The Pony Express Rides Again! New Years Resolutions!

It's officially afternoon and I'm still sitting in my pj's! I've done lots of stuff (including outside chores!) in my pj's today but I can't seem to officially change to start the day!  Perhaps this is what happened to my blogs as well....I get something on my heart that I know I should share, but yet I'm so comfortable and lazy that I shove it off for whatever reason.  We're busy, right?  It's true we are busy with things, but that's what they are....things!  This year my resolution hasn't changed much from my past resolution which was to show the love of Jesus more, to be a more loving person!  Yes I still want to do this, but I also feel I need to use my time more wisely.

Most of you know, I'm not a lazy person I love to be doing things, but this year I want to be doing more things worthy of praising Jesus not just my own pleasures!

So I started this resolution a bit early but here it is:  I want to include Jesus more in my life!  I want to go to Him first when problems arise...I want to share my heart more often with Him.....and I want to show my love for Him by loving others and spending more time with Jesus in prayer, acts of love, Bible reading and anything else he lays on my heart!

This December, I was feeling on fire for Jesus and I asked Him what He would like for me to do!  I was thinking, as usual, that He'd ask me for something so super great that I would be the next Billy Graham!!!  haha...well I do this to myself sometimes...I think I have to be doing something great for it to actually count for Jesus.....as I was doing good and showing lots of love I became pretty happy with myself for the fire that was burning and just feeling like I could tackle just about anything!

Then it hit!  Trials.  new news. Horse problems.  got sick. couldn't sleep.  throat closures came back.  had a fever.  No energy!  But why?  I asked God. I had all these plans that I was going to do for YOU!  Why are you punishing me for doing stuff for you!?

Ya see I thought I had it figured out....If you are doing stuff for Jesus nothing bad happens to you....

It's funny. I had just talked to someone in church and He was saying the exact same thing as me.  He was doing the most He had ever done with his life for Jesus and then all sorts of tragedies and hardships came!

WHY DOES GOD DO THIS?

Yes.  We can get a bit bitter about it can't we, but nowhere in the Bible does it state that Jesus gives everyone who serves Him a free and easy ride here on earth!  In fact it says He disciplines those He loves!  Rev. 3:19 and many more passages!

So here I was stuck with a list of things I wanted to do for Jesus but feeling sick and trialed up!  I asked God why....You know what He said?

It's amazing really!  Jesus is so loving!  Jesus gently took me aside and told me that He loves me and said if you really loved me you wouldn't let all this sickness and all these trials slow you down from serving me.  Sandy, did you really want to serve me?....or did you want to become something great by using me?  See, Sandy, that's why I disciplined you...I love you too much to lose you...I don't need you to be great....I need you to be willing to serve me during your sicknesses and trials...can you love me that much to keep serving me in spite of this?  Or are you so uncommitted to me that you need a "perfect" life in order to serve me?

JESUS KNOWS US BETTER THAN WE KNOW OURSELVES!!!!  He knows that I can't handle a perfect life! I need those trials to bring me closer to Him!  To realize I desperately need Him and His discipline!!!

So to shorten this up...I stuck to it!  And during this time Jesus answered my request of what could I do for Him?

I ride alot around my country neighborhood and I get to talk to alot of my neighbors and some of them are so sweet! Some let me ride on their land, some like to chat as I ride by and some are so nice and drive super slow around us as we ride the roads.  Jesus laid it on my heart to thank them this year....so I did Pony Express style!  I rode to each of their mailboxes and dropped a letter into each mailbox with a thank you card and hot chocolate packages!  I was so excited to be used by Jesus in this way it made me feel so good!  And it was sooooo simple!!!!!  A letter.

You don't have to do anything great!!!  DO SOMETHING SMALL FOR JESUS!!!  You don't have to shrug these small things off saying to yourself it's so small it couldn't possibly matter!!!  If GOD LAYS IN ON YOUR HEART---DO IT!!!  Don't be afraid of what others think!  God so wants to use us...don't wait for something big like I do.....however God wants to use you is BIG no matter how tiny it seems to you!

This year I want to listen to that still, small voice that says many things to my heart....and I want to do more of what that voice inside my heart is suggesting no matter how small!  Love and hugs to you all for a safe and blessed New Year serving our amazing, loving Father!

The pictures below are of the first Pony Express delivery day which I talked all my siblings into helping me which was pretty special!