just be with those dear littles ones all day, every day. hmm. whos watching you?

in the car on the way back, just as i was feeling all sad that i wouldnt get to see those little kids for a long time again, the music started playing. some jason gray song. quite marvelous, actually. a second later i was singing at the top of my lungs, pounding the wheel of the car, dangerously close to the sides of the road. (yes sides. one at a time). the perfect feeling ever, of being by yourself and singing crazily simply because you can and you dont care what anyone thinks of you. good thing its only a two minute drive. ;)

follow Jesus today, dear ones. :)