From The Pages of Love

T.R.U.S.T.

2012-01-25T06:45:00.003-06:00

Today I shared a devotion over at the Laced with Grace site entitled “T.R.U.S.T.”.

I remember at school the teachers would break us up into teams and one student would get behind another student and we would close our eyes and fall back, trusting that the student behind us would catch us as we fell back.

Has anyone ever done this?

Well I have and it’s not so easy trusting that some random student that you don’t know and that doesn’t seem to want to participate will be paying as much attention as he should when I fall back for him to stop me from slamming into the ground!

This five letter word T.R.U.S.T. has been putting me to the test!

Trust is to put your complete confidence in someone knowing they won’t let you down. Trust is to fall back without doubting that the student behind you will catch you so you don’t hit the ground. It might be a little hard trusting a second grader to break your fall, but if it were God behind you waiting for you to fall; you can trust that He will be there to catch you so you don’t hit the ground.

It would be easier wouldn’t it?

It’s easy to say that you trust God until… that dreaded call… that unwanted illness… that scary news…

I have 7 days until my last day at work and the clock is ticking. I have searched and applied, called, emailed many places submitting my resume and applying for positions… but still no job.

That five letter word T.R.U.S.T. is the only thing I am holding onto right now. It’s the only thing keeping me from getting stressed out, worrying myself to death, and imagining all the what ifs. We must trust God to fulfill our needs and provide for us. He knows that I only have 7 days left, He knows how many bills we have, and He has never let me down... EVER!!

Looking back at all the times He has miraculously provided should assure me that He will provide this time just like all of those times.

Psalms 56:3-4 “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; shall I not be afraid…” ESV

Over and over again you will find in His Word that He keeps His promises and will provide on time… not our time, but His time.

Daniel trusted God would protect Him in the den of lions even though the lions hadn’t eaten for days…God protected him and shut their mouths!

Noah trusted God that there would be rain and continued to build the ark without ever seeing a drop of rain in his life…God let the rain pour!

Joshua trusted God that the walls would come tumbling down after marching around 7 times…God let those walls crumble to the ground!

It’s a scary situation and even though I am human and naturally would worry about something like this, I have a sense of relief because I can look back at His consistent pattern of promise keeping in my life and read His Word and find comfort in knowing that He is trust worthy, I can rely on Him, and He will never fail me. I have been re-learning all over again that He is in control and I can trust Him and rely on Him to provide and provide on time.

You can also read this devotion over at Laced with Grace

Laced with Grace..."A Savior for us all"

2011-12-23T07:34:00.001-06:00

Today I shared a devotion over at the Laced with Grace site entitled “A Savior for us all”.

Christmas is an exciting time of the year. It’s my favor holiday to celebrate and as soon as the hot summer days begin to fade into cool weather and the leaves begin to change colors and fall I start getting excited about Christmas.

I just love the trees! The snow! The fire place burning! Christmas songs! The homemade cookies! The lights! The presents under the tree! The Christmas dinners! The family gatherings!

It’s so exciting buying gifts, receiving gifts, spending time with family, and making wonderful memories.

I love this time of year, but even more than all the wonderful things at Christmas time, I don’t ever want to forget why we celebrate Christmas.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

God gave us the most precious gift anyone could ever give or receive; a Savior.

On that day He gave to us more than we could ever need and EVERYTHING we could every hope for! Christ was born, a Savior for us all!!

Christmas cannot be found in shopping malls or underneath the Christmas tree… it is found in our hearts!

It’s a time of GIVING and BLESSING others!!!

Let’s not get caught up in the “things” we buy or receive, but remember it’s all about LOVE and GIVING and BLESSING others, like Christ did for us!!

Merry Christmas everyone!! J

You can also read this devotion over at Laced with Grace!!

Laced with Grace....Dare to Believe

2011-08-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

Today I shared a devotion over at the Laced with Grace site entitled “Dare to Believe”.

I’m sure every one of you ladies have tied an apron around your waist and grabbed all the ingredients that you need to bake a cake.

