pop, pop

hello!
i'm just popping in, loves. :)

happy monday to you all! it sure doesn't feel like monday, though. it feels like......well, in the summer all my days feel the same. so, i guess it just feels like summer to me! :)


i mainly wanted to pop in to tell you all that GOD IS SO COOL!
he really is, in case i haven't mentioned it before. ;)

in VBS this past week, we learned about how God gives good gifts. (Thank you, God!)
Matthew 7:11 says:

So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.



And multiple times in the book of John, Jesus asks us to ask Him for what we want! He knows what we're thinking and wanting anyway, so why not talk to him about it??
Luke 11:11 says this:

 “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead?


God is not mean. He's not going to tell us to ask for whatever we want and then deliberately not give it to us just to be cruel and laugh in our face. If you ask for something and don't get it, maybe it wasn't the right timing. Maybe it wasn't lined up correctly with God's will. But know that he doesn't ignore us.


Here's my personal experience with this:
Last night, I was worried about a situation I knew I'd have to face today. As I was praying and talking to God about it, I was reminded of all the things I've learned about God giving good gifts; how I need to ask for them, how He wants me to ask for them, and how He always gives good gifts.
So, I decided to ask God to help me through this situation today by doing something pretty impossible (seriously) and very strange. If I were to tell you what I asked, you'd think I was silly and dumb.
But I asked the Holy Spirit to stretch my faith anyway, as I trusted that God would really give me the gift I asked for.
This morning when I woke up, I remembered the gift I asked for, and I continued to ask for faith and trust, because it was those things I was going to ultimately have to rely on later on today. And the Holy Spirit didn't let me down. Right before I would need the gift I asked for, my trust in God was unshakable. It was amazing! And it was only by the Holy Spirit!

Then, God did something cool. Instead of giving me the gift I originally asked for, he gave me something better. Something that allowed me to dodge the situation I was worried about in the first place altogether.

How COOL?!?!?


I know, the story's a little vague. But you get the gist of it! God doesn't give snakes when we ask for fish! Still, he doesn't always give fish, either.

God just gives good gifts to us, because he loves us. Because He wants to. Because He's faithful.

We have to be faithful too. We have to trust. It's not easy; it's mostly hard to trust in someone you can't see. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you more faith! That's a gift He reeeaally wants to give you!!


That's just a little something I wanted to share with y'all. :)

I hope you all have a great tuesday tomorrow! :)
i love y'all!