In His Eyes Ministries

In His Eyes Ministries has moved!

2012-01-02T12:16:00.000-08:00

A New Year & New Things!

2012-01-02T12:12:00.000-08:00

He put anew song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;
Many will see and fear
And will trust in the LORD.
Psalm 40:3 NAS

Happy New Year! On this side of the computer there have been lots of changes and lots of new things!

My husband and I moved across country a little over three months ago - what a change! We are learning to serve a new church and community, learning our way around geographically and relationally, and adjusting to what each of those changes brings to our family.

One of the ministry changes that we prayed over and are excited to share with you is that we are merging, moving and shifting our efforts to collaborate on this single website :) All the In His Eyes Ministries devotionals and updates will continue through Motl Ministries. Eric's messages and devotionals will also be moved to Motl Ministries.

We are also moving print published materials to ebooks and downloads. We are hoping this will be a good way to share our hearts with more people for less expense.

This blog will also be syndicated on crosswalk.com; you can click here if you'd like to connect to our updates via their site.

And last, but not least, you can also connect to us via facebook, twitter and pinterest. Quite honestly, we've avoided the web of networking because it has such a strong whirlpool affect on time - but we are giving it a try for a while :) If it proves fruitful we will keep it up!

All that said, we have some fun stuff coming your way! Freebies, audio downloads and some surprises :) So stay tuned!

Thanks for all of you who have been a blessing and encouragement to both of us as we serve the Lord!
May your New Year be blessed with the sweetness of joy, peace and grace from our Lord!

Standing in the Return Line

2011-12-27T16:34:00.000-08:00

This year the hubby and I had promised not to buy each other Christmas gifts. After our big cross-country move, presents just weren’t in the budget. I had done my best to make cards and small gifts to share our love with close friends and family. And I had only bought a couple, small, true necessity items for my man. But I just love to buy presents! And I especially love to buy presents for my sweetheart....
On a total impulse I found something that I thought would be just perfect for him and even though I knew we’d be really tight, I bought it. I had made sure I could return it, so I figured it was “safe” to buy it! I was so excited to surprise him... and it turned out that he loved it!

It also turned out that despite how fun the surprise was and how much I had picked a winner of a gift, it still had to go back to it’s home at the store.

As I stood in line waiting to return the impulsive Christmas purchase, I was thinking how we could all stand in a line to take back a purchase, but there was no take-back line for most choices in life.

No return line for bad relationships; no return line for hasty words spoken in frustration or pain; no take-back line for the too many cookies I ate this Christmas. No return line for most of the choices that we’d really like to “take back” in life.

There’s no going back. But in Christ, thankfully, we can move forward!

Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:13-14 NIV

In Christ we can find the grace to cover everything that we wish we could take the “return line” and everything we need to move forward.

As the New Year approaches, may your heart be washed afresh with the freedom that comes from the grace of our Lord - grace enough to cover our past and propel us into a good and hopeful future!

Christmas - The hope of healing

2011-12-14T10:25:00.000-08:00

And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel." Genesis 3:15 NIV

God's plan for salvation was revealed little bit by little bit throughout the ages until finally His Son came to earth. This passage from Genesis reveals the first piece of the puzzle that made up His plan.

Shortly after Creation’s splendor and Man’s appearance on the scene, Adam and Eve did the one thing they had been warned not to do- eat of the Tree of Knowledge. It didn’t bring them the knowledge they expected. Instead of making Eve wise like God (Genesis 3:5), it opened her consciousness to the depths of evil. Innocence was shattered forevermore and the waves of consequences from that first choice are still felt today. However, when their Father God dealt with their actions, He did not leave them hopeless. In the midst of their sadness He gave them a glimmer of His plan to bring full healing and restoration to all that had become broken.

The first prophesy for deliverance is found just a few short verses after their Fall. Yes, there would be trouble (enmity), but God promised that in the end the initiator of the trouble would be crushed by One in the future. Romans 16:20 says, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (NASU). God was ready with a rescue plan for His children - regardless of the way they had tossed aside His words.

I love that quality about our God. He is always faithful, even when we are faithless (2 Timothy 2:13). Amidst all of our poor choices and disobedience He is there waiting to point us to the plan of rescue. No matter how far we have wondered or how badly we have entangled ourselves, He has a way out for us and and a plan to heal all our brokenness.

If you find yourself needing an exit strategy, I know Someone who has one at the ready! He’s just waiting for you to lift your eyes and your heart to Him.

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 NKJV

Christmas Preparations

2011-12-06T11:14:00.000-08:00

The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; and to those who were selling the doves He said, "Take these things away; stop making My Father's house a place of business." His disciples remembered that it was written, "ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME." John 2:13-18 NAS

It might seem like an odd passage to highlight during the Christmas season, but as we mine for gems from this section of Scripture, I think there is some treasure here for us.

When Jesus looked at His people and His Father’s house, He was deeply grieved because of the greed and worldliness that had come to define the way things were carried out in the temple. As Christians we are now the temple of the Holy Spirit. So when God looks at us, the way we go about doing our daily chores, the way we seek holiness, the way we interact with others.... what does He see? Does He see His temple filled with the aroma of prayer and praise? Does He see the reflection of His own heart for the needy and lost? Or does He see greed and worldliness?

Christmas isn’t Jesus real birthdate, but it is the season that we stop and thank God for His incredible plan to save us and for the way He came to earth to live with us and die for us. So as the season of remembering our Savior’s birth, doesn’t it seem like we as individuals and corporately as the church ought to reflect His heart even more than normal?

When the world looks at the way we celebrate Jesus’ birth, do they see commercialism and money-changers? Or do they see sweet generosity and selfless giving? Do they see the humility with which Christ came to earth - wrapped in rags, born in a stable, with the first birth announcement going to low-class shepherds - in the way we reach out to people?

As we prepare for the joyous celebrations of the season, may our Father in heaven and the world around us see the True Light of Christmas.

Just for fun...

Coming to Serve

2011-12-01T08:21:00.000-08:00

The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed….
Because He poured out Himself to death,
And was numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors.
Isaiah 53:4-5, 12 NASU
I picked only these two verses from the chapter, but you really should read the whole of Isaiah 53- the chapter often titled “The Suffering Servant”. These verses foretell of Christ’s work in His earthly ministry. I marvel at God’s plan in these verses! From the very beginning God had a plan I would never conjure up in a million years! And to me, it is the wonder in His plan that makes Christmas sparkle with beauty.

God became flesh and dwelled among us, but not in splendor and might. Rather, He came lowly in form (Is. 52:3), acquainted with trouble (v3), served without thanks, and then poured out His life so completely that He allowed the humans He created to kill Him so that He might bear “the sins of many and intercede for transgressors.”

The God of the Universe, the one who designed the curve in your nose and the exact shade of color for your eyes and thought up the almost musical tones that would mingle to form the unique sound of your laughter, said there was no act of service He would not do to love, wash, cleanse and restore you. Nothing. He would go to the ends of the earth and back to demonstrate His love and provide a way for us to be forgiven.

He would be born in a dirty stable because there wasn't room for Him anywhere else. He planned with full purpose and intention to live a life characterized by that stable. A life without one drop of pomp and circumstance, a life of dusty, lonely places, a life of service that went beyond all reasonable expectation. A life that was characterized from the beginning by people around Him who just didn’t seem to have room for Him in their hearts or homes.

Christ's entire mission was service. Dusty, lonely, exhausting, demanding, utterly selfless service. As you go about the holiday rush, consider your savior's example. Ask yourself who you are serving as you dash about the hustle and bustle.

If you are like me, the honest and rather ugly truth is that I start out with sweet intentions to serve. But somewhere along the way, when the tiredness sets in, the ache in my back or the low blood sugar strikes, my attention is redirected from others to ME. And ME shouts inside me and somewhere along the way ME ends up getting tangled in my originally sweet intentioned act of service.

We all know that Christmas isn't about glittering decorations, beautifully wrapped gifts or hostess-with-the-mostess parties. But as we go through this Christmas season, can those around us see the reflection of the stable in our actions and attitudes? May we serve our Lord and those around us this Christmas season even better than we did last year!

For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls. 1 Peter 2:21-25 NASU

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T00:59:00.000-08:00

Blessings on you and yours as you celebrate all the Lord has done this past year!

Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. Colossians 2:6-7

Click here for a PDF download of Thanksgiving activities for your holiday celebration

Bringing a Sacrifice of Praise

The secret to a joyful, grateful heart isn’t that we feel “happy” or “good” about everything in our life. There are things that simply aren’t happy, no matter how we look at them. God doesn’t expect us to disconnect our minds from reality and live in some twilight zone of plastic happiness. Bad things are bad things. And they happen to godly people. God grieves over the brokenness in us and in our world. It isn’t wrong to grieve over them just as He does. The key to having a heart of gratitude amidst those difficult circumstances is being filled with an unshakable expectation that God will do something good with them, that He sits sovereign over every detail of life and that His character is good, perfect and loving.

Thankful for... that?

Just as a little laughter can brighten a tense situation, an attitude of gratitude can give us a proper perspective on those things that trip us up as couples.

Fun Stuff Fridays - Holidays

2011-11-18T08:05:00.000-08:00

Here's a recipe I recently concocted and it seemed like a hit! It is for a three layer pumpkin cheesecake. Just in time for Thanksgiving :)
Happy Friday!

Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe

- Layer One
Spice Cake (Boxed or your own favorite recipe) use half & follow directions as stated in recipe. Put the mix into a 9 inch spring-form pan instead of a regular cake pan. (I used half of a box for the cheesecake and the other half for cupcakes)

- Layer Two
(Paula Deen’s Pumpkin Cheesecake filling recipe)

3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 (15-ounce) can pureed pumpkin
3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Pour over cooled first layer. Cook for one hour

- Layer 3
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon knox unflavored gelatin
1 3/4 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup

Beat egg yolks until pale. Add sugar, flour, and gelatin, then beat until mixed. Bring cream, maple syrup and vanilla extract to a boil. Add a small amount of cream to egg mixture while stirring. Gradually add until all of the cream has been added and then pour entire mixture through a strainer into the pan. Continue to cook until custard begins to thicken. Cool slightly, then pour on top of the pumpkin layer. Chill cake for four hours and enjoy!

Wise Woman Wednesdays - Empty?

2011-11-18T07:53:00.000-08:00

“... they went far from Me and walked after emptiness and became empty...” Jeremiah 2:5

Especially during this busy time of year, us ladies find ourselves worn out and empty! We are wise to continually check our motives for the things we do and check to see if they line up with the Father’s heart.

During Christmastime I have gotten so stressed out because I needed to stretch our finances for lots of presents for lots of people. But perhaps a nice homemade card with some words of love would have sufficed.

I have stayed up ‘til the wee hours of the morning and then gotten up only a couple hours later because of food and house prep during the Thanksgiving-New Year season. When in reality, it would have been OK if the house wasn’t perfect and the food was less than a work of art. I mean, after all, whose idea was it that we should simultaneously have every little thing be homemade, gifts wrapped in glittering beauty, the house spotlessly clean, amazing freshly baked cookies and cocoa ready 24/7 for guest who pop in and a myriad of parties? Who thought of that?!

So this year, before you run yourself ragged, guard your steps and make sure you are walking near your Lord and in His fullness.

Thankfully Triumphant

2011-11-14T07:15:00.000-08:00

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. 2 Corinthians 2:14 NAS

As we draw near to Thanksgiving and count our blessings, I find one of the sweetest blessings after my salvation to be found in the knowledge of what I know is coming.

I saw an advertisement for a TV movie in which a slightly senior woman was diagnosed with cancer. She told her doctor she knew how the story ended and she liked beginnings better. Those words drifted in and out of my thoughts for days. I know how the story ends, and I must say, I think the end is much better than the beginning!

Our end is triumph! Triumph as individuals living in the grace of our Lord, and triumph corporately as we partake in the glory of Christ’s kingdom come.

As we traverse through life’s journey we can treasure the knowledge of the story’s end, but that grand finale can also serve as fuel for gratitude. In the midst of the seasons where the puzzle pieces of life simply won’t fit together, the ends won’t meet or whatever larger-than-life difficulty we face, we can maintain a heart of steadfast faith and sweet gratitude that our Lord knows how to set the pieces together, make the ends meet and He is larger than any and all of our troubles. He is faithful to lead us individually and corporately as His people into sweet triumph. He does it in His time and in His way, but we can be thankful that our Lord sits sovereign over our lives and has written the good ending for our story.

If we walk through life with this truth steadfastly in our hearts and woven into our testimony, we will be a sweet aroma proclaiming the goodness of our Lord. Our lives will be a good testimony to those around us.

I wonder what might feel less than “triumphant” in your life right now... a marriage? Job situation? A relationship? Finances? Whatever issues are burdening your heart today, commit them to your faithful Father, search out His desire for that area of your life through studying His Word, follow Him and be confident - even thankful - for the triumph that He will lead you to!

Fun Stuff Fridays - Give-Away recipient

2011-10-28T02:30:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Anita of Lamesa Texas for winning the random drawing to receive this month's give-away:

The give-away for September/October is a recorded CD message from

Pine Valley Women's Retreat titled - The Lord is My Defender.

Scripture tells us that God is the Defender, strong tower and shield for His children, but sometimes it doesn't feel like it. Sometimes it is hard to find Him in the midst of our struggles. This message describes practical ways we can tap into the character of God and truly experience Him as our Defender the way He wants us to!

I hope this resource is a blessing to you!

For those of you interested in the next give-away, it is an audio message from my dear mentor, Pam Farrel - Choosin' Joy! Discover how to choose joy amidst your hardest seasons of life. This message is funny, encouraging and one that I know will be a blessing to you! Click here to enter the give-away drawing.

Wise Woman Wednesdays - Beyond Me

2011-10-26T02:30:00.000-07:00

Today's Wise Woman Wednesday post is an excerpt from Beyond Me: Living a You First Life in a Me First World, by Kathi Macias...

The call to discipleship is serious. The cost is staggering. And payment is required daily. Understandably, this is a message we never hear from a me-first world; but it is less understandable why we so rarely hear it from the church, especially when we are first presented the gospel.

Many of us knelt at a church altar or beside our bed, or prayed with a friend over lunch, or responded to a television evangelist, and received Jesus Christ as Savior. It was wonderful, wasn't it? Nothing equals the joy of discovering the very God of the universe loves us, sent His son to die for us, and has made a way to restore us to fellowship with Himself. The price for salvation has been paid in full!

But what of the price of discipleship? Jesus didn't tell us to go into all the world and make converts-He told us to make disciples:

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”Matthew 28:18-20 NIV

.... To willingly lay down our lives in Jesus' name for the sake of others - this is the daily price of love, the sacrificial cost of true discipleship. It is the only offering we can make that will defeat the deadly me-first culture of this world.

From Beyond Me: Living a You-First Life in a Me-First World by Kathi Macias, published by New Hope. Click here to access Kathi's website for more encouraging words and resources.

Fresh Start Monday - Who Sits as Judge?

2011-10-24T02:30:00.000-07:00

Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor? James 4:11-12 NASU

My husband preached on this passage this last Sunday, so it has been rattling through my mind....

I suppose it’s human nature to judge, but sometimes it seems like we ladies in particular have a corner on the market, doesn’t it? Maybe it is just this decidedly feminine flesh I am wrapped up in, but it seems like the sense that I am being judged by other women is a fairly constant part of life.

We judge one another on all sort of “gray” issues that Christians were meant to have grace for, rather than judgment. Issues like, how old you ought to be before beginning your family - and how old is too old to continue having those little ones. We judge one one another on whether we send our kids to public school or teach them through homeschooling. We judge one another on how lavish or lack thereof our homes appear. (On a side note within the time span of a couple weeks I had two different women in my home who felt quite strongly about all our hand-me-down furniture. One felt a pastor’s family should never have so many possessions and the other really insisted I needed to take the chairs to get them reupholstered because even though the fabric was still in great shape the color was terribly out of date!) We judge one another on politics, on Bible translations, on how well she keeps her house, her man and her children, on dress codes, on how much so-and-so gives or serves at church, on the movies we watch and music we listen to, on what we eat or don’t eat, and on and on. We judge.

While none of this is new, the thing that struck me when we studied this passage was how judging others puts us above and outside of the Law (but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it). The Law was given for two purposes. One to lead us to the realization that no matter how hard we try to follow it, we are in need of a Savior, because we simply are at our core incapable of doing the system (Galatians 3:24, Hebrews 10:1). Secondly, the Law was added for the good of God’s people (Galatians 3:19). The Law functions as a tent covering over the lives of those whose life is set under submission to it. Your children are protected from on coming traffic when they obey your instructions to not play in the street. We are protected from heartbreak, and physical, emotional and spiritual danger when we obey God’s instructions.

If I quit being a doer of the Law and become a judge of it, I have positionally placed my life outside outside of the “tent” of protection. I don’t know about you, but life is crazy enough without playing in the “street”- so I want to keep my life protected by the Lord by not going against what He states as wrong.

Funny how we can judge each other for issues not explicitly stated in Scripture as right or wrong (like school choices or music) but, it says quite plainly that judging one another is wrong!

While judging (and the word in Greek means to try, condemn and punish) is not what was meant to be at the heart of Christianity, we can’t flop to the other extreme of the spectrum in response to our, or others, misdeeds. We are commanded to speak the truth in love, admonish one another and help our family in Christ live out their glorious callings. Scripturally, churches are even called to carry out loving discipline. But all this should stem from love, not a need to look down on others.

So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.
James 2:12-13 NASU

Fun Stuff Fridays - Apple Season!

2011-10-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

Our new church makes an annual event of going apple picking. Though I grew up near a mountain town famous for it's apple groves and apple pies, I'd never been before! It was a sweet time with our new church family and of, course, inspired some necessary baking! So here's some tasty apple ideas :)

Baked apples

Probably the most healthy recipe listed :) Peel and slice apples to your desired size, put them in a big bowl and stir in some sugar and cinnamon. Place in ramekins, and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Almost like apple pie without the calories of the crust!

Apple Cranberry Crisp

Just gotta give credit where it's due! Click here for an absolutely YUM apple crisp recipe from the Barefoot Contessa. I add about a half to full cup of dried cranberries to this recipe :)

Apple Pie
Crust Ingredients

* 4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 3/4 cups butter
* 3 tablespoons white sugar
* 2 teaspoons salt
* 1 egg
* 1/2 cup water

Mix dry ingredients. In a separate bowl mix wet ingredients. Then mix the two together by slowly adding the wet to the dry. Roll dough on a floured surface.

Pie Insides
* 3/4 cup maple syrup
* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling
* Freshly ground nutmeg, to taste
* 5-7 apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
* 1 lemon, zested and juiced

Mix ingredients together and arrange in pie crust. Bake @ 375 with edges covered for 30 minutes, the uncover and bake for an additional 30 minutes.

Fried Apple Pie

If you have some left over dough and apple filling, use it for these Southern Fried Apple Pies! Use a biscuit cutter to make little round circles from the rolled out dough. Place filling on half the circle and fold dough in half to make a semi-circle. Use a fork to crimp the edges shut. Bring oil to 375 degrees then place these little babies in the oil for about 10 minutes. Sprinkle liberally with cinnamon-sugar and eat hot!

PS - Because these recipes don't require the dough to rise, all recipes can substitute whole wheat flour or gluten free (bean flour, almond or coconut) without much fuss (watch moisture content and adjust to your liking). Sucanat is a great sweetener
if you are avoiding processed white sugar that can be used exactly the same as sugar. Maple syrup is really delicious with apples, too. Also, I've had success in substituting coconut oil for butter in a couple of these - you might try it if you want to avoid dairy.

Bon Appetit! :)

Wise Woman Wednesdays - When Life Happens

2011-10-19T14:07:00.000-07:00

"Sometimes, these things just happen, sweetie..."

Today’s Wise Woman Wednesday post was inspired by my hubby’s grandma...

My husband and I moved across country just two months ago. Since then, we’ve been running on a cycle of about three to ten days between mini-crisis... no one has cancer, been in a car wreck or anything else life threatening.
But every few days something breaks, causes a bunch of drama, or costs an arm and a leg to deal with. Including a landlady who has threatened to sue us for no fault of our own! We expected moving to be hard, but we didn’t quite expect all the excitement we’ve had!

A few days had passed and I thought we might be over the worst of it. After all, every appliance in the house had already broken, every possible expense been paid and it seemed like I was getting into my new rhythm of life. My hubby had been stretched “six ways to Sunday,” as my grandma would say, and I wanted to do something to take a load off him. I did a few chores he had on his to-do list, had dinner ready in the crock pot and just enough time to clean out and wash our truck before taking dinner to church before the Wednesday night service.

There was only one hose at our house and that was in the backyard. We live in the country, so the landscaping is pretty rustic. It looked like I could drive the truck around back, wash it and get it again out to the front. Long story short, it was the most expensive carwash EVER! I got the truck stuck on a rock and it required towing to be set free again. AAA wouldn’t do it because they said they were “roadside assistance - not backyard assistance!” Oh! I felt awful. I had gotten our only vehicle stuck, possibly damaged and I wasn’t showing up to church, let alone early with dinner in hand. Instead, I was crying helpless on the phone to my man who couldn’t do anything about until he could catch a ride home. I couldn’t believe that with all the extra pressures and expenses we’d had that I was now the cause of more of them!

Later that night, after someone from our new church dropped Eric off and stayed for some fellowship, we finally ate dinner at midnight and about half an hour later my poor man was out in the now raining night trying to free our poor lil ‘ol truck. All this after he’d had an almost 17 hour day!

After all the excitement, Grandma Margie called. I told her how badly I felt about it all. She told me about a time she got their car stuck somewhere and said that she was so very sorry for all the troubles we’d had and then added, “It’s OK sweetie, sometimes these things just happen.”

Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, life has unexpected “adventures”. Sometimes as hard as we try to help, we make things messier. Sometimes, it’s just life!

We can take courage in the midst of our troubles that we aren’t alone!
David, and a list of others from the Bible, including Jesus had troubles with their family.
Job had one trouble after another until even his friends and wife turned against him.
Paul described parts of his ministry experience with words like “pressed in”, “afflicted” “weary” and “depressed”.
Peter tells his readers in his first letter to take heart in the midst of their troubles because we can know we aren’t alone and that others are suffering too.

Psalm 34:17-19
17 The righteous cry, and the LORD hears
And delivers them out of all their troubles .
18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted
And saves those who are crushed in spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the LORD delivers him out of them all.
NASB

Fresh Start Monday - Running the Race

2011-10-17T09:07:00.000-07:00

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3 NIV

As I sit here at my computer, I wonder about you on the other side of the cyberspace screen. What hinders you? What tempts you to grow weary or lose heart?