You grab the shortening, sugar, vanilla, flour, baking powder, salt, water, eggs, etc…

Stir it all together…

Pour into the cake pan and bake…

After 30 mins or so, you have a cake!

Gathering the ingredients to make a cake is a lot like believing and having the faith about something that hasn’t happened yet.

Hebrews 11:1 “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” NLT

You need all the ingredients in order to make that cake, without them, there will be no cake. Your faith is like all the ingredients that it takes to…..

Click here for the rest of the devotion!

Laced With Grace….”You can’t hide what’s inside”

2011-07-01T07:56:00.000-05:00

Today I shared a devotion over at the Laced with Grace site entitled “You can’t hide what’s inside”.

It’s easy to claim to be a Christian because all you have to do is simply that – claim it. Simply claiming to be something doesn’t make you what you are claiming to be. I can claim to be the tooth fairy, but it doesn’t make me the tooth fairy….right? I hope you would agree with me on this. If you believe everything you hear, then you are thinking that I have a ton of teeth stashed somewhere. Ha! Humor me for a moment…..

If I don’t have wings, can’t fly, and don’t have a magical wand then I’m not the tooth fairy. I can claim to be….but the fact remains that I just can’t prove it; therefore I’m NOT.

We should prove that we are Christians by the way we live our life.

It boggles my mind that so many people say they are a Christian, but they are the meanest and ugliest people around, who murder others with their tongue and say and do whatever suites their fancy and not thinking twice about what spills from their mouth. Their hearts are filthy and full of wickedness and nothing but darkness.

Do they actually think that we can’t see the condition of their hearts?

Do they really think they’ve got us fooled?

Your actions and words will reflect what’s inside your heart just like the moon reflects the light from the sun. No matter how hard you try, you can’t hide what’s inside your heart.

Matthew 15:18 says “But the words you speak come from your heart – that’s what defiles you.” NLT

If the condition of your heart is “clean” and you are “Spirit-filled” then others will………

Click here for the rest of the devotion!

Thankful Thursday – Gifts from above

2011-06-09T08:17:00.000-05:00

I am thankful for many things this Thankful Thursday. I am so thankful to know the Lord and have the privilege to walk and talk with Him daily. Years ago when I gave my life to Him, He transformed my heart into a new heart with new desires and gave me a new nature. I haven’t been the same since.

“Therefore, if any man be in Christ he is a new creature; old things are passed away’; behold, all things are become new.” - 2 Cor. 5:17

I’m so thankful for the experience of regeneration (being born again). I’ve learned that life is no life at all if you’re not living your life for Jesus Christ! I’m thankful that lovingly and gently lead my heart to His.

I’m also thankful for the most precious gift from above, my wonderful husband Jordan. He is not what I imagined….he’s MUCH MORE!!!! J

I’m thankful for my family. There is nothing else like family - that closeness that you have with your family is priceless.

Today, I am linking up over at Thankful Thursday. Iris is our host the month

of June; visit Grace Alone for more Thankful Thursday posts!

To Know Him

2011-06-03T11:41:00.000-05:00

Do you ever get overwhelmed when you think of the people all over the world that don’t know Christ Jesus?

Sometimes when I think about the millions or billions of people that know of Him, but don’t really know Him (close relationship) it scares me. I start thinking things like…”I wonder if they will have a chance to know Him like I know Him? What if they don’t? What if they never get a chance and spend their lives without knowing the one that changes everything?”

I get myself all worked up and before I know it, I’m feeling the weight of the world resting on my shoulders…Ha, like it’s my problem to take care of or something! What am I thinking? It’s great and all that I care about the people around me, but it’s not my problem to solve…so why am I all upset over these people that don’t know Christ Jesus?

Then it hit me, I’m not trusting in the Lord. I have to trust Him that He knows the needs of those who are not yet living their lives for Him. When I realized that it’s all in His hands, I was able to relax and feel relief, the weight lifted off my shoulders.

Deuteronomy 32:4 “He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is!”

He’s on it!! He is so amazingly powerful and all knowing!! He’s working in our lives, each and every one of us, gently guiding us towards a place close to Him. Even though there are so many that haven’t reached that point yet, we must patiently wait for the Lord. He’s working in their lives. He knows the hearts that will accept Him and the ones that will not, but the Word of God says that He will give ALL a change to receive His free gift….the gift of salvation.

