euarestos "well pleasing"

euarestos- Greek word for pleasing- "well pleasing"

- average should not be our targeted goal in bringing delight to God, we should be passionate in our pursuit to be fully pleasing to Him.

The greatest satisfaction we can have as a child of God comes when we know that God is pleased with us, and we will be rewarded. There are only 2 places a person can be after death; 2 very real places, heaven or hell. Hell is made for Satan and his cohorts. This is why God had to come up with a plan to save humankind and why Jesus had to die for us. It's extraordinary, and the greatest news you might ever hear is that God calls you to live an EXTRAORDINARY life, no matter what your career, race, family background, etc.

Notes from the book Extraordinary "The Life You're Meant to Live"

Always there

It is necessary for me to acknowledge God more often. I was so in awe of God and amazed that it worked out for me to play semi-pro soccer this summer and now I'm feeling guilty like I've just left God on the side. He definitely hasn't been the center of my life the past couple months and it hasn't been a joyride either. I've been exploring, enjoying the many blessings that God has given me, but also realizing that I owe God so much more than I have been giving Him. I owe him my time every morning when I wake up and every night before I go to bed, and I haven't even been giving him that time. God is the only reason I am where I am today, able to play soccer this summer and enjoy the many luxuries he has blessed me with, and I need to share my love of God with all my friends that know me. I've been making friends, choosing, and exploring how to deal with all different types of people. God will never leave me and everyone around me should know that.

"I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."

- thank you God!

Prayer Month.

It's May 2010. Time to schedule my Fall 2010 classes, get my car serviced, pay for registration stickers again, weddings to go to, WPSL and W-league soccer teams to try out for and train with, work at church, train goalkeepers, coach little kids, homework to finish, projects to complete, papers to write, get ready for WCHS summer league, decide where I'm going to be this summer, where I'm going to live, where I'm going to be playing soccer, what classes I'm going to take, what I'm going to do... life is full of decisions that we make. There's people to pray for and things to be thankful for and the Lord to praise above all. I am doing just fine with my list of things I need to do but I do need help with just one thing. I need help witnessing to a friend. If anyone would care to take the time to contact me to talk about this I would greatly appreciate it. I have been talking for quite a while with a guy about life and God and I need to just lay it down for him. He believes in God but has given up on praying and thinks he needs to do things on his own. I know God has a plan for this guy that he doesn't see yet and I know God can do great things. I want God to use me to reach this guy so that he can understand the gospel to change his life. Sometime soon, I am going to sit down with him and share my testimony with him and skim through the basics of the bible and present the gospel to him. All I can do is pray that God would prepare me and give me the words to speak. I'm getting ready for this and I want to do it soon. I'm gonna be praying a lot this month. That's what this month is all about; praying.

I am praying for God's will to be worked out in my life and I am praying for God to heal my friends and family that need it and I am praying that God would change my life as I seek Him during this time.

I'm not who I was

wow. I have changed a lot. These past 2 years have been going by so fast! I am almost finished with my sophomore year in college, and I'm realizing just how good God is day after day; always He is too good to me. And I have done absolutely nothing to deserve it all. I have a place to live, a car, jobs to pay some bills, I get to play soccer, I get the privilege of being enrolled at Biola University, I have made some incredible friends/brothers and sisters in Christ, I am growing and learning, I have food to eat, I don't have to worry about life's basic needs, God has taken care of everything for me. Why would God love me? Why does he take me back when he knows what I've done? Why would He love me? I don't know, but I am so grateful for God's grace and mercy.

"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

Psalm 73:26

The most important thing in my life is that I love God ABOVE ALL, and that I love others before myself. I want people to know that I am all about God, He is all that matters.

PRAISE THE ONE WHO PAID MY DEBT AND RAISED THIS LIFE UP FROM THE DEAD

I MUST CONFESS IT'S TRUE, THAT I'M NOTHING WITHOUT YOU

Alone with God

When God gets us alone through suffering, heartbreak, temptation, disappointment, sickness, or by thwarted desires, a broken friendship, or a new friendship- when He gets us absolutely alone, then he begins to teach us.