I know what it is for me! And I know how easy it is to slip off the race track for a breather, then maybe climb into the audience stands and grab a hot dog... then sit and watch everyone else; after all they do a much better job at this running business than me!

I know women who are wearied by the foggy path they must navigate with their special needs child; not knowing where they are headed or when they will find a place that feels safe and good for their little one. I know families that are completely wrapped up in the constant harangue of financial troubles. I know families that have had the very breath kicked out them as Mom or Dad walked out the door. How in the world are we supposed to run the race, when life barely lets us catch our breath, let alone run, full stride?

The other day, my husband prayed that God would ready us for Him - whether for His coming for all of us, or just us as individuals. It was a good reminder for me. As I thought about my life, I lamented my many weaknesses that I so deeply wished to have grown-up more in before I met Jesus face to face. As far as I know there’s still “time,” but none of us really knows where the finish line on our race is. I began thinking afresh about how I want to arrive at that finish line - desperate for God’s grace and Jesus’ sacrifice, but faithful. I would wish to be found faithful to have offered up my whole heart. I let things entangle and discourage me too much still. You too?

This verse is one of those great encouragement verses, but the one facet of truth from this verse I want to focus on is the phrase “fixing out eyes on Jesus, the pioneer (or author) and perfecter of (our) faith.” The amazing thing about this whole faith “run” is that the part we are responsible for is our focus (and even that God is willing to help us with!). We just have to focus our hearts and lives on Christ, it is Him who does the rest of the hard stuff!

Jesus is the One who set out before us:

The LORD your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf...
Deuteronomy 1:30 NASU 
There is no part of this race He hasn’t already run and there is no part of it you will run alone!

He is the One who accomplishes and finishes the good work:

The LORD will accomplish what concerns me;
Your lovingkindness, O LORD, is everlasting;
Psalm 138:8 NASU

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:5-7 NASU

You see, that cloud of witnesses didn’t run the race of faith so well because they were particularly “good” or gifted or special. But because they cemented their focus on Christ. It is He who calls us and completes us. There’s nothing we can do to add to His handiwork, except offer a heart that is faithfully fixed on Him.

If life is threatening to tangle you in sin or discouragement, take a moment to realign your focus. Your faithfulness will be met with His.

I am praying for an extra dose of grace to propel your "running" today!

In His Love,

Fresh Start Monday - People Pleasing

2011-09-26T01:04:00.000-07:00

For am I now seeking the favor of men or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be the bond-servant of Christ. Galatians 1:10

One morning, sitting in church when I was first on staff and terribly new to a host of facets of ministry and church life, the Lord convicted my heart quite deeply over my idolatry. I felt the Lord tugging at my heart and showing me how the place where I most frequently sinned through idolatry was in church. I was distracted by trying so hard (and failing so often) to “get down” the routine of the service, the liturgy (which I had not grown up with) and handle the many expectations people had of me. I was absorbed in people pleasing.
What a sad state of affairs. In the middle of trying to give my all to the Lord’s service, I was completely missing the mark. I was filled with remorse and asked the Lord to forgive me... and to this day continue to monitor my thoughts and motives, wrestling that ugly idol named “People” off the throne of my heart.

The reality is that no matter how sugary sweet we are to people, no matter how many cookies we bake for the Missions’ fundraiser, no matter often we teach Sunday school or whatever we do that might earn “brownie points,” motive makes or brakes the action. And when the very normal, human-nature desire to be accepted, liked, and loved becomes a driving factor (or even a tainting factor) in our actions, the goodness in those actions is spoiled.

Of all the emotions in the book that I stumble over the most easily it is feeling rejected. It can rip me off, get me distracted, discouraged, depressed and completely off track quicker than just about anything else. It is terribly shallow and small, and I am growing, but it is part of the weak flesh I am wrapped in. Oh, yes, we could travel back down the road of childhood and trace the issue quite clearly to a few foundational moments. But for me, and you, we gotta live with what we got! And for many of us, people pleasing is an idol to wrestle off the throne of our heart and leave at the foot of God’s throne, under the cross.

While there is no quick-fix for the people-pleasing heart, there are some things I have found helpful in the process of uprooting that long, tangled vine from my life.

1. Repent of people-pleasing motives every time you become aware of them.

2. Get in God’s Word - specifically, His Word pertaining to His love and acceptance for you. (If you need a place to start, I wrote a Bible study just for that journey: My Reflection in His Eyes - Seeing yourself as God Sees You)

3. Plaster your world with the truth about God’s love and acceptance of you. Stats show that for every negative (rejection-like) comment we receive, our minds require three positive, affirming comments to balance out our perspective. I don’t know about you, but I’m not getting a 3 to 1 ratio from the world around me - and I don’t think we are supposed to! We need God to be our source of fulfillment! So we have to permeate our minds with His Word. Click here for a pdf with Bible verses on cards all ready for you to print out and tape around your office, kitchen or workspace to remind you of His truth about you.

Fun Stuff Fridays - Cherish

2011-09-22T22:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday would have been the 71st anniversary of my grandparents. My beloved grandpa went to be with the Lord eight years ago - hardly seems possible it has been that long.

My heart behind this post is two-fold. First of all, I want to encourage all of us who know widows to be sensitive to their heart needs. A widow at our new church was at a loss when Hurricane Irene came and wreaked havoc on her yard; knocking down trees and damaging property. She couldn't pay to have the work done to fix the situation and she couldn't get out there and clean it up herself. It was the concern and generosity of others that saw her through it. She said she felt the Lord's care through those people. After all, the care of widows is intrinsic to the Christian walk:

Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress and keep oneself unstained by the world. James 1:27 NASB

My second hope is to remind those of us married gals out there to cherish our spouses and our marriages. My grandparents shared life for 63 years. Other women I know had only a brief marriage before the Lord called their husbands home. Marriage isn't easy. But it can and was designed to be a source of joy and blessing. The best start to make your marriage a source of sweetness in your life is to put God at the center of it. That means first, making Jesus Christ the Savior and Lord of your life (read here if you have not made Jesus the Lord of your life). Secondly, it means looking to Him to be your source of security, satisfaction and significance - not your spouse, your kids, career or any other facet of life. In regards to marriage, one of the biggest joy suckers is when we expect things from our spouses that only God can give us. We drag those unmet expectations around with us for years, nursing grudges instead of feeding grace in our relationship. Life is too short and your marriage too precious to carry all that baggage!

If God were to take your spouse or you home today, would you have adequately expressed your love, affection, admiration and devotion to your man?

Lastly, the couple who mentored me (and my hubby too) are sharing their gems of marriage wisdom at a number of events. Some of these are marriage specific events, and others are just for ladies. If you are close enough to attend, you will be blessed!

Events for October
New England Ladies - Iron Sharpens Iron Event (click here for details)

SoCal Spouses - Couple's Event (click here for details)
SoCal Spouses - Couple's Event (click here for details)

(PS - when I put together this list, a number of their events were already sold out! So, you know, if you can make one of the three, it'll be worth it!)

Blessings & Happy Friday :)
April

Wise Woman Wednesdays - A Voice from the Past

2011-09-21T03:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Wise Woman Wednesday post comes from a woman of the past I greatly admire - Amy Carmichael. She was a well-known missionary in India. In a powerful little book entitled If, she writes a series of "if" statements that probe and convict the inner thoughts and feelings we harbor toward one another. She wrote the book during an evening of hard personal questioning due to some issues with a younger fellow servant in the Lord. The writing was meant only for the missionary workers, but came to be published and shared all over the world for about 80 years. I highly recommend this book! Put it some place you can read it often and savor the depths of her words.

"If I can easily discuss the shortcomings and sins of any;
if I can speak in a casual way even of a child's misdoings,
then I know nothing of Calvary love."

"If I can enjoy a joke at the expense of another;
if I can in any way slight another in conversation,
or even in thought,
then I know nothing of Calvary love."

"If my attitude be one of fear, not faith,
about one who has disappointed me;
if I say, "Just what I expected," if a fall occurs,
then I know nothing of Calvary love."

"If I am afraid to speak the truth, lest I lose affection,
or lest the one concerned should say, "You do not understand,"
or because I fear to lose my reputation for kindness;
if I put my own good name before
the other's highest good,
then I know nothing of Calvary love."

(My favorite and possibly the most often used of her "If" statements)

"If a sudden jar can cause me to speak
an impatient, unloving word,
then I know nothing of Calvary love.
For a cup brimful of sweet water
cannot spill even one drop of bitter water,
however suddenly jolted."

New Things!

2011-09-18T19:36:00.000-07:00

The Autumn is quickly upon us; and for my husband and I, it is our first “real” Fall. The Lord recently moved us from the sunny Southern California coast to the New England coast. In the midst of all the many changes and new things in our physical surroundings, it has turned my mind to pondering the way the Lord does new things in our spiritual lives.

Isaiah 43:18 says,

Do not call to mind the former things,
Or ponder things of the past.
Behold, I will do something new,
Now it will spring forth;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert.
The beasts of the field will glorify Me,
The jackals and the ostriches,
Because I have given waters in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert,
To give drink to My chosen people.
The people whom I formed for Myself
Will declare My praise.
(NASU)

Corporately and individually, I believe, that God is working something new among His people and that “new things” are perpetually part of His strategic plan for our lives.

Second Corinthians 5:16-18 states, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (NASU).

Our walk with God begins with a new work; it is the very foundation on which we begin our relationship with Him.

Ephesians 4:22-24 describes how “new things” are meant to describe the continuation of our relationship and growth in Christ. “... that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth (NASU)

There is no standing still in our spiritual progression. We are either laying aside the old and putting on the new or the old is actively decaying within us (what Paul refers to as “being corrupted”). This principle challenges us to never settle into life, but to always be in passionate pursuit of the high calling for which Christ laid hold of us. Our new self requires an active pursuit of God, it is not a passive process that just happens to us

And finally, even at the end of time, Revelation 21:5 reveals new things to come: And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." And He said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true (NASU).

God’s agenda is, and as far as I can tell, always will be “new things”!

And yet, sometimes new things just aren’t on our agenda! New things are scary, uncomfortable, exhausting, unknown, bigger than us and make us see how little we actually control. Perhaps you can relate to this poem-

One night I had a wondrous dream, 
One set of footprints there was seen, 
The footprints of my precious Lord, 
But mine were not along the shore.
But then some strange prints appeared, 
And I asked the Lord, "What have we here?
" Those prints are large and round and neat, 
"But Lord, they are too big for feet."
"My child," He said in somber tones, 
"For miles I carried you along.
I challenged you to walk in faith,
But you refused and made me wait."
"You disobeyed, you would not grow, 
The walk of faith, you would not know, 
So I got tired, I got fed up, 
And there I dropped you on your butt."
"Because in life, there comes a time,
When one must fight, and one must climb, 
When one must rise and take a stand, 
Or leave their butt prints in the sand."
- Author Unknown

So what is it that causes us to leave derrière prints in the shoreline of our lives instead of long running faith-filled strides? Let’s peek into some of Scripture’s human history records to find out.

Starting with the context of our Isaiah verse, there were a few things that held these Israelites from the fullness God intended for them.

Isaiah 43:22-24

"Yet you have not called on Me, O Jacob;
But you have become weary of Me, O Israel.
"You have not brought to Me the sheep of your burnt offerings,
Nor have you honored Me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with offerings,
Nor wearied you with incense.
"You have bought Me not sweet cane with money,
Nor have you filled Me with the fat of your sacrifices;
Rather you have burdened Me with your sins,
You have wearied Me with your iniquities.
(NASU)

1. In Verse 22 we see spiritual apathy at work; robbing the Israelites of the new, fresh horizons God wanted to take them to. So, I want us to ask ourselves - how is our spiritual energy level?

Paul said the following to Timothy-

...discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 1 Timothy 4:7-9 (NASU)

Are we putting in the effort and labor required to pursue a life of spiritual discipline?

2. Secondly, in verse 24 of Isaiah 43 we see that sin held back the Israelites from God’s work in their midst.

All of us sin, everyday. It is important for each of us individually and corporately to remain in touch with that reality. It is a great temptation for Christian women to loose touch with this truth. We learn to avoid the big, obvious sins like drunkenness or sleeping around, and so we sometimes think that is enough - we are good little church girls and that is that!

A very sweet sister in the Lord told me one day that she has a hard time remembering that she needs forgiveness. She said she had a very hard time thinking of anything she needed to confess before she took communion. She said almost felt like she had to make something up to confess because she was just so good. The truth is: we all sin.

While we don’t want to live in sin and ought to get prayer and discipleship for lifestyle, or dominion sins, such as living in adultery, addictions and such, all of us have a selfish, prideful sin nature that has to be recognized and regularly confessed.

2 Timothy 3:2-8 describes some of the symptoms of the end times as this -

For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; avoid such men as these. For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth (NASU).

I don’t know about you, but that verse always puts a healthy fear in me. A fear that I could end up being a woman who is weak and weighed down by sins, always jerking about through life based on this impulse or that, and who fills her head with learning but not knowledge of the truth.

Cherished sin, whether it is a secret sin, a little sin, a big sin, whether our sin is
self-righteousness, gossip or witch-craft, whatever it is, sin blocks the free flowing movement of the Holy Spirit in our lives. God will not give us something new to hold, until we have laid the old sin down at the foot of the cross. Imagine your heart toward sin. If we hold our sin so tightly to our chests, we have no room in our hands for His blessings. His good gifts would only fall to the ground, wasted. So why would He give them to us until we have emptied our hearts?

Is your heart emptied before your Lord? Are you ready for a new work?

Apathy and sin hold us back from God’s work in our lives, but there are other factors that can hold us back as well.

Fear! Fear is life’s great bandit, robbing us of the joy, freedom, and security we were meant to have in Christ. We can surmise that fear was the agent at work in young Mark’s life - fear that kept him from finishing a missionary journey with Paul and Barnabas.

Acts 15:37-40 explains the situation: Barnabas wanted to take John, called Mark, along with them also. But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. And there occurred such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus (NASU).

Has fear robbed you in the past? Is it robbing you right now? Are you going to let it rob you in the future?

Second Timothy 1:6-7 tells us, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline” (NLT).

Lastly, looking back, instead of fixing our eyes on Jesus, will always rob us of the enjoyment and fulfillment of the new things God wants to bring into our lives.

The biggest example that comes to mind is the Israelites in the wilderness.

Deuteronomy 1:2-3 says, “It is eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea. (The distance the Israelites traveled to get to the Promised Land) In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the children of Israel...” (parenthetical added NASU).

I have written in my Bible next to this verse, “May this never describe my life - Never!

I would never want to take 40 years to get somewhere I could get in 11 days!

The Israelites whined about cucumbers and melons. They actually preferred to go back to the servitude of Pharaoh rather than follow God on the faith adventure He had set them free for. And we sometimes do the same. We were set free from the bondage of sin and the world, but instead of using that freedom to follow our Lord, we look back at the seemingly comfortable ways of the world and pine away for them.

Sometimes our looking back is for the comfort of the so-called “good ole days,” but sometimes regret holds our gaze captive.

We get fixated on things in the past we wish we could change. Maybe it is a broken or lost relationship, maybe it is an opportunity we think we missed.

One person shared with me how they deeply experienced freedom from a former love relationship that had been sinful. They told me they repented of the whole thing. There was no wondering “if I had done this differently, maybe things would have turned out right”; there was a simple confession of the fact that God never wanted the two of them together and so that person never should have been in the relationship in the first place. So they repented of the whole thing. Then God brought freedom.

As a child I had a load of dirty “laundry” dumped in my lap that affected the emotional, mental, physical and sexual facets of my life. Those things warped and soiled my perspective. I made choices based on how I saw life. Some of those choices burned me, some of them set me up to be hurt. I could have lived for years pointing fingers over who was to blame for the little girl who had a troubled start in life. But I confessed my need for God’s grace and healing, I repented of the ways I had brought or allowed brokenness to reign in my life - even when it wasn’t a direct result of my choosing. I just repented of the whole mess. Maybe that sounds ridiculous, but I believe that God heard my desperate SOS and responded to it.

Never be afraid to repent of something! Life gets tangled and complicated and it’s OK to dump the baggage at the foot of the cross. You can tell God you aren’t sure what was your fault in a situation and what wasn’t, but that you are broken and soiled from all of it and you need His forgiveness to wash over you and simply tie the whole experience up in His grace and leave it for Him to sort. If He brings to mind something in particular, repent of it. As He helps you process, repent of whatever He puts His finger on and then move forward in His grace! Repentance is the entryway to the mansion of grace.

Paul said, “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” Philippians 3:13-14 (NASU).

We have a prize to press on toward! I think the anecdote to each of these roadblocks is faith. We need faith in the fullness of Christ to conquer our apathy. We need faith that God has something better than our sin to stir us out of the old-self pit. We need faith to fix our eyes on the prize instead of our past.

Isaiah 61:4 says:
Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins ,
They will raise up the former devastations;
And they will repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations.
NASU

That broken thing that feels like it has been with you so long it is an ancient ruin, well, God is in the business of renovation. Why don’t you take sometime this week giving it over to Him?

And finally,
Ephesians 1:18-19 is a verse I have prayed over the dear ones in my ministry scope for many years and so I pray it for you now as well: I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe” (NASU).

May God open your eyes to show you a glimmer of the vastness of what He has called you to so that you might press into the good and new things He has up ahead.

His very best blessings to you,

Summer Inspiration

2011-08-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

This is the last of the "Summer Inspiration" posts. As we head into the Fall, I thought I'd leave us all with a challenge - a reminder of what our words ought to be! When I searched for verses to put with this picture, this verse from Proverbs just seemed to come to the forefront. Like an evergreen growing amidst the rough red rocks of the desert, our words should stand tall and strong amidst a spiritually dry, dead and rough world. May God transform and use our mouths to be life-giving vessels of blessing to our husbands, children, parents, siblings, coworkers, friends, neighbors, church family and everyone we come in contact with - the sweet ones and the not so sweet ones ;)

If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless.
James 1:26-27 NASU

She opens her mouth in wisdom,

And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue
Proverbs 31:26 NASU

Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.

1 Timothy 4:12-13 NASU

Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.
Colossians 4:5-6 NASU

Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.

Ephesians 4:29 NASU

Summer Inspiration

2011-08-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

If we surrender our lives to the Lord, He takes us places we never would have imagined! Where has He taken you recently? Is He the One leading you along the pathway today? The views from the places He has taken me have always been worth the hard hike. May God grace you with a renewed hope and expectation for the journey He has you on during this season of life and may He grant you an extra dose of faith to let Him fully lead the way! After all, those high places were designed with you in mind!

Life!

2011-07-19T16:13:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been eons since I have written - and for those of you who have written to me wondering if I have fallen off the face of the planet - I am sorry! Since May life has been a wild woosh of changes and activity. Here's a little update for those of you who are interested :) God willing, I will be back to posting regular devotionals and such in the Fall. This writing ministry has always been out of the overflow of my heart. Just recently, the rest of life has required every ounce of emotional, spiritual and physical energy. I hope you are having a splendid Summer, enjoying a bit of rest, change of pace and growing in the fullness of our Lord!
His very best blessings to you,

In May, my husband and I were in the midst of making a very big decision. We realized that we needed to get away, pray and get quiet before the Lord. We packed up spur of the moment and headed out to the Tetons and Yellowstone - the place my soul breathes.

We were met with a little more snow than we had anticipated!

Calving season for the bison!

We were met with more snow than we expected. I had hoped to hike myself exhausted in God's glorious countryside. But it was still beautiful and just what God had planned for us. We saw more moose than any other trip - that was definitely the highlight!

We left Jackson Hole a little early and decided to go through Bryce and Zion. I'd never been to either. Bryce was beautiful and the weather was perfect! We hiked to the bottom of the canyon and back up - well worth the trip! Zion was super crowded and the road work made getting around the park incredibly difficult. We just spent the afternoon there before we booked it home.

Striking red bird in our campsite :)

Hiking in Zion

Two little sisters graduated! So proud of them!!!!

One sister then had numerous showers, got married and moved up to Northern California - that was a flurry of emotions and activity! I wasn't sure the living room would ever look the same with all the cricut goodies and projects we had going on for her celebrations :) All of us sisters are very close and it was hard to watch her move away, very hard ... but that wasn't all the changes in store for this cohort of sisters.

In the meantime, my husband and I visited a church in New England and accepted their call. So now we are in the throes of sorting, packing and very hard good-byes as we look toward this new life and ministry change. New England is the nation's least churched area. We are headed to a ministry/mission field quite different from home. We are excited and nervous all at the same time, but trusting God's faithfulness in everything. So far (as always), He has blown our minds with the precious and intimate ways He has taken us by the hand and led us down His path for us. So, I hope you can understand my absence - I can't wait to get back to writing after we settle into our New England home and church. <3

Fun Stuff Fridays - A Fun Find

2011-04-29T06:30:00.001-07:00

Today's Fun Stuff Fridays post is... well... it's a little weird! But I wanted to share a recent find that I have been loving! It is a help for modesty :) Perhaps you or a teen daughter have noticed that sometimes it is just plain hard to find an outfit that meets all the requirements - cute, inexpensive and oh, yes, modest!

Sometimes I buy a shirt, wear it once and then find that throughout the day it slumps down too much in the neckline or that after one wash it doesn't fit like it used to. This little gadget fixes neckline problems! It clips onto your bra (is it ok to say bra on a Christian woman's blog??? I sure hope so!) and looks like a camisole, but stays in place and doesn't sag or stretch like an undershirt because of the way it is attached to your undergarment. I found it at Bed, Bath & Beyond and even used a coupon on it :) Fits the requirements - cute, inexpensive and, oh, yes, modest too!

Click here to see store details

Hope this helps someone else out there too :) Have a fantastic weekend, my sisters!

I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God. 1 Timothy 2:9-10 NIV

Wise Woman Wednesdays - A Voice from the Past

2011-04-27T06:30:00.000-07:00

Today's Wise Woman Wednesday post comes from the heart and pen of a woman who changed the course of history and was a crucial part of setting a country ablaze with passion, change and freedom. Actually, these words were co-authored by two sisters, but it is one in particular whose name goes down in history.
She gave faces to men, women and children whose toil gave luxury to people who hadn't broke a sweat for it. She gave names to a people who were referred to by crass, derogatory terms that disgraced the lips that spoke them more than the people to whom they were referring. And when the very President of the United States met her, he said, "so you're the little woman who started this great war!" If you haven't guessed who it is yet, I am speaking of Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin. Harriett and her sister Catherine wrote a book titled The American Woman's Home. It is from this book that I am quoting.