Laced With Grace...."Jehovah"

2011-06-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

Today I shared a devotion over at the Laced with Grace site entitled “Jehovah”.

Some claim that Jesus Christ was fabricated by the human mind; simply produced by the imagination and nothing more. If, in fact He was invented by man then why has man not been able to improve on Christ over the years? Improvements have been made continuously over the years on everything that man has made. No one can deny that we don’t continuously improve on everything that we can get our hands on.

It’s nothing out of the ordinary to see improvement at every turn.

On television we see commercials advertising the newest improved gadget that is better, faster, smoother, lighter, and more convenient than ever before.

“The Gillette Fusion ProGlide Power Razor is Gillette’s most advanced blade ever. Thinner, finer blades with a low-resistance coating glide effortlessly through hair for less tug and pull, providing incredible comfort, even if you shave every day.”

Gillette’s website advertisement clearly makes my point; this product is one of the many products that are continually being improved and I doubt the production of ideas will stop flowing. In the 18^th century the first razor invented was a “straight razor”, years later you can see substantial improvement.

Years ago…

Now…

Compare the automobiles produced in the 20^th century to the 21^st century; you are bound to see a major improvement. The progress that man has made on the appearance, assembly, versatility and the wide ranges of makes, models and color options are vast improvements from where automobiles first began.

Years ago…

Now…

Architectural structures began to mature and flourish hundreds of years before Christ was born. Buildings were sturdier and more permanent than before. Structures in the 21^st century have dramatically improved with endurance, stability, beauty, design and manufacture.

Years ago…

Now…

Jesus Christ claimed deity; He applied to Himself the
statement of Jehovah, “I am”.

John 8:24 “That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am who I claim to be, you will die in your sins.”

John 8:12 Jesus spoke to the people once more and said “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

John 10:9 “Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures.”

John 11:25 Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.”

John 14:6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No on e can come to the Father except through me.”

This truth of the revelation of Jesus Christ is revealed in Scripture and proves that Jesus Christ is deity and not man-made.

We are merely humans and are unable to…..

Click here for the rest of the devotion!

Prayer

2011-05-31T10:27:00.000-05:00

Have you been doing all the talking?

The Artist At Work

2011-05-28T16:20:00.000-05:00

Today I want to share my heart with you, something that the Lord has been tugging on my heart to change. The past few months I have been convicted of something that I have never been convicted of before and it all started when I opened up my mouth and uttered a phrase that I haven’t forgotten since.

Like any other morning, I was driving to work and turned into the parking lot to park my car and noticed this person who wasn’t very attractive and like most people’s reaction I said to myself “ugh, that person is so ugly.” As the words left my lips Jesus spoke into my heart and said, “That is my creation you are talking about; my work of art”, and I felt so terrible that I had said something so awful and basically criticized God’s creativity and capabilities.

From that moment on I decided to never speak of God’s creation in a negative way ever again. That person shouldn’t be judged or criticized by us; all that matters is that God thinks they are beautiful because He created them. We are all uniquely made inside and out, and we are His pride and joy…His work of art.

Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the works of His hands.”

This scripture says the heavens are proudly announcing and showing their appreciation of His marvelous art work (His creation) and the skies are giving their approval and making it known. He is our Artist and we are all His work of art. He loves us. He’s proud of what He has created and we should be too.

God is our Creator; He is The Artist!!!

We should have an appreciation of His art and beauty; not just the mountains, waterfalls, sunsets, stars in the night sky, Grand Canyon, but the people He created too. We are His work of art!!

Laced with Grace....I Don’t Buy That Lie

2011-05-03T04:00:00.002-05:00

Today I shared a devotion over at Laced with Grace entitled “I Don’t Buy That Lie”.

Satan doesn’t just temp us on the obvious things like to tell a lie, smoke cigarettes, talk bad about someone, or cheat on a test. He tempts us with less obvious things like when you are facing difficulty in life and everything seems to be falling apart. He comes along and whispers lies into your ear to lure you out onto his slippery pathways with one objective in mind…..for you to fall. Yes, he plays dirty. He kicks you while you’re down.

