Looking for God?



"The purpose of the task is to Strengthen the Relationship." borrowed from Becky Higgins Kid Quotes "Look, it's bubble gum! One of my favorite foods!" - N. Joseph "I have too much inertia." - Ams (When asked to put her laundry away and get ready for the day. The inertia was holding her down.) This one makes me chuckle and pause. My husband took our daughter and a friend to a very solemn church service this past week to see another friend be ordained. Needless to say, it was a very different experience for the girls. When they got home, the part that they remarked the most on was how pretty much everything is sung, instead of just stated during the service. Then our daughter said, "...and no one laughed at any point in the service." - Ams 2/13/11 When N. Joseph's preschool teacher was writing on a Valentine painting he did, she asked him what he loves. He responded "I love the cross." "Mom, you will always be 37 to me. Of course when I was 8 (three years ago) I thought you were 28 and always would be." - Ams. 2/16/11 I walked into the bathroom on Monday morning to find a huge mess of tooth paste EVERYWHERE! I called to N. Joseph, "What happened in here?" He responded with "It is o.k. mom, you can clean it." 2/22/11 N. Joseph doesn't cry over spilled milk. This is what he said to me when his milk went flying across the table at lunch and I began cleaning it up with a paper towel. "Oxyclean doesn't rip. First the stain turns blue. Then you wait until it turns white. Then you clean it off. And some tissues don't break. It is so strong it won't break. There are even some garbage bags that if you punch them they won't break. Yours can break. So if you rip them you have to buy the not riping stuff." 4/1/11 "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure that somebody hid in a field, which someone else found and covered up. Full of joy, the finder sold everything and bought that field" Matthew 13:44	Are you looking for God? Do you sometimes wonder if He exists? We at Leave a Trace realize that many people who visit our website may not know God at all and may be wondering if He even exists. We are here to tell you that it is ok to wonder! And we would love to try and help answer some of your questions. We also have many questions and by no means do we have all the answers, but we love to study and learn. Also, we do have faith and hope in God and know that if you are here, on our site, that He has led you here! So, please do send us your questions about God, Jesus, and faith. We will do our best to answer them and maybe even post them right here for others to see; because chances are, if you have a question, many other people have the same one! Email us at wondering@leaveatrace.net Here are some of the questions we have already received: Q. If you are a Christian and the Bible says that your life will be wonderful with God in it, why do you still have problems with friends, money, health, family, etc.? This misunderstanding of what it means to be a Christian is a big one. Having faith in God and Jesus does not mean you will live a perfect care free life. There is no where in the Bible that it says you will be popular, have lots of money, or be completely healthy. In fact in the Bible Jesus himself is quoted as saying that anyone who wants to follow Him should take up his cross daily and follow (Luke 9:23, Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34). In this statement "cross" means any severe affliction or trial and Jesus is telling his disciples that before they can have the glory of eternal life, they must live a life of sacrifice and service. Further, in John 16:33 Jesus tells us that "In this world you will have trouble (NIV)." Q. So why, if God doesn't provide a carefree life, would you want him in your life? Because even though this life will not be care free, followers of Jesus know that when we die, we will have an eternal life and peace in the presence of God. That is the promise and hope that we live with daily. It is the hope that helps us through daily trials and tribulations. Q. There are many times when we have choices to make; choices about giving money, serving opportunities, times to share our faith, and so on. How can we know when it is Jesus asking us to respond or when it is just a random opportunity that arises? The hard part of this is that we don't ever really know if God has specifically put a situation in front of us, like he put the burning bush in front of Moses, or if it is just a situation that occurred and we need to respond in some way. There are times that I feel very confident that what I am doing, or how I am responding is the way that God would want me to respond. These are the times that my heart aches, my mind won't settle, and I can feel God talking to me. There are other times that I don't necessarily know that God wants me to do something. So how do I respond in these situations? I begin by praying. I ask God to open my eyes to what He would have me do. Then I think through stories I know in the Bible and ask myself how Jesus would react in a similar situation if he was here again on earth. An example would be, if I have an extra coat at home in my closet and there is a homeless woman on the street corner shivering, I should give the woman my coat.
LeaveaTrace.net, Leave a Trace, O.A.K.s, and Whispers are Trademarks of Leave a Trace. All images ©2010 - 2011, Leave a Trace. All Rights Reserved. All writing published on www.leaveatrace.net is meant for inspiration. Any similarities found with personal experiences are considered a "God Thing."

