Be Ready...Be Prepared

My husband and I decided to walk up to the school to pick up our daughter yesterday afternoon. We walked outside and the sun was soooo bright I could barely see. So I stopped at the car and pulled my sunglasses out. But there were some clouds in the distance and so I said to my husband, "Do you think we should bring the umbrella?" No, we decided. It's not that far and we weren't going to be gone that long.

I'm sure you can guess what happened. About one minute before the school bell rang, that dark cloud that had seemed so far away in the distance was suddenly hovering over us. We got wet. Not a little sprinkling wet. Full on, soaking through your clothes, drenched wet. We ran all the way home and we weren't the only ones either. I saw half my neighbors caught in the same predicament. We had some laughs and some hot chocolate and I'm quite sure...I won't be forgetting my umbrella anymore!

However, when I was thinking about what happened yesterday, I couldn't help but think of Jesus when He tells us to 'be ready' for his coming in Matthew chapters 24-25.

In all of this...Jesus says to me...."Be mindful, be prepared. Keep your mind focused on things above."

Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 1 Peter 1:13

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Colossians 3:1-2

Let us be mindful sisters that today is not just today but a part of our future...and everything we say and do needs to reflect the One we will spend eternity with. Holy Spirit...remind us when we lose that focus.

Blessings to you today...Jesus is our Hope and He is coming for us...and by the way, don't forget your umbrella.

Do all things without grumbling or questioning (complaining or arguing - NIV), that you may (prove yourselves to - NAS) be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life... (ESV) Philippians 2:14-16a

Ok. So doing all things without grumbling, questioning, arguing or complaining shows to the people among whom I live that I am a blameless, innocent, blemishless child of God who holds out the word of life. Wow. That must mean that the crooked and twisted people around me do a lot of compaining, arguing and grumbling. (Actually, if you listen for it, you will notice that people complain all the time, and it's quite easy to get caught up in it. It's a lot easier to be negative, than positive, especially when you're grocery shopping and have to deal with the irritating displays in the already too narrow isles, ridiculous prices, dumb membership cards that make you think you're getting a good deal when it's really a worse deal if you didn't have one, stupid layouts that make you wander all around the store looking for a can of black beans which should be in the regular bean section with all the other beans but are in the health food aisle next to the Burt's Bees display. What the heck?)

Where was I?

So... people who don't grumble, complain and argue while doing what they do are different. Imagine, just not complaining makes them stand out like lights in the world. It's something that gets NOTICED.

Sounds pretty simple, really, and not so hard. I don't have to add it to my "to do" list.

Oh Lord. You say that we are the light of the world, and we are your dearly loved children. We have been redeemed from crooked and twisted ways. We are different. I want the difference you have made in me to be noticed. I want to shine like a star among those who don't know you, to hold out the word of life to people who need to know that you love them and desire to give them life beyond what they hope for. Make me aware of the words and attitudes with which I do my work. Let not grumbling and complaining be what comes out of my mouth. May I instead, do my work with thanksgiving and joy, because I belong to you.

Will you join me this day in asking God to keep a check on what comes out of our mouths?

This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine.
This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine.
This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine.
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

God is always there

I am in a very lonely place in my life. I am surrounded by my husband and children yet because of all the changes in my life I feel so alone and withdrawn from everyone. Where we live I do not yet have a single friend or someone to call on for getting together. I am on the phone quite a bit with friends and family trying to keep myself from falling into a depression that is going to swallow me up. I am on a journey where it seems that it doesn't matter how hard I pray or spend with God, I don't feel His presence or his nearness. I pray and don't feel filled up or nearer to Him. I feel empty. Lost. Lonely. I feel alone with no one who will understand.

It's a very difficult thing to explain that it almost feels like an abandonment. We have moved to a new town where we don't know anyone. For me this has been where I felt all the loneliness. For anyone else it could be even in your own church that you feel alone. At school. At work. Perhaps you can relate to me in that God has brought you to a new place in life where there are many adjustments to make.

