I would like doors that just open, please.

Doors. They open and shut.
Sometimes I'd like one that just opens. 

I'm sure you know the feeling. You have this 'thing' that you really really want. Its not a bad thing - not even necessarily a material thing. But God keeps saying stuff like, "Wait," and, "I'll open the doors." 

Ever wonder why God can be so slow at opening those doors? Or why sometimes he seems to forget and walk straight past them? 

This is what I mean about a door that doesn't close. I would like that one that just stays open, 24/7, and will let me sail through and collect the prize at the other end. But doors don't work like that. Sometimes they close. Sometimes they slam in your face. Sometimes they don't even open and you end up walking into the hard, splintery wood. 

                                            (What an 'door' feels like when approaching.)

                (What can happen when you get within two meters of the handle. Um, thanks.)


So why God? Why not make life really simple and leave all the doors wide open? 

Well, its not because he hates a cross-breeze, or that pesky flies just bother him. Funnily enough, he has a reason. (When does he not, right?) 

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

"For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you - plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us."  
Ephesians 3:20

"The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him" 
Lamentations 3:25

"Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Saviour, and my hope is in you all day long" 
Galatians 6:9

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight" Proverbs 3:5,6

I could go on. And on. But are you seeing the pattern?

Trust. Wait. Have faith. God has this. 
Its hard. I should know! But really, he is in control. Its crazy to think, that him being all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all purposeful could actually handle our whirlwind lives...but I don't know. I think he might be able to handle it. ;)

Doors will shut. But its not because someone forgot to stick the door jam in and the wind blew it closed. God doesn't snap his fingers in frustration when things don't work out the way we planned and complain about having to start all over again. If a door shuts, guess who pushed it?

Yep. Need I mention names? 

He will open the doors that are meant to open. But, because he is a loving and caring father, he will shut the doors that could potentially harm us. 

So even when it seems to be taking ages, and it feels like maybe God's got a bit too much on his plate to be handling this one right, know that he loves his children, and he has a plan and a purpose for each of their lives. 

Trust me. In this life, you will come across plenty of open doors. Courtesy of our heavenly dad. 

Thanks God. 


Have a great week!

Love Gracie

My best friend is a painter.

Ok. So are the elephants at the zoo. Who cares?
Well, unlike most people who paint on paper, my best friend paints the sky. Like, not pictures of the sky. He actually paints the sky. Changes the sky's colour, makes the clouds fluffy, sometimes even has these awesome light illusions that look like they're spilling from somewhere in the heavens.
Those elephants? Yeah, they can't do that. Don't believe me? I have evidence!

Beautiful huh? You can't really see it in the picture, but the clouds were really really pink. Like God had been eating fairy floss and dropped some. :)

Is you're best friend a painter?

Sometimes I forget.

I had a bit of a humbling experience this morning.
I realised that I'd forgotten to be thankful.
You know when you get in a rut, everything's wrong with the world, no-one could have it worse than you, blah blah blah - I was there this morning. (For a little while.) But then, something caught my eye, and I realised once again how much I have to be thankful for. How much I am blessed. And how easily I forget this. There are certain things unfolding in my life that I never imagined could happen, yet sometimes all I see is the black cloud floating over my head.
The one I put there myself.
So I challenge you today to look around and truly see how blessed you are. Not just the fact that you live in a house and have food to eat. But the things in your life that not everybody experiences - things that you, and just you, have been personally blessed with.
They're there, trust me. Sometimes we just forget.

Gracie

Moses

I'm not sure if I've got all of the details of this story right, but bare with me. The lesson learnt is still the same. :)

Moses. Everyone who's been to Sunday school will know the story of this guy - Born, put in the river, grows up with a princess as a mother. An Israelite growing up with the Egyptians, that's who Moses was. But what I want to write about today is Moses "all grown up." Let me set the scene.
Moses is an Israelites, but he lives with the Egyptians. Now, surprisingly enough, the Egyptians actually accepted him and didn't try to kill him every time he stepped out of his door, so Moses was in a pretty good place. I would think, anyway. He was a person of God yet didn't get treated like all of God's other people did. The thing is, God gave Moses a passion - a passion to set his (God's) people free. I mean, you'd have to be passionate about something to wander around the desert for 40 years. Moses was a passionate young man; fiery, strong, pumped up with God and the belief that says "God and I can do anything!" Which is a great thing to be pumped up with.
But Moses had a little problem. He was so passionate that he jumped over the line of God's time and rushed into his. In other words, he moved way too fast.

