My Chicago Time. Time to say THANKS!

Hi there! The Lord works in so many good ways in our lives. I was watching some pictures from the time that I spent in Chicago and a lot of teachings from God and good memories came to my mind!

Down Town Chicago!!

I want to go back a few years ago when I was able to stay in OakBrook, IL. The Lord used so many things that I was not expecting He would use to teach me a lesson. Boy oh boy! If He did? Not just once but multiple times, and I would like to share some of those with you, hoping that God will use them as well to talk to your life, get closer to Him, and help you to CONQUER THOSE GIANTS!

I got to stay at colonial, that’s a beautiful building where I stayed.

One day I was walking through a path through the woods that would take me to the place I was volunteering back then. Yeah, yeah, I know you’re trying to picture the path in your head right now, but I’m going to make it easy on yourself…

…here is a picture of how it actually looks like 

(I took all these pictures the morning this was taking place)

Now that you have an idea of how it looks like let’s continue shall we?

(Just for the record, you will see a lot of these conversations that I had with God in my spirit like the one in the “Can a Guy be Modest?” post, so don’t freak out, ok?

To give you a little bit of a background I was going through some difficult things and I wasn’t feeling the most grateful. While I was heading to where I worked the Lord started to say to me, -Give thanks for every detail you see!-

Without understanding I decided to just “obey” and give thanks for every little detail and stuff that crossed my vision line. After a few seconds of doing it I began to see all the marvelous things that we come across every day and we miss because we don't take the time to thank Him for them, even the leaves in the ground!!

That path is about 100+ yards long. After I came out of the path I was overwhelmed for seeing a bunch of great and marvelous things that I ALWAYS miss. In that moment I just felt a huge urge to look down, when I did I saw the grass and it was wet, I was going to start complaining because I was going mess up my new shoes. He said with a still, gentle voice -just give thanks for the grass.- Seriously, after giving thanks, God surprised me with something beautiful, just look at this!

After I took my eyes off of the grass I felt so guilty for not thanking God for EVRYTHING, even though He commanded me to do so! “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (I Thessalonians 5:18).

I was just so focused on me that I didn’t even realize that I had new shoes that He had allowed me to buy. That day I made a commitment with God that I was going to give thanks in everything, even if I didn’t understand the situation I was going through. From that same day I realized that I had been so ungrateful to Him for so many years.

We often forget to recall His words:

 “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Mathew 6:26).

"See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?" (Mathew 6:28-30).

Why are we not listening to Him, has He ever lied to us so that we don't trust Him? Why are worrying about what shall we eat or drink or wear? or if we are ever going to get married?

Why are we running after these things? "For the pagans run after all these things" (Mathew 6:32).

Why are we not trusting in His perfect will to our lives?

Because we have taken our eyes from God and set them on what we think is best. He created us! He knows what we need, even what we want! Trust me HE KNOWS what is BEST for us, HE REALLY DOES!

"God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us new people so that we would spend our lives doing the good things he had already planned for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10). (I used an actual language translation so we could see clearly what He meant)

WOW! He made plans for you even before the creation of the World. Can you imagine being in the heart of God, preparing the Best plans for your life and to bring His Kingdom to Earth using you! what did we do to get that privilege? I mean this goes far beyond of our human understanding! 

and He says to us: 

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself" (Mathew 6:34).

Don't try to be successful on your own! Don't try to get the approval of men! Don’t try to find in college your fulfillment in life! Don't force things so you can get married! Don't do it please, or you will start to fear the future! PLEASE! When we put that before God’s will in our lives it is when we are taking our eyes from God and setting us on our selves (that brings fear to our lives), THAT'S iniquity!  

(I'm not saying that to get married or wanting to get married is bad, I have seen so many people wanting to get married so bad that they stop listening to God because His plans do not fit their “idea” of marriage and move on to whatever plans they have, to later find that marriage was not what they were expecting.)

  

The Bible says Jesus came to die for our Iniquities, we are again saying -you know God, I'm more important than you! I didn't even ask you to come and save me- and you are going to say to me -wait I've never said that- Sometimes we honor Him with our mouths but our hearts are far away from Him, and I'm afraid that I've done that so so many times before!

So YES, you and I have said that! that -we are more important than Him!- how? With my acts, putting my desires first instead of His perfect will in my life! THAT'S INIQUITY! 

And He, with His great mercy and abundant love says to us: 

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Mathew 6:33 

In other words: my dearly and beloved son/daughter, for whom I died, take your eyes away from your desires and earthly lusts, and put them on the perfect plans I designed for you before I made the universe! Seek me as the first thing in the morning, dress yourself with the commands I gave you, rule your life with them, and I'll show myself powerful to you!  

and all these things will be given to you as well! 

(God says this in other words in Joshua chapter 1, I hope we can get 

chance in the future to talk about this more closely)

It was amazing how God can teach you something very deep just by thanking Him for the smallest unseen details! (even for skunks haha, but thats another story that I’ll tell you later)

My amazing Sister!

She is something that I will thank God for, everyday until I die =)

I'd like to challenge you to give thanks for everything from now on, and you will see God in a total different way and with a huge new, but beautiful perspective!

Lets keep on conquering giants! 

With the perfect Love that only comes from Christ 

-Nate Garcia

(ALL of the pictures in this post were taken by myself that very morning)

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