Has God left me? Where is He?

"No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
~ Joshua 1:5-9

The phrase ‘never leave you’ is pretty straightforward, but what does ‘forsake’ mean? I looked it up:

forsake (v.) – abandon: leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch;

So if you change out the words, the phrase then becomes ‘never leave you nor abandon you;’

God is always there. We choose to step away from Him! He has not left me! I feel so alone in this season in my life yet what an amazing thing to know that God is always there. I might not feel His nearness but He is my best friend in this time when I have no one humanly here to spend time with. He is who I need to turn to when I feel alone.

What do I need to do when I'm feeling this way? I need to fill my mind with scripture as He says in Joshua 1 and then meditate on it, day and night. What this means is that I need to let God be the one to fill this void. Let God be sufficient for all my needs. I might not "feel" Him near me and filling me up but to continue to trust that He is.

Soul Kitchen: Drawn From Water...

Soul Kitchen: Drawn From Water...www.drawnfromwater.org

Come and Rest

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." These are the words of Jesus when He walked on this earth as a man, found written in Matthew 11:28-30. We all get tired when life is full and busy and it just seems like there aren't enough hours in the day, but this verse isn't talking about that. Jesus says for us to come to Him and we will find rest for our souls. Are you anxious? Afraid? Do you have a heart filled with worries? Is there a burden in your heart for someone that you love and the weight of it seems too much to bear sometimes? Have you ever felt emotionally spent from living and caring for those precious around you? Write this verse out and put it in the kitchen, the bathroom, by your bed, in your purse, or any other place where you will see it. Read through each line and think about what that means and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you and help you apply it to your own life and situation. Visualize what it looks like for you to give your burden to the Lord and then to rest in His arms. Meditate on Jesus' words until they are written firmly on your heart and they have become life to you...and then last but not least...choose to trust Him. When overwhelming thoughts come to mind...speak the truth of scripture and believe it. Go to Jesus and you will find rest for your soul.

What Was He Thinking?

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. Philippians 2:3-7

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21

For the last 2 days our dog has had the runs...bad. On Sunday morning, my husband having discovered the foul business in and around the vicinity of his kennel in the laundry room, I stayed home from church to clean things up. Many things - the kennel, the floor, the walls, the dog, the bathroom, the sidewalk, the carpet and me. Oh, it was nasty. Thankfully Safeway is open on a Sunday morning so that I could rent a Rug Doctor. Needless to say, the dog spent the day outside and made a visit to the vet. Yesterday was more of the same, but one learns, hopefully, a little from an experience like that to put the dog's kennel in a safer location so the need for clean up was not so extensive. Another trip to the vet and 89 more dollars to learn that he is not going to die. It will just take about a week for him to get back to normal. Only a week. Only. (Imagine here the smiley face symbol of a woman wide eyed and crazed from smelling rank dog feces for a week. I think I need another shower.)

Anyway, this whole experience got me to thinking. Believe me, there were many thoughts going through my head as my husband trundled off to work, leaving me to clean up the mess of his precious dog. (In fairness to my man, he felt terrible about leaving me with the job. He really had no choice.) Anyway, my thoughts turned to this: Diarrhea doesn't just happen to dogs. It happens to people. And it can be humiliating. The excretory system, while amazing if you think about the intricacy of processing food, keeping the nutritional parts and getting rid of the waste, is not what you'd call glorious. The dignity of men is precarious when it comes to having to use the toilet.

What was Jesus getting himself into? What was he thinking? Did he know what he would have to do daily? I'm sure that was not a normal part of his existence in the heavenly realm. He was equal in form and excellence with God. Yet, he didn't hang on to it or demand to keep it, but became a man, having to eat, sleep and wipe. Not only that, but he became one of a race of dirty, filthy sinners. People who are capable of atrocious behaviour, especially toward one another. Why would he do that?

I was overwhelmed with gratitude for a Saviour who would become filthy, rank and vile for me, so that I could experience the splendor and glory he gave up to become a man. Read the above verses again.

