Thank You for my Blessings!

As I considered starting this blog, I wanted to choose a name that gave a clear image of my intent.  I want to be a blessing in the hearts and lives of others and felt that my desire to write allowed for this opportunity, so "Blogging to Bless" was an obvious selection to me.  What was not so obvious, was how blessed I would be by this blog in return.

Let me first say thank you to those who have offered their loving encouragement.  I don't write for self-gratification, though it is one of the most satisfying activities for me.  I truly want my writing to be an encouragement to others to grow in their faith in Christ and to be a testament to those who don't yet know Him as their Savior.  So to those of you who have offered their thoughts and comments, thank you for reminding me why I am doing this.

This blog has been a blessing to me because it is requiring of me some serious self-examination of why I believe what I believe, how I got here, and how far I have yet to go.  It has helped me hold myself more accountable for my day to day actions and witness.  But the biggest blessing came yesterday from my friend Lisa.  I always share a link to my blog on Facebook after I make a new post.  Yesterday I shared the link to my post "I Am Your Servant."  Lisa posted on my Facebook page the following:  "I could go on forever, but I will just say how crazy and awesome it is that I googled "servant's heart" this morning, hoping for guidance and seriously thinking of you and one other person at church who set such an example for me and others.  This is something I am working on, and you hit on so much that I thought and prayed about this morning.  Awesome."

It is awesome!  God works in such wonderful intricate and intimate ways in our lives.  I didn't know why I was inspired to post that blog yesterday, but God knew it would be an answer to Lisa's prayers.  When we start handing our lives over to Him (and believe me, I am still working on that), we start seeing Him revealed to us on a regular basis.  I just can not stop marveling at His good work yesterday.  To some it may seem coincidental, to others a small work, but I just see so much glory in it.  First, that He is faithful to us when we pray.  Second, that His word does not return void.  Third, that serving Him just leads us closer to Him.

I have had my moments of shaken faith and doubt, but I hold fast to my God because He continues to do good work in me.  I feel so blessed that God has revealed Himself to me and His intimate design for my life so many times- in my cousin Matthew, my husband Jonathan, the postcard, my children, and now this.  He knows that we live in a troubled world and that we need a restoration of faith regularly.  We get this through serving Him.  There is no time that I feel closer to Him and know His truths more certainly.

If you are struggling to know God, to feel Him in your life; if you feel like you have sought and not found; if you wonder why He has not revealed Himself to you, serve Him.  Taste and see that the Lord is good!  Try out His love, not by basking in it, but by using what he freely gives to love on others and you will begin to see how great is my God.

I think too often we take credit for the good we do and forget God's hand in it.  When we do that, we miss His revelations in our life.  We hit the disconnect button and distance ourself from Him.  What happened yesterday wasn't because of me.  It was because of God.  He heard Lisa faithfully looking to Him for guidance and He didn't let the prayer go unanswered.  I thank God that He blessed me with the opportunity to be the tool to answer someone's prayer.  Do you know you have that opportunity too?  Just look around you.  Someone is praying for a sign of love right now.  Do you know who it might be?  Someone is in desperate need of some encouragement.  Are you too hurried to offer a kind word? Someone is in physical need.  Are you passing them by?  Take the time to stop and be the answer to a prayer today.  I tell you it is far greater than having your own prayer answered.

My heart is blessed.