“when you have nothing left but God, then for the first time you become aware that God is enough.”

i heard a sermon series on “thirst” that was really good.

it said that sometimes when we’re really thirsty, how many of us know the only thing that really quenches our thirst is water,

but we find ourselves wanting to drink everything but water?

we drink gatorade, coke, sweet tea, lemonade…

but find that later not only will we be thirsty again, but maybe even more thirsty…

why?  because those are just substitutes.

our bodies long for water the quench our thirst in the same way that our souls long for God

our souls are thirsty for God…

the question is, what are we quenching it with?

other people? status? school? money?

in the end..we may be satisfied for a while…but will never be satisfied..

….with substitutes.

drink from the Living Water today.

He is MORE than enough.

“little children, keep yourselves from idols (false gods) (from anything and everything that would occupy the place in your heart due to God, from any sort of substitute for Him that would take first place in your life” 1 John 5:21

THANKSGIVING AND CHRISTMAS DINNERS-IN-THE-PARK

For over 30 years, Union Station Homeless Services has sponsored annual Dinners-in-the-Park on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Held in Pasadena’s Central Park, these events bring together thousands of volunteers to serve a hearty meal and holiday cheer to our less fortunate community members.

Last year we served 8,500 meals on Thanksgiving and Christmas to people who were homeless, senior citizens, alone at the holidays, or unable to afford a holiday meal.

Help make this holiday season special by volunteering or donating food or toys for our events. For more information, please call 626.240.4550 x542.

Volunteer at the Event
(Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day)

• 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM: Set up
• 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM: Greet guests and serve food and beverages.
• 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM: Break down tables & chairs, wash dishes, clean up. (We REALLY need help here!)

NEW: Pre-Registration
Pre-Registration is not necesary, but will help us with the registraton process.

• Pre-Register online, print your confirmation, and bring it with you to
  the event.
• Please note, you will still need to go to the volunteer registration table
  at the event.
• Volunteer jobs will be determined at the volunteer registration table on
  a first-come, first-served basis. No jobs will be pre-assigned.

  Pre-Register Now!

If you wish to wait and register at the event, please proceed directly to the volunteer registration table when you arrive. Registration opens at 9:00 AM.

Volunteer the Day Before or Day After
(Nov. 25 and Nov. 27, Dec. 24th and Dec. 26th)

If you are available to volunteer the day before or day after either event, please contact Union Station at 626.240.4550 x125 for more information.

Donate New Toys for Christmas

Santa Claus gives away toys to about 1,000 children at Union Station’s
Christmas Dinner-in-the-Park. If you can donate new toys, please call us at
626.240.4550 x542 after Thanksgiving.

Donate Prepared Food

Please click here to view the full list of food items needed.

• Fully Cooked Turkeys and Hams – For instructions on safely preparing turkeys, please visit the USDA website
• Side Dishes – Side dishes must be safely prepared in disposable aluminum containers. We are in need of mashed potatoes without gravy, sweet potatoes, corn, gravy, and green beans.
• Desserts (please, no jello)

If you plan to make side dishes or desserts that will serve more than twenty people, please see our current needs list.

Food can be dropped off at Central Park on the corner of Fair Oaks Avenue and Del Mar Boulevard, from 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM on Thanksgiving and Christmas mornings.

I will bless the Lord forever
And I will trust Him at all times
He has delivered me from all fear
And he has set my feet upon a rock

And I will not be moved
And I’ll say of the Lord….

You are my shield, My strength
My portion, Deliverer
My shelter, Strong tower
My very present help in time of need!

~made me glad by hillsong

]]> http://bejoyfulalways.wordpress.com/2009/11/03/he-has-made-me-glad/feed/ 0 dianalee1 vfp100_dogwood http://bejoyfulalways.wordpress.com/2009/11/02/garden/ http://bejoyfulalways.wordpress.com/2009/11/02/garden/#comments Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:54:52 +0000 dianalee1 http://bejoyfulalways.wordpress.com/?p=774 ]]>

” I am my Beloved and He is mine

So come into your garden and take delight in me”

]]> http://bejoyfulalways.wordpress.com/2009/11/02/garden/feed/ 0 dianalee1 wl.Garden gate http://bejoyfulalways.wordpress.com/2009/10/24/dont-make-mountains-out-of-molehills/ http://bejoyfulalways.wordpress.com/2009/10/24/dont-make-mountains-out-of-molehills/#comments Sat, 24 Oct 2009 16:33:11 +0000 dianalee1 http://bejoyfulalways.wordpress.com/?p=771 ]]>

this song has really been meant a lot to me as God has been speaking to me about “not sweating the small stuff”

What you got if you ain’t got love?
The kind that you just wanna give away
It’s okay to open up
Go ahead and let the light shine through
I know it’s hard on a rainy day
You wanna shut the world out
And just be left alone
But don’t run out on your FAITH

Cause sometimes that mountain you’ve been climbing
Is just a grain of sand
And what you’ve been out there searching for forever,
Is in your hands
And when you figure out love is all that matters, after all
It sure makes everything else
Seem so small

It’s so easy to get lost inside
A problem that seems so big, at the time
It’s like a river that’s so wide
It swallows you whole
While you sittin’ round thinking about what you can’t change
And worryin’ about all the wrong things
Time’s flying by, moving so fast
You better make it count, cause you can’t get it back

~Carrie Underwood “So Small”

I wouldn’t say I’m a huge movie buff.. but when I’m in the “mood,” my idea of a good movie is one in which you leave inspired, motivated and educated…the most recent ones i’ve seen are Soloist and Ip Man.

but unfortunately not every movie produces this kind of after-feeling.. the average movie usually gives me the impression that we live in a dark, corrupted, immoral, crude world…

even though sometimes i leave feeling disgusted or even grieved…something i’ve come to realize is that movies, in a sense, represent what the “culture” of our world accepts, is entertained by, and believes in…

whether i like it or not — movies represent, well, reality. reality of the world we really live in.

so the past week i watched two blockbuster rentals with my cousin, Annie, ones in which were known to be “really good by the person at the blockbuster counter.”