For our sake, Jesus became sin (sin is filthy, rank and vile) SO THAT in him we might become the righteousness of God. What an exchange! What a gift! I am in awe.

He loves you. He didn't choose to be humiliated for nothing. His love for you compelled him then and today will not blow you off, call it a day, cool it, hang it up, quit, run its course, shut down, sign off, or wrap it up. His love for you remains and always will. For your sake...

What's in your heart?

"Are you still so dull?" Jesus asked them. "Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean."
~ Matthew 15:16-20

Our eyes are the window to our soul. People can tell alot about us through body language, facial expressions, our eyes and our actions. You can tell alot about people by the way they speak too. Our behaviour is a reflection of what is in our heart. Sometimes we try to cover it up so others don't see and we can be good at "masking" our feelings. God does see behind all that though.

What's in your heart?

Are you willing?

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1

You, my brothers [sisters], were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbour as yourself." Galatians 5:13

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
Galatians 5:24-26

Are you experiencing freedom? This is not an ideal; it's supposed to be the norm for someone who belongs to Jesus. Yes, I understand that we're not perfect, and I understand that it's a life-long journey of growth and change. I also understand that God is about perfecting us - making us to be more like Him.

I guess I have one question today. Am I willing to have God work change in me? Am I willing to humble myself and admit that I do things contrary to God's way? Let me tell you, I don't think it's fun admitting wrong, or facing the hurts we have stuffed deep inside. These are the things, though, that keep us from being free and prevent us from being able to walk in love. I have come to value more and more this freedom that God has set us free for. That's why I'm more willing to face the "ugly" issues that plague me or the hard things that scare me.

You don't have to want to go there with God - a lot of times I don't want to go there! But you can still be willing. That's all God needs from us, even if it's a hesitant "yes."

My dear sisters, God loves you and has come to give you life!...life in all its fulness. God wants to work change in our hearts and minds, so we are able to live free. So we can have peace even in trying times; joy, even in sorrow; patience, even when we're running behind schedule; love and forgiveness, even when someone wrongs us.

I pray that you can pray this along with me. Father, I'm willing. I want you to work in me. I want you to set me from all the things that keep me from being who you've created me to be. Help me to trust you in the process. Thank you that you love me fully, even right now, exactly the way I am with all my shortcomings and obvious sins. I know you don't want to change me so that you can love me more, but because you love me and want me to be free.

Praying Power!

"In the same way, the Holy Spirit helps us where we are weak. We do not know how to pray or what we should pray for, but the Holy Spirit prays for us with sounds that cannot be put into words. God knows the hearts of men. He knows what the Holy Spirit is thinking. The Holy Spirit prays for those who belong to Christ the way God wants Him to pray." Romans 8:26:27

Are you feeling weak today? Is your heart so heavy that you do not even have words you can put into a sentence and utter to the Lord... Do you have an overwhelming sadness that you have not been able to get rid of... God knows... He knows the depth of your heart and He cares. He has given us the Holy Spirit who continually intercedes for us.

Sometimes we get so overwhelmed with what is going on in our lives that we are not sure how to pray. We struggle with our own thoughts and desires and we know how we would like to see the outcome of certain situations... but often, God sees the situation differently from us. In the end, it might not be what we had hoped for or envisioned at all. But it is something better! God knows the hearts of men. God knows when we are struggling or when our heart is full of joy. He knows when we are weak and when we are strong. He knows what we can and cannot handle. He knows what the Holy Spirit is thinking. And where is the Holy Spirit? He is abiding in us. We are not left alone or to fend for ourselves. We always have the Comforter with us. Isn't it encouraging to know that when we have lost all direction, or cannot discern our next step that... The Holy Spirit prays for those who belong to Christ the way God wants Him to pray.

Rest assured in His love and guidance today... You have the praying power of the Holy Spirit!