Here's what Moses, in all his good intentions, did. He killed an Egyptian. One of his 'own' people.
Bad move buddy.

Now, apart from having to leave civilisation so that he could stay alive, God took Moses out of Egypt and into the desert for a different reason. Kind of like God boot-camp.
Moses had the most important thing. Passion, and lots of it. He would keep going, keep fighting, keep believing no matter what the circumstances. But Moses lacked the ability to listen and hear God - to wait for his 'go.' So God took him out into the desert. A time of learning; a time where God taught Moses to not just listen, but to hear. 


I think that there's a parallel here between Moses and ourselves. God has given us all passions - is there something inside of you that just burns, that makes you want to strike out and kill the enemy holding you back? Being passionate is a good start - its a must have. But so often we run ahead of God's timing, move too fast, get too excited. You know the feeling? You go for it - and then fall flat on your bum.
Not saying God doesn't pick us up - he does. But maybe you are in a 'desert' time, a moment of just you and God. Maybe God has taken you away and is teaching you how to hear, preparing you for a time when all of that passion, all of that excitement is going to be used for his purpose and glory.
We can stand at the base of the mountain and push, but it won't move until God's hands come up behind ours and give our strength power. So, like me, maybe we need to slow down, come away with God and learn to hear, wait, and move only when God says 'go.'

Moses didn't do a whole lot by killing that Egyptian. But when God said "go", that mountain moved.
 So come away with God.

Love Gracie

Living in the moment

See the title of this post? I am absolutely AWEFUL at doing this.
Living in the moment. It sounds like some motovational quote, I know. But hang in here with me.

Ever since I was little I've a had a.......um....tradition. Every birthday, after the presents have been opened, cakes been eaten, and I'm snuggled up in my bed, I cry.

Now don't get me wrong, I have wonderful birthdays. And I live in a very happy home. But, every year without fail, I shed a few tears. Yes, this could be due to the fact that I'm practically a walking fountain and could probably talk myself into tears over anything, but it also has something to do with the title of this post.

I can remember being a ten year old girl, crying in to my pillow because I'd "never be nine again."

Guys, I have always been aweful at living in the moment. I resist change with all of my being, and if time could be paused I'd probably still be a six year old girl. I find it really really hard to leave behind a year full of memories, moments, smiles and special times. I guess its called letting go. Which translates for me as, "prying my fingers loose one by one until its gone forever." So while birthdays are exciting and fun, they're also a little sad. Because it means I'm growing up. And I'm not sure if I want to do that just yet.

But here's another thing I struggle with. Racing forward into the future. Its like I'm standing on one of those wobbaly things at the playground and just can't get the right balance. One minute Im crying over another year gone, and the next I'm wishing time would hurry up already.

I know what you're thinking. I am one mixed up person.

But I'm trying. Trying to stop holding onto the past, and stop racing for the future. Trying to live in the moment, and not miss what I've got right now because my minds thinking up a life for the 25 year old me. Trying to simply enjoy eacfh day for what it is. Because guys, God's got the next 10 years. Gosh, he's got the next 100. And really, if I think about, I don't want to stay forever a little girl. Because little girls miss out on A LOT of life.

So here's my 10 cents worth. Don't live in the past and don't spend your days in the future. Reality is that the past is probably not as wonderful as you remember it to be, and the future will probably be way different than what you're busy dreaming up. Live in the right now, with people who are also living in the right now, and a God who is busy blessing you in the right now.

This moment has a lot to offer you. Learn to live in it. :)

Love Gracie

There's something about Mary....