It is the aim of this book to elevate both the honor and remuneration of all employments that sustain the many difficult and varied duties of the family state, and thus render each department of woman's profession as much desired and respected as the most honored professions of men.

What, then, is the end designed by the family state which Jesus Christ came into this world to secure?

It is to provide for the training of our [human] race to the highest possible intelligence, virtue, and happiness by means of the self-sacrificing labors of the wise and good, and this with chief reference to a future immortal existence.

The distinctive feature of the family is self-sacrificing labor of the stronger and wiser members to raise the weaker and more ignorant to equal advantages. The father under goes toil and self-denial to provide a home, and then the mother becomes a self-sacrificing laborer to train its inmates....

Thus the discipline of the family state is one of daily self-devotion of the stronger and wiser to elevate and support the weaker members....

Jesus Christ came to teach the fatherhood of God and consequent brotherhood of man. He came as the "first-born Son" of God and the Elder brother of man, to teach by example the self-sacrifice by which the great family of man is to be raised to equality of advantages as children of God. For this end He "humbled Himself" from the highest to the lowest place. He chose for His birthplace the most despised village, for His parents the lowest in rank, for His trade, to labor with His hands as a carpenter, "being subject to His parents" thirty years. And, what is very significant, His trade was that which prepares the family home, as if He would teach that the great duty of men is to labor, to provide for and train weak and ignorant creatures. Jesus Christ worked with His hands nearly thirty years, and preached less than three. And He taught that His kingdom is exactly opposite to that of the world, where all are striving for the highest positions. "Whoso will be great shall be your minister, and whoso shall be chief shall be servant of all."

The family state then is the aptest earthly illustration of the heavenly kingdom, and in it woman is its chief minister. Her great mission is self-denial, in training its members to self-sacrificing labors for the ignorant and weak; if not her own children, then the neglected children of her Father in heaven. She is to rear all under her care to lay up treasures, not on earth, but in heaven. All pleasures of this life end here; but those who train immortal minds, are to reap the fruit of their labor through eternal ages.

From the pen and heart of Harriett Beecher Stowe and Catherine E. Beecher and the publishing house of Rutgers University Press 2002.

Fun Stuff Fridays - Spring Cleaning

2011-04-22T06:30:00.000-07:00

Ok! So maybe Spring cleaning isn't the most fun thing in the world for a "Fun Stuff Fridays" post, but hang with me here :)

This post is about using natural cleaners that are healthy for you, your kids and your home. Lots of cleaners out there are actually full of really wicked toxins that give people migraines/headaches, and allergy reactions on the least dangerous end of the spectrum, while other ingredients have been linked to "great" things like cancer, sterility and other diseases. The fragrances found in soaps, shampoos and cleaners of all variety (that don't come from essential oils or a natural source) are actually logged as neuro-toxins. Can't say I want those wafting through my newly cleaned house!

In our home, we have been on a slow but steady replacement track for things processed to that which is most natural. We still have a long way to go, but we are working towards it.

Let me give you a little personal background as to what sparked this change in us.

First, as a kid, lots of foods just didn't set well with my system. I had touchy, low blood sugar and "junk" food made me feel sick. When I had a home of my own, I knew I wanted to kick the processed items in our diet. In my quest for healthier eating I was shocked to learn that raisin bran wasn't as healthy as I thought it was. In fact, it was chocked full of sugar - and fake sugar at that! We had to dig deeper - beyond the dumping of American "plastic" cheese and boxed dinners. After a while, we realized that infertility was an issue for us. As I began searching for causes of infertility, lots of environmental toxins bubbled to the surface. Again, I was shocked! (I'm not saying I blame household cleaners on our empty cradle, I am just sharing my process of awareness.) To top it all off, my husband is a pastor and we are privy to a large amount of prayer requests (not to mention the ones that come in through this ministry). As I prayed for those around us with so many health issues, I began to notice that lots of those health issues were linked to preventable, dietary issues. All of these things have spurred us on to eat and live more naturally.

So here's a few recipes for some basic household cleaners and a list of links below you might find interesting on the subject matter of toxins and cleaners. I hope this info is helpful to someone out there too!

Love,

For the counter tops & bathroom in place of bleach-based products

Mix one part hydrogen peroxide (3%) with two parts water in a spray bottle and spray on areas with mold. When using on bathroom mold - wait at least one hour before rinsing or using shower. [Hydrogen peroxide might sound like a rather harsh substance, but it has been a longtime standard in first-aid kits for disinfecting cuts and even used to clear up swimmer's ear]

General Purpose Cleaner

Mix 2/3 of a cup of white vinegar, one cup water, 2 teaspoons of borax (or 1/4 cup baking soda) and a few drops of lavender or lemon essential oils for fragrance.

Laundry Soap

I make my own soap from scratch and use the left-overs from that for this recipe, but you can also use Ivory Soap and a few other brands of bar soaps that you grate up. (One of these days I will share a post on homemade soap. When you do it with a friend it is a really fun afternoon of getting to catch up, chat and relax to the wonderful aromatherapy scents swirling through the air!)

Mix equal parts of grated up soap, washing soda, borax and baking soda. Use 1/4 cup per load.

Links for you to peruse :)

Your Sacred Calling - A Christian Woman's Blog: Simple Steps to a Toxin Free Home
Natural Household Cleaner Recipes - General Natural Living Blog: Non-Toxic Home Cleaner Recipes
Deliciously Organic - A Favorite Organic Food Blog (I love the way she explains stuff!): Organic on a Budget

PS- I enjoy articles from the first and last of the aforementioned blogs, but don't read the middle blog, just liked their recipes :) I can't take responsibility for any of the author's words or opinions you might not love. In fact, I am sure that even some of my own words don't reflect the full scope of my heart and mind on a topic - so please always read with a smidgen of grace!

Wise Woman Wednesdays - The Protection of Wisdom

2011-04-20T06:30:00.000-07:00

This week's Wise Woman Wednesday post comes from Dawn Wilson. She is a local writer and speaker I met through a mutual friend at our writer's group. She has a heart that searches out God's wisdom and loves sharing it with His daughters. Here's her personal testimony of how wisdom has provided protection.

Discretion and Wisdom Provide Protection
By Dawn Wilson

“Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you. Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse, who have left the straight paths to walk in dark ways, who delight in doing wrong ....” (Proverbs 2:11-14a)

It’s clear to me, in looking back over my life, that the grace of God has kept me from many paths that lead to destruction. But also, the power of wisdom and discretion—based on biblical truth—has also guided my choices.

My teachers taught me solid, practical truth, and God’s truth principles are powerful protection for us.

As a child, I sometimes kicked against boundaries my parents put in place for my good; and I hate to admit this, but even as an adult, I sometimes fight God’s words of warning that are designed to bring me His blessing while guarding against evil. How much better it is to embrace God’s words of wisdom and make choices with His heart in mind.

Godly wisdom truly “saves” us from the ways of wickedness.

Dawn Wilson

Co-author of LOL with God: Devotional Messages of Hope and Humor for Women

LOL blog:                     www.LOLwithGod.com

Choices with God's Heart in Mind
Website:                       www.heartchoicesministries.com
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Dawn's Newsletter:        Contact Dawn for "Choices, Choices, Choices" (free!)

What Happens When We Carry Too Much

2011-04-19T00:29:00.000-07:00

For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot says, "Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. And if the ear says, "Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body ," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. If they were all one member, where would the body be? But now there are many members, but one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; or again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; and those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable, whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. 1 Corinthians 12:14-26 NASU

I spent most of the day laying down with a whopping back ache. Sunday afternoon was bright and sunny, so the garden was calling me. I was enjoying myself outside and decided to do some extra work. I lifted a few things that were too heavy for one person, but thought I’d save my hubby the trouble.

When I woke up the next day I had no idea what I had done to bring on this torrent of pain, but was very soon enveloped with a reeling stomach ache from my back. It was some time later when I heard my husband move something out in the yard that I recalled all I had lifted and ... duh!

It is always my natural tendency to try to do things on my own. I don’t want to be a burden to anyone else... and when I do ask for help it often seems the timing or request isn’t quite right for the person from whom I requested the assistance. As I laid flat on my back today, I was thinking over this resistance to get help, this need for independence that most of us have.

Spiritually speaking, we are created to need one another. Makes you terribly vulnerable, doesn’t it? We are all individually accountable to God for our relationship with Him, how we use the gifts He gives us, etc. But there is an aspect to our Christian growth that is very interdependent with our fellow family in Christ.

The times I have spiritually grown most (in my assessment), were the times I had sweet fellowship, a wise older sister in Christ that shared her life and wisdom with me, and wide open opportunities to share and serve out of the good things God had poured into my heart. There is much to learn from the seasons when God requires you to stand alone in your faith; or when you don’t have someone spoon feeding you truth, love and encouragement; or when you don’t have the conventional outlets to serve and have to look out-of-the-box or simply learn the art of rest and quietness. But there is also the reality that we weren’t made to live out our faith in an isolated manner. We need one another! We need to be prayed for just as much as we need to pray for others. We need encouragement and truth spoken over us just as much as we need to seek to pour out that love on others.

Some years ago, our women’s ministry director had been burning the candle on both ends. She was working incredibly hard at her job and simultaneously putting on the biggest event our church had ever hosted. As I looked at her tired eyes, I asked her if I could bring over a meal, come and run a load of laundry or clean for her. She had been commenting on how upside down the house had become, so I just thought I’d offer. Her eyes widened and she quickly said NO! She was embarrassed and didn’t want to seem needy or incapable. I assured her I had seen and cleaned up my share of messes and would just be so happy to do something for her after all that she was doing for our church. She didn’t want to take help with any of it. While I wished that wasn’t the case, I understood where she was coming from. I couldn’t say I wanted people popping over into my messes to set them right again. But, isn’t that to some extent what the body of Christ is about?

When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, He told the grievers to unwrap Lazarus. No doubt it was a miracle that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, but I’m not sure that Lazarus came out of that grave without a fair amount of stink still clinging to those grave clothes. God accomplishes miracles, but He also generally allows His people to participate in the process - and that usually means getting our hands dirty!

We need people to help us get untangled from our grave clothes. We need people to lift our arms when we are battle weary, like Moses had Arron and Hur. We need to let people minister to us and diligently seek out ways to minister to those around us - so that we don’t find ourselves laid up from carrying too much of a load.

Fun Stuff Fridays - A Message of Hope

2011-04-15T06:30:00.000-07:00

This week's Fun Stuff Friday post actually comes from my wonderful husband! He is the teaching pastor at our church and this was a sermon he gave a few weeks back. It was an encouragement to many of us in the congregation, but was a special blessing to me.

As a kid, I remember thinking that it must be a very odd thing to have a pastor that was also your husband. As an adult, I can gladly say, that in my case, it is the most wonderful thing! Truly, God designed all of us to have our pastor also be our husband. However, in our modern context of the word "pastor" we just don't often think of it that way. But the role of husband was designed to be one of spiritual protection, counsel and encouragement. (We wives also ought to be vessels of God's truth, love, encouragement, etc - so don't get me wrong here!) I know some women out there don't share their faith with their husbands. But for those of you who do share the bond of faith between you, I hope you might come to see your husband as your pastor too and encourage your hubby in His God-designed role. Well, enough of that! And on to the message from my honey :)

Click here to access the message.

Have a great weekend!

Wise Woman Wednesdays - Seasons

2011-04-13T06:30:00.000-07:00

This week's Wise Woman Wednesday Post comes from Lisa Copen, director of Rest Ministries. She has been a previous guest on Wise Woman Wednesdays and will continue to bless us with her heartfelt words of wisdom from God's word. I know today's post will be an encouragement to you!

It Is Not The Season For Figs

I have lived with rheumatoid arthritis since the age of twenty-four, eighteen years now. After going through the cycle of grief many times with each new loss, learning effective ways to cope, and finding God's calling through this thorn in the form of a ministry, one would think that daily frustrations over the little things would be something I have conquered.

But I still get angry when I see advertisements showing women with my illness in cute high heel shoes. I will never wear anything but orthopedic shoes and those photos seem deceptive, even mean-spirited.

Mark 11:13 says, "Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs."

For me, it is not the season for red high heels. In fact, that season may never come around again. But I have learned that many set backs are just for a season. And while I am trying to get through a winter, I may not bear fruit that is obvious, but God is using the time to draw me closer to Him; to give me insulation from my own expectations; to provide me with a time of hibernation from other's expectations.

Spring always comes. It may come in the form of new relationships, a fun event, or just a refreshed sense of God in our life. And yes, despite the sun shining and the flowers blooming, we may not get to put on sandals and have all our prayers answered. We may be sludging through those spring showers in our orthopedic shoes.

From the heart and pen of Lisa Copen
Rest Ministries, Director
http://www.restministries.com

Fun Stuff Fridays - Filling your World

2011-04-08T06:30:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday everyone :) We all made it through the week!

I wonder what your week brought into your life? Expected routine or unexpected change?

The weeks around our home generally seem full of the unexpected more than the routine. (I have always marveled at those women who write organization books and talk about how their life is scheduled three months in advance down to the hour... kinda makes me wonder if those women have any other people in their lives... but that is a little rabbit trail rant for another day! ;) Anyway, amidst this whirlwind called life, there is one thing I can expect for certain - my need for God's Word.

I must confess that I am not the best at memorization. I generally swap a phrase's order or make small mistakes that leave me more frustrated than successful at it. My husband has multiple large chunks of entire chapters of Scripture perfectly memorized in his steel trap noggin. (I mean like Romans 6,7,8 and 9 - all in there in order and everything!) Not me! No steel trap mind here :) He calls it spiritual fast food. He can pull up a Scripture the moment he needs it from his mental index folder. I have a lot of Scripture tucked away in my heart and mind, but not as word-for-word perfect as he does. But one way I access that spiritual fast food is by covering my world with Bible verses. I have Bible verses in my bathroom, kitchen, office, day-planner (which is not scheduled three months in advance down to the hour!) and just about anywhere else I find to stash them. I swap my verses out once I notice I am not reading them as often as I should be - and I am just about ready for a new set :)

Right now, the set in my kitchen pertains to verses about our words and being a godly woman. And since my kitchen is decorated with birds, I found little Victorian bird pictures, typed the verses over the pictures and then printed them out. They almost look like old fashioned cards. So they are pretty to boot!

I've heard it said that Ruth Bell Graham would leave a Bible open in every room and as she entered that room to clean or do some other task she would read one verse from the page, meditate on it as she carried out her duties and would go through the whole day like that - literally walking in and out of the Word all day long.

So, how do you fill your world with God's Word? However you do it, do it to the full!

Have a blessed weekend!

For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. Colossians 1:9-12 NASU

Wise Woman Wednesdays - Do Not Be Deceived

2011-04-06T06:30:00.000-07:00

This week's Wise Woman Wednesday post comes from a woman who is dear to my heart, though we live miles apart and have only met face to face a few times. She has helped me along in the process of fulfilling the writing ministry God laid on my heart and been a vessel of great encouragement for me! She is an unpretentious, honest woman whose love for Jesus just makes her sparkle! I present to you (drum roll please) the wise words of Kathi Macias:

And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many (Matt. 24:4-5).

It seems that lately I’ve been running into people of various faiths and religions who claim they believe in Jesus. After a few moments of talking with them, however, it’s obvious that they aren’t talking about the same Jesus I know and love and serve.

Though Jesus in Matthew 24 was speaking specifically to the Jewish people, His warning to “take heed” that we not be deceived by Christ impersonators carries over to all cultures and eras, particularly today when “tolerance” of nearly anything and everything has become the most esteemed virtue, and absolute truth a disdained and rejected concept.

Whether a writer or speaker, a pastor or Sunday school teacher, a truck driver or bookkeeper, if we have been born again and know the true Jesus through relationship with His Holy Spirit who lives within us, we are called to the ministry of reconciliation—devoting our lives to proclaiming the Gospel and leading people back into relationship with God, as well as restored relationships with others. But we must beware of seeking unity of earthly relationships at any cost. Human effort and a false Jesus can never accomplish true or lasting unity. In the name of tolerance we are asked to accept and even celebrate lifestyles, beliefs, and false religions that the Scriptures condemn. Many who promote this dangerous thinking also claim to believe in Jesus. But to what Jesus are they referring? Do they believe He is the one and only Son of God, the one and only way to the Father, the One who died on the cross for all their sins? Or do they believe He was simply a good man or a prophet or maybe even an angel? This is a crucial test, for belief in the wrong Jesus diminishes the work He did on the cross—and puts the onus back on us to somehow earn our own salvation.

As we go about the ministry of reconciliation to which all believers have been called, let’s be careful that even as we offer unconditional love to a lost and dying world, we don’t portray a Jesus who is anything less than who He is—truly God and truly Man, come to earth to die for our sins—all of them—once and for all.

In all that we do or say this day, may we proclaim that great truth with boldness and love. For when it comes to that truth—as ultimately it always does—there can be no compromise, not even for the sake of unity or tolerance.

Check out Kathi's wonderful books! Some of her more recent non-fiction titles include: Beyond Me - Living a You-First Life in a Me-First World, Mothers of the Bible Speak to Mothers of Today & How to Run a Tight Ship When I'm Surrounded by Loose Cannons.

Kathi Macias is a multi-award winning writer who has authored more than 30 books and ghostwritten several others. A former newspaper columnist and string reporter, Kathi has taught creative and business writing in various venues and has been a guest on many radio and television programs. Kathi is a popular speaker at churches, women’s clubs and retreats, and writers’ conferences, and won the 2008 Member of the Year award from AWSA (Advanced Writers and Speakers Association). Kathi “Easy Writer” Macias lives in Homeland, CA, with her husband, Al, where the two of them spend their free time buzzing around in their new ride: Al’s 2005 sunburst orange Corvette. Visit her website www.kathimacias.com for more info.

Fun Stuff Fridays - Comfort Food

2011-03-25T11:51:00.000-07:00

Not to sound like a pity-pot, but you know when you have those weeks where it just feels like you can't do anything right? Well, I had one of those weeks. So, it calls for a little comfort food! Not only is this a definite comfort food around our house, but the way everyone raves about it also makes this cook feel a little better about herself! This recipe was adapted from a fish house recipe from back East; unfortunately, I can't remember which one to give it the proper credit it deserves.
First, you want to make up the seasoning mixture. You will have an amount that is more than what you need for your chowder, but just save it up in a little jar and then next time you won't have to spend the time preparing it. Also, I make a bigger batch than this recipe and we eat on the left overs for a couple days :) Costco sells a two pack of big canned clams. I like those the best. The quality is fantastic and really makes the soup extra good. I also love to add Irish Fish Cakes and some homemade oatmeal-molasses rolls to the meal. Yum!

Clam Chowder

Ingedients:
1-2 slices of bacon
1 cup of minced onion
1 medium clove of garlic
1 Teaspoon of spices*
1 Tablespoon of flour
1 10oz can of clams
1 cup of clam juice
1 1/2 cup half and half (go for one cup of cream and 1/2 cup half & half if you want it to be extra rich)
1/4 Teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 medium boiled potatoes (my man likes lots of potatoes, so I usually add a bit more)

*Spice Mixture
4 Tablespoons Basil
4 Tablespoons Oregano
2 Tablespoons Tarragon
4 Tablespoons Parsley
1 Tablespoon Sage
4 Tablespoons Thyme
4 Tablespoons Rosemary
2 Tablespoons Marjoram
2 Tablespoons Dill

Directions:
Peel, cube and boil potatoes
Cut bacon into little bits and saute with onion and garlic
Drain water from potatoes and add clams, clam juice, bacon mixture and spices
Bring to a simmer
After soup has cooked in the flavors for a few minutes, add the cream
Don't let the cream boil, but bring soup back up to temperature and serve

Enjoy :)

Love Letters - 2 Peter continued...

2011-03-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance... Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation... 2 Peter 3:9,11-15 NASU
Peter begins this letter with the power of God’s promise that fuels our life change into conformity with Jesus’ character and divine nature. Peter ends the letter with a word about God’s promises and an exhortation about our Christian character as well.

Sandwiched in between these passages of promise is a dissertation on the end times, what to expect, how to guard one’s heart and life, etc. He closes by telling the church that even though they might be tempted to feel that God’s promised coming was just pie in the sky because He hadn’t come back yet, they must not look at His slowness as if He was simply absent. Rather, He is waiting, watching and wooing generations of His people into His Kingdom.

Peter then goes on to remind the church of the promise that God is indeed coming back for His bride, but also of the destruction that will come to everything and anything that doesn’t have a place within her. Knowing that God will make good on His promise to destroy the old and make everything new, we ought not pin our hearts on worldly things, but seek righteousness, holiness and diligently share His love and truth with those around us so that they might know salvation as well!

God’s promises are interesting. We like the ones that bring us comfort, like a warm blanket of love around our hearts. But then there are promises like this passage...promises that carry power, yet also the light of truth that forces us to look at life through eyes that have had the Disneyland curtain torn away from our happy-easy-American way of thinking.

Our church is currently doing a series of Compassion International announcements followed by the opportunity to “adopt” a child. (For more info, click here.) Something tells me that a mom (like the ones of the kids we support) who has lost children to starvation, has watched the ravages of poverty and crime claim the innocence of herself or her children, and seen the hopelessness of a spiritually and physically bankrupt society would not cringe one ounce if she heard the news that one day all the brokenness around her would be burned up and a new, shining and righteous world be put in its place. Instead, I imagine that she would rejoice! And the news would bring her hope to pursue God’s way of life until He comes and makes all things right.

I wonder what this promise stirs in your heart...

This promise makes me assess my life and few things come to mind.

First, there have been hard and painful things in this life and I will rejoice to see them replaced by the right-ness of God’s full and glorious reign. Second, it spurs me on to hope for, pray over and pursue the sharing of the gospel with those who don’t know yet. I have heard it said that it is not a vision of heaven that spurs us on to evangelize the most; rather it is a clear vision of hell. (I hope you notice I said it spurs us to evangelize, not inspires unbelievers to repent. A local church posted a huge, vinyl sign near the freeway about how hot Hell is and asked if passerby's could feel the heat - I personally believe that is a terrible turn-off and doesn’t follow the pattern of Jesus’ method for sharing truth with people - so don’t misunderstand me, please!) If you truly embrace Scripture as truth, there are heavy consequences for nurturing a life of sin and rejecting the Only Way free from it. We must share God’s love, truth and grace with not only our words, but as Peter reminds us, also through our conduct. Lastly, it reminds me not to seek comfort in this world. Far too often I look for comfort in the here and now. And everything pertaining to this world that is lodged within this heart of mine will not have a place in the kingdom to come. (I know however, that there will be a wedding feast, so my love for guacamole is safe - because what is a feast without good guacamole? ;)

I hope this promise encourages you to assess those same areas in your life.