Growing Pains

I remember as a young girl lying in my bed and calling for my mom to come and take a look at my legs because they were aching so bad I just couldn't sleep. I'm sure I figured I was dying, or going to become crippled or something, and had imagined all sorts of things by the time she got in there to check me over and tell me that I was going to be fine and that it was just growing pains.

GROWING PAINS! Growing isn't supposed to hurt is it? It's supposed to be fun and exciting. And it is....but sometimes there is a little part of growing that hurts. I don't have to tell you that the painful part is worth it. Growing shows that we're alive, so whether it's physically, emotionally or spiritually...when we feel some growing pains, it's a good sign....even though it hurts a little.

I've been having some growing pains lately in my personal life and in my married life and in my relationship with my Lord.

He has given me a verse that I have been holding on to day and night, meditating on it, speaking it, praying through it, studying it and applying it to my life.

God gives us his words to help us as we grow. His words are life to us.

In his words...I have hope. I gain strength. I receive comfort. I find courage.

And God is able

to make all grace abound to you,

so that

in all things at all times,

having all that you need,

you will abound in every good work.

2 Corinthians 9:8

Apparently, Seeing is Not Believing

As Moses begins his farewell address to a new generation of Israelites as they stand ready to take possession of the promised land (Deuteronomy 1), he reminds them of God's promises, his faithfulness, and also the reason their fathers (the previous generation) didn't get to go in. Israel had wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, basically waiting for the former generation to die off. They refused to believe God even after seeing him come through for them over and over and over again.

"The Lord your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went..." (vs 30-31)

They were there! The sea parted, food appeared every morning, water gushed from a rock. They saw it with their own eyes! These incidents were not stories passed down from father to son. These people were witnesses of the actual events, it was their own experience, yet still, they refused to believe that God was going to come through for them again. What they did believe was that God hated them and wanted to destroy them.

"Because the Lord hated us he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to give us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us." (vs 27)

Incredible.

So God gave them up to what they believed. They wandered with no sense of purpose or direction, the dry, lonely, wasting wilderness was where they merely existed, and then they died, having never taken hold of the promise of abundance, joy, freedom and fruitfulness.

This is not so far removed from what happens today. I have heard Christians say in their despair, "Why does God hate me?" Maybe this is something you have thought, too. May I challenge you?

Have your lousy circumstances come about because God hates you, or are they the result of your refusing to believe otherwise?

Sisters, this may sound harsh, but you really do have a choice about what you believe. You have seen his faithfulness, his good work in your lives, or you wouldn't be a Christian. May your seeing transfer into believing. Don't be like the Israelites who saw, yet refused to believe.

Our God is love. He loves YOU. He is FOR you. He is not out to get you. That's absurd. He is ever present waiting to give you faith to know in your heart what you believe in your head. It will come together, but it starts in your head, and you must choose truth.

Let's take God at his word, that we may enter into the "land" he has set before us! (see vs 8)

"Humility and the fear of the Lord bring wealth and honor and life. In the paths of the wicked lie thorns and snares, but he who guards his soul stays far from them. Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. "
~ Proverbs 22:3-6

I've struggled this week with my parenting. I have been blessed with a strong willed daughter who likes to push the limits. God knew I was the best parent for her so I thank Him for blessing me with the responsiblity of parenting. It doesn't come easy or joyfully every day but I have needed to direct my eyes to what Jesus says in His Word to keep me focused. I make mistakes and regret decisions. I feel awful after I need to discipline. I know why I need to discipline but my heart aches to follow through. I don't like seeing my children hurt.

"My son, keep your father’s commands
and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
Bind them upon your heart forever;
fasten them around your neck.
When you walk, they will guide you;
when you sleep, they will watch over you;
when you awake, they will speak to you.
For these commands are a lamp,
this teaching is a light,
and the corrections of discipline
are the way to life,"
~ Prov 6:20-23

Through all my decisions, I want Jesus to be the source of my strength and that He can be the one I direct my daughter to. It is my job to teach her how Jesus walked and lived and be an example so she will want to share that joy that only Jesus can bring. I fail so miserably in that area so often.