In those moments in life, that is when Satan runs as fast as he can to get to your ear and fill it with lies and deception. He tries to convince you that God has abandon you and no longer loves you. He tries to convince you that your situation is hopeless and will never change and never get better. He tries to discourage you when you need encouragement the most. He pushes you down, right at that moment you need a helping hand. He tries his best to drag you down as low as he can drag you so you are discouraged and hopeless of your situation.

Satan will drag you as far as you let him!

Yes trials are hard, no doubt, but the Lord has shown me something different in this scripture today. I’ve never thought about it like this before, but the reason we feel so weak, hopeless, fearful, discouraged and faithless........

Click here for the rest of the devotion!

Safe and Sound

2011-04-29T11:00:00.003-05:00

The record breaking storms have passed and the sun is shining. We have made it through the storms this week. Our town was blessed. We are all safe and sound right?

Yes we are safe, but what about sound?

Throughout the Mid-South area we experienced severe thunderstorms and twisters with minor damage compared to other cities in the U.S. leaving us safe, but maybe not so sound.

The enemy can torment your mind leaving you with fear. He can get you worrying and imaging the worse-case scenarios and all the “what if’s” you can thing of…. But remember what 2 Timothy 1:7 says….

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

Not worry, but peace!! Not fear, but power!!

Dear Lord,

Please help us to not listen to the enemy’s lies and focus our minds on You. Give our hearts peace and a sound mind. Amen!

My Painted Heart

2011-04-21T13:37:00.004-05:00

I have faced a lot of difficulty, pain, and heartache in my 26 years. The pain I have suffered has made me who I am today and I wouldn’t take that back for the world. God can turn any bad situation into beauty. I was completely broken up inside with nothing left. God knows exactly what he is doing and has allowed everything that has happened to me with a great purpose in mind. Just think, we are his pride and joy…the apple of this eye…the most precious thing that belongs to him…he proved that when he sent His one and only son to die on the cross for payment of our sins in order to purchase us!!

We are so precious to Him!

What is the MOST PRECIOUS thing that belongs to you? Something you have purchased? Something that has been given to you? Let’s say a small glass vase has been passed down in your family for many generations and it now belongs to you. It’s precious to you…your whole entire family line for generations has owned and cherished this small glass vase which tells a story that runs all of the way back to the latest your family were able to trace on your family tree. It is now in your hands to take care of, watch over and protect. It is precious to you and you are in charge of it…it’s YOURS!! I’m sure you would make sure that you knew exactly where it was at all times and if you decide to take it into another room and place it another spot in your house you would make sure that it would be safe there in that new spot. Whatever you decide to do with it or wherever you decide to place it, you will have its best interest in mind ALWAYS.

That’s the way I like to think of it. God’s ALWAYS aware of where we are and what is happening in our lives. If something will help us build character or help us grow stronger in him, then he will allow the stormy winds to swirl in our lives. He is there and never leaves during the storm, but is smiling inside seeing the end results which is his ultimate plan. Of course at the same time he is hurting that we have to go through such pain but is very understanding and has compassion as we face that storm.

I have deep scars from past wounds (experiences) but that is what keeps me desperate for Jesus!! Never a day goes by that I am not constantly reminded that I NEED him desperately EVERYDAY!!!

James 1:2-3 “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.”

There was a time in my life that God wasn’t apart of it like he is now, only because I didn’t allow him. Those were lonely, dark days that you couldn’t pay me enough money to relive. If it weren’t for those experiences in my life I wouldn’t be who I am today.

That’s what we are…God’s creation!! We are like a painting that he is working on.

He has got all his paint colors out, jar of water, paper towels, brushes and the grand idea of what picture he wants to paint.

He has got this apron on and is all ready to go!! With excitement he takes his first stroke on the blank solid white canvas and thinks to himself “This is going to be a good one!”