- We think we understand another person's struggle until God reveals the same shortcomings in our lives. 

Are we more concerned with our own ideas, friendships, and care for our own bodies? 

Jesus cannot teach us anything until we quiet all our intellectual questions and get alone with Him. The only thing God intends to be clear about is how He deals with your soul. 

Passionate and Persistent.

"I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs." Luke 11:8 

Sometimes in prayer we'll ask God for something once or twice, then give up. But God doesn't want us to take His silence as a final answer, instead we are to ask, seek, and knock. Ask, take action, and persevere. 

"Keep on asking and it will be given to you, keep on seeking and you will find it, keep on knocking and the door will be opened." - Jesus calls us to passionate, persistent prayer. 

This is so encouraging to me right now because I so desperately want to change jobs. I want a new part time job at a sporting goods store. Sport Chalet to be exact. I really feel like I would grow at a place like this, and God wants me at a place like that where I can serve others who love to do the same things I love to do. Sports ministry; it's a great way of living. 

Deft follower of God

"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 19:13

~ God is waiting, ready. He is there for us. But how often do we think of God as a regular person? He sent his son, Jesus, to die on a cross on this earth to forgive us of all our sins. Jesus was God, yet he was really just like you and me. He cried, he probably scraped his knee, he liked hanging out with friends. Jesus became like us to be our friend. He is righteous, nothing like us, yet came down to our level to see eye to eye with us to offer his love to us, with his hand stretched out, waiting for us to hold on. We owe our entire lives to God. The only reason you are here on this earth right now is because God created you. Live the life God gave you, for God. Seek Him in all you do and with all your heart. Give everything to God and you will find him, he will change your life for the better, the life He knows best because he gave it to you. 

"Stand firm, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying. " 

Ephesians 6:14-18

~ This is such an awesome image that God gives us. Use what God gives you and share it with others. Be confident in God, be confident in who God made you to be and confident in what you do. I want to be a better soccer player. I love playing soccer because it teaches me how to love God better and be a more Godly woman. Playing soccer is difficult, just as is living a life for God in the midst of many who are living for themselves. 

"stand firm" - soccer is a physical sport, you can get knocked over, muscles in your body can rip, you can bleed, you can cry, it can hinder your daily functioning, but God tells us to stand firm. To not let anything get by you, be strong. The truth at your waist, at your core, speak the truth. Live righteous. 

"feet fitted with readiness" - To play soccer you have got to have a deft touch. It takes creativity, skill, precision and much practice. It is an unpredictable sport. You never know what may happen in a game, and you've got to be prepared for anything. Always on your toes. Always aware of what is going on around you. Always be ready to share about your life that God gave you and what God is doing in your life. Always be ready to win someone over to Christ. 

"extinguish all the flaming arrows" - When others are wrong, take them down. When a player is fighting against you, you fight back harder than them. You don't let them beat you. When someone pushes you, push them back, kick them punch them when the ref is not looking, always put a hand on their back to let them know you are right there to take them down, not them over and step on their feet. In life, others who are not following God correctly or not at all, show them the right way, and be ready to help them get rid of their evil. Put out the fire with water, kill evil with love. 

"always be alert and keep on praying" - With your helmet of salvation on to protect yourself, know that anything can happen and continue to pray about everything. The smallest touch of a soccer ball can make the difference in a game. Just one millimeter of your cleat hitting the ball can change the direction and path of the ball. A deft touch is what makes a great player. A deft mind will make a great person. A deft follower of God is what I strive to be. God created me for a very specific purpose. I am here to love God. I can love God by loving others. And, I even get to do something I love, which is serving others. I serve others in my jobs, school, on my team, in my fun time, in everything I do, I look out for others before myself, because God will take care of what I need if I take care of other's needs first. Whatever I do for others, I do for God. 

I am just a lover and a server, for God. Everyone should experience God's love, it's something I can't even describe, when you know, you just know. Go for it.