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."
~Deut 6:4-9

There's alot of responsibility in being a parent... especially parenting a strong willed child. I thank Jesus for each of my children and know that the source of strength in raising them comes only from HIM. Jesus gives us so many words of encouragement in His Word that we can soak on. These are just a few to encourage you and me of what our responsiblity is... for me when I turn to God's word I get encouraged and rejuvenated in my joy of parenting. My prayer is that I've done the same for you.

"Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him."
~ Ps 127:3

How can you encourage your children?
Do your children see Jesus in you?
Is there anything that you need to reconcile with your child(ren)? What's holding you back?
What robs your joy of parenting?
Do you struggle with guilt in parenting issues?
Thank Jesus for each of the children you've been blessed with. They are precious gifts!

Living Victoriously

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
look full in His wonderful face,
and the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
in the light of His glory and grace.

Is this hymn familiar to you? Do you hear the melody as you read it? In light of His glory and grace...

We need encouragement in life. We need to know that we can do this life through the power of God. Hebrews 11 talks about people before us who "by faith" obeyed God even when they didn't understand what God was up to... believed God's promises even when they seemed impossible... moved forward facing their fears... chose "rather to be mistreat with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin."

These situations sound relevant to our lives, don't they? These people have gone before us. They faced all kinds of horrible situations by trusting their Faithful God. They walked by faith. They didn't have the example of Christ before them. They didn't know the power and victory of the cross. They didn't have the power of God living in them by the Holy Spirit. But we do!

As you read the next passage, take note of all the powerfully descriptive words.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. Hebrews 12:1-4

You can live an obedient, victorious life - by the power of God. That same power that raised Christ from the dead lives in you if you are following God as His child. That power is able to do the impossible!

By our own strength we can't be obedient, trusting, forgiving, or courageous. We need God to do this in us. We also need encouragement from those who have gone before us, and help from those around us who are walking by faith. As you begin the fall, make it a top priority to meet with others who will encourage and help you to put your hope and trust in God.

Sisters, our prayers are with you. We pray for you, our readers. Peace to you.

Apart from You I have no good thing...

Keep me safe, O God,

for in You I take refuge.

I said to the Lord, "You are my Lord;

apart from you I have no good thing."

Lord, you have assigned me my

portion and my cup;

You have made my lot secure

The boundary lines have fallen for me

in pleasant places;

surely I have a delightful inheritance.

I will praise the Lord who counsels me;

even at night my heart instructs me.

I have set the Lord always before me.

Because He is my right hand,

I will not be shaken.

I am so grateful for the Lord who counsels me and loves me. This past week has brought joy, sorrow and an array of mixed emotions. I'm not the only one... there are others...

But one thing we can be sure of... we have not been deserted by God. He knows our every thought, our struggles... He knows the enemies that we face... and He is always...with us. We need to stand firm in what we know, hold tight to the truth that will guide us... and never let go.

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue

rejoices;

my body will also rest secure,

because You will not abandon me to the grave,

nor will you let your Holy One see decay.

You have made known to me the path of life;

You will fill me with joy in your presence,

with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Psalm 16:1-2, 5-11

I love you, O Lord, my strength.

The Lord is my rock and my fortress

and my deliverer, my God, my rock,

in whom I take refuge,

my shield, and the horn of my salvation,

my stronghold.

I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,

and I am saved from my enemies.

Lord...I don't have enemies....not like David did...always having to run or fight for his life.

Oh but I do. You save me from the enemies of my heart and mind.....worry, doubt, lies, insecurity, hopelessness, fear....Oh my list could go on and on.

Every day I battle my own thoughts and the lies that I have heard or believed from the enemy of my soul, the evil one himself, about who God is and who I am in God's eyes.

And everyday...I must fight and take refuge in the arms of my Jesus.

John 8:31-32

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

Every day Jesus...I choose to abide in your word so that I will know the truth....