Guy's, I have this thing for Mary. As in Mary of the bible - Jesus's mother.
Just thought I should clear that up. :)
I don't know about you, but something that makes the Christmas story so magical for me, is Mary, Jesus's mother. We don't get told much about her in the bible, and some may argue that therefore she really isn't the important (really, some people argue that.) But I just can't believe it - true, there isn't a book of the bible dedicated to her. But she was Jesus's mother. She was chosen to give birth to and raise the Saviour of the Earth, Messiah, God's one and only son.
Not important? Please.
The reason I'm so interested in her is because I've always thought that if I would want to be like any person in the bible (apart from Jesus) it would be her. There must have been some reason that God chose her to bear his son - there must have been! Her life held one of the greatest purposes of all time - to be the mother of God's own son. She must have been somebody pretty special.
So I have to confess. Sometimes I like to think that I'm a little bit like Mary.
Sometimes I like to think that if I had been living thousands of years ago, I would have seen the angel to.
Because I like to imagaine that I'm the kind of girl God would have chosen for a purpose like her's.

I used to look at Mary like this:
Mary was a soft, gentle, subbmissive, rule obeying girl who was not outspoken or rude and always did what she was told. Timid. Shy. Not very strong really. But my view of her has kind of changed recently.
Because I think Mary had spunk. I'll bet she was soft, genlte, and probably a bit of a dreamer. But I also think that Mary loved God - really loved God, and knew him on a level that many of the Pharasee's and rule obeying people of that time probably didn't. And because of her relationship with God, she was strong. Her authority was God, and she answered to him. I love this:
"You are strong. Or do you think Mary was weak? No, God choose that blessed virgin because she leaked the Holy Spirit from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet. This is what you should seek."
Thats what my heart seeks. To be a little bit like Mary, to leak the Holy spirit from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet.
Because, there just must have been something about Mary :)

Love Gracie

Just watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yJnLqLWdSU

Click on this hyperlink and just watch. It doesn't go for long.

This is real love.
This is beautiful.
This is the truth. :)

Love Gracie

This little light of mine.......

I've had a couple of thoughts rolling about in my mind of what to write about, so I've decided to pinpoint this one. We'll see how it goes. :)



Light. Lightbulbs, lanterns, candles, fire, pretty little twinkle lights - they all have a purpose. Well, you don't have to be a genuis to figure out what that purpose is. Lights light up things.

Yay! Thats about it today. Gosh, aren't I clever?

Ok, but really. We all know what light does. It brings attention to something that is important. A path or object - maybe even a person.
If you've ever sat in church, been to a bible study, talked to a christian, or even just read the book of Matthew, you'll know that the bible also refers to light. And that it doesn't just refer to light, but it relates us to light.
"Shine bright for God."
"Be a beacon of light in this world."
"This little light of mine! I'm gonna let it shine. Ohhhhhh...."
Basically, if you've ever spent any time around the majority of Jesus lovers, you will have been told to "let your light shine for Jesus." Bring attention to something that is important. Well people, Jesus is important.
But here's the thing. If you read Matthew 5:14 its says, "You are the light of the world."
Not, "Try a bit harder and you might be."
Not, "You really need to shine brighter. You're just not lightish enough."
No, he says you are the light of the world. As in already, as in no trying to shine needed. Matthew 5:14 goes on to say, "...like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden." 
I don't know about you, but I've been told to let my light shine. To shine for Jesus. But the thing is, I'm already shining. And even if I wanted to run into a dark corner and hide, I would still be shining. Because my light cannot be hidden, no matter how much I try to hide it, or how neglectful I am of trying to shine it.
Because, if you havn't already caught on, its not a matter of trying, its just a matter of simply shining.
There are so many references to this in the bible, all worded a little differently.
"You are the light of the world."
"A city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden."
"You are the salt of the earth." We don't need to be because we already are.

Imagine a newly engaged couple. Often people will look at the bride to be and say, "She's just shining today!" No, its not because she's wearing her natural glow foundation powder. Its because she's in love. The love and joy that she feels in her heart is bubbling over until it shows on the outside.
So if you are convinced that you can still shine that little bit brighter, maybe its not a matter of trying, but of falling in love. With the one who filled you with light in the first place.

There you go. That's me shedding a little light on that subject.

Corny. I know.

Have a wonderful light-filled week!

Love Gracie

Valentines Day!

I had to write a post today. I just had to. Because today is Valentines Day! The day of love, flowers, chocolates, little stuffed bears, maybe a few engagement rings :) The day when even the coldest and most calculated of hearts spend a little bit of cash to show someone just how much they care. Its special - overcommercialiesd maybe, but special.

