Skip to main content

Friendship with God



This is the time of year where people make resolutions and set goals for the New Year. I am not one who usually follows this trend.

 But, I was intrigued when I read that Ann Voskamp, one of my favorite bloggers, picks a word for each year to give it a theme and a focus. http://www.aholyexperience.com/2012/01/what-the-new-year-needs-most/


 I wanted to try it, but then started putting all kinds of pressure on myself to come up with just the right word for this year. And, I have no idea what this year will hold, so the task feels that much harder.

 I had almost abandoned the idea until I was talking with God while I was driving to work yesterday. I was reflecting on some of the things that had been stirred up in my heart by the OneThing 2012 conference. On two separate occasions, I recognized gaps in my friendship with God because I do not take time to really pray for those things that are on His heart. This caused me to start evaluating my friendship toward Him in general.

 I realized that I am constantly pouring out my heart to Him, reminding Him of what I want and need, and asking Him to listen and do things for me. I spent much less time listening to His prayers, dreams and desires. Jesus is my constant advocate before the Father, but I rarely petition God for the unfulfilled dreams of Jesus' heart.

In 2013, I want to grow in deeper friendship with God. I want to cultivate more of a two-sided relationship. I want to spend more time listening to what Jesus is thinking and feeling and pray with Him for the desires of His heart to be made manifest on earth as they are in heaven.

No sooner have I determined this and I am discovering opportunities. The client at work who exposes all of my inadequacies is one that I would rather not see. But, God tells me that He loves this person deeply and wants us to spend time with them. So, I purpose in my heart to see this client in partnership with Jesus because He is my friend and He desires to be with that person. I'm putting reminders in my schedule to pray for things that I know Jesus desires. I'm asking God for feedback in our friendship and that He will take it deeper this year.

 I'm careful to tell myself, here, at the beginning, that perfect friendship with God is not possible this side of heaven. But, I also want to get as close as I can to the One who loves me best.

Still Counting Gifts:
  • #666: My Nespresso Aeroccino 3 and how wonderfully it froths milk for cappuccino's when I'm desperately trying to get my eyes to open and my body to awaken
  • #667: Karyn working from home today and making crêpes for breakfast
  • #668: Chatting with God during my morning drive
  • #669: How His presence really does give me peace, even in the midst of challenging situations
  • #670: Difficult clients who make it so clear that I can't do the work of counseling without God
  • #671: Faith, with all its fragility and boldness
  • #672: Philippians 3:12-14
  • #673: The details of life and how they demand maintenance
  • #674: God's provision in unexpected and inconvenient ways

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Back to School

Well, after four years away from school counseling, I have decided to return. Yes, I'm keeping my private practice in counseling. I will be reducing the number of clients that I see on a weekly basis in order to work 20 hours a week as a school counselor at Rockford Christian Elementary School. This comes in the midst of conversations that I have been having with God about desire. In fact, pursuing this position kind of started those conversations. My good friend Mackenzie, who works in the business office at RCS, told me about the position innocently enough. She wanted me to have the information about the position in case I had any counselor friends who might be interested in applying. What neither she nor I could have known, was how desire would stir in my heart as soon as she started to describe it to me. There are things that I have come to absolutely love in private practice counseling. I love being my own boss, setting my own hours and having complete freedom over...
1 comment
Read more

When Creative Desire Stirs

The past 3 months have felt crazy. And during all these months of crazy, busy activity in my life, desire has been stirring in the background of my heart. I read things that other people write and feel myself come alive. I talk with people and hear things that God is speaking and want to write them down and share. I listen to music, sing to the Lord and long to create something that will help other people to connect with God in worship. It has been over two months since I touched our piano. Or any piano, for that matter. This is also my first blog post in almost 3 months. Crazy months, yes. But, 3 months all the same. I feel sad about these things. And scared to start again. What if I have lost everything that I had developed? But even fear of the possible frustration of starting again has not been able to change my desire. My desire has only been stirring and growing all this time. My desire is to resume creating. With piano. With words. This is week 9 of my training for t...
Post a Comment
Read more

31 Days to Keep a Tender Heart: October 18

  Always be joyful. Keep on praying. No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. I Thessalonians 5:16-18 Ann Voskamp quoted this passage in her blog recently. Then, I read it in my one-year Bible for October 12. Seeing it twice within a week caught my attention. Verse 16 is: Always be joyful. This sounds like a command to me and I don’t think God would command us to do something we can’t do. If He tells me to always be joyful, then I believe that it is always possible for me to be joyful and that this is what God desires for me. Verse 17 is: Keep on praying. I hear another command. And, it follows the first one, which I understand to mean that prayer is related to being joyful. The joy provokes the prayer; the prayer sustains the joy, or both. Either way, I like how God has placed these two directives right next to each other. Verse 18: No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for ...
Post a Comment
Read more