Sick and Tired

For the past month I have, on and off, been sick and tired. So now I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. And the fact that the weather hasn't been all that great either hasn't helped. It's hard to be grumpy if it's nice and pretty outside, you can look outside and say, "Hey! If the entire world can be happy, so can I!" However, if it's dark and grey outside, you look out and say, "Yep, it still sucks." and end up gloomier than you had been before you looked out the window. So amidst my struggles of trying to get better and not being able to do so, and wanting to tan and not being able to do so, I find myself going back to Isaiah. Particularly my favorite verses in Isaiah, which help me at least, deal with my problems.
Isaiah 43"1-4ish (message translation)
Don't be afraid, I've redeemed you.
I've called your name. You're mine.
When you're in over your head, I'll be with you.
When you're in rough waters, you will not go down.
When you're between a rock and a hard place,
It won't be a dead end—
Because I am GOD, your personal God,
The Holy of Israel, your Savior.
I paid a huge price for you:
All of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in.
That's how much you mean to me!
That's how much I love you!
I'd sell off the whole world to get you back,
Trade the entire creation just for you.

Another one of my favorites in Lamentations 3:28-33
When life is heavy and hard to take,
Go off by yourself. Enter the silence.
Bow in prayer. Don't ask questions.
Wait for hope to appear.
Don't run from trouble. Take it full face.
The "worst" is never the worst.

Why? Because the Master won't ever
walk out and fail to return.
If he works severely, he also works tenderly.
His stockpiles of loyal love are immense.
He takes no pleasure in making life hard,
in throwing road blocks in the way.

I can't be reminded enough of how much God loves us. I think these verses paint a very good, accurate picture of what that love is like. He's not "The Big Bad God" he loves us so much, so much more then even the best of writers, can express. He's not trying to make life hard, he provided the easiest way out of everything when he died on the cross. If you're like any other human on this planet you'll have good days and poopy days, on those poopy day, turn to God, enter the silence.

The Great Story

John 21: 25-
There are so many other things Jesus did. If they were all written down, each of them, one by one, I can't imagine a world big enough to hold such a library of books.

That verse is probably over-looked by most of us. However, it's one of my favorite verses. There are 66 books in the bible, that's a lot, and to imagine that those stories aren't all of it is incredible! Inconceivable! Those 66 books merely scratch the surface of what God's done. Each of us could probably write our own bibles of what God's done and taught us.
My favorite part about that, is the fact that all of these stories aren't even big enough to fit in one room! No library can fit them all! How cool is that?!?! When I read the bible with this in mind, my head almost explodes to think that these aren't the only stories out there and I'll have all eternity to read all those stories it so cool!!! I can't wait!!!
So yes, I'm story freak. I love stories. In fact, if I go too long without a good story, I make up my own. So this excites me to no end that I'll never run out of stories. I can't even describe how excited I am!!! So when you see me in heaven, eventually you'll find me in some far off corner reading everyone's stories or asking for everybody's stories (since I like listening to them too, if the person tells it right). And all the stories will be amazing and beautiful (I mean the best author of all time was the one who wrote these stories). And they'll all have happy endings. Another great author, C.S. Lewis puts the "endless happy story" thing this way, in his last Narnia book The Last Battle:
"And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before."

So these stories will go on forever and each one will be better than before. So all of you out there who are story freaks like me, hold on, 'cause when we get to heaven it'll be endless story telling day after day. Rooms full of books, your ears will bleed from listening to all the stories (if you weren't in heaven, that is). Stories everywhere. It'll truly be heaven! When I get there, and I walk into the gate, I'll probably pee my pants from excitement! I can't wait to hear all the stories, hope you can't either.