Probably because this year I've decide to live valentines day up. I'm not celebrating the day of love for 24 hours - no, I'm going to celebrate it for a whole year.

Really, Valentine's day comes and goes pretty quickly for most people. You buy someone a rose maybe, recieve a corny card, and then wake up to next morning back to the same old ruitine. But what if people spent the whole year showing each other how much they love them? What if they didn't just put effort into one day a year, but every day a year?

So thats my mission this year. To make everyday Valentines day. True, some may be a little dodgy (loving people who just won't co-operate can be hard) but it'll be worth it. Because Valentines day doesn't just make the reciever happy - the giver feels pretty good too.

Finally though, the best part of Valentines day is celebrating love. Rejoycing in love. Being once again reminded how much you are loved. And this year my Valentine loves me more than words can say. He loves me so much that it had to be shown through his actions. There's a sentece from the fathers love letter that I think pretty much somes it up:
"I gave up everything I loved, so that I might gain your love."
He dropped everything, gave up the most important and precious thing he had to show just how much he loved me.
Me.
He wasn't like, "Well, hey, I can kill a couple of million birds with this one stone." He died for me, and if I had been the only human being on the planet, he still would have died for me. Not because I was a sorry excuse for a human and needed fixing, but because he wanted to show me exactly how much he loved me. And that love, a love that doesn't stop at anything, is something that should be celebrated.

Happy Valentine's Day! And know that nobody could ever love you as much as God does.

Love Gracie

Confessions of a teenage.......procrastinator?

I think I'm ready to confess.

My name is Grace Harrison and I am a procrastinator.
Yes, I to struggle with a brain that never wants to do what its supposed to do when its supposed to do it. Sound familiar? Surely I'm not the only one out there :) Sometimes its just hard to focus on things that are "boring" (with a capital B. ie. income tax and algebra) when I just want to be doing something else. So do I get what I have to get done quickly and then move onto something more enjoyable?
Um, no. I procrastinate. I you tube things, and blog things, and basically do anything but add numbers and letters together. (Can I just say, numbers and letters? What were they thinking)

Just so you know, I'm not procrastinating right now. Unless you count holding off sleep procrastination.

But hey, I'm human. And although I could probably save my mum a lot of stress, I do eventually get everything done. Everything works together for the good of those who love him right? :)

So have a wonderful week, and get off my blog because there is probably something you should be doing instead. :) Happy procrastinating!

Rain, rain, go away........

Lately I've been thinking a lot about rain. (Hence the title of this post.) Probably because its been raining practically every day for the last two weeks here, and rain seems to be on the brain of everyone. :)
Sometimes I look out of my window, at all of the trees and flowers and the muddy grass and think,
"Boy, its gotta be cold out there." You can almost see the trees drooping their heads under the weight of the water trapped in their leaves, and all the little daisies shivering. I would be cold, wet, grumpy, and very uncomfortable if I had to spend two weeks out in the rain. But the thing is, rain brings nature life. Rain restores life into plants that are thirsty, dry, tired and even the ones that are so close to being gone. As miserable as it is, nature needs rain.

Now this got me thinking about tears. And God. Eventually I put the two together and realised God was trying to show me something. :) Just like rain brings restoration to nature, tears bring restoration to us. You know people who are hurting so much that they say they can't cry? Well, it makes sense. When you allow tears, you allow healing. So just like rain brings healing to thirsty plants, tears bring healing to thirsty spirits.
I've always wondered why God says in the bible that he collects all of our tears and holds them close. Like he somehow thinks that they're special. Its always seemed  bit insensitive to me - like, "Hey God, I'm crying here! As in I'm hurting! As in this is not good and you need to fix it instead of collecting my tears like they're helping!" But, alas, God was right. Again. Funny that. :)
You see, even though crying is miserable, and it hurts, and when your doing it all you want to do is stop, it brings life and healing to what is broken. Tears bring restoration - thats why God treasures everyone we cry. Tears help heal us from the inside out.
Just like nature needs rain, we need to cry. God knows that in the midst of the wet and cold, the healing begins.
Anyway. They were just a few thoughts of mine.
You know, I havn't put up on this blog something I probably should have put up a long time ago. My song!
I still can hardly believe it actually happened, but here I am with an actual recording under my belt. So here it is - Falling. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9K8_Mmimk4&feature=g-upl&context=G2323546AUAAAAAAAAAA