How does knowing this world will be done away with and a new one put in its place bring you hope?
How does it inspire you to share the Good News with others around you? How does your word and conduct need to change so you can be a better witness?
What things in your heart... in your garage, closet, kitchen, etc, belong to this world? How can you use them for the Kingdom? How might God want you to purge your heart of worldly influence?

Blessings on this (rainy- where I am) Monday morning! Have a great week!

Fun Stuff Fridays - Girls Retreat Weekend continued...

2011-03-18T05:00:00.000-07:00

Well, last Friday I shared a little bit about our girls' get-away and thought I'd share some more with some pictures :) I didn't include too many pics of the girls simply because of the propriety of uploading pictures of people online, but I hope you enjoy them and get some inspiration for your own event!

I love the girls in our youth and college group! Women's ministry is so important for every age group. But I feel a particular passion for our young sisters.

During the teens and twenties, most women make choices that shape the entire direction of their futures, and even if changes are made to redirect their lives, women often live with the emotional consequences (if not other fallout) from those vital young years. So I feel a strong duty to throw my heart into serving these little sisters in Christ in any way I can. I hope that this post might encourage someone else out there to invest some time and heart in the young women in your church!

Here is a little peek at what we did during our 24 hour get-away:

When the girls arrived, they were greeted with tea (yummy choices of tea, lemon bars, blueberry scones with lemon curd and wedding cookies) and goody bags. The bags were handmade by me and another mom. Truthfully it wasn't that great of an idea... I had hoped we would have time to stitch a bird on the front and embroider "In the Shadow if His Wings" on it. We didn't get a chance to do that and I think the time & money wasn't quite worth it... oh, well! Hopefully the girls will feel the love poured out in the ways they were prepared for. The bags had goodies in them:

We enjoyed tea and a little discussion about what came to mind when the girls thought of putting their life under the shadow of God's wing. The mom-extraordinaire that helped me put together the goodies shared a testimony of how she could see God's hand working good in her life and how He drew her into His embrace through some earlier trials.

Then the girls were sent out on a scavenger hunt followed by a devotional about hunting for God's fingerprints in their life through even the hardest seasons of life.

Then we had a fondue dinner! It was a little too much for me to get the camera going through all this. But regardless of the lack of pictures, we had fun! As I lit the candles on the table, one of the girls squealed with delight and asked if we were really going to eat by candlelight. I told her we were. She then said, "will there be candles, soft music and dancing?" I told her I would put on some soft music, but the dancing was up to her! Most of the girls hadn't had fondue, so it was a new and fun experience for them and a great opportunity for conversation. Another fabulous mom dropped off all the veggies and fruit for dipping - all cut in bite sized bits :) I provided the stuff for dipping (Swiss cheese, broth and chocolate) and the meat. The girls were asked to bring the ingredients for dipping and one mom stepped up to the plate and brought the bulk of the items. We shared a devotional about Ruth, a woman who placed her life under the shelter of God's wings. May the LORD reward your work, and your wages be full from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge. Ruth 2:12 NASU. I gave the girls a necklace with a wing charm on it to remind them to be young women who place their lives under God's protection, provision and care, like Ruth. The necklaces were assembled from jewelry goodies I purchased at Michaels and cost $2.50 a piece. I made envelopes with my cricut and glued the main verse from the devotional on the outside of the envelope. I loved this table favor and was happy with how it turned out.

Then we went to the jacuzzi and pool area at our clubhouse. Those crazy girls actually got into the ice cold pool! I tried, but couldn't muster the bravery required to turn into a human popsicle and preferred the hot jets to the frigid water :)

Jacuzzi time was followed by chocolate fondue, hot chocolate & mochas and bonfire. One of the gals led worship for the first time in front of people - and she did a great job!!! (So proud of her!) The girls shared their personal testimonies and how they felt about their relationship with God - were they tucked under His wings, wishing they were but felt far from Him or were they in a time of wandering away from God. We ended up talking around the fire until 2am! Great, open conversation!

Then we came back inside and the girls still weren't ready to go to bed. So we got out the primping goodies and watched an old movie favorite - Monkey Business :) It features Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers, but Marilyn Monroe claims the cover. Super cute movie! Primping involved foot baths, facial steamer, facial scrubs & masks, and a chair massager.

In the morning we had a simple breakfast (all the cooking and food fussing earlier meant an easy breakfast was necessary). Had one last devotional and table favor. Our devotional focused on Isaiah 40:31 and what mounting up with wings like eagles really means.

The girls then spent the next few hours making cards and watching movies. Everything was supposed to be wrapped up at noon, but they were having too much fun and stayed until 5 :)

Since the craft "factory" was pulled out, I thought I would make use of it and make some cards too :) I was given a cricut last year by some friends at church - and I LOVE it! I got some cartridges for Christmas and haven't been able to play with them until now, so I had fun too!

Thank "ewe" for letting me share the fun and sweetness of our church's sisterhood with you!

Now I am a very tired girl, but it was quite fun and well worth it!

I hope this post encourages someone out there to coordinate a sweet time of encouragement and fellowship for the young women at your church. I usually put on larger retreat weekends (at a Christian camp, with a band, t-shirts and bags with a specially designed logo - all that stuff), but this year, it just wasn't to be. Sometimes God calls us to extravagant events, and sometimes simple and sweet is His desire. This get-away was just that, intimate, sweet and simple. If you have any questions about planning that kind of an event, feel free to contact me!

Blessings,

For You have been my help,
And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy.
My soul clings to You;
Your right hand upholds me.
Psalm 63:7-8 NASU

Wise Woman Wednesdays - Our Lives are Always in His Sight

2011-03-16T05:00:00.000-07:00

Our Lives Are Always in God’s Sight; He Doesn’t Just Deal With Leftovers

"This is my doing." (1 Kings 12:24)

The struggles of life come in many forms, whether it be a prodigal child, unemployment, illness, or the loss of a loved one. We all suffer because we live in a world that is tarnished with sin.  There are many hot-fueled emotions, however, about whether God causes this pain or if He simply allows it to touch our lives.
1 Kings 12:24 says, “This is my doing."  We all long to believe in a God who comforts us and has a lap we can curl up into. We do not always want to think of God as a Father who must also use discipline, even when it is painful. As parents, however, discipline is not punishment. It is a tool to raise our children to be more Christ-like, just as God desires us to be.  Coping with my own disease, I have chosen not to think of my illness as Satan's doing, because it is in fact, a part of my identity. My weakness is God's strength. I find the most comfort in trusting that God has always and fully been in control. My illness is not Satan's brainstorm with God being expected to make something out of the leftovers. Since I was formed in the womb, God knew rheumatoid arthritis would be a part of who I am.  Jesus is a man of many sorrows and familiar with suffering (Isaiah 53:3). Despite them, He always turned to God to talk about them, asking for strength, comfort, and even for the cup to pass.  Regardless of where the source of our struggles come from, we must follow Christ's example and always turn to God because this is His doing.

Prayer: Father, help me to know that though I may not know the reasons behind my sufferings, You are always there to comfort me and that the situation has never once been out of Your sight.

About the Author:
Lisa Copen is the founder of Rest Ministries and the author of “How to Start a Chronic Illness Small Group Ministry.” You can read more about this book at http://startasmallgroup.com. It’s packed full of 320 pages of information to help you decide if a HopeKeepers illness support group is in your future and where to go from the calling to the practical steps.
www.restministries.com

Fresh Start Monday - Increasing Measure

2011-03-14T01:17:00.000-07:00

Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you. 2 Peter 1:5-11 NASU

Last week’s devotional covered the first five verses 1 Peter chapter one - read that devotional for the explanation of “Now for this very reason...”

Whether in youth ministry, home fellowship groups or from the church pulpit, my husband often finds that he is repeating again and again a similar message - salvation is completely free to you and me, we will never get our lives sparkling clean with perfection this side of heaven (so don’t get lost in guilt, just repent!) and that they key to our Christian life is growth in Christ. If he were teaching on this passage, I know he would say the same thing about it!

Some people might look at this passage and think it means that we must have lives of moral excellence, knowledge, godliness, love and kindness in order to turn the knob on heaven’s gate. I don’t interpret it that way - and other Bible scholars don’t either. I believe the heart of this passage is twofold. First, when we grow in Christ in such a way that others can see our lives changing in Him, through Him and by Him, they know for certain that we are on our way to heaven. We don’t want to give people cause to doubt our heavenly citizenship or reason to stumble over the testimony of our lives. Paul wrote, “If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire” 1 Corinthians 3:15 (NASU). Paul was referring to the day when our lives are judged for reward. The times when our lives are surrendered to God’s plan in obedience and faith will come forth as gold, but the seasons of selfishness, worldliness and sin will be burned up like hay. There are Christians who get their ticket to heaven, but live their life for their own pleasure. These are the ones who will get into heaven, but they will just make it through with their ticket and a lingering scent of smoke as they squeak in the pearly gates.

The second important element of this passage is that we can make choices in our life that lead to growth in Christ or stumbling. If you want, you can take that heaven-bound ticket and reject the other gifts God wants to give you, but based on experience and the Word, it’s a pretty fair gamble that life will be bumpier than necessary. Or, you can diligently exercise those spiritual muscles and grow in Christ so that you aren’t stumbling through life. It is great news that you don’t need moral excellence to make it into heaven, but without moral excellence, life on earth will be a lot harder!

Sometimes it is hard to know if we are on the right track in life. Sometimes I see God’s hand moving and directing me in miraculous ways that build my faith and weave brilliant colors into the tapestry of my testimony. Other times, I wonder where He desires my efforts, where my place in His agenda lies, etc. In those times, I have learned that the simple answer is to just seek to grow in Him. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. I want my life to be fruitful! I dread the thought of having a useless life that burns like hay at the end of my journey through this life. Those moments when you feel like you can’t find your place in His kingdom, simply turn your focus to His word and the cultivation of His character in your heart.

Some years back, we went through some ministry transitions. I had been the director of our children’s ministry at our previous church and attended seminary alongside my hubby. It was a sweet season of life. I knew right where I fit. I flourished in the creative and leadership environment God had opened up for me. When we switched churches, my seminary training and previous leadership were viewed as a threat. I was taken aside and asked if I “knew where my place was.” I had no aspirations of being a pastor; my seminary training was a thrill for me and hopefully would go to good use in encouraging God’s women and His children. But because of all this I was removed from the public ministry I had previously enjoyed. There is always something to be done in ministry. But during that transitional time, I didn’t know where I fit. I found that one wrong move could step on someone else’s territory and reap trouble. I felt useless and unfruitful.

The key to overcoming that fruitless feeling was simply in diligently committing my heart to flex those spiritual muscles every time God brought an opportunity my way. Would I waste time on the internet or read a Christian classic? Would I feel sorry for myself and whine to God about it, or would I pray for the kids in our youth group? Would I complain to my husband or focus on making him feel my love and support? If I was gaining those qualities Peter listed in increasing measure, my life would be fruitful and useful in God’s hand, whether or not I found my niche in our church body. And as Peter said, if I let those opportunities to grow slip past me, I would be a short-sighted woman who had forgotten the work Jesus had done for me on the cross.

Two times in the passage Peter mentions diligence. I think that the heart of our Christian life is wrapped up in diligence. The effort dynamic between God and man in the story of our Christian growth is indeed a bit of a mystery. But diligence is spelled out plainly for us! We can’t wake up one day and decide to have faith to move mountains. But our faith will grow by hearing God’s word (Romans 10:17). So the diligence comes into play when we decide to seek out faith-feeding reading and listening materials. God grows the rest!

If we want our life to bear fruit and usefulness for God’s purposes, we just need to make those small diligent decisions that position our lives close to God’s heart.

Do you feel your life is characterized by fruitfulness?
Are you growing in these qualities Peter listed?

Fun Stuff Fridays - Girls Retreat Weekend

2011-03-12T04:33:00.000-08:00

Every spring the last few years I have coordinated an annual retreat for the youth girls in our church. It has always been a bridging retreat - bridging the gap between the generations. Moms and daughters come together, but also women who care about teen girls and are willing to invest the time and energy it takes to be part of such an event. I LOVE doing it! (Click here to read an article about the impact and importance of bridging the gap from my personal experience.)

This year our retreat took on some changes. We have a smaller group this year and the moms/ women on the coordinating team had some new life developments that kept most of them from their usual availability. So we made it a shorter, overnight get-a-way at my house. I fully intended to share some pics of the goodies, but don't have them ready yet :( But for right now I can say, my house is full of sweet, younger sisters in Jesus whom I adore and we have had such a sweet time of fellowship together and with our Abba!

Our theme is In the Shadow of His Wings. We have been discussing what it looks like to be a young woman who positions her life under the care, protection and provision of our Lord. One of the high school girls did her first ever session of worship leading. I know many more will follow. Much time was spent and love poured over a variety of crafts and goodies between myself and another mom in the group.

We enjoyed afternoon tea together. Went on a scavenger hunt, followed by a devotional about hunting for God's fingerprints even in the hard seasons of life. Enjoyed a three course fondue dinner (with some devotional and discussion tossed in), soaked in the jacuzzi, sat around the bonfire (with yet another devotional), shared testimonies, and wrapped the evening up with pedicures and an old movie with Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers called Monkey Business - not a Christian film, but sweet, funny and one of the girls' favorites, so it was a must. I have been pulling for the Inn of the Sixth Happiness with Ingrid Bergman - a movie about a missionary woman in China, but was over ruled ;) I love old movies and have enjoyed sharing them with the girls in our youth group on occasion. We still have some more devotionals to squeeze in and some fun before our get-a-way comes to a close. Well, it is extraordinarily late so I should get some sleep! Pictures and devotionals next Friday! Have a great weekend <3

Wise Woman Wednesdays - Hang in there!

2011-03-10T12:18:00.000-08:00

This week's post comes from a woman who has been an abundant blessing to me! She was my pastor's wife from the time I was five into late high school. She is indeed a very wise woman who has been a vessel of encouragement to many!!!

"Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE, and said, 'FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH'? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate."
Matthew 19:4-7 NASU

"Don’t give up when things are bad. Things won’t always be the way they are today, and if you bail when things get bad you will miss all the good ahead.” I first learned this in relationship to marriage, but it applies to just about every situation and relationship. After seven years of marriage we were going through a tough time. I seriously considered divorce. My commitment to Christ was the only reason I was not free to leave. Soon we will celebrate 44 years of wedded bliss (mostly), and women often tell me, “I want what you have,” referring to my marriage. I want what I have too, but I could have missed it, if I’d given up after only seven years!

From the heart and pen of Lynda Harlow. Lynda serves as pastor's wife and works as the church secretary at their sweet church in Waikoloa, Hawaii.

Love Letters

2011-03-07T11:31:00.000-08:00

This post kicks off a new series for our weekly devotionals. I am calling it “Love Letters” for a couple reasons. First, every woman loves a love letter! Secondly, because I think our attitude about God’s Word should be just that; we should see His Word as a letter written to His children with the deepest of love for each one of us who picks it up to read it. His Word is personal, intimate and powerful. And lastly, because as we journey together through these devotionals, they will be based in the epistles of the New Testament. So, without further ado, here we go!

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. 2 Peter 1:2-5 NASU

I love this passage! So let’s unpack it! First, anyone out there need a little extra grace and peace? I think I can always use an extra supply of that in my life! The answer to how we open the flood gates for God’s grace and peace is tucked in that first sentence. Those qualities are “multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord...”

So it is through our knowledge of God that we access peace and grace in our lives. But not just a casual, I sit in pew 12 on the right-hand side, make cookies for the bake sale every year, and listen to the preacher kind of church-y knowledge. This word for knowledge is a personal experiential understanding. The word used there for knowledge is the Greek word epiginosis. Vine’s says that our word, epiginosko, “lays stress on participation in the truth.”* Are you participating in your relationship with God in such a way that you are growing in your experiential knowledge of His character? I hope so!

During a time of stress in high school (family member diagnosed with cancer, tests coming out my ears and college decisions needing to be made) I was bemoaning my circumstances to a friend. She asked me what character trait of God I was forgetting. It wasn’t a sympathetic response, but it was the right one. Frankly, in my state of mind, I was forgetting just about every character trait of God. It was the first time I realized that keeping God’s character ever fixed before my eyes was tantamount to my being able to live out the emotional stability and fruitfulness that my Abba wanted for me. Years have passed since that first lesson on the subject, but still today, in those moments of intense stress, I far too often allow life to cloud out what I know to be true about my heavenly Father. As followers of Christ, we won’t ever be able to be exempt from experiencing emotional struggles, but our rock solid conviction of who our Father is shelters us from the wild waves of our fleshly responses ruling our life. Need grace and peace? Remember your Father’s character and don’t let life overshadow His strength!

God holds out a never-ending supply of grace and peace to us. This passage also highlights something else He holds out to us: His divine nature. Now participating in the divine nature of God is something in a realm so far beyond our human ability or understanding that it is only through “His precious and magnificent promises” that the door is unlocked for us to share in the nature of God. And it is these promises that open the door of escape to the corruption in us and around us.

I don’t know about you, but I desperately want a life that is spilling over with grace and peace and a life that reflects the divine nature of my heavenly Father! I am so glad that my chances of experiencing this are not based on my ability, but on God who has called me to Himself and has given me - and you - a great many promises:

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6 NASU

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ...
2 Corinthians 2:14 NASU

And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19 NASU

These are just a few of God’s promises to His children. Hopefully through this series we will get to enjoy all the New Testament promises together - we’ll see!

I am praying for you today that God would stir up remembrance in your mind and heart of His character in such a way that it would pour grace and peace into your day and that you would seek hard after His promises so that you might experience the fullness of all that your Father has called you to!

Love & prayers,

*(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers.)

Fun Stuff Fridays!

2011-03-04T06:30:00.000-08:00

Well, here we go with the first "Fun Stuff Fridays" post. It is about OAMC or Once a month cooking. I hope you enjoy it!

I recently had a number of gals quite a bit more seasoned in the areas of house and home than me ask what once-a-month-cooking is. I was surprised they hadn't heard about it. So I thought I would leave a post about my most favorite time and money saving system. Usually I find ways to save time or money, but not both. So this one has been a real treasure for me!
Now, for starters, I am not a naturally organized person. So don't think you need to be for this to work ;) Once a month cooking is just what it sounds like. But each person can decide how fully cooked they want each meal. For instance, I might throw raw chicken in a freezer bag with the ingredients for the sauce I will saute it in later, but its not cooked, just prepared. I plan for two chicken dinners a week, one casserole made with chicken or a dish made with ground turkey, one soup or stew, and one fish or beef meal. Usually we have one dinner a week with our youth group and another either out on a date or with family. I save money because there is virtually no waste. Before I started using the OAMC (Once-a-month-cooking) system, a package of chicken might go bad in the fridge because our busy schedule interrupted cooking. Or my veggies might spoil. Now I freeze nearly everything! I even bake a batch of scones, put the extras in the freezer and can pull them out, warm them and have a nice tea ready in a jiffy for the unexpected guest. And yes, they turn out tasting great even after being frozen. Now those unscheduled times are much more fun for me because I am more ready- no guarantees the house is spotless or anything! But there will be treats! You can make anything you'd buy frozen at Costco yourself at a fraction of the cost. I've made and frozen everything from egg rolls to enchiladas, lasagna, soup, chicken nuggets, bread, cookie dough and apple sauce. Do a quick read on the Internet about freezing veggies- made a few mistakes with those the first time around. It is one heavy day of shopping and one heavy day of cooking. I buy my meat on sale and then do the big cooking that weekend. I buy chicken breast (my man likes that best) and bone and skin it. Then I use the bones to make soup. After I make broth, I make the sauces for the chicken dishes and soup. Lastly, I assemble the casseroles. I use disposable aluminum pans for those; topped with wax paper and then foil. Freezer bags hold the rest of the dishes. I love it! And when the unexpected either takes us away for dinner or brings others to our home, I am ready! Bon Appetit!

I wrote that post for our personal family blog quite some time ago. Since then I have started implementing a few more healthy habits in our cooking. I also have learned which veggies I want frozen and which ones don't need to be. But if you find a "fire sale" on a fruit or vegetable you'd like to have when it's not in season, freezing it is a great way to save some extra dough! We enjoy smoothies and so I always freeze strawberries and other fruit to keep on hand. Makes life a little easier and less expensive!

Wise Woman Wednesdays

2011-03-02T06:30:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the first "Wise Woman Wednesdays" post in our series! I am so looking forward to introducing you to some women who have been a blessing to me and many others around them!
Our first words of wisdom come from Jackie Rettberg.

Anyone who is in ministry serving the Lord makes sacrifices, lots of them! But in 1 Samuel 15:22 the Lord says "Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the lord? To obey is better than sacrifice and to heed is better than the fat of rams". It would seem then, in the midst of your busy ministry life, to stop often enough to listen to the voice of the Lord and obey Him instantly, He says that is what really gives Him pleasure !!!

From the pen and heart of Jackie Rettberg, Executive Director of the Network of Evangelical Women in Ministry. Jackie is a speaker, author and former Bible Study Fellowship teacher. She was the Director of The Oasis and creator of The Oasis retreat DVD. She and John have been married for over 40 years. She attends Sierra Vista Community Church.

February Freebies - Day 19

2011-02-24T19:50:00.000-08:00

Here's the last installment of this week's audio devotional. I hope you had a great week and were reminded of the precious place you hold in God's kingdom!

Walking with the King from Happily Forever After

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Happy Friday!

February Freebies - Day 18

2011-02-24T19:46:00.000-08:00

Day Four of this week's free audio devotional.
I hope you are having a great week!

Royal Slippers from Happily Forever After

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February Freebies - Day 17

2011-02-24T19:40:00.000-08:00

Day three of the week long audio devotional freebie!

I hope you enjoy it! Blessings!

The Life of Royalty from Happily Forever After

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February Freebies - Day 16

2011-02-24T19:32:00.000-08:00

Here's day two of the free audio devotional this week!
His Delight from Happily Forever After.

May you always know that you are God's Delight!