Time passed and the canvas now has beautiful shades of color. When he begins to mark the color black into the picture we start to wonder what is going on and why is this happening? I don’t like the color black!!! Who likes the color black?? It’s ugly!! I don’t want that in my life!!! It’s not even a pretty color!!!

We must have the color black painted in our hearts.

No it’s not a pretty color, but it is necessary…all together it makes the picture!! Adding black to the painting is what makes it become beautiful. What would the Mona Lisa be without black? It wouldn’t be the beautiful famous painting as we know it…that’s for sure!

When I look at my past hurts I see pain, but when I look at the whole picture I see Gods fingerprints all over this beautiful story he is writing in my life.

What a beautiful story God has written!! He is not finished yet!!

This song “Before the Morning” by Josh Wilson says it all….click here to listen!

Dear Lord,

Thank you for all that you have done in my life and are still doing today. You are the reason my heart sings!! Once there was only brokenness in my life, but you have mended me back whole. I am now healed and even better than before. I am thankful for the scares I have in my life because they are simply reminders of what you can make into beauty. I wouldn’t be who I am today if it weren’t for the painful experiences that I have faced. I look forward to more beauty that you bring into my life each and every day. Amen!

Laced with Grace...Choose Joy

2011-04-01T05:00:00.002-05:00

Today I shared a devotion over at the Laced with Grace entitled “Choose Joy”.

Don’t forget to Choose Joy during the difficult times in life.

It’s so easy to forget that we have a place to go and gather peace, strength, and everlasting joy during the trials of this life. It’s so easy to sit and sulk over all that has gone wrong and walk around with your head down.

Nehemiah 8:10 says, “…Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Choose joy.

When everything seems to come crashing down all at once and you don’t think it could get worse. Everything seems to be going all wrong and all your plans fall through.......

Click here for the rest of the devotion!

Thankful Thursday - Refreshed

2011-03-03T15:34:00.003-06:00

Romans 12:1-2 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Sin is a lot like a match.

When we participate in sin it’s like striking a match!

Once it is lit in your life it starts a fire that spreads and destroys everything. Just that little tiny spark can be more destructive than you think.

God is like a firefighter. He comes in and cleans up the damage the fire caused. But unlike any firefighter we know, this firefighter miraculously rebuilds and restores what was lost during the fire and makes everything new and whole again!

Now that’s POWER!! That’s OUR GOD!!

This Thankful Thursday I’m so thankful that we serve a God that rebuilds us and restores us after we sin. Sometimes we can mess up so bad and wonder where do I go from here? He repairs our heart from the pain and renews our souls from the damage. Praise the Lord for His mighty and powerful miraculous touch!!

To join in or read more Thankful Thursday posts Click Here

Laced with Grace….Get Moving

2011-03-01T04:00:00.002-06:00

Today I shared a devotion over at the Laced with Grace entitled “Get Moving”.

Hospitals are for the sick to come and get well. Once they are well, they leave. Wouldn’t it be so silly once you got well, if you just stayed there? It’s not a resort; it’s place to help the sick get well.

I think churches are a lot like hospitals for the lost. Churches are established all over the world so the sick (lost) can come and get well (saved). For those that are not well, can come and learn the life changing truth of Jesus Christ and no longer be lost, but found!!

Churches aren’t for the ones that know the truth, to go and sit on the pews for the rest of their lives. That’s not our calling. That’s not the instructions the Bible gives us. If you know the truth you have a responsibility to take your place in the body of Christ and make a difference in the kingdom of God. In Mark 16:15 you will find specific instructions from Christ telling us what He wants us to do with this life changing truth.

Click here for the rest of the devotion!

Laced with Grace....All about love

2011-02-02T08:16:00.000-06:00

Today I shared a devotion over at the Laced with Grace entitled “All about love”.

I’ve been thinking about Valentine’s Day and how it’s all about red roses, candy hearts, chocolate goodies, heartfelt cards, and celebrating your love with that special someone. The whole day is painted in RED and all about LOVE!! On that day you give your all, your very best of expressing your love to that special someone in your life. You present them with the best gift to show your love, the sweetest card that brings a tear to their eyes, and you shower them with lots of chocolate goodies and lots of LOVE all day long!! That special one day a year celebration is the one day that the love of your life will show you the most love all year long.

