Do I Want Predictable?

Ok, I keep going back to this today...

"If you want God to surprise you, you have to give up control. You will lose a measure of predictability, but you will begin to see God move in uncontrollable ways!" a quote from Mark Batterson's 'The Circle Maker' (our Chick Chat Book Club selection for July)

Is it just me or has that been one of the hardest lessons to learn as you have grown - to relinquish control?
You know, the type of control that can keep you captive to complacency, to fear, to the compromise you shouldn't make, and to unfulfilled dreams.

I'm still learning to give up control. I do well in some areas but I'm understanding its about ALL control. The control of all relationships, of calling, and of tomorrow... it was never anything I had a handle on anyway :)

‘Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ Isaiah 41:10

What I want to say to you and to myself today is this: Christ didnt come that far, give that much, and give up that much, only to leave us to our own devices... He came to conquer!
But not only to conquer death and the grave eternally for us. He also came to conquer the here and now - to overcome that which we let stand in our way, that which He can remove in His power to give us the life we are designed to live!
I want to try harder to let go and let Him bring me the things He wishes to give me - blessings beyond what my mind can see thats best for me.

Did he not tell us in Isaiah 55:9 that 'For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.' ?

So I also remember Ephesians 3:20... 'Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.'
My feeble mind is predictable - He isn't. I don't want what I can do - I want the 'more' He is waiting to do... Are you with me?!

Joyful on the Journey
Marisa

The Book Club Is Back!

I am so excited to be bringing back the Chick Chat Book Club!

So many have asked for it and I think God is now saying its time.
We'll read one book every month or so (depending on how big the book is) and meet together to discuss it too if you like.
Selections and dates/locations for discussions will be announced here on this page. If you arent in the Knoxville TN area but want to join please do so - I'll post some questions along the way you can particpate in as well :)
The books selected will always be to help challenge us to be who we were really created to be - and to inspire us to a deeper relationship with Christ and those around us. 

The first book selection is for July and it is "The Circle Maker" by Mark Batterson (author of In A Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, Primal, and more).

Mark asks - 'Do you ever sense that there's far more to prayer, and to God's vision for your life, than what... you're experiencing? It's time you learned from the legend of Honi the Circle Maker---a man bold enough to draw a circle in the sand and not budge from inside it until God answered his prayers for his people. What impossibly big dream is God calling you to draw a prayer circle around?'

Sharing inspiring stories from his own experiences as a circle maker, Mark Batterson helps uncover our heart's deepest desires and God-given dreams and unleash them through the kind of audacious prayer that God delights to answer.
I'll announce the date and location soon where we will get together to talk about this selection - so pick up your copy and join me as we learn about drawing circles around the huge prayers of our lives!

Learn about the book here
http://thecirclemaker.com/about
Buy online here
http://thecirclemaker.com/buy
or check your local Christian book store


So whether you were a part of it before or not all those years, join again or for the first time, and lets begin a journey of growing, discovering, hearing, and listening for Him together!

Marisa