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In His Love,

February Freebies - Day 15

2011-02-24T19:23:00.000-08:00

Here's the first audio devotional in a week long series. The devotional comes out of a Mother-Daughter retreat. So, if you are a mom out there, grab your teenage daughter and listen in :) My hope is that you might find some sweet sparks of conversation!

Audio Devotional: Your Cinderella Moment from Happily Forever After

Blessings!

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February Freebies - Day 12, 13, 14

2011-02-24T19:22:00.000-08:00

Well, I managed to get good and sick the last few weeks and slipped overwhelmingly behind in the daily freebie posts! Forgive me!

I had also intended to redesign these pdfs, but considering how behind I got, I guess I better just post 'em the way they are! The info is good, even if the design needs a little help :)

I hope they are a blessing to you!

Anxiety Pamphlet
Despair Pamphlet
Anger Pamphlet

February Freebies - Day 11

2011-02-15T13:16:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a nice Valentine's Day! My hubby and I both came down sick-but at least we were together! Today's freebie is one that is especially near and dear to my heart. It is a list of Scripture prayers that I have used to pray over the girls I have discipled, church leadership, my leadership team and my own family. I also painstakingly made little calendars with peek-holes for a picture of each one of the students in our youth group and gave them out to people in the church who would commit to pray for our youth everyday- what a job that was! If anyone out there would like the template for that, just shoot me some email and I will send it along :) I do hope that those hours of labor and the prayers offered in faith made a kingdom difference. I know the women who have prayed over me have made a profound impact in my life!
Hopefully this will be a tool in your arsenal to bring even more fruitfulness from your life into the lives of those around you! The Scripture passages have been rephrased into a prayer for a female. I hope you enjoy them!

Click link to download- Prayers for the women in your life

In His Love,

February Freebies - Day 10

2011-02-14T20:05:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope your day was filled with love and sweetness! This week's give-away theme is: You & Your Loved Ones. The resources this week will highlight relationship tools. I hope they are a blessing to you!

Today's freebie is a week long devotional of forgiveness. Whether your relationships are humming along and running smoothly right now or not, we all run into hiccups that only forgiveness can handle. The devotional is an excerpt from the Bible study: My Reflection in His Eyes. Click here for download.

In Christ's Love,

February Freebies - Day 9

2011-02-11T12:09:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday!!! I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's weekend! Just for fun, what are you doing to spoil your sweetheart this year?? Any good ideas out there?

Here is a link to a Valentine's article Let Christ's Love Fuel Your Marriage and the companion PDF freebie- Love notes from Me & Jesus

February Freebies - Day 8

2011-02-11T12:03:00.000-08:00

Marriage is full of adventures-some planned and some unexpected. One of the facets of our married life that took us by surprise was infertility. It isn't a particularly pretty word. But it is a part of God's design for our lives, at least for today. If you or someone you know shares this journey, today's freebie is for you! It is a month long devotional for couples struggling with infertility.
You aren't alone and your situation isn't just a mistake, you haven't been overlooked by God and the Bible is full of comfort, perspective and hope for those of us on this road.

Click link to download: Waiting for God to Fill the Cradle

February Freebies - Day 7

2011-02-09T09:05:00.000-08:00

Happy middle of the week- I hope it's been a good week for you so far :)
Just like yesterday's freebie, here are two links for you.
One is to an article and the second to its companion PDF freebie. I hope you enjoy both.

Article: Feeling Disconnected from your Spouse? PDF Download: Ideas to Reconnect with your Spouse
Blessings!

February Freebies - Day 6

2011-02-08T17:13:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry to be posting today's freebie a little late in the day- technical difficulties :( But everything is back up and running now! Today's freebie comes from an article I wrote a couple years ago for crosswalk.com during the New Year's season. So here is a link
to the article Cultivating a Clean Slate Marriage and the PDF 31 Ways to Cultivate a Clean Slate Marriage. May your marriage always freely flow with God's grace!

PS- I am afraid that the pdf uploader has changed the fonts on this file and an earlier download- I'm sorry! I try so hard to make everything pretty for you! But the content is still all there :)

Love,

February Freebies - Day 5

2011-02-06T05:00:00.000-08:00

This week's freebie theme is: You and Your Man. I like to call my man my"honeyman." A sweet sister from church saw a facebook post where I referred to my hubby as my honeyman. Teasingly she acted shocked-perhaps pastors and their wives aren't supposed to send love notes on fb ;) Well, that silly-sweet nickname is from an old movie, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, with Ron Howard. If that jogs your memory, you probably had to chuckle a little remembering Ronnie Howard's adorable pet names. Anyway! Whatever you call your man, I hope it is something sweet, and that you have a wonderful, Valentine's week, filled, centered and overflowing with Christ's love.

Monday's freebie: Scripture prayers for you and your spouse- click here.
Click to read the marriage article- Kneeling in prayer instead of needling and nagging

February Freebies - Day 4

2011-02-04T05:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday! I hope you have a good one! I am so excited because tonight the youth girls, their moms and me are going to see Ballet Magnificat for our girls' nite out! I have so much fun with all of them!

Ok- for this week's freebie finale here is an audio interview with Pam Farrel talking about becoming a Woman of Confidence- God confidence that is! Click here to order the book :)

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Have a wonderful weekend!

February Freebies - Day 3

2011-02-03T05:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Thursday! Friday is almost here :)

Here is a list of verses describing who you are in Christ. When I was being discipled, my mentor
suggested that I read through the list three times a day. Like physical nourishment, we need spiritual food! And during that time in my life, I needed a spiritual overhaul of how I viewed myself that required a high maintenance make-over! If you need God to do a work in you concerning your identity in Him I hope you will take these verses to heart!

Click here for download

Blessings,

February Freebies - Day 2

2011-02-02T09:46:00.000-08:00

Ready for day two of the February Freebies? Here is installment number two of our Lover of My Soul week! I hope you enjoy it!

Audio message given at mother-daughter retreat- Beautiful in His Eyes.

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In His Love,

February Freebies - Day 1

2011-02-01T23:52:00.000-08:00

Hi All! Here's the scoop on the February Freebies:

Each day of the work week I will post a fun little goodie for you, your marriage, family/relationships or your ministry. I'll post a link to it on facebook, you can join my fb page here if you want the updates. At the end of the month, these posts will disappear, so be sure you check in for any of the freebies you want while they are up and running! I hope you enjoy them! PS- if there are any particular items you would like to see offered, email me :)

This week's theme is- Lover of My Soul. These resources are centered around you and your relationship with God.

Today's freebie- How God Sees Me Cards. Place them around the house to remind you how God delights in you, His daughter-or put them in your kids' lunches, send them to a friend or use them however you want to :)

Click here for download.

Blessings,

Fun Stuff Coming Soon :)

2011-01-27T22:08:00.000-08:00

As many of you know I have taken the month of January off from blogging and a few other activities in order to invest in a few new healthy habits, fresh perspective and to plan some great ministry stuff! The month is coming to a close, and I am itching to get back into things! So I thought I'd give you a sneak peek as to what is coming up!

February Freebies!

I will be offering a fun freebie every weekday of the month of February-from audio devotionals, great resources for couples, goodies for your ministry and resources for your pursuit after God's perspective and wisdom for life.

Fresh Start Mondays

Later, in the month of March, we will kick off our new devotional series! Each devo will be released on Mondays- so stop in for some fresh brewed Scriptural encouragement and a quick pick-me-up!

Wise Woman Wednesdays

This new addition to the ministry is the one I am most excited about- Wise Woman Wednesdays! I have collected bits of godly wisdom from some of the wisest women I know. I have been blessed by these sisters and I know you will be too! I will be throwing my two cents in- but I am most excited about the gems that others have been sending in! Proverbs 14:1 says, "A wise woman builds her house..." What wisdom do you need to build your home, relationships, finances, and life in general? Check out Wise Woman Wednesdays!

Fun Stuff Fridays

Fridays I will post some fun, random goodies like freebies, audio devotionals, recipes and just plain fun stuff :)

I hope 2011 has, thus far, been joyful for you and yours! Thank you for being such a joyful part of my life! I am looking forward to these new changes and hope you enjoy them too!

In His Love,

Extracting the Precious from the Worthless

2011-01-07T01:17:00.000-08:00

... extract the precious from the worthless...
Jeremiah 15:19 NASU

It’s a new year, and a new decade for that matter! The horizon looms large in front of us all.
This month I am doing the typical January activities- reorganizing, some dietary and exercising changes and also stepping back to press into my Lord more deeply.

In the above verse, Jeremiah, a young prophet, found himself a bit off center in his ministry. The wounds he absorbed while obeying and serving God left him looking at his disappointments instead of looking at his Lord. In the very honest dialogue captured in the pages of the book of Jeremiah the Lord gives a gentle but firm correction to His faithful servant. He tells Jeremiah to repent of his perspective and to extract the precious from the worthless, then God would reinstate him in service as His spokesman.

I think this conversation is recorded as a reminder for all of us to do the same- to clean out the closets of our heart, scrub the walls of our minds and get our perspective realigned. It is when we have our focus right that we are usable in God’s hands for whatever purpose He has laid on our lives.

The very heart of this ministry is about bringing God’s perspective into the daily lives of His daughters. Perspective changes everything- and maintaining (as best as mere humans can) a “God’s-eye-view” on life is worth whatever work or sacrifices it might require. I am taking a short time to really search my heart, clean out my mind and quiet life enough so that God can readjust things in me so that I can be most useful in His hands. I will be taking a break from the weekly devotionals, but am very excited about the next series that is brewing in my heart- and I think you will really enjoy it too!

May God’s joy and peace fill your heart this new year and may you also extract the precious from the worthless so that you might be positioned to fulfill God’s purpose for your very precious life!

PS- check out this month's freebie from Arlene Pellicane- 31 Days to a Younger You from Harvest House! Click here.

Christmas Blessings

2010-12-24T10:40:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!
Click here for some spiritual Christmas encouragement for you! I hope that you and yours have a wonderful Christmas and Blessed New Year!

With love,

The Consolation of Israel

2010-12-13T11:37:00.000-08:00

A name often reveals quite a lot about the one who bears it- especially when the name is a description straight from the heart of God about His very own son! These weeks leading up to Christmas, we will bask in the light of the glory revealed through the names of Jesus before His birth and shortly thereafter. I hope you enjoy this short advent series.

And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,
"Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace,
According to Your word;
For my eyes have seen Your salvation,
Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES,
And the glory of Your people Israel."
NASU Luke 2:25-32

Consolation of Israel. Christ. Salvation. Light of Revelation. The Glory of Your People.
That is a lot of names thrown around in a short passage! And what a precious passage it is! Simeon, an old man, had been promised by God to see Jesus. Finally the day had arrived! The Holy Spirit led Simeon to the Temple the day of Jesus’ circumcision and when Simeon laid eyes on that little baby boy he could not contain himself! Something tells me God the Father couldn’t contain Himself either- imagine it- Christ, fully God, fully man, sent to fulfill the Law was being circumcised and lifted up to the Lord for blessing! How the Father did delight in His Son and overflow with blessing toward Him! I think that it was indescribably precious for Simeon to glimpse the Savior at this moment, but I wonder if God wanted to share His excitement over His Son a little too and sent Simeon to be a reflection of His own joy as well.
As you prepare for your celebration of Christ’s coming, consider who He is to you. Where does your deepest joy and excitement rest? Is it with the Consolation of Israel? When you see Christmas glitter around you is it because of the Christmas tree lights and shiny presents or is it because you have eyes to see the Light of Revelation and Glory of God’s People? I pray that His consolation and the joy of salvation would fill your heart today in a new and fresh way! Merry Christmas!

Read April's latest article on Crosswalk.com- A Perfect Christmas

Happy Thanksgiving from In His Eyes Ministries

2010-11-27T10:43:00.000-08:00

Here's a link to the Thanksgiving newsletter that went out to those on my mailing list. It has some fun family Thanksgiving ideas included in it and other resources for you and yours! I hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving weekend!
Happy Thanksgiving from In His Eyes Ministries.

Renewal in Truth

2010-11-19T01:07:00.000-08:00

... that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Ephesians 4:21-24 NASU

Our culture is fascinated with all manner of make-over stories- be it a frumpy teenager, frazzled mom, a house, an addict- whatever it may be, we love our tales of transformation. Well, sort of. We enjoy the easy transformations, but the transformation that God wants for our lives is often another story. In “What Not to Wear” the deal is that you have to get rid of all your old clothes and allow Stacey and Clinton to critique each piece in order to get that credit card for your new wardrobe. Not to lighten the process of sanctification, but there is some similarity between the two- we need to give everything over to God, allow Him to sift through the stuff we just shouldn’t be “putting on”, and then He gives us something much better.

As the Holy Spirit renovates our souls, God engages us in a process that is beyond our ability- the process of transforming the stuff in our lives that we can’t change on our own. Our part in the process is “laying aside the old self” or recognizing the worthlessness of a particular behavior, attitude, thought pattern, and committing it to the Lord’s care. It is interesting that the passage says the old self is “being corrupted”- even though we might have come to salvation, our life can and still is powerfully affected by the consequence of sin. And where is that sin coming from? The lusts (or desire) of deceit.

As children of God, we are being transformed into the likeness of our Father. Our old self functions on the desires of deceit and the new self is “created in righteousness and holiness of truth”. God wants to completely renovate the very motivation of our hearts. From deceit to truth- that is what we are growing toward!

So how is your renewal process going? Is it time to take inventory and get rid of some harsh speech, bitterness, anger, gossip, unhealthy relationship habits? How are you seeking to have a heart and mind that is open to renewal? Is the material you read, watch on TV, listen to on the radio, chat with friends about something that draws you into God’s truth? The process of revival requires that we give some things up. We can’t expect to have renewed hearts and lives when we feed our souls with spiritual junk food.

I recently heard someone use a passage from Philippians as her litmus test for whether or not a TV program was acceptable for her family to watch. I was struck with the obviousness of her statement, and yet how easily many of us watch something based on how “bad” it is. If it is this bad, then I won’t watch it, but if it is only a little bad, then it’s OK. Renewal will happen when we put aside the deceit and treasure the truth.

May God open our hearts and minds to see the opportunities He sets before us to journey deeper into His truth so that we might have lives characterized more and more by His righteousness and holiness- then we will have true revival!

Finally, brethren,whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:8-9 NASU

Revival Gone Wrong

2010-10-22T08:59:00.000-07:00

Lately, I have been busy- very busy- and frankly, it has started to catch up with me. How about you? I bet you have been pretty busy too. I have noticed that if I get tired enough or in a jam enough, making my own judgment calls becomes much more easy, quick and tempting than waiting on the Lord to see what He wants done.

The young women in today’s text were in a predicament that made relying on their own logic over God’s ways seem like the best choice of action to them as well.

Lot had set his camp facing into a city of deep sin and brokenness. At first he and his family only camped near the city for the purposes of trade, but pretty soon the delights of the city lured them into the very heart of it- with Lot even becoming a leader in the community. God’s design for family and sexuality had been lost beneath a sea of broken human decisions in that city’s culture and Lot’s family absorbed those messages.

Finally, God had enough of the sin of that city- even sending angels which the people only wanted to abuse- so He destroyed it. Lot and his daughters escaped the city because they heeded the angels’ warning, and while they escaped total destruction, the effects of that city’s culture still had a hold on them. The daughters realized that without other people around them, their family line would end. So they took matters into their own hands to preserve the thing that was most precious to them- their family name.

Come, let us make our father drink wine, and let us lie with him, that we may preserve (revive) our family through our father. Genesis 19:32 NASB

So the girls did just as they planned, got pregnant and the result was two nations of people- the Moabites and Ammonites. It is an ugly tale. And in my searching through Scripture for God’s word on revival I found it a rather hard fit. But the reality of life is that when we find ourselves in a jam it is far too easy to take matters into our own hands and end up making quite a mess out of things. The decisions these girls made just seem so extreme- but haven’t we all made a few extreme choices based on our own wisdom as well? Haven’t we all hit a wall financially, relationally, emotionally, or mentally that led us to something we wouldn’t have otherwise chosen- or at least hit that wall that made us more vulnerable to the temptation?

When we are in a hard place it is easy to rationalize that this- whatever this is- is our only option. God wants to take care of you. He is invested in seeing you through this life with flying colors- He came that you might have life more abundantly (John 10:10). So wait on Him! If you are tempted to do something because it seems the only option, wait just a little longer. If you are busy and find yourself making snap decisions, pull back and let a few things go so that you can linger in His presence and get your fill from Him.

Psalm 143:11 says, “For the sake of Your name, O LORD, revive me. In Your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble” NASU. If you feel like you are in one of those dog-weary places and are ready to just take matters into your own hands, lift your voice to your Lord and ask Him for His namesake to revive your heart.

Revival and Provision

2010-10-08T11:23:00.000-07:00

When she told the man of God what had happened, he said to her, "Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and there will be enough money left over to support [revive] you and your sons." 2 Kings 4:7 NLT

I recently taught at a women’s event for ladies who are just out of jail, in a half-way house setting, or in a tight spot one way or another. One woman at my table shared that she had just lost her job and her husband had lost his job over a year ago. Lots of us share her plight if not her position. For those of us who have jobs or spouses with jobs, it reminds us how thankful we ought to be!

If you are in a hard place financially, today’s devotional should be a bit of encouragement for you! God sees and cares about the place you are in!

Apparently, he had been a godly man, a prophet in his time, but when he died he left a heap of bills behind. His wife and young sons were left destitute and creditors were ready to take all of them into servitude. God allowed for His people to have a system which enabled them to work off their debt, but it was to be short lived and never abused. Bible scholars believe that during this time in history the taking of credit and forcing debtors into servitude was much abused in Israel. Does some of that sound familiar to you? God never intended for His children to be big on debt (that is a whole study in itself) and He never wanted us to owe someone so much that our lives would be beholden to them. Our hearts were designed to be beholden to God alone.

This story (2 Kings 4:1-7) depicts a family that might be in a similar situation to one you are in as well. Yes, debt wasn’t the design, but times got a little rough, and so a little credit here and there suddenly mounted to debt that this widowed woman could never overcome. Maybe you aren’t widowed- but like the woman I mentioned earlier, you are alone in the struggle to provide. Her husband was so devastated over losing his job that he had sat on the couch for the whole year. She was sure he would never work again so it was up to her to bring in the bacon.

In times like these God doesn’t say, “look kid, you got yourself into this mess- now you get yourself out!” Nope! God sent His prophet Elisha through the town just at her moment of greatest need. She begged for his help and God privately met her needs. Elisha instructed the woman to gather as many pots as she could find- even to borrow them from the neighbors. Then her and her sons were to pour oil from one container into all the others after the door of their house was shut behind them. God filled each container with precious, valuable oil that would allowed them to survive. And He did it privately, just for them. Can you imagine if those money-hungry creditors had heard about what happened with the oil- how they might have tried to abuse the situation? God covered this family’s need in more ways than one.

My husband and I have run into those financial seasons where we wondered what in the world we were going to do. And each time God graciously provided for us. If you have a financial burden that is sucking the life out of you- lift it up to the Lord. Yes, there are consequences for our choices, but there is also a loving God who has a history of covering our debts.

Spiritually speaking that was Jesus’ entire mission-
When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Colossians 2:13-14 NASU (emphasis added)

I’m not applying this passage to an overdrawn checking account or a maxed out Visa- so don’t get me wrong! I am saying that if God so desperately wanted freedom for your life that He was willing to come and pay your spiritual debt for you- how much more should we talk over our everyday, temporal, financial debts? He sent Elisha to a widow woman with a house full of hungry boy’s mouths to feed to free them from debts they couldn’t pay. He sent His son to pay a debt He didn’t owe because we couldn’t pay it. Whatever your debt, seek God’s face in your situation. He will shine through the midst of it! He loves you!Share

When Revival is met with Hardship

2010-10-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

The Lord had done a miraculous thing! He had long ago promised the people of Israel that He would bring them back from captivity to their precious homeland. And generations after the promise was made, ruling King Artaxerxes, sent Nehemiah back to his homeland to rebuild the wall around the city of Jerusalem. The people who lived in Jerusalem were totally unprotected from the people around them who could ransack the city and the families that lived there at will. Their first line of defense was to build a wall around the city.

The wall was an everyday, practical thing. Yet it was nonetheless a miraculous thing for a people who were held captive by a nation to be allowed to go back home and help the remnant of their people who lived there. While their hearts were full of joyful expectation toward the Lord, the “bullies” showed up. The nay-sayers and doubt-throwers came on the scene.

Now it came about that when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious and very angry and mocked the Jews. He spoke in the presence of his brothers and the wealthy men of Samaria and said, "What are these feeble Jews doing? Are they going to restore it for themselves? Can they offer sacrifices? Can they finish in a day? Can they revive the stones from the dusty rubble even the burned ones?" Now Tobiah the Ammonite was near him and he said, "Even what they are building — if a fox should jump on it, he would break their stone wall down!" ...Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repair of the walls of Jerusalem went on, and that the breaches began to be closed, they were very angry. All of them conspired together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause a disturbance in it. Nehemiah 4:1-3,7-8 NASU

God was bringing revival to the hearts of His people through the restoration of the wall around their city. He alone moved the King’s heart to allow such a thing and they all knew that God was up to something good, something healing, something hopeful in their lives. Yet, people showed up to discount what God was doing through and in them.

Have you ever been there too? Perhaps you saw God’s hand deliver you from an addiction for a whole week or month and had someone respond with scoffing and a “let’s see ya get through a whole year!” kind of statement. Or maybe you knew God was teaching you something about family, finances or another practical life issue and as you shared your excitement over it, someone came along and threw some discouragement your way.

When I was in college a pastor’s wife mentored me. Someone near and dear to me asked why I was going to see “this woman”. I told her that I knew I needed to get God’s truth in some tangled areas of my life so I could live in the freedom He meant for me to have. She scoffed and told me that I would never be able to get free of the junk that had me all wrapped up in it. She said I was just wasting both of our time.

Thank God, she was wrong! God came for the express purpose of rebuilding the broken places in our lives! When He sets His hand to work in our lives to bring revival to our hearts, there will always be some Sanballat that shows up to discourage us. So take heart! If someone has tried to belittle the work God is doing in your life, just take it as a sign that God is indeed up to something very great in your life!