Click here for the rest of the devotion!

Laced with Grace....Turn to clear vision

2011-01-21T05:00:00.002-06:00

Today I shared a devotion over at Laced with Grace entitled "Turn to clear vision"

Proverbs 2:9-12 NIV “The you will understand what is right and just and fair – every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you. Wisdom will save you from the ways of the wicked men, from men whose words are perverse.”

Wisdom and knowledge are like the lookouts in the crow’s nest in a ship.

The crow’s nest is positioned in the upper part of the mainmast of a ship and used as a lookout point. Its position provides the best view for the lookout to see into the distance to scout for danger that may lie ahead.

If you are a ship sailing without a lookout keeping a close watch for hazards to avoid, then you are in a whole lot of trouble. There would be no way of knowing what is ahead waiting to crash into your life.

Click here for the rest of the devotion!

His Creation

2011-01-19T15:39:00.000-06:00

I look around at the beautiful creation that God made with his creative and powerful hands; I can’t help but notice that everything is so orderly, precise, perfect and lacking nothing. How everything has a purpose and how everything just goes together some way and somehow. The million details that make up each animal and plant. Each specific detail is so specific and is only there if needed.

What a perfect creation. So specific and precise, He didn’t leave anything out and there certainly isn’t anything missing.

It’s creative! It’s magnificent! It’s marvelous! It’s orderly!

It’s perfect!

Last Sunday Jordan (my wonderful husband) taught the children’s church about creation. He used an example to help them understand that this world we live in didn’t just happen by chance; it was created by the only one true God! He gave each child a sponge which was numbered one through ten. At the count of three…each child had to toss their sponge in the air and when all the sponges landed on the floor they needed to land in perfect order, side by side in numerical order.

“That’s impossible” said the children before they tossed their sponges into the air. That’s right!! That’s impossible!! That’s exactly what Jordan wanted to prove to them. It is impossible for something so small like tossing sponges into the air and them all landing right next to each other, side by side in perfect order. What about creation? Think about it… It’s impossible for it to just happen. Everything is created with such creativity, beauty and perfection that can’t be mistaken by coincidence or chance. Something so perfect, creative, beautiful, orderly and marvelous can only be made by God.

You can tell by His work that He is a God of specific order and perfection. Everything here on earth that He created has a specific purpose and is in perfect order. That really got me to thinking…that means if He is a God of specific order and perfection, then the things that happen to us aren’t coincidence or chance either.

As a perfect God, I refuse to believe that He doesn’t choose what I go through and what I face each and every day.

I would like to think that if it doesn’t serve a purpose to help me grow, mature, develop or change me for the better then it just won’t happen to me and I just won’t go through it. I can’t look at His creation and still think that the hard waves that come crashing into my life are just because this is life. That’s just it…it’s my life and His hands are holding me. He created me and is in control of my life…that includes every little detail.

The next time you are asking yourself “why is this happening to me”? Just remember, God is trying to teach you something to help grow, mature, develop, or change you!! So starting viewing those hardships of live with new eyes and a new perspective!! It’s a good thing; you just can’t see it yet!!

During the wait

2010-12-09T09:44:00.000-06:00

For those of you that haven’t heard the exciting news…my boyfriend “Jordan” proposed and we are now engaged!! :) :)

We are so excited and can’t wait for the big day!! I never thought this day would come for me. It seemed like all of the other girls were already married, having babies, and way ahead of me. I felt like I was the only single girl around lol.

I had in mind what kind of man I was looking for, but never came close to finding anyone that matched up with the mental picture I dreamed of for so long. Years passed by with Mr. Right still nowhere to be found. I began to wonder if my standards were too high and if I was searching for a man that didn’t even exist on this planet. After all, I wanted a good Christian man that had good solid Christian morals and values and was on the same page as me (as far as beliefs, morals, values, etc). I was looking for a man with a soft heart that loved and served the Lord and desired the same things that I desired. I could go on and on…. But in my heart I couldn’t lower my standards…I knew what I was looking for and was determined to wait for it and not willing to settle for less. More time passed by and I begin to wonder again if my standards were too high…still no Mr. Right…still haven’t come close!!

