Psalm 23

1 "The lord is my Shepherd;
I have all that I need.
2 He lets me rest in green meadows;
he leads me beside peaceful streams.
3 He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
bringing honor to his name.
4 Even when I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will not be afraid,
for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
protect and comfort me.
5 You prepare a feast for me
in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
My cup overflows with blessings.
6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love
will pursue me all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord
forever. "

I was reading this Psalm today and as I read it I began to feel convicted. Verse 1 starts our by saying "I have all that I need." This is so true! I have more than I need. The chapter goes on to talk about all the things God does for me; gives me rest, renews my strength, guides me along right paths, stays close beside me, protects and comforts, honors me, and gives me eternal life with Him! As I read all of these and saw how "my cup overflows with blessings" I couldn't help but look back at verse 3.

3 He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
bringing honor to his name.

I know God brings honor to his name when His will is done. But do I always bring honor to his name? This is where I fail. In church a couple weeks ago we talked about how we are to be witnesses to the things God does in our lives. God is so good to us. God is good to me! How will the people I come in contact (even via facebook) each day know how good God is if I don't tell them.

So here is part of my witness.

During my last couple years of college I really let a lot of people down. I say this because I was the President of the Baptist Student Union at UNC-Greensboro and during that season I was at the lowest point in my life spiritually than ever before. I was not leading by the Spirit. I know God worked anyway, cause He is so gracious, but I was walking against His will. I had been in a relationship since my Sophomore year in high school and was engaged to be married. I had it set in my heart and mind that this was the person I was going to spend the rest of my life with. The only thing was, was that I wasn't praying. I didn't know what God wanted for my future. I only knew what I wanted. Because I didn't want to hear differently, I didn't do much communicating with Him. It really grieves me to think of the students who I could have ministered to and the people I passed up who I could have been a witness to.

But... God's plans are WAY better than ours. After that young man broke it off with me, I was in the deepest pain I had ever felt. My whole world had been turned upside down. It was there that I felt the presence of God. It was there that He met me.

*Let me do a quick flashback* Like a year before this man broke it off I had a dream. I truly believe that it was prophetic. In the dream I was in a white wedding gown and in a back yard. the man I was dating wasn't anywhere around. I knew the people that were there, but I couldn't see any faces. They were standing around talking like it was a reception or something. The only person's face that I recognized was Tim's! He was wearing a tux and I was walking toward him. I went and stood next to him and he took me by my waist and pulled me into a hug.

Ok so this dream was funny, cause I was already engaged and I always thought Tim was just a funny guy. :) But God proved me wrong. A week after the break up God began laying Tim on my heart. Soon after that I emailed him to see where he was and what God had him doing. I We started corresponding. Well the rest of that is history, but in November of that same year Tim and I were engaged and by February of 2009 we were married. By far the BEST decision I have ever let God make for me!

So now you've witnessed my love story. :)

Throughout our time together we've; traveled to Africa (almost moved there), lived in a mother in law house, moved into Tim's parent's townhouse, moved to Phoenix, had Madison, moved back to Jacksonville, lived with parents for a month or so, moved into a 2 bed house, moved into a 3 bed house, had Anna, and here we are... :) you liked that huh?

Needless to say, we have been very busy. We've done a lot of moving around. We've had lots of adventures. It's been fun. Don't know how many people can categorize their first years of marriage as fun, but I can!

I'd like to share just a little about our finances, which is one area of our lives where God has provided for in miraculous ways. This is how I know God takes care of His children. During our first year of marriage Tim and I paid off about $20,000 of debt. I think we only made about $23,000 that year. We worked hard and with God's guidance were able to stay frugal enough to pay off debt. We wouldn't have been able to do that without being obedient to Him. We are now completely debt free besides our mortgage in Phoenix. It hasn't been easy. Some months, I don't know how we made it except by the grace of God. But we trusted Him and we did what we could and left the rest to Him.

We are getting ready to start a new chapter in life and with that will probably come some new challenges, but God is provider and he leads us along right paths. While on that path my prayer is that with every step I continue to honor his name.

God wants to share his goodness with every single one of you. If you'll just let Him. It's your choice. :) Choose the good life. :)