New Challenge!

     During the start of this week I was given a challenge to read through the Bible in a year. I really struggled with committing to this journey. The biggest thing holding me back was reading so much about the wrath of God. Understanding that God is loving and forgiving has been a huge struggle in my life, so to take on a commitment of reading all about His wrath was very scary. However, I think before I can really understand the loving side of God I need to truly understand his wrath. While this is looks larger then life to me its something I really need to do. 

     I am so excited to see what I have to say about this year through the Bible when I am done next September. Somehow I think my life will have changed in ways that have never crossed my mind. The excitement to grow closer to God is very very real. It seems like the hardest most stretching times in life are the times that I am closest to God! 

     Of course I told God about my fear of His wrath and learning more about it...so today when I started reading guess what...It was all about the sinfulness of Jerusalem. It was about how God had an everlasting covenant with them and they had broke it. Basically it talked about how Jerusalem was a branch that had no use. Like a piece of wood after it has been burned. While I was reading this I kept thinking about how God still makes beauty out of ashes. Even though we mess up and we can be like a branch that is no longer useful, God's grace is enough. He is still going to use me even when I have completely messed up! Praise the name of the Lord!!! It was so exciting to keep the love of God in the back of my mind even as I was reading about His disappointment! Needless to say, its going to be a very exciting, stretching year!!