Finally I realized that I could search high and low and I will still end up with nothing. I realized that I couldn’t find such a wonderful thing all on my own. I realized that everything that we have on this earth is a gift from God. When I realized this, I stopped searching and started waiting on God. I asked God for someone that was perfect for me.

Luke 11:9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

I knew that he was going to bring someone in my life that was perfect for me. God knew exactly what I needed and boy did He come through!!! :) :)

What a precious gift from God!! He made Jordan just for me and made me just for him. That is so incredible to me and I am truly blessed!!

During the wait I’ve learned that I can’t find something like this on my own. Everything we have is a gift from God. God brought Jordan into my life, the most precious gift I have ever received. The biggest blessing!! And I never could have made something like this happen on my own. I could have searched forever for the type of man I was looking for but would turn up empty handed. When I surrendered to God and asked Him to bring Him to me, it was then Jordan came walking into my life.

Father,

Thank you for blessing me with the most precious gift I have ever received. Thank you for giving me someone that will truly cherish me and treat me with the most love and kindness anyone could ever ask for. I know that this gift has come from you and I have ever so grateful. Amen!

Laced with Grace....The peace He brings

2010-12-03T04:00:00.001-06:00

Today I shared a devotion over at Laced with Grace entitled “The peace He brings”.

Have you ever been to a spa? What was your experience like? Was it calm, relaxing and pure serenity? Surrounded by the relaxing atmosphere, calming fragrance, and the nature and tropical forest sounds did your mind clear, worries melt away, and all concerns vanish completely? Did tranquility rule the evening? Did you feel free from all hostility, frustrations and conflict?

I did and every time I visit the spa I always want to jump in line to book another appointment for the following week. My budget won’t allow me to have spa days anymore, but if it did I would love to visit everyday! That’s why we like going to the spa! With that being said, who doesn’t want to feel relaxed, peaceful, and calm?

Nobody says “I want to feel stressed out, frustrated, agitated, unsettled, uneasy, turmoil, fear and burdensome” or “I want to have conflict, hostility, depression, malevolence, aggravation, or maliciousness in my life”.

When you leave the spa you are at peace, rested and relaxed! If you had a rough day it smoothes it out and becomes calm and you are able to melt into the peacefulness.

Living a life in peace isn’t just about an “experience” or a “feeling”; it’s about a way of life. I wouldn’t want to live any other way! PEACE and HARMONY is what I want in my everyday life! The peace He brings is much more than a spa experience. It dwells inside of you and brings harmony in your life…….

Click here for the rest of the devotion!

Thanksgiving Prayer

2010-11-25T05:00:00.002-06:00

Heavenly Father, on Thanksgiving Day

We bow our hearts to You and pray.

We give You thanks for all You’ve done

Especially for the gift of Jesus, Your Son.

For beauty in nature, Your glory we see

For joy and health, friends and family,

For daily provision, Your mercy and care

So today we offer this response of praise

With a promise to follow You all of our days.

– Mary Fairchild

WFW...Plan to protect

2010-11-24T13:16:00.000-06:00

Proverbs 14:15 “The simple believe anything, but the prudent give thought to their steps.” – NIV

IN MY WORDS “The people that believe everything they hear lack knowledge and wisdom, but the people that think ahead to where they are going are smart, full of wisdom and are making wise decisions for their selves.”

We must plan to protect ourselves from getting into trouble or situations that could cause us to mess up. Temptations are everywhere we go and everywhere we look. This sinful world we live in makes it harder each day that passed to stay far away from temptation.

Sometimes we are full of self-confidence and think that we are strong, but in reality we are much weaker than we realize and don’t realize it until it’s too late and the damage has already been done. We may think that some things in our lives are innocent and wouldn’t pull us into a deathly trap of sin. Sadly we are wrong about many choices we make that seem harmless, but in reality they are more dangerous than we think.

The bible tells us to plan ahead and think long and hard about our daily choices. By carefully examining what we allow ourselves to be involved in every day.