And I rejoice because you have saved me!

And so I say again....

I love you, O Lord, my strength.

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,

my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,

my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,

and I am saved from my enemies.

Psalm 18:1-3

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12.9-10

Had a bad day the other day. Feeling overwhelmed, tired, crying about everything and nothing. Just wanted the rapture to happen.

"What a weakling," I said to myself.

"Indeed," he said to me.

God has blessed me with this opportunity to minister to you. I have no idea how many are touched or even read what I write yet week after week God has something for me to share with you. My life is far from perfect. I am an imperfect wife and mother who makes many mistakes yet God has asked me to step out and share my life so that I can direct others back to the Cross as my daily life experiences do to me. It's not easy to make myself vulnerable yet I need to continually give this struggle to Jesus.

"Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored. "
~ Titus 2:3-5

I never thought that God would use me to bless others. Each week each of us writers pour words out that God has impressed on our hearts. We don't know who we reach. We don't know how many read what we write. What we do know is that God has called each of us to share with you. We are human and can become insecure about our writings or that our writings are in vain. God has called us for a purpose and through that may He be glorified! Our prayer is that God is touching you through our lives and words. We are ordinary women living an extraordinary life because of Jesus. You can have that same joy....

You may not see yourself as someone to look up to. I definitely don't. I make so many mistakes that I wonder why God allows me each week to direct you and me back to His word through my life. I never saw myself as someone who could teach others about this great love of Jesus. These verses in Titus have encouraged me to be real and raw... so that through my weaknesses I have been strengthened through Christ who gives me all strength.

I want to encourage you as women to ask God who you can bless today.
Who can you encourage to love her husband and children?... to find joy in serving in her house?
How can you honour God today?

My prayer is that through your life God will use you to be a living testimony of who Jesus is. Let others see that and be blessed.

Forgiven and Clean

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

Sisters, if we confess our sins we are forgiven AND made clean. I'm thinking that we pretty much know that God forgives us. I'm also thinking that we pretty much don't know that we are made clean - that we are purified by God as well.

So, we confess and know that we're forgiven, but we still go along feeling guilty as hell afterwards. Did I say that? Yes... I mean it. My usage of the word "hell" here is not to be crass, but to make a point. The guilt and condemnation are not God's deal. It's not something that even we ourselves make up. It's the enemy's tactic to bring defeat to us. It's a lie from the pit of hell.

We have been forgiven and made clean. That's a fact - a done deal in the spiritual and even physical realm. But if the enemy can at least get us to think that we're somehow still tainted by that sin, we start to live - or continue to live - like we're not forgiven and right with God. Do you hear what I'm saying? And this can go on for decades after we have confessed and repented of our sin. We're fully forgiven and yet we continue to live with guilt and shame.

I understand that there are sometimes natural consequences that are extremely painful or humiliating that follow our sin. (I ache for all of us who have suffered tough consequences and I pray that we may find the peace of God and the strength and courage that He provides through these circumstances.) These consequences, however, do not mean that God hasn't completely forgiven and completely cleansed us, because He has.

According to Strong's G2513 - the Greek word katharos means:
1) clean, pure
a) physically -purified by fire
- in a similitude, like a vine cleansed by pruning and so fitted to bear fruit
b) in a levitical sense - clean, the use of which is not forbidden, imparts no uncleanness
c) ethically - free from corrupt desire, from sin and guilt
- free from every admixture of what is false, sincere genuine

-blameless, innocent

-unstained with the guilt of anything

I think this is amazing. You are clean. I am clean. God says so. We don't have any business saying we aren't, believing we aren't, or acting like we aren't clean. No one else has any business either, saying you aren't forgiven and clean. That is the devil's business, though. Let's know that this is what he's up to and not join him in his business. Let's know the truth and agree with God in our head and have it go all the way down to our hearts so we live free, blameless, unstained with the guilt of anything.

Do you know...