Seven Pounds

and

Revolutionary Road

if you haven’t seen these movies and want to, well you shouldn’t read on…

i was really saddened by these movies, because they both have such sad endings.   But instead of just saying, well I don’t like that movie because I didn’t leave inspired, motivated or educated… I was able to “theologically reflect” on these movies and think about how different these endings would be if the characters encountered Jesus in their life!

For example, in Seven Pounds, Will Smith’s main role was to “save” seven lives by donating certain organs to people he thought were “good” people, in order to “redeem” himself from killing seven people in a car accident caused by him 2 years ago.  I think the idea that he wanted to “save” lives and help people is great, but he only did it out of a “guilt-ridden” conscience of what he had done, meaning I don’t think he would have wanted to do “good” to otherwise.   so in the end he commits suicide so he can donate his organs to those who need it.

but what if he knew Jesus?  knew that he had a hope in the fact that Jesus would carry his heavy burden of guilt/shame?  That Jesus wanted him to live guilt-free!  ..

The other movie, Revolutionary Road, is based out of what I consider a satire of the American dream.  In the end, simply put because a married couple does not know how to be “content in every situation” and always dealing with the dissatisfaction of “what could be greener on the other side?” believe in the lies that “if this changes…then I’ll be happy.”  Their marriage is ruined with infidelity, bitterness, neglect… and Kate Winslet dies by trying to self-abort her own baby!

What if this couple knew Jesus?  There are so many things here to think about !  Their marriage would have the hope of love, communication, respect that comes from seeking to live out a God-honoring marriage…their mentality would be contentment with where they knew God was purposing them to be and they may truly value their own life as well as that of their unborn baby!

I know that there will probably never be a movie one day that shows what will happen when people choose to follow Jesus and how lives can be transformed….

but my hope to share this with you all is for us to be faced with the reality of the brokenness, despair and hopelessness in this world!  There is a desperate need for the truth of Jesus to be known!  That God has called us to a life filled with hope, redemption, and love through Jesus Christ.

How great is it when we walk in how God originally purposed us to be — a life knowing who we are in Christ!  It doesn’t mean it’s a perfect life, but there is so much HOPE in TRUTH.

May we be encouraged to share this HOPE with those who are hopeless. 

I bought my mom the Michael Jackson in Concert DVD for her birthday (she really wanted it) and wow, there are two songs of his that really really touch my heart!  Just wanted to share with you too, hoping your love can be spurred on as well!

Make a little space, make a better place.

Bridge:
And the dream we would conceived in
Will reveal a joyful face
And the world we once believed in
Will shine again in grace
Then why do we keep strangling life
Wound this earth, crucify it’s soul
Though it’s plain to see, this world is heavenly
Be God’s glow.

Gotta make a change
For once in my life
It’s gonna feel real good
Gonna make a difference
Gonna make it right

As I turned up the collar on
A favorite winter coat
This wind is blowin’ my mind
I see the kids in the street
With not enough to eat
Who am I to be blind
Pretending not to see their needs

A summer’s disregard
A broken bottle top
And a one man’s soul
They follow each other
On the wind ya’ know
‘Cause they got nowhere to go
That’s why I want you to know

I’m starting with the man in the mirror
I’m asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make a change

I’ve been a victim of
A selfish kinda love
It’s time that I realize
There are some with no home
Not a nickel to loan
Could it be really pretending that they’re not alone

http://thefearlesstimes.com/

I like how God brings me through seasons of growth, seasons of lessons learned..

I think the most important thing we need as Christians is nothing else but knowing how much we NEED God in our lives.  Once we forget that need and replace it with other things in this world that satisfy that need, we’re not really depending on God anymore..but ourselves.

It’s when we get to the end of ourselves and say, “God, I simply can do nothing without you… help me to live for you” that we truly understand what it means to live as God created us to — for Him.

this is exactly where I am in this season of my life.  I realize how I love being self-sufficient, not relying on anyone, and always trying to “fix” things on my own…  yet my own strength only takes me so far..

I eventually get to a place where I say (quoting Rush of Fools)

“I need You, need Your help
I can’t do this myself
You’re the only one who can undo
What I’ve become”

I am seeing more and more how sinful I am.  I am believing more that without God, i really am nothing.

I need God in order to live for God.

You are beautiful beyond description
Too marvelous for words
Too wonderful of comprehension
Like nothing ever seen or heard
Who can grasp you infinite wisdom
Who can fathom the depth of your love
You are beautiful beyond description
Majesty enthroned above

And I stand, I stand in awe of you
I stand, I stand in awe of you
Holy God to whom all praise is due
I stand in awe of you.