I love these next verses and just couldn’t resist sharing them with you. The Jeremiah verse speaks of God’s love that washed over the sins of Israel to make her a bright and clean again; turning a sinful people bent on literal and figurative harlotry into virgins in heart once again! The verse from Isaiah always gives me hope for those “ancient” issues. Perhaps you have an issue that has been passed down through generations that preceded you and has been “the desolations of many generations”- have hope, God can and will rebuild it if you ask Him! Or maybe it is your personal issue that just feels so old that it feels like “ancient ruins” to you; one of those things you just think will never be right in your life because “it’s just the way it is”. When Nehemiah heard of the constant danger and trouble his people were in because they lacked a wall of protection, he prayed for God to work in the issue. And God did! Get on your face before the Lord and beg for Him to fix whatever it is. Sanballat asked if the Jews would be able to revive even the burned stones from the rubble to build the wall. No, they couldn’t do it on their own and we can’t do it on ours- but our God can! Let Him take His time and do it His way, He is in the business of rebuilding ancient ruins and once again making those who have acted as harlots, to be as virgins before Him!

Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins,
They will raise up the former devastations;
And they will repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations.
Isaiah 61:4 NASU

"I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.
" Again I will build you and you will be rebuilt,
O virgin of Israel!
Again you will take up your tambourines,
And go forth to the dances of the merrymakers.
Jeremiah 31:3-4 NASU

May you see God’s restoring, reviving hand at work in your life today and may it put a song in your heart and a little dance in your step!
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Revival in Your Calling

2010-09-24T11:58:00.000-07:00

Therefore, thus says the LORD,
“If you return, then I will restore (revive) you —
Before Me you will stand;
And if you extract the precious from the worthless,
You will become My spokesman.
They for their part may turn to you,
But as for you, you must not turn to them.”
Jeremiah 15:19 NASU

The prophet Jeremiah had just been through a pretty rough time. He had faithfully brought God’s message to His people and had not only been rejected, but mistreated for his obedience as well. Have you ever been in the same place too? I haven’t walked the same road as this prophet, but I have known my share of seasons when my obedience to God came at a high cost in regards to my standing with friends, family and the world around me. A.W. Tozer said that, “To be right with God often means to be in trouble with men.”

Jeremiah had been caught off guard by the staggeringly difficult response that came when he obeyed the Lord. In his shock and disillusionment, his vision of God became clouded over. In Jeremiah 12:1, he questioned God, trying to reconcile his knowledge of God’s justice but feeling that the way God has allowed certain injustices to prevail was most unfair. So the Lord tells Jeremiah he needs to return to a place of trust and faith (if you return...) and in his turning toward a heart of faith, God would send revival to his soul. God also pinpoints the spot where Jeremiah had gone awry in the first place. He had allowed some of the precious and worthless things in life to intermingle. From the passage, I can imagine that some of the “junk” that had distorted Jeremiah’s vision was his expectation of the people around him. He expected a certain result from his obedience, but got the exact opposite.

The same cycle happens to us as well, doesn’t it? We whole-heartedly give ourselves to an act of obedience only to find that the results we expected either don’t come, or come at a much different time. Maybe you went to a marriage conference and came home with great tools and a picture of what God intended for your marriage. You diligently apply what you learned, but nothing seemed to change. Or you went to a women’s retreat and caught a vision of motherhood that you embraced with fervor only to have your kids whine at the new practices you implemented. The variety of scenarios is as varied as each one of you reading this. The fact is, many of us have stepped out in obedience and come face-to-face with a season of disillusionment.

I have leaned in theory, but still have much practice in store to really get my heart to wrap around the concept, that God desires unconditional obedience. We expect that when we plant sunflowers, in a month or so we will have a batch of big, bright flowers staring back at us. Spiritually, things work a little differently than that. We can know for certain that we will reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7)- but there is a bit more mystery to this journey of faith and obedience that our micro-wave-fast-food-culture expects. We must be willing to extract the precious from the worthless in our hearts, mindsets and expectations. The most precious thing that could result from our life is God’s voice declaring over us, “well done, good and faithful servant.” The most precious object of our affection is our Lord- not the response of those around us, however dear they may be to us.

The days and seasons where I seem to reap more thorns and thistles than fruit test my resolve more than I wish they did. But I thank God for the honest examples of men like Jeremiah. If you are worn out in your calling as a wife, mom, daughter, worker, ministry coordinator, etc. I pray that you would hear God’s voice calling you back to a place of renewed faith, that He would grant you the insight to extract the precious from the worthless so that He might grace you with revival to follow Him in the high calling He had laid on your life.
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Revival in Low Places

2010-09-10T11:46:00.000-07:00

For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, and also with the contrite and lowly of spirit in order to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.” Isaiah 57:15 NASU [emphasis added]

None of us relish the low places in life. Perhaps you are in one right now, or the dust from the last valley you traveled is still clinging to you. We can find ourselves in life’s low valleys because of our own unwise or flat-out-bad choices. We can end up getting hurled there because of someone else’s hurtful behavior. Or because of no particular malice or bad judgment, but the circumstances of life seem to line up in and form a murky swamp of hardship for us to travail. Regardless of how we get there, life is sure to include at least a few deep valleys for all of us. In those deep, dark, low places it is easy to feel like you are outside God’s favor- at least that is the temptation for me.

I grew up in the church and my parents diligently taught me about Jesus’ death and resurrection that covered all my sins. However, during my young life there was much sadness, darkness and a number of incidents that young minds were not made to experience. I figured that all these things pointed to the obvious fact that God really didn’t like me all that much- if He did, wouldn’t He have made sure my life had been protected from these things? I had a great misunderstanding of God’s character. I also had a long series of years in a deep valley ahead of me. I continued attending church, loved the Lord, loved His Word, yet was sure in my heart that He held me at an arm’s length. During my later high school and early college years, God flooded my life with people He used to love on me, disciple me and ultimately reveal His truth to me. His truth that not only was He very much in love with this child of His, but that He is the God who meets people in low places. He is not the God who sits on high and meets only with the polished and pretty. He is the God whose name is Holy and who is high and exalted in order that He might reach down and bring healing to His children, hope in dark places and revival to those whose spirit is broken.

There were a great many lessons and needed pruning He has accomplished during the various valleys of my life. But a constant theme in all of them has been the wonder of His delight in bending down to aid me when my heart was utterly crushed. It is always a breath-taking experience when the hand of Majesty reaches down into the mud and mire that is my life and lifts me out of my messy estate. Looking back on those early valley years, I know that God allowed them so that my life would be a testimony to this piece of His character- the facet of His character that is clean, Holy, set apart and lifted above all else, yet would never allow any amount of mud, muck and mire to come between Him and His treasured child- no matter how much of a soiled pauper she might feel that she is.

The Lord is the One who dwells on high, yet there is no valley outside of His reach. He is the One whose name is Holy, but there is no one whose sin is beyond His saving touch. There is no dark place that you could ever be that He cannot illuminate.

If you aren’t in a valley place, perhaps you can remember one not so long ago that God met you in- thank Him for His faithfulness to you. If you are in one of those valley places right now, humble your heart before your Lord and wait confidently for His reviving touch. He promises it! I am praying for His hand of comfort, healing and hope to touch your life in a way that would take your breath away as He breathes new life into yours!

The LORD is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18 NASU
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Revival and Forgiveness

2010-09-03T12:07:00.000-07:00

Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Genesis 45:5-8 NASU

The story of Joseph is perhaps one of the most dramatic chronicles of forgiveness. Growing up, Joseph was the child of his father’s old age- the baby of the family for some years- and the son of his father’s favorite wife (now there is an entire story to dig into by itself!). Eventually, he gained another younger brother, but it was through his birth that Joseph’s mother died. So Papa Isaac unashamedly doted on Joseph. The elder brothers, of course, were far from thrilled at their father’s obvious favoritism- who would be? But their hearts grew wild and hard over the years of Joseph’s childhood. When he became a teenager, and their father began to bestow leadership on him, the brothers decided they had stomached the presence of this annoyance long enough. The brothers sold Joseph to a caravan of slave-traders on their way to Egypt.

The years in Egypt passed with darkness, trouble and pain for young Joseph. Finally, one day, the Lord raised him up through a series of events and Joseph was miraculously lifted to the honor and power of a government official second only to Pharaoh. God had given Joseph the gift of dream interpretation. Through this gift, Joseph diverted the destruction of a drought and saved many people- including the lives of his own traitorous brothers.

It is interesting to me that in our Scripture passage the word for revive (rendered here as “keep you alive”) does not refer to Joseph, but to his brothers. When some pain comes to my life, I am more quickly propelled to forgiveness when I see a glimmer of how God might have something good come from it. Yes, forgiveness is something we are commanded to give- and that for our own well-being more so than for the one who wronged us. But, how strange it must have been for Joseph to realize God allowed his brothers to hurt him and rob his life and family from him in order to save their skin years in the future. God used Joseph to save many others as well, but imagine yourself in Joseph’s place...the intensity of emotion and faith must have been beyond words!

Forgiveness is a hard thing for us humans. It requires that we lay down our oh-so-precious rights; the right to be angry, the right to be hurt, the right to be right. We could all understand if ol’ Jo spent the rest of his life in a hazy depression after the blow dealt to him! But he found the freedom to move on with his life through forgiveness. And he was so free that he was even able to be part of God’s intricate plan to bless the ones who had hurt him so deeply- sounds familiar to me...

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
Romans 12:14-15 NASU

If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, "VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY," says the Lord. "BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM, AND IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING COALS ON HIS HEAD." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:18-13:1 NASU

... bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
Luke 6:28-29 NASU

I am keenly aware that reconciliation is very different from forgiveness- and we are commanded to forgive, but called to reconcile with the wisdom and discernment of God (I always feel compelled to clarify that when we have a choice in the matter, God is generally not calling us to further unhealthiness or abuse. Let us not needlessly subject ourselves to the heartache of a relationship God is pulling us out of). What would you say if God asked you to be part of the revival and care of the one person who had hurt you the most in life? Or the person who grates on you the most regularly? Some of us have people in our past who are too unsafe to reconcile with, but can you pray for them? Can you keep your lips sealed in a conversation when you could spill the juiciest piece of gossip on this person who won’t stop gossiping about you? Could you rub your hubby’s back after a comment that made you felt like he left a knife in yours?

The relationships around us are filled with hiccups, bumps and bruises- all requiring forgiveness. Like Joseph, it is only when our lives are free from the demands of bitterness that we are free to step into the high-calling God has placed on our life.
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Revival for the Weary Warrior

2010-08-26T21:24:00.000-07:00

Then he [Samson] became very thirsty, and he called to the LORD and said, "You have given this great deliverance by the hand of Your servant, and now shall I die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?" But God split the hollow place that is in Lehi so that water came out of it. When he drank, his strength returned and he revived. Therefore he named it En-hakkore, which is in Lehi to this day. So he judged Israel twenty years in the days of the Philistines. Judges 15:18-20 NASU

I love how honest the Bible is! And our revival passage for today is one of those plain honest sections. God had just worked a miraculous victory through Samson and the jawbone of a donkey, when all of the sudden Samson notices he is thirsty- really thirsty- and the whole world suddenly comes to a screeching halt!

Embarrassingly, I know I have reacted in similar ways myself. God showed up in a powerful way but then there was something amiss and that something threw off my entire focus! While Samson, and the rest of us frail human beings, might be far too easily distracted by our own needs, God is beyond-words gracious in the ways He bends down to provide for us, His children.

As soon as Samson cried out to God, desperately thinking that he would die of thirst, God provided water to revive the body and soul of His weary warrior. What I love about this story is how it reveals that God is not surprised by our neediness; He doesn’t cringe when we cry out to Him- however over-dramatically we might go about it.

I wish I could sit at a coffee shop with you and hear how you have been in a “weary warrior” place and found God’s provision close at hand! Perhaps you are there right now... I’m not in that dreaded desert at the moment, but I have spent my share of days in the thirsty sun.

Isaiah 58 gives a promise for God’s children who seek righteousness and service, and interestingly, the promise is perfect for the heart of a weary warrior who has been hard at work in the desert-

And the LORD will continually guide you,
And satisfy your desire in scorched places,
And give strength to your bones;
And you will be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.
Isaiah 58:11 NASU

If you are in a weary place, lift your face to the Lord and know that at just the right moment He will satisfy you- yes, even in the emotionally scorched place you might be in. When God provided the water for Samson, he named the place where God met his need En-hakkore. That means the Fountain of One Calling. Lift your heart up to your heavenly Father, knowing that He will provide a fountain for you when you call. And if you are like me and you aren’t in a weary desert at the moment, let’s remember the times God has met our need, remember His promise for our future, hold on to our hearts and next time we find ourselves in desperate need, wait patiently, expectantly and with faith for our Lord who desires our hearts to be “like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.”

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Thirsty?

2010-08-13T12:21:00.000-07:00

She wasn't proud of her life, but what's a girl to do? Her relationships with men had been one train wreck after another. Tired of the judgmental glances and the cutting words, she had taken to doing her errands during the times of day she knew she would be least likely to run into any of the women from the town. But what she hadn't expected was who she would run into that day at the well. If you haven't guessed it by now, today's devotional comes from John 4:3-42 and the story of the woman by the well- one of my most favorite passages! I encourage you to go grab your Bible and read the passage before we go any further- since space won't allow me to copy the entire section of text here.

This woman had been living in the weary desert of shame, failure, loneliness and sin for a long time. She'd had five husbands and was living with her current man of the hour- a track record like that is bound to make a few heads shake even in today's culture, let alone the culture of Jesus' day. She went to draw her water at noon, the hottest hour of the day. We can surmise that she was deliberately missing rush hour at the well because the women of the town drew their water at sunrise and sunset. She thought she would be alone- but she was wrong!

Jesus asked her to draw some water for him. Her race and gender numbered her among the dregs of society and she was shocked that this man would even speak to her. While she was drawing water, Jesus was drawing her heart. She wriggled a bit under Jesus' depth of insight to her soul. But He maneuvered the conversation back to her heart need and revealed that He is the Savior- her Savior. She ran into the town to tell everyone about the Man she met by the well. They came, heard His teaching and declared that they too believed that this was their long awaited Messiah. I can't imagine the whole town just dropping what they were doing to come running out after this woman of ill-repute who claimed the Savior of the world had come to her- I mean, her of all people... unless something about her had changed in a way that compelled them to believe her. Have you ever known someone whose very countenance changed when they encountered their Savior? I have! And what a sight to behold! I think something like this must have happened to her that day. Her heart was filled to overflowing with Living Water and it washed away the stain of her past before God and man.

There are so many things to love about this encounter of our Lord with this woman by the well. I love that...

- Jesus cares about those who often get forgotten, trampled on or despised by the rest of society! If you can identify with this woman's situation, know that God has His eye of compassion on you!

- Jesus was able to get right to her heart need- don't we need that from Him in our own lives? Perhaps you have been sensing the Lord wanting to deal with something in your life and you have been wriggling a bit under His attention. Quit wrestling and surrender whatever it is to Him- whatever He touches is always better off! He does more than we could ever imagine with whatever we give to Him (Eph. 3:20)!

- This woman's soul was redeemed and that her new life in Christ spread over to a new reputation. Surely, she must have been remembered as the woman who brought the town to Jesus- instead of remembered as the woman who got around.

- And lastly, I love this little piece of the story- So the woman left her waterpot and went into the city... (v.28). She had come to get physical water and left with a heart full of spiritual water. She left the thing that she used to gather up temporary satisfaction because she had something better.

When we leave the means by which we gather up our many temporary "satisfiers" at the feet of Jesus, we are freed up to absorb the true satisfaction and renewal He designed for our souls. Ask the Lord to reveal to your heart any substitute satisfiers you might be using and ask for His grace to let it go into His hand. It is when we press into delighting in God alone that we are truly open for His replenishing, renewing, reviving work in our hearts.

You (God) open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
Psalm 145:16 NASU

You will make known to me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.
Psalm 16:11-17:1 NASU

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On a Personal Note

2010-08-06T09:11:00.000-07:00

In case any of you were wondering if I had fallen off the face of the planet- the answer is no :)

The Spring contained some very intense personal and ministry related experiences. By the time June rolled around I was running a bit too dry for writing. Later that month, my husband and I took off for a three week vacation- we've never had that much time off! We camped our way through seven national parks. We had a blast off alone in God's glorious creation with our Lord and each other. It was a dream adventure for us and we are so thankful for the tender ways the Lord blessed us on our trip. We were both in need of some rest and the change of pace that camping provides.

I love photography. When we are out and about the click of the camera replaces the tip-tap-tapping of the keyboard as I write when we are home. I included some of the highlights of our trip in case you want to join us vicariously. We visited the Tetons, Yellowstone, Glacier National Park, the Columbia River Gorge, Crater Lake, the Redwoods, and Yosemite. It was hard to pull away from all of God's splendor- but the lack of showers and a real bed did their job to pull this mountain girl back to reality ;)

Revival

2010-08-06T08:57:00.000-07:00

Whether it’s a pedicure, walk at the beach, alone time with the Lord, great cup of tea or time with sisters at heart, most of us gals are often looking for those rejuvenation moments. So much of life whirls around us, needing us, demanding from us and threatening our pure focus on the things which matter most that those times of renewal can be like an oxygen mask as we swim through life.

Lately, I have been pondering revival- both individual and corporate. Psalm 119 is the longest Psalm and focuses on a variety of topics, but specifically highlights the the theme of revival. In Hebrew, the word for revive, chayah, is used 16 times. The Psalmist begs for God to revive him according to His Word, His ways and His love. Interestingly, that same Hebrew word chayah is used in a variety of contexts. In Genesis 5:3 the word is used in the phrase “Adam lived 130 years” before the birth of Seth. In Joshua 6:25 the word is also used in the context of Rahab being “saved” from the destruction that came on the rest of Jericho. In 2 Kings 13:21 we find a most unusual account. A couple of guys were taking the body of their dead friend to the graveyard for burial. In the graveyard, some thieves were waiting to mug their next victims, who happened to be these guys. Somehow (I can’t quite visualize how this all happens) in the scuffle, the friends toss the body of their dead friend into a nearby grave. They inadvertently tossed the body into the grave of Elisha the prophet. When the dead friend’s body touched the bones of Elisha, the friend sprang to life! The word there for springing to life is our same word for revival.

What kind of revival is God working into your life today? Perhaps He is sustaining you and getting you through another day, like Adam. Perhaps He is giving you life by rescuing you from pain and destruction, like Rahab. Perhaps, like the man in the graveyard, God is bringing life to something you thought was long dead.

As I pondered these things, I realized we don’t get to pick when and how God is going to show up in our life or someone else’s for that matter. Whether we are on our faces praying for revival in our own hearts or in our church or nation, God is the One who decides what that revival will look like.

Perhaps you have been praying for God to spring life into what feels dead, but He has been simply been giving life day by day to the situation, like he did for Adam. Or perhaps you have been crying out for yourself or a loved one to be saved from a situation, but you haven’t seen the Lord rush in on His white horse to save the day as you prayed for. After long seasons of laboring in prayer over situations, when I don’t see God’s hand at work because I expected it to look a certain way, I am tempted to feel forgotten and outside God’s favor. Untrue- I know, but nonetheless, that is the temptation, isn’t it? God is always at work (John 5:17) and it is His heart to bring revival and new life to His children (2 Corinthians 5:17, Romans 12:2). It is not a reflection of His lack of concern, love or faithfulness that is revealed in those dry, puzzling or painful seasons. It is nothing more than our inability to see the masterpiece His is creating.

David was well acquainted with this very issue. In Psalm 13, David writes, “How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart all the day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me, O LORD, my God; enlighten my eyes or I shall sleep the sleep of death...” David prayed that God would enlighten his eyes. Perhaps God has been working revival into your life right under your nose, but it has come in a different package than you expected and in the meantime you wondered if God had forgotten you or hid His face from you. Ask God to enlighten your eyes. Then receive the work He is accomplishing-however He is choosing to accomplish it- and let your heart be revived in His Word, His ways and His everlasting love.

Invite a friend to join us for this new series- Revival for a Woman's Heart! I pray that we will all be blessed as we seek the Lord's face for the renewal of our hearts!

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Jesus Understands my Heart Needs

2010-06-04T10:34:00.000-07:00

“Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." 37He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Matthew 26:36-38

Last week’s devotional discussed how we can begin to look at our weaknesses more like holes for Jesus to reach through and infuse His power in our lives than the difficulties and burdens that those weaknesses generally feel like they are. One of the areas that often feels like a weakness for me is my emotions. I wish I were never stressed out, depressed or out of patience and angry. Not to mention jealous- good Christian girls are never jealous. There’s a list of ugly emotions that none of us like experiencing, and worse yet, none of us really relish the idea of owning up to them!

In our ladies’ Bible study we are studying what the Bible says about our emotions and what God wants to do with them. This week we studied the joy God designed for His children and the issues that rob that joy from us. As I prepared our lesson I was studying the way Jesus handled the sorrow He experienced. The above verse caught my attention in a new and fresh way. The God of the Universe, the Creator of All Things, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords experienced emotions so powerful, deep and intense that the pressure of His grief made Him feel as if He could just keel over and die right there! He sweat blood! I’ve been stressed and deeply upset, but I’ve never sweat blood!

Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.” Jesus is our High Priest who sympathizes with our weakness- even our weak, frail, human emotional issues. He sympathizes with us because He understands pressure, grief, sorrow, stress, anger, etc. Yet in all the emotional drama that surrounded His earthly life, He never sinned. He didn’t snap at the disciples out of impatience, like we might snap at our family members when we are out of patience. His blood sugar might have dropped low from hunger, but He didn’t get a horrid case of the grumpies like I do when that happens. He didn’t let anxiety over mean, hurtful, destructive people eat away at His insides until He was totally immobilized for His mission- like I have done. Yet He understands my struggle- and your struggle- with the emotions that derail and distract us from the good stuff He has planned for us. He understands deep, intense emotions. And the hopeful part is this- He knows what to do with them! That is good news!

If we are willing to be honest with ourselves and look those ugly emotions square in the face, and confess our inability to handle them, our sympathetic Lord will reach down in our midst and help us. Paul said, “Everything is permissible for me"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"—but I will not be mastered by anything” (1 Corinthians 6:12). Many times our emotions aren’t necessarily sin, but how we handle them can become sinful. While we might not be sinning in our emotions, we still might be mastered by them. I want only the Holy Spirit to rule in my heart- so that means I have to journey with God to boot out anything that poses a threat to His unchallenged rule in my heart. This includes my sometimes runaway emotions.