The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in Heaven. Hebrews 1:3

God provided purification for sins through Jesus, and then Jesus sat down at the right hand of the Father. Christ completed all the righteous requirements and now is sitting at the right hand of the Father. We are clean because of His work - not ours. We simply confess and turn to God. Then we receive forgiveness and cleansing.

Hebrews talks about what it was like before Christ came, when sacrifices were offered by the priests on behalf of the people . These "gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper." Hebrews 9:9

Get this. Those sacrifices couldn't clear the conscience because...

The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming-not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. Hebrews 10:1&2

But the shadows disappeared when The Reality came. Jesus, the perfect spotless lamb of God, came and gave His life for mankind - for the world - so we might have life.

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest(Jesus) over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:19-23

Dear Sisters, we ourselves are just beginning to enjoy this great reality in our lives; this freedom from guilt. We pray that you too, will come to know the joy that comes from having your conscience cleansed. You are forgiven. You are clean. Say it out loud. I am clean. Jesus has made me clean. I'm clean! Pure. I am free to be used by God for noble purposes for His glory.

God is Love

God is love. 1 John 4:8 & 16

I was a ninth grader at a new school. There was this cute guy who kept on looking at me all the time. I could tell he liked me. I'd look at him and he'd quickly look away, but I had felt his eyes on me. I didn't know then, that he prayed and asked God that he'd be able to go out with me. Then, when I later had a boyfriend, he asked God if he could maybe just kiss me once. He really liked me. Well, God heard his prayers, and one day I did become his girlfriend, and he was able to kiss me once... and for all the years since, he's kept kissing me. I quite like it. I sometimes say of him - my husband, "I love him because he first loved me."

I know this is a verse in the Bible that is talking about God first loving us.
"We love because He first loved us." 1 John 4:19

"In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins." 1 John 4:10

Before you ever noticed Him, He saw you - and knew you - and He loved you. And it never changed... nor can it change. He always will love you, because God is love. He's always true to His character. God is love. He loved us before we ever were born. That's a one-sided , totally dependent on Him kind of love.

"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him" 1 John 4:9

He has won my heart with His loving kindness. I am so thankful that God invites us into His love - into relationship with Him. I pray that God has won your heart and is continuing to win your heart as He is mine. I'm learning to love and trust Him more as I come to understand how great His love is. I'm learning to love others more deeply as I understand how great His love is.

Father, reveal your love to us more and more each day. Help us to be able to comprehend Your great love and walk in love with you and those around us.

My daughter has a way of saying things that make me laugh. I'm not sure where she comes up with some of the things she says, but she has a quick wit and a great sense of humor. One figment of speech that she has used recently has caught my attention, and it goes like this: Someone will ask a question about the behaviour of her dog, such as, "Why does your dog have to lie in the middle of the kitchen floor right when we're trying to get dinner ready?" and she will answer, "It's just his way." Or someone might say, "Why does that girl take such long showers?", or "Why can't she just eat her food like a normal person?" and she will pipe up, "It's her way."

It strikes me funny, because 1) no one is really asking for an answer and 2) it ends the discussion. There doesn't need to be any other explanation for the behaviour. It's just what he does. It's her way. That's all there is to it.

The other day I came across this verse:

Psalm 119:132 - Turn to me and be gracious to me, as is your way with those who love your name.

It's his way! To turn to us and be gracious to us is his way. That's what he does. That's how he is with us. Don't have to explain it, justify it, or earn it. It's just his way.

Turn to me. Notice me. Look at me. Give me your full-on attention. Hear what I'm saying. See what I'm doing. I need you to know what's going on.

Be gracious to me. Love me. Take care of me. Strengthen, help, and heal me. Forgive me. Encourage me. Move me and use me.

It's what he does for those of us who love his name. How could you know him and not love his name?! The God who owns the name that is above all names, turns to you and is gracious to you. Amity acknowledged it in her prayer on Friday's blog, "Surely, my concerns are known to You then. Surely Your eye is on me - the one You gave Your only Son for - and You care for me!".

It's his way. It just is.