"The purpose of the task is to

Strengthen the Relationship."
borrowed from Becky Higgins

Kid Quotes

"Look, it's bubble gum!

One of my favorite foods!"

- N. Joseph

"I have too much inertia."

- Ams

(When asked to put her laundry away and get ready for the day. The inertia was holding her down.)

This one makes me chuckle and pause. My husband took our daughter and a friend to a very solemn church service this past week to see another friend be ordained. Needless to say, it was a very different experience for the girls. When they got home, the part that they remarked the most on was how pretty much everything is sung, instead of just stated during the service. Then our daughter said, "...and no one laughed at any point in the service." - Ams

2/13/11 When N. Joseph's preschool teacher was writing on a Valentine painting he did, she asked him what he loves. He responded "I love the cross."

"Mom, you will always be 37 to me. Of course when I was 8 (three years ago) I thought you were 28 and always would be." - Ams. 2/16/11

I walked into the bathroom on Monday morning to find a huge mess of tooth paste EVERYWHERE! I called to N. Joseph, "What happened in here?" He responded with "It is o.k. mom, you can clean it." 2/22/11

N. Joseph doesn't cry over spilled milk. This is what he said to me when his milk went flying across the table at lunch and I began cleaning it up with a paper towel.

"Oxyclean doesn't rip. First the stain turns blue. Then you wait until it turns white. Then you clean it off. And some tissues don't break. It is so strong it won't break. There are even some garbage bags that if you punch them they won't break. Yours can break. So if you rip them you have to buy the not riping stuff." 4/1/11

"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure that somebody hid in a field, which someone else found and covered up. Full of joy, the finder sold everything and bought that field" Matthew 13:44

Are you looking for God?

Do you sometimes wonder if He exists?

We at Leave a Trace realize that many people who visit our website may not know God at all and may be wondering if He even exists. We are here to tell you that it is ok to wonder! And we would love to try and help answer some of your questions. We also have many questions and by no means do we have all the answers, but we love to study and learn. Also, we do have faith and hope in God and know that if you are here, on our site, that He has led you here!

So, please do send us your questions about God, Jesus, and faith. We will do our best to answer them and maybe even post them right here for others to see; because chances are, if you have a question, many other people have the same one!

Email us at wondering@leaveatrace.net

Here are some of the questions we have already received:

Q. If you are a Christian and the Bible says that your life will be wonderful with God in it, why do you still have problems with friends, money, health, family, etc.?

This misunderstanding of what it means to be a Christian is a big one. Having faith in God and Jesus does not mean you will live a perfect care free life. There is no where in the Bible that it says you will be popular, have lots of money, or be completely healthy. In fact in the Bible Jesus himself is quoted as saying that anyone who wants to follow Him should take up his cross daily and follow (Luke 9:23, Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34). In this statement "cross" means any severe affliction or trial and Jesus is telling his disciples that before they can have the glory of eternal life, they must live a life of sacrifice and service. Further, in John 16:33 Jesus tells us that "In this world you will have trouble (NIV)."

Q. So why, if God doesn't provide a carefree life, would you want him in your life?

Because even though this life will not be care free, followers of Jesus know that when we die, we will have an eternal life and peace in the presence of God. That is the promise and hope that we live with daily. It is the hope that helps us through daily trials and tribulations.

Q. There are many times when we have choices to make; choices about giving money, serving opportunities, times to share our faith, and so on. How can we know when it is Jesus asking us to respond or when it is just a random opportunity that arises?

The hard part of this is that we don't ever really know if God has specifically put a situation in front of us, like he put the burning bush in front of Moses, or if it is just a situation that occurred and we need to respond in some way.

There are times that I feel very confident that what I am doing, or how I am responding is the way that God would want me to respond. These are the times that my heart aches, my mind won't settle, and I can feel God talking to me.

There are other times that I don't necessarily know that God wants me to do something. So how do I respond in these situations? I begin by praying. I ask God to open my eyes to what He would have me do. Then I think through stories I know in the Bible and ask myself how Jesus would react in a similar situation if he was here again on earth. An example would be, if I have an extra coat at home in my closet and there is a homeless woman on the street corner shivering, I should give the woman my coat.

All writing published on www.leaveatrace.net is meant for inspiration. Any similarities found with personal experiences are considered a "God Thing."