If you feel like your emotions might be a weak place in your life, commit to confessing the hard to handle feelings to the Lord the very minute they rear their ugly head in your heart. Search the Scriptures for God’s Word on the particular issue you struggle with. And study the character trait of God that would be His corresponding strength to your weakness. For example, God is slow to anger and abounding in love is a character trait of God that I recall when I get angry. And I ask for His abounding love to well up in my heart and quench the anger I am feeling toward whomever it is. It is not easy to constantly refocus your mind and heart, but it isn’t easy carrying around a suitcase of unprocessed, messy emotions either!

Jesus understands all of it, no matter how tangled or soiled it all might be. So hand it over to Him and see what He can do!

His Strength in My Weakness

2010-05-28T10:11:00.000-07:00

“And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly therefore I will rather boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake because when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

In my natural self I cringe at the sight of my own weakness and shrink back from situations that might present conflicts, difficulties and persecutions. God is teaching me (ever so slow me!) the power in the truth that is expressed in the above verse. I don’t yet look at difficult situations with a thrilled sense of expectation because I am so confident that God has something good up His sleeve- sometimes, but not all the time. I don’t usually look at the people who are seemingly always critical and stinky as gems of opportunity for God to do something amazing in the relationship, in me or in them. I don’t look at my own inabilities with a sense of wonder and anticipation of how God is going to reach through that weakness and do something great. But slowly, ever so slowly, God is teaching me to look at those kind of scenarios with faith that sees the power God can, does and is willing to infuse in the midst of my weakness.

Whatever it is for you today, the lack of a job, a difficult marriage, a health issue or the sense that maybe you just aren’t that great at doing a task that is laid before you, I am praying that like Paul you will be able to catch a glimpse of the power God is willing to pour over, in and through you and your situation.

One of the most practical ways I have found to maintain a spirit that is confident in God’s strength instead of one that focuses on my weakness, is to post Bible verses pertaining to the issue I am struggling with all around my workspace. If I am feeling anxious over lack of financial provision I look up verses about God’s provision for His children and tape those all around my house. If I feel like I will never “get with it” in some area of my life, I search for verses about God as my teacher, God as my strength, God as the One who leads me to victory, and God as the One who completes me. You get the idea. And as I read those verses, I turn them into a prayer; asking God to do in me and my situation what I am helpless to accomplish on my own.

May you find your weaknesses hidden in God’s strength and lost in His grace.

My Worst Enemy

2010-05-14T10:26:00.000-07:00

Human nature is a funny thing. I was thinking today about how we often make trouble for ourselves at the very moment the circumstances in life seem to quiet down. King David of the Old Testament was the particular object of my thoughts. He fought bears and wolves to protect his father’s flocks when he was a boy. As a very young man he stepped up to protect His Father’s people from the giant Goliath. He was then tossed into battles and wars, fighting in the king’s armies. After winning a little too much recognition, he landed on the jealous King Saul’s most wanted list. He ran for his life for years upon years. Finally he sees God faithfully fulfill His promise to David by making him king. A few more years would be required before he was king over a united and complete kingdom of Israel. And once all is settled and quiet, he decides he has earned a little rest- he deserves to stay at home when his place was to go out to battle with his armies. Then he catches a glimpse of a woman bathing. From the decision to rest, he slid down into a self-proclaimed “deserved” night of sin. When his sin blossoms into a child, he is caught in a bad place. He ends up lying, and having an innocent man killed. It is after this sad turn of events that David loses the valiant and heroic part of himself. He no longer takes leadership in his family and the consequences are fierce! One daughter is raped by a son, one son kills another and finally his own son tries to do away with him!

Sometimes, it seems that I too have become my own enemy the minute that no other enemy seems apparent. A much needed quiet moment with the hubby that should be sweet turns sour because of a miscommunication or some other avoidable issue better left for another time. Spending more money than I should have because for once I had a little extra- extra that was better spent elsewhere. Indulging in leaving some chores undone because I wanted the rest only to loathe my laziness when the unexpected guest arrives on the scene. And my ever constant battle of keeping my mouth shut often leaves me all too well aware of how I am, indeed, my own worst enemy! Well, my list could go on and on. But I think you can get the picture! It is easy to end up sabotaging ourselves!

When we come to the place where we can recognize our desperate need for God to rescue us from ourselves then He is able to work more freely in our life. It isn’t all that hard to beg for God’s help when the issue is an external enemy or issue. But when it is our own human logic or sinful nature that is the enemy, it is harder to let go of it and beg for God’s help. Yet it is these kinds of moments of surrender God delights in most-

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. Psalm 51:17

He who conceals his sin does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy. Proverbs 28:13

In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. Luke 15:10

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18

If you are also all too well aware of how your brokenness and sin ends up being your own worst enemy, call to your Lord. He will come near in your humble state and save you- even from yourself! If we hide our sin, we won’t prosper (Proverbs 28:13) but when we confess them, we can hide our weakness is God’s strength and grace. May you find Him near to your heart today!

Hidden in My Heart

2010-05-01T13:03:00.000-07:00

Our “Hidden in Him” series has focused on practical, Biblical ways we can hide ourselves in Christ and exchange our wounds and weakness for His healing and strength. The last few weeks we studied some of the aspects of forgiveness. The process of forgiveness is a practical way of loosing our wounds into God’s vast sea of grace and healing. Today’s devotional highlights a well known passage with a little bit of a rabbit trail- but hold on- the journey will be worth it!

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“I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You.” Psalm 119:11

Just this week, I kicked off a new Bible study series with the ladies in our church. Our introductory lesson dug into what God’s Word has to say about our emotions. God created our body, mind and heart with far more connectedness than we often realize. Our emotions have significant spiritual impact on our lives! We discussed how we often don’t like to really look at the negative emotions that crop up in our hearts. We’d rather go get a pedicure, grab a carton of ice cream and plop on the sofa with a movie or go to the mall than process sticky, yucky emotional junk. We have coping mechanisms that allow us to put the stuff we don’t know what to do with in an emotional closet, or under a rug in our hearts and we do our best to move forward.

When Jesus spoke the words, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20), He was speaking to Christians. We often attribute that verse to those who haven’t accepted Jesus as their Savior- but He addressed those words to the people in a church who had become lukewarm in their devotion to Him. So, I asked the ladies, if Jesus showed up wanting to come over for dinner tonight, on an emotional level- how much junk is in your heart’s living room, kitchen, bedroom closet, etc? There have been times when, emotionally speaking, I was like one of those very sad people on that show called Hoarders- Buried Alive! I had SO much stuff in my heart, so much baggage from life, that I hadn’t a clue what to do with it all! If Jesus showed up at my door I would have been hard pressed to even get the door open enough to make eye contact with Him. And in truth, when life is like that, we don’t usually want to make “eye” contact with our Lord because we know we are in a mess He doesn’t want for us. So what is filling your heart today?

Our key verse for our devotional, Psalm 119:11, says “I have hidden Your Word in my heart...” That word hidden is also rendered as treasured in the NAS version. But most other translations render it as hidden. The word in the Hebrew means all those things, but it also means to hoard. Have you (have I) hoarded God’s Word in your (or my) heart? Psalm 119:10 says, “I seek You with all my heart...” Is all of your heart even available to seek Him out? Whether it is emotional junk that has piled up in your heart, the trophies of ladder climbing accomplishments or the distractions of the world we live in, our hearts can be so full of other things, that there just isn’t much room in there for Jesus. We won’t be able to access the kind of life transformation He wants for us to have (John 10:10, Romans 12:2, 2 Corinthians 3:18) until we empty our hands and our hearts of the other things. It is when we have hoarded God’s word in our hearts that we can access His strength in exchange for our weakness. Even if there is too much stuff in our heart house, to sort through on our own, we can call to our Lord for help- He’s waiting to come in!

Practical tip- if God’s Word ever feels stale or inapplicable to your life, talk to Him about that and ask for a fresh dose of love for His Word. Be honest with God! My husband told the Lord he wanted to read the Bible, but just found it boring. He asked God to make it real to him and to give him a love for it. God answered his prayer with a resounding “YES!” Some years later, the Lord called my man into ministry and now the love that God put in Eric’s heart for the Bible is being used to ignite a heart for God in others!
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2010-04-27T00:11:00.000-07:00

Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 1 Peter 3:8-9 NIV

When we think of a calling on someone’s life we most often envision grandiose plans- like being the next Billy Graham, the President of the United States or some other high profile kind of position. Maybe we have an eternal perspective on the labor of love poured over the task of mothering, teaching Sunday school or praying for our neighbors that gives us a sense of calling. But most of us don’t automatically think of blessing those who have hurt us as our “calling” in life. Yet this is the very calling Peter speaks of in the above verses. We were called by God to be a blessing to the very people who have wounded us! Paul echoes the same sentiment in Romans 12:14, 17-21:

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse…Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

It is a tall order, isn’t it? I mean it is one thing to forgive those who have hurt us (like we studied the two weeks previous), but it is a whole different ball game when we start talking about going out of our way to bless them! The word “bless” in the Greek means to speak well of someone. The Lord wants our hearts free from the entanglements of bitterness, so He instructs us to forgive. He desires His children to be vessels of blessing, just as He was, so He teaches us to bless those who have hurt us. But He never asks us to hang good sense on the doorpost and walk into a situation we know will bring us further pain or abuse. So where is the balance in this? Honestly, I have a hard time finding it myself. But there have been two definite ways the Lord has impressed on my heart to carry out His design for me to be a blessing to those who have wounded me. Both ways have to do with speaking well of the other person.

1. Speak well of them in public. If I am in a group setting and the person in question comes up in conversation I will try my best to say something positive (still being genuine while I say it) about him/her. And if I can’t think of anything good to say, well, you know the old adage- if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all. Sometimes we need to process our hurt verbally, but there is a private time and place for that. Ninety-nine percent of the time isn’t our opportunity to verbally process our records of wounds when it disgraces another.

2. Pray blessings over them. I have certain Scripture passages from the New Testament that I rephrase into a prayer of blessing over the person who has hurt me. Sometimes I pray them out of obedience and ask God to align my heart with His Word. Sometimes the prayers of blessing flow freely from my heart. I have always found that if I am faithful in this process, God is faithful to put a genuine desire in my heart for the other person to be deeply blessed.

The ultimate sign of forgiveness is the desire to see blessing fill the other person’s life. Recently I watched as the person who has hurt me more than any other person in my life received a deep blessing in their life. I had even prayed for this blessing to come about for many years. But I was not prepared for the way the blessing would be smeared in my face and the renewed sense of wounding I would experience. The best I could do in the situation was to pray for God’s favor, grace and hand to cover this person. I did not divulge my wounds in a way that would disgrace this individual. It hurt. Deeply. And while the Lord called me to be involved in the situation, He did not require that I expose my heart unnecessarily. I desire the best for this person. And can walk free from the hurts only when I give them fully to God and His grace. May you find His grace near enough and big enough to fulfill your calling to be a blessing to those who have hurt you. It is in taking this narrow and high road that we receive an inheritance of blessing from our Father in heaven (1 Peter 3:9).Share

The Process of Forgiveness

2010-04-17T10:02:00.000-07:00

Last week we got a glimpse of God’s forgiveness for us. A vision of His grace is the best place to start when we have issues we need to forgive! Our humanness doesn’t just naturally ooze with grace and forgiveness so we need to focus on God’s strength in this area and ask Him to be strong in our weakness.

Today we are going to go over a part of the process of forgiveness. There are three “R” words that help me remember the ingredients for forgiveness. I hope they help you too!

Forgiveness is about Remembering!

We need to remember (like we did last week) God’s abundant grace and the forgiveness He has granted us in spite of our own sins. Think about how these verses point us to the truth that at the crux of forgiveness is a need to remember how we too have been in need of God’s grace and forgiveness- just like the person we are struggling with.

And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32 (NASB)

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. 1 John 1:9-10 (NASB)

Do not pay attention to every word people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you— for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others.
Ecclesiastes 7:21-22 (NIV)

Forgiveness is about Recognizing!

We need to recognize our true identity in Christ! When we have been deeply wounded by someone, we often identify with that pain so much that it becomes part of who we are and eventually the defining factor of how we see ourselves. In Christ we have been called conquerors and victors- not victims! This isn’t easy- none of this forgiveness stuff is- but we won’t ever be truly free from our hurts if we let them continue to define us. Your Creator is the only One who has a right to that place in your life!

Zechariah 2:8 holds a visual image we should keep fresh in our minds-
For thus says the LORD of hosts… for he who touches you, touches the apple of His eye.” (NASB)

The phrase “the apple of His eye” is a term of endearment. But the phrase literally means you are held so close to someone that you can see your own reflection in the pupil of their eye. God is holding you so near and dear to Himself that if you look up, you will see your reflection in His eyes! (It was based on this concept I wrote the Bible study My Reflection in His Eyes: Seeing Yourself as God Sees You). Look to God for your reflection and identity, not the stuff around you, sister! And know that God cares about even the little hurts that just “touch” you- you don’t have to wait until your arm has figuratively been blown off before you can talk to your Abba about it. It matters to Him when someone even touches you, His daughter, His princess!

Forgiveness is about Resting in God’s sovereignty and judgment.

At the end of the day, what’s done is done. If I trust that my heavenly Father sovereignly sifted the pieces of my life through His loving hands, then I must come to the conclusion that He is ultimately able to use the pain for good.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 (NASB)

We can choose to rest in His ability to set things right. Easier said than done, but it will grant us peace- something a wounded soul desperately needs!

The other aspect of His all-powerfullness that we should rest in is His ability to meet out perfect justice. Probably 90% of the junk that comes our way in life is stuff we wouldn’t want to see God send lightening bolts down on the other person for- we just wish they would knock off whatever it is they do that hurts us. I hate it when friends talk badly about me behind my back, I am hurt when people leave me out of stuff, I am disappointed when people use me, and I never liked it when my little sister borrowed clothes and returned them all wadded up and dirty, but I would never in a million years wish to see God meet out some kind of judgment on them for it! Yet, there are things in life that are deeply wrong and God wouldn’t be a loving God if He didn’t set a few things straight. He doesn’t just turn a blind eye to women who are abandoned by their husbands, or children who are abused and their innocence robbed, etc, etc. He is all-knowing, all-powerful and never sleeps- so if there is something that needs to be done over the matter, we can rest that He is the right One for the job! Let Him meet out the judgment, rest in Him and then you can live out this next passage-

Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. "But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:17-21 (NASB)

When you let God handle the matter, you can rest in Him and be the gracious princess He intended for you to be!

I hope those three “R” words are a helpful way for you to process forgiveness! Next week will discuss forgiveness a little more! May God’s grace surround you!

Freedom in Forgiveness

2010-04-09T12:11:00.000-07:00

I recently taught on the topic of forgiveness. It isn’t an easy issue- and whenever I have taught on it, God always provided me with an extra opportunity to practice what I taught! At this recent workshop on forgiveness, one of the gals in attendance approached me afterward and went on to detail all the reasons why she would never forgive- it broke my heart. Regardless of what I shared about the freedom in forgiveness, she felt that her hatred gave her strength and punished the one who had wronged her. Forgiveness doesn’t absolve the other person from responsibility for their wrong. Also, forgiveness doesn't come from something we naturally have within ourselves; it comes from the Lord who forgave us!

And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32 (NASB)

It’s OK if we don’t feel like forgiving because forgiveness doesn’t originate with us- it comes from Jesus! Over the next few weeks our devotions together will delve into the depths of forgiveness. But for today, let’s look the forgiveness God has granted us.

I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake;
And I will not remember your sins. Isaiah 43:25 (NASB)

As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
Just as a father has compassion on his children,
So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.
For He Himself knows our frame;
He is mindful that we are but dust.
Psalm 103:12-14 (NASB)

"I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud,
And your sins like a heavy mist.
Return to Me, for I have redeemed you."
Isaiah 44:22 (NASB)

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8-10 (NASB)

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:1 (NASB)

God has enough forgiveness in His storehouse for all the junk in our lives- the stuff we have done and the stuff others have done to or around us. If there are a few things you need to get God’s forgiveness for, talk to Him about it right now! He is faithful to cleanse you from whatever it is that may be burdening your heart. If you know you have someone you need to forgive, then refresh your vision of God’s grace for you and ask Him to fill you with that same grace for those in your life.

Next week we will discuss three practical ways to wrap our arms around forgiveness!
The Lord’s blessings to you!
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Our Life in Him

2010-04-03T20:55:00.000-07:00

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Colossians 3:1-4 NIV

As Resurrection Sunday approaches, my thoughts are constantly turned to the immeasurable sacrifice made by my Lord on my behalf. He did for me what I never could have done for myself on a spiritual level, but also on a practical level. Think about it. Everyone His earthly life touched (the blind man, the woman at the well, the lepers, etc) was offered the gift of spiritual salvation, but also a practical/emotional salvation as well.

Sometimes we are tempted to compartmentalize our salvation. We go to church on Sundays, and holidays like Christmas and Easter, but we don’t always let Christ into the rest of the week. He suffered, died and rose again to offer us an abundant life (John 10:10), not a barely-makin’-it-by kind of life. If you believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is God; that He came to earth, lived a sinless life and died to pay the penalty of your sins and mistakes; and that He rose again three days later to offer you that same resurrection life- then you are saved spiritually!

The above verse from Colossians speaks not only of what Christ wants to accomplish in your life spiritually, but also practically. “Set you mind” refers to the daily, moment-by-moment processing that makes up our lives here on earth. If we have our “ticket to heaven”, but don’t ask the Lord into the other areas of our life- we are missing out on a huge part of the salvation Christ offers us.

Life lately has been full of distractions and some down right painful circumstances for me. As things pile up, one after the other, I have to direct my thoughts to my Lord and not the stuff going on around me. My life is hidden in Christ. I can bury the hurts and hiccups, the disappointments and disillusionments, sins and failures in His love, in His grace, in His sovereignty- in all that makes Him bigger than me and my circumstances. There is enough grace in His sacrifice for us to lose everything that holds us back in life in Him. Our glory is stored up in heaven where nothing can tarnish or steal it! I don’t know what you are facing down in your life right now, but I know that you can hide your life in Christ and find the hope, glory and deep significance that is supposed to make every day a celebration of Resurrection Day!
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When God is for you!

2010-03-11T22:16:00.000-08:00

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? Romans 8:31-32

The context for the above verse is a list of troubles that come against us in life, specifically persecution for faith in Jesus. While many of us in the West have not experienced physical persecution for our beliefs, we might face other kinds of trouble. James gives us a promise that not many people underline in their Bibles: Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12). Whether you are simply trying to raise your children with godly values, conduct your work with humility and truth, or trying to be a single woman who values purity of action and heart, there will be difficulties that threaten your resolve.

One particular issue that clouds my vision of godly living is the people in life who come along and are just plain hurtful. Relationship conflict has been a surefire way to get this girl’s eyes off the goal Christ set before me. And He is currently working that issue out of me. I must confess I have not enjoyed this classroom; but I desperately want to pass this class! As the Lord has presented me with His lessons and tests through a variety of circumstances that have felt very “against me”, He whispers into my heart “Will you believe that if I am for you, not even this can be against you?” It boils down to a trust issue. Will I believe Him and His Word or not? I have actually begun to make a visual image in my mind of the circumstance that feels “against me” and embrace it as if it were a gift that God intended to use for me! Nothing difficult feels like a blessing when it first rains into our life. But faith in God looks past the rain to see the garden that will bloom after the downpour.

So what are all those things in your life that feel as if they are stacked up against you? Write them down, list them out. Then write over each one, “God is for me.” If God is for you, precious sister, how could anything really be against you- God’s chosen daughter, His princess and delight? His power is greater than all of our hardships combined and just to show us, He will turn the trouble into a treasure if we will only trust Him with our hearts.

Hidden in Him

2010-03-05T12:18:00.000-08:00

Sprinkled throughout all the beauty, life often pours out its share of bumps and bruises, disappointments and devastations. Sure, we all have a lot to be thankful for, but what do we do with the hard stuff? The shocking, I-can’t-believe-this-happened stuff? Or the kind of things that make you wonder if it will ever stop hurting just to inhale?

In times like these we have a few choices. We can ignore the pain and stuff our feelings. We can get lost in the sea of emotions that swirls around us. Or we can get lost in God. I have tried all three. Getting lost in God instead of the pain has proven to be a better choice every time.

David writes, “Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings” Psalm 17:8 (NIV). I think in the middle of the raging storm around us, God holds out an invitation to hide our hearts in His. Turmoil brings out the smallness in me; meaning I sense how very not in control I really am. It makes me see that I can’t fix circumstances, people or even myself. God is the Fixer of all things broken. Not me.

If circumstances around you look a bit dark, make a conscious effort to choose to believe that God’s goodness and sovereignty cover your precious life. When we believe Him over the information that our short-sighted human perspective provides we will soon find the darkness around us has become the “shadow of His wings”- next to Your Father’s heart, which is the safest, and dearest place a child of God can rest her head.

The next few weeks we will be embarking on a devotional series titled Hidden in Him. Together we will search out Scriptures to get an idea of how we can exchange our wounds and weakness for Christ’s healing and strength as we find ourselves Hidden in Him. Invite a friend along for the ride!
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Deep Love

2010-02-25T22:55:00.000-08:00

Love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8

What does loving each other deeply look like? The verses following this statement might give us some insight-

Be hospitable to one another without complaint. As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 1 Peter 4:9-11 NASU

As I prayed over our devotional for the week, I felt drawn to this verse and considered a discussion on love that forgives. While forgiveness is undoubtedly part of this deep love package, the context of that forgiveness is where I want to focus our attention. Hospitality- it isn’t easy, is it? My husband and I are part of a church plant that just celebrated our one year anniversary (Praise the Lord!). We meet in a school auditorium on Sunday mornings. Our weekly Bible study groups meet in homes. We host two and sometimes three of these groups a week. As we added a much needed young families small group (which I am loving), my “food” load for the week reached 60 people. When I calculated the food and foot traffic I knew why I had been so tired! (Yes, there is delegating, but that is for another devotional.)

Right around the time Eric and I got engaged, he had been reading the biography of a well known pastor from eons ago. The pastor’s sermons were great, but the extra anointing came from a special bond that was formed between the pastor, his wife, and the congregation through the way the ministry couple opened their home so freely to everyone. Knowing we were headed into full time ministry, and God’s Word on the subject, we began praying for a special gift of hospitality.

Fast forward to a couple weeks ago. As I prepared for another small group, I told the Lord I wasn’t sure if this hospitality thing was really my gift. (That was my tiredness talking!) The Lord reminded me of our prayer years earlier and also of this verse. Love spills onto the pages of people’s lives through simple acts of hospitality. Yes, as the verses states there are “special” gifts given to each of us that we must be faithful to use. But all of us are called to hospitality.