Love Gracie

God's favourite word

I don't know about you, but sometimes I feel as if God's favourite word is "wait." I see or imagine something, get excited about it and say, "Aright God, I'm ready. Lets do this!" only to hear God tell me to wait. Or I have a plan in my head of something that should happen by a certain point, and when I get to that point, instead of making it happen God says wait. Wait, wait, wait - I gues its a nice way of saying "have patience Grace!" But here is something I am slowly learning - Godly patience is very different than the patience we practive here on earth.
Godly patience means waiting for an uncertain amount of time, for an uncertain thing, travelling down an uncertain road. That's a lot of uncertainty. Something that I myself struggle with.
"Just give me a hint God. Just something to keep me going." I'm always asking him, but still I feel like I'm sitting in the dark waiting for something I don't even know is coming. Its frustrating to say the least. So I bring out the "why" card.
"Why can't I have it God? Why can't you move? Why are you saying wait? Are you saying no?" Waiting can be really hard. Waiting with all sorts of why's running through your head can be even harder. But God is a loving God and he doesn't leave you sitting in the dark without something to hold onto. A promise. Actually, plenty of promises.
"I will never leave you or forsake you."
"I will uphold you with my right hand." and a personal favourite:
"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than we could ever hope, dream, or imagine according to his power that is at work within us.... Ephesians 3:20"
When you have a head full of dreams and plans, when the life that you have carefully designed in your head just isn't living out the way you wanted it to, this verse is the perfect promise. Because what ever you dream, hope, immagine or plan - God can and will do immeasurably more. He is going to take your plans and blow them out of proportion in his plans - which are way more exciting and fullfilling than yours could ever be!
Don't get frustrated when God says "No" or "Wait." Get excited - what he's really saying is , "I have something so much better!"

Just another fellow waiter,

Gracie 

Take it!

Well, its a new year! And I guess I should be posting about resolutions, starting afresh, new hope, blah, blah, blah, but I think I'm a little late for it. So I'm going to write about what I want to write about. Which, to be honest, is what I always do anyway. :)

Don't you hate it when you offer someone something and they don't take it?
"Please take it."
"No, I couldn't."
"No really, I want you to have it."
"No, thanks anyway."
"Just TAKE IT!"
This is how my conversations generally go when I'm trying to give something to somebody and its simply a random gift. You give it to them, they hand it back. And so it continues until someone loses the battle. Its not that they don't want what I'm trying to give them - its just that for some reason, the unspoken rules of peopledom tell them not to take the offer. 
Well, this can sometimes relate to us and God. When Jesus died on the cross for us, he bought as back at a price. So we are now his. Right. But he also gave us something - he gave us life. And for some reason, us christians have this mentality that we should give it back. I'm sure you've heard the speech,
"Give God your life. Lay it down at his feet. Put your life in his hands."
I used to have this little 'game' that god and I played where I'd say,
"Ok God, I'm giving you my life. Take control." And then a week later I'd find out that I was in control again and once again hand it over.
"Sorry about that God, I grabbed the wheel for a bit. But this time I mean it - take it, its yours." And I did mean it. But, so happens that I would once again find myself feeling in control and have to hand my life back over to God all over again. And again.
But heres the thing. God gave us life. And then we try to give it back. You see, God is part of your life. He's in your heart, and your in his. Its like when Jesus died on the cross he didn't just buy you back, but he grabbed you and smashed you into God so that you are now one. Do we really think that God doesn't have control over our lives? That he's not stearing this ship? He gave us life, and guess what? He came with it as a package deal. Its like getting a new car with a GPS already installed.
Don't try to give back what you've been given. Take it, love him for it, and live it. Thats why he gave you life in the first place.
You can't give God anything that he doesn't already have, because news flash - he has everything! You've been given your life, and God's not looking for it back. So hold on tight to it and watch as God takes you for a ride.

Love Gracie