Question of the week: Dec.8 Guest Blogger: Superpurple girl TRACEY

Isaiah 55:6 "Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. Let the people turn from their wicked deeds. Let them be banished

from their minds the very thought of doing wrong! Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.''

Has the Lord left you? Has he gone away somewhere? NO, of course not! He is near and has not left you. So why do we not call on His name to help us in our time of need?

I know in the past it had been difficult for me to see God as my Father. My "vision" of a father had not been restored and I made God to be something He wasn't which was distant, cold, and uncaring. But is this the truth? NO. I would respond to God out my own "truth" rather than what God said about himself and would suffer because of my own foolishness. The TRUTH is that He says we should "seek Him" and "call on Him" and that He will have "MERCY".

It IS possible to have the very thought of "doing wrong" banished from your mind. Why? Because God WANTS to help and he WANTS to pardon you. How awesome is that?!!

The suffering of the world is that they feel as though they do not have forgiveness for their sins. They may not recognize it but we were created to live in righteousness, and when they don't, they feel the effects of that....unforgiveness. But we are not like them. We have been introduced to the ONE who will take our sins when we ask and who will pardon us in an instant.

Ask yourself today: What has taken God's place in your life? You may not know how to answer this. A way to find the answer to this question is with another...
"What is it that I seek out first, in my life"? What is it that I hunger for? We are all seeking something, hungering for more of something...
Is it fame, money, to be loved, approval....?

If you will truly answer this in your heart then you can repent and start running after the things of God WITH INTENT. Hungering for God. Seeking God. You can take the passion and turn it towards God. Run to the cross while there is time and He WILL have abundant mercy!

Regrets, I've had a few... Question of the week:

"Regret is a mistake that you didn't learn from"~ Annaleigh, ANTM's, top 3 contestant.

Silly show, profound words.

What regrets do you still carry in your life? Are there things in your past you would change if you could?

The bible says this about regret:

• 2 Corinthians 7:10 NIV

  Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

What situation from your past do you need to allow God to have access to? This verse tells us that if we have one of those situations, we need to allow God to bring us sorrow over it, because it will lead us to salvation, and ultimately, removing the regret from that situation. If we don't, it will lead to death!

Regret, or feeling sorry, is not something we "owe" as a penance after we have asked forgiveness. If we have truly allowed God into that situation and allowed his forgiveness, then regret is actually not an option.

Hmmmmm...

So, put away your rosary, and your whips, and your selfishness in the form of self-loathing.
Accept God's love. Leave regret behind. It is extra baggage you do not need to be carrying if you are to fly through life!