I know a woman who has hosted a Friday night Bible study for nearly thirty years. Antiques and furniture have been broken. The carpet has been spilled on more times than anyone could count. She has stayed up late as families fellowshipped into the wee hours of the night- even through her husband had already retired for an early morning wake-up call. She has made more pots of coffee than probably anyone I know- even though she is an English tea drinker and doesn’t touch coffee. Children have been loud, and at times, down right unruly. And through her hospitality people have learned God’s Word together, been prayed over, cried over, cared for and deeply loved. I know. I am one of them.

A deep love for people is required to be a hospitable person. It takes a lot ‘o love to cover over the multitude of spills, bumps, and mishaps. Yes, looking through eyes of love covers over harsh words, failed expectations and the many impasses we come to in our relationships. But in a tangible sense, if we are going to love deeply it will require us to authentically open our hearts, homes and lives. Hospitality is a vital part of the deep love God calls us to.

Who might be blessed through:

-An invite to lunch after church?
-A place to do laundry (think about the college students at your church or in your neighborhood)?
-Does a small group need a home to meet in?
-Is there an elderly person that you could bring a meal to and share some time with? (hospitality can travel!)
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True Love

2010-02-19T09:08:00.000-08:00

While the fun of Valentine’s has come and passed, the love we have for family and friends does not. We might take a season to celebrate love, but it is in the everyday that love is lived out. Just like Valentine’s, we might dedicate a few hours a week to go to church on Sunday, but it is in the Monday through Saturday that our faith is lived out. Check out how Jesus expresses this concept in His conversation with the disciples during His final hours before the crucifixion:

John 14:15
If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

John 14:21-22
He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.

John 14:23-24
Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. 24 "He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me.”

John 15:12-16
This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.

This last one I saved for the finale, but it was actually the first in this string of verses-
John 13:34-35
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

God wants our hearts moment by moment in His words, His ways and His people. I have often heard people say they love Jesus, but live removed from His word and His people. If we really love Jesus, we will be with Him through His word, prayer and serving alongside His people. If we really love Him, those around us will know we are His disciples because we are loving on each other like Christ loved us.

I am praying for both of us today that we might lavishly love our Lord and those around us in the unmistakable reflection of Jesus’ love for us.
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His Song of Love Over You

2010-02-12T12:45:00.000-08:00

“The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17 NIV

As a single woman and now a married one, my heart has always needed a Romancer. During my courtship with my hubby God made it very clear to me that I needed to find satisfaction in my relationship with Him before I would be able to freely enjoy my relationship with my man. Us gals often try to wrongly channel many of the emotions God placed in our heart to lead us to Him. We attempt to find our heart’s satisfaction in our boyfriends, husbands, children, friends and personal pursuits. And all the while the Lover-of-our-Soul stands beside us, waiting for us to turn our hearts fully to Him.

Bask in the delight of the following verses:

You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. It will no longer be said to you, "Forsaken,"… But you will be called, "My delight is in her,"…for the LORD delights in you…And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so your God will rejoice over you. Isaiah 62:3-5 NASU

The king is enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord. Psalm 45:11 NIV

I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, In lovingkindness and in compassion, And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. Then you will know the LORD. Hosea 2:19-20 NASU

Does your soul need a little romancing? This Valentine’s, quiet your soul so that you can hear God singing with joy over you and then soak up His delight!

Love is All You Need

2010-02-12T12:38:00.000-08:00

It is the Valentine’s season and love is in the air! Or is it?

The process of learning how to love others can last a lifetime! We have so many human weaknesses that get in between us and other people that really fulfilling the Lord’s desire for us in this area can be quite a challenge.

I like the way the NLT version states 1 Corinthians 13:7- Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

While there are some relationships (like your marriage) that you can know God does not intend to bear any distance or “giving up”, there are other relationships where distancing yourself is the healthy and loving action to take. Sometimes we run into situations where we dearly love a person who has an addiction, an emotionally destructive behavior or other issue that requires us to remove ourselves from intimate friendship with them. Proverbs 4:23 commands us “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (NIV).

I frequently find it difficult to balance the two. I am an arms-wide-open kind of person. It has always been hard for me to come to grips with the reality that I might adore someone who isn’t safe enough for me to freely invite into every part of my heart. My personality says it is all or nothing when loving people. So applying the truth of these two Scriptures in my relationships has come only as God has faithfully grown wisdom in this often foolish heart of mine.

Recently, I had a piece of wisdom unveiled in this tricky balancing act. There were a few people whom I love dearly, but have issues they are not processing with the Lord and more often than not end up smearing those issues on others. To be close to them means you will get some yuckies plastered on you and also be drawn into the constant drama that surrounds them. I felt terrible because I knew they must have felt my distance as a lack of love. Yet, honest confrontation with them over the issue had repeatedly proven unfruitful. What do you do when you have love for someone, yet no tangible outlet for that love? How do you “never give up” when the relationship seems utterly impossible? You pray! Yes, it is a simple- duh- of a realization. I knew it and had done it in such instances. But God gave me a renewed vision of praying with a determined faith and love for the people around me. In the midst of praying the best for those extra-grace-required people, I could also feel freed up from the nagging sense I had let them down in some way.

My great-grandma would pray for a lot of people because she said“If I don’t pray for them, who will?” Maybe you know you aren’t the only person praying for them. But maybe you are. Regardless, we all need someone praying for us. And those prayers can sometimes be the very best way to fulfill God’s desire for you to love those around you.

Through Seasons of Silence

2010-01-29T12:20:00.000-08:00

For the last few weeks we have been studying what God’s Word has to say about our priorities. Our devotion to the Lord was at the top of the list, reiterated in various forms. The story of Mary and Martha, highlighted in a previous devotional from this series, has been floating through my life the last few days. The point for all of us in the account of the two sisters is to learn from them and check to see which attitude our heart leans toward- Mary’s or Martha’s.

I decided that this last week my devotional life looks a squeaky bit different from either Mary or Martha. I start my day with a heart like Mary, but instead of the disciples sitting nicely and quietly as Jesus teaches, the room is filled with their demands and chatter, I can see Jesus’ lips moving, but I can’t make out the words He is saying. “What, Jesus? Can You say that again, louder?” my heart calls. After a while, I simply get up and join Martha in the kitchen. At least I can get something done in the kitchen.

Does life ever feel like that for you? Oh! I hope I’m not alone! This week I was meeting with some of the teen girls from our church for our book group/discipleship (which by the way also included the Mary and Martha story!). I adore these girls and our time together always blesses my heart so much! Anyway, we were just about to close in prayer and the boys showed up for youth group. The wii came on, the music started, there might have even been someone playing guitar over all the other noise- I can’t remember. But we were all leaning as far in over the table as we could to hear each other pray. After we finished, I thought, “This is just what my devotional time has been feeling like! There’s too much noise inside my soul!” The next day I cancelled everything I could get away with and just sat before the Lord.

With all of our talk about priorities the last few weeks, I began to think about what happens when we try to line our heart up with the Lord’s but there seems to be something that goes awry in the process. Do you ever get stuck in your devotional life? Besides the spiritual reality that our enemy doesn’t want us renewed, refreshed and connected with our Lord (John 10:10), there are a lot of other issues that can contribute to stale devotions. Maybe…

• The Lord just wants us in His presence longer. Sometimes, I wonder if the Lord knows I am too quick to enjoy my time with Him and then dash off to the duties of life. Maybe He just wants me to linger a little longer or not take Him for granted.

• There is unresolved hurt or sin in our life that is blocking that connection with the Holy Spirit. We often try to compartmentalize our relationships with people and our relationship with God. But the Lord doesn’t see it that way. The two are intricately connected (Matthew 5:23-24, 6:12, 6:14-15).

• We need to get reacquainted with gratitude. Unfortunately, our human minds get easily distracted and we can forget all God has done for us. We can lose sight of Christ’s sacrifice and the richness of His Spirit that dwells within us. Our time with Him can become little more than a laundry list of requests.

• We need better skills for digging in the Bible. When I first became committed to reading the Bible everyday, I would often leave my time with the Lord feeling confused or bored. The Spirit would reveal a nugget here or there, but it seemed as though canyons of things I didn’t understand stood between those little pinnacles of comprehension. A Sunday school class at our church delved into the historical and cultural issues that veiled my understanding. A Bible with solid study notes and a few good study tools opened the door to the life changing adventure of studying and applying God’s Words of Life! Sometimes we just need a few tools to help us dig for the gold.

• We are physically exhausted. There have been seasons in life where I feel asleep every time I sat down. And sadly, that included my Bible reading and prayer time. Even the disciples experienced a time like this too (Mark 14:37). God knows our hearts, but changing some responsibilities might be in order!

I am sure there are a host of other reasons our devotional time can seem unfruitful. But in the end, we all go through seasons of dryness. When I feel that blockage between me and my Lord, it bothers me like nothing else. If it bothers you too, we are in good company! David chronicled the intimate details of his relationship with the Lord in the Psalms. The thirteenth psalm says, “How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?” Psalm 13:1 (NASU). By the close of the psalm David has not hit that breakthrough of the spirit, but he is resolved to praise God despite his feelings.

Elijah, from the Old Testament, was a man whose walk with God always has fascinated me. After his incredible fire-from-heaven encounter (a situation in which God answered Elijah the nano-second the words had left his lips) the prophet then goes to pray for relief from the severe drought. 1 Kings 18:42-46 describes Elijah as going to the top of Mount Carmel, crouching down to the ground, face between his knees and praying for rain. After the first prayer he sent his servant to look for a rain cloud. No cloud. Then again he sent his servant to check and again, until finally after seven times a cloud the size of a man’s fist appeared on the horizon. Soon the sky blackened and rain came in a gushing torrent.

It is interesting to me that sometimes God answers us immediately. Sometimes we open our Bibles and His words leap off the page into our hearts and we receive refreshment, encouragement or direction as quickly as if we had gone through a spiritual fast-food drive-through window. Other times, we bend our face to the ground and don’t even get the tiniest glimmer of a rain cloud. God wants us to ask again and again.

If you are trying to make the Lord your first priority, but find the process in some way blocked. Take heart. This week I took a day to pull the plug on everything I could and sat in God’s presence. I had interruptions and distractions. But I sat there. I journaled, I read the Bible, I meditated on His word, confessed my sin and like washing your hair, I rinsed and repeated. Finally, a little cloud appeared on the horizon and His spirit washed afresh over my heart. Whether you are enjoying the Lord like no other time in your life or if you are feeling stuck in a desert, I am praying for God’s spirit to wash afresh over your heart today too.

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First Things First

2010-01-22T05:55:00.001-08:00

But seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33

What is the first thing you do in the morning? I usually grab for my robe, stumble to the stove to get the tea water started, and take our new little puppy outside to relieve himself. Somewhere in there, my brain actually begins to wake up and once the green tea is brewed, I settle into my time with the Lord. It isn’t always uninterrupted, thought I try my best to keep it that way. It isn’t always as long as I’d like it to be and the time is not always as focused as I would want it to be. But it is from the first part of my day!

There are lots of ways to go about having devotional time, but one thing I have personally found as very important is that I start my day with it! I know some ladies wake up naturally sweet and lovely, but not me. If I don’t get my heart and mind aligned with the Lord before I interact with the world, it is painfully obvious! I started a daily habit of morning prayer and Bible reading in junior high. It has, quite literally, changed my life.

When Jesus said to “seek first the kingdom of God” I think He meant for us to make the things of the Lord most important in our hearts. So, if you are an evening or lunch break devotional person, no worries! But I have found that if I literally make God the first thing I seek, then the other things I am tempted to work on or worry over, more often than not, fall into place more readily than if I set to get them done before I had that time with the Lord. The premise of giving to God from our first and best things is also set out in the Old Testament. The Lord repeatedly instructed His people to give Him the first of the harvest, the flocks, the animals bred and even the first son was symbolically given to the Lord. So, giving God the first moments of my day, the first of my attention and focus seems like the best way to start the day!

So how do you “seek first the kingdom of heaven”? Is it through your devotional time? Or some other way?

Here are a few ideas to jump start your quiet time with God for 2010:

• I assigned certain colored pencils to various topics. Pink is for “how God sees me” verses and passages about women. Blue is for verses describing God’s character. Green is for those “words to grow on”. Yellow is for promises, purple for faith, and regular pencil for important bits of Bible knowledge. Sometimes it is hard to understand everything in a Bible passage, but if you can pick out certain treasures to apply to your life, then your time with the Lord will become significant to your daily walk.

• Read through the Bible on a hunt for His word on a particular topic. Underline the verses pertaining to that subject in a certain color and review His counsel on the matter. Example- read for everything He has to say about being a wife, or financial matters.

• Read the chapter in Proverbs that corresponds to the date of month. There is one chapter for each day of the month. Proverbs is full of practical wisdom for your life!

• Pick one verse from the passage you read, write it on a 3X5 card and put it in your purse, daily planner, the kitchen counter or some other place you will see it and be reminded of what you read earlier. Soak in God’s word!

• Suiting up in the armor of God- spiritually we can prepare our hearts and minds for the day by putting on the armor of God. If you read a verse that bolsters your faith, make a mental note of it and remind yourself of it throughout the day as a way of holding onto your shield of faith. If there is a verse that spurs you on to righteousness, remind yourself of it throughout the day as a way of putting on that breastplate of righteousness, etc.

• Put devotionals in places throughout your house or workplace so that you can easily read His Word throughout the day.

Whatever you do, enjoy the journey of seeking the Lord first!

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One Thing

2010-01-15T06:51:00.000-08:00

With all of January’s new beginnings and fresh starts, some of us made resolutions for a host of different issues and some of us picked just one thing to try and change. If you were to pick only one thing that most needed change in your life, what would it be?

Check out some of the Scriptures below that describe finding the one thing that mattered most:

In the story of two sisters, one busy serving while the other sat quietly at Jesus’ feet listening to Him teach, the Lord told busy Martha not to bother her sister for her apparent lack of service by telling her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42 NASU.

After Jesus healed a man who had been blind from birth, the religious leaders were in an uproar. They interrogated the healed man and insisted that Jesus was just a sinful man. To their words and their anger the man replied, “He then answered, ‘Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see… We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.’ They answered him, ‘You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us?’ So they put him out. John 9:24-26, 31-34 NASU

Paul describes his attitude for life in this well-known passage: Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-15 NASU

It is good that you grasp one thing and also not let go of the other; for the one who fears God comes forth with both of them. Ecclesiastes 7:18 NASU

Everyday is full of dozens if not hundreds of choices, small and great. But if there was one choice to be made Mary chose worship and relationship and she chose right. The blind man didn’t know everything there was to know in the world, probably the opportunity to gain knowledge for education and entertainment had passed him by, but he did know one thing. He knew that Jesus had touched him, healed him and changed him forever! Paul knew he had a past full of painful mistakes and a lot of room to grow. But the one thing he focused on was the One who had called him to the race and the finish line that awaited him. Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes that it is good to not let go of the most important things in order to grasp the other things we might want in addition. Hold onto the “one thing” that you know God has given you and He will graciously supply all your needs (Philippians 4:19, Matthew 6:33). Today, may you choose, know and focus on the One who is above all else and not let life’s distractions cause you to let go of an attitude that seeks His kingdom first.

Above All Else

2010-01-08T11:52:00.001-08:00

The New Year is in full swing. Resolutions fill in our minds, organization projects are written into our new calendars and diet foods have taken up lodging in our refrigerators. In comes the start of the change for 2010. Most all of our goals are centered in the concepts of re-prioritizing something in our life. We vow to make exercising more important, or we commit to quitting a bad habit- all re-prioritizing the value we place on some aspect of life.

So what does the Bible have to say should be the most important to us? To love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself was one of the first things that popped into my mind. And while that is listed as the Greatest Commandment (Matthew 22:36-40), a new list of spiritual priorities emerged when I studied the phrase “above all”. I wonder what you think God might say He wants from you above everything else? Well, here goes-

Worship:
…great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
He also is to be feared above all gods.
1 Chronicles 16:25 NASU

The LORD is great in Zion,
And He is exalted above all the peoples.
Psalm 99:2 NASU

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,
And Your glory above all the earth.
Psalm 108:5 NASU

Honesty and sincerity in all that you do and say:
But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.
James 5:12 NASU

Fervent love for your family in Christ:
Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8-9 NASU

A passion to seek understanding from His Word:
And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
2 Peter 1:19-21 NIV

A heart that is wisely guarded to protect its purity:
Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Proverbs 4:23 NIV

My husband is currently teaching a series on the Sermon on the Mount. He is highlighting the difference in Christ’s teaching of inward, relational spirituality compared to the outward, showy religious traditions of Pharisees at the time. I see that same trend in these verses as well. If there is one thing Jesus wants most from you this New Year, it is your heart. Plain and simple.

As I faced 2010, I knew my time was about to get entirely engulfed in a very intense ministry schedule. All good stuff, great stuff, God stuff. But in the busyness, I am praying that I would make my “above all” to-do list in perfect sync with God’s “above all” list. Whether or not we lose those 15 pounds or get our closets organized, may it be said of us that we worshipped God above all else, that we were sincere in our actions and words, loved His people and His Word fervently, and guarded our hearts with wisdom and purity. Here is to a new year with you!

Next week: more on God’s priority list!

Good News!

2009-12-18T10:21:00.000-08:00

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me,
Because the LORD has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,

And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,

And the day of vengeance of our God;

To comfort all who mourn,

To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified."
Isaiah 61:1-3 NKJV

As a kid, I had the privilege of growing up in the church. But this cloud hung over my head; a cloud of doubt and guiltiness. I didn’t have a picturesque childhood and carried a lot of burdens in my young heart from issues that had been plopped in my lap. I was sure that God didn’t really want such a messed up little kid in His ranks. Even in my white patent-leather shoes I was sure I couldn’t be shiney and pure enough for Him. I knew He forgave me for the things I did wrong, but what about the dirt and grime from things I hadn’t done, but happened to or around me? As a child I thought I would never be freed from those things.

Now, in ministry I see the same principle and lie at work in other people. Recently, my husband told me that someone was embarrassed around him and trying to hide the fact that they smoked cigarettes because he was “The Preacher.” My husband felt awful for this guy’s unneeded shame. And we often hear people refuse to come to church or accept Jesus as their Savior because they think they need to clean up their act first.

The wonderful thing about this passage from Isaiah is that it frees all of us up from those fallacies! Jesus came to cleanse us; He came to free us, He came to give us beauty and spiritual riches for our absolute poverty! When I first read that passage from Isaiah it brought such liberty to this former captive! Reread the passage for yourself and picture the Lord coming to you personally to heal your broken heart, to unlock your personal prison, to proclaim favor over you, etc. A little later in verse 4, the passage goes on to talk about how the Lord will rebuild the ancient ruins. Spiritually I think the “ancient ruins” are those places in our lives that have been broken for so long they seem like they have been and will be broken forever. In that same verse, God promises to rebuild the former “devastations”- anyone out there have some devastations in their past that could use God’s healing touch? And the “desolations of many generations”- anyone have an issue that seems to have been a problem in your family for generations? Everything from destructive addictions and attitudes can be passed down for generations. Isn’t it time for it to end with your generation?

If there is a place in your life that has been too messy for you to even want to look at it, let alone invite God to see it, I am praying that these verses will free you just as they did me. Jesus came to give His children what we couldn’t do for ourselves. Will you unwrap His gift for your life? May you let God wipe the dirt and grime from your face as He pours oil of joy over your precious head and wraps you in clean clothes of joy and delight.

Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T11:05:00.000-08:00

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. Colossians 3:15-17 NASU

What does Thanksgiving look like in your home? It often looks different each year in our household as we juggle the desires of different family members. Regardless of what each year brings for the holiday, I have an idea of what I want it to look like, the traditions I pine for and the attitude of the heart I wish to capture. My husband loves Thanksgiving for the food and I think he would be happy if we ate like that year round! While my hubby would like a year long Thanksgiving feast, I am sure our Lord would be so pleased with a year long Thanksgiving heart.

That attitude of the heart that I think we all associate with Thanksgiving is something that wasn’t meant to be bottled up in our imaginations or a Norman Rockwell painting. It was meant to be woven throughout the daily morning commute, the dishes and laundry, paying the bills (that has been a hard one for me, especially with rising prices on everything!), caring for your family members and even, if not especially, in the midst of just plain old enjoying life.

If we made the tradition of Thanksgiving a habit of our daily walk with God, how might it change our life? In the above passage, the concept of thanksgiving is associated with a number of spiritual disciplines. While we are often tempted to make compartmentalized boxes for life, these disciplines were meant to define our life, not sequestered to a designated shelf we visit on Sundays or holidays.

Spiritual Disciplines Associated with Thanksgiving:
· Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart. To me, this involves prayer and maintaining an attitude throughout the day that constantly places Christ on the throne of my heart. As soon as the schedule, the pressure of other’s expectations, or even wanting my own way becomes the motivating factor in my actions and thoughts I lose the peace of Christ. Thanksgiving and peace are inextricably intertwined. In Philippians 4:6-7, Paul writes, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
· Let the Word of Christ richly dwell within you. This requires not only daily time in the Bible, but really letting the Word soak into your soul. Memorizing Scripture and posting Bible verses throughout your home or office are great ways to soak in the Word. A pastor’s wife told me she picks one verse from her Bible reading time to write in her daily planner because that is the verse she will focus on through the day. During seasons of difficulty I often pick verses that I will designate as my shield of faith, helmet of salvation or sword of truth. Listen to Christian music that is based on Scripture. Do whatever it takes for the Bible to become something that is woven throughout your thoughts all day long.
· Serving the Family of Christ. The passage mentions teaching and admonishing/encouraging others- which is serving our family in Christ. Serving others and being aware of their needs is one of the best ways to maintain a heart of thankfulness before God. Who might God want you to reach out to?
· Worshipping. Before we were married, my hubby wrote me a song. I loved to hear him play it for me and the melody would run through my mind long after he had played it. Love songs filled my heart and mouth. Our love for Christ can be the same! Love songs can be on the tip of our tongue and overflowing from our hearts. This is beautiful worship to our Lord!
· Living the Life! Do ALL in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to Him. Wherever life finds you and me, we can have Jesus written all over our actions, attitudes and words.

So this year I have decided to focus less on Thanksgiving traditions and focus on investing in more a year long tradition of thanksgiving. Wherever you find yourself this Thanksgiving, I hope it is full of joy and that you also enjoy thanksgiving habits all year long!