What we allow our eyes to see, our ears to hear, and our hearts to soak up will lead us down the path of life or death. What we expose ourselves to in this sick and twisted world we live in will affect our relationship with God and the path we travel.

Lamentations 3:40 “let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.” – NIV

IN MY WORDS “You should take a survey on the direction you are heading in and inspect closely and question every road you have turned down testing the condition of each direction you have traveled, and then go back to the Lord.”

Where are you going and what are you doing on a daily basis? What things are you involved in that temptations are much greater than other things that you are involved in? What are you allowing your eyes, ears & heart to be exposed to? Are there things in your life that you need to re-consider if they are dangerous and not as innocent as you thought?

Examine your choices and activities in all areas of your life. Pick through carefully everything that you are exposed to daily. Make a healthy decision and decide what need to hit the road! Your life depends on it!

It’s Word Filled Wednesday and I’m linking up on the Internet Café. Click here for more Word-filled Wednesday posts.

Let us worship

2010-11-23T10:25:00.001-06:00

What if the one you loved only told you how much they loved you but never expressed their love? How would that make you feel? Would you feel loved?

When you love someone you want to express your devotion to them. You want to show them as well as tell them how much you care. You will put time and energy into expressing their value to you.

Worship is an act of expressing our devotion to God. It is the state of being dedicated and loyal. When we worship we are showing and expressing admiration and reverence to God. We are giving God respect and recognition for who He is and what He means to us (His worth).

Psalm 95:6 “So come, let us worship: bow before him, on your knees before God, who made us! Oh yes, he’s our God, and we’re the people he pastures, the flock he feeds.” – The Message

Are you showing God your devotion to Him? How many times this week have you set time aside to worship God? When was the last time you lifted your hands or bowed down and offered respect, honor and admiration to God by worshiping Him? How much time and energy do you put into your worship?

Laced with Grace....Take a snapshot

2010-11-22T01:00:00.011-06:00

Today I have shared a devotion over at Laced with Grace entitled “Take a snapshot”.

When you find yourself walking through the valley, don’t forget what it was like on the mountain top.

When it was all going good – the family was happy, everyone was healthy and everyone was getting along – when the finances were at its best – when your car was running just fine – when all the bills got paid without any struggle – when your health was not giving you any problems – when it wasn’t a sacrifice to pay your tithes - when you and your spouse were back into the honeymoon stage all over again – when everything was just going great and you had everything to smile about – when your faith and hope were at their all time high….then all of a sudden you find yourself walking in darkness wondering what in the world happened to all that faith you had and where on earth did your hope run off to?

It’s easy to have faith in God when everything is going hunky-dory. I think we can all agree with that! It’s not hard at all to say everything is going to be okay when you feel like everything is going to be okay. When you begin to leave the season of inspiration and walk into difficult circumstances, your feelings begin to change. You begin to feel scared, feel worried, and feel the darkness surrounding you; and everything you have learned and knew before seems to fade into the distance like it never existed and all you know is that you feel like your situation is completely hopeless…...

Click here for the rest of the devotion!

Laced with Grace....You won't get there overnight

2010-11-15T11:40:00.009-06:00

Today I have shared a devotion over at Laced with Grace entitled “You won’t get there overnight”.

Have you ever all of a sudden jumped up and decided that you want to get into shape and start exercising? You’ve made up your mind that today is the day that you are going to start a new life, a new routine and get into shape once and for all! So you start your new and exciting exercising routine for the wonderful results you will soon feel and see! You jump into your tennis shoes on, pull your hair up into a pony tail, and quickly get dressed into your workout gear and you’re off! But after a few days you get discouraged because you don’t see any results and feel like you’re not doing anything and want to quit.

I think we all have done that at least one time or another. We get sick and tired of living a life without the benefits. When our hearts are clean and full of Jesus we are living a life with benefits. The benefits are all that follow from having Jesus in your heart and living a righteous life…..

Click here for the rest of the devotion!

Thankful Thursday - Complete access

2010-10-14T09:50:00.001-05:00

On this Thankful Thursday I am thankful for the access we have with our King. We are able to call out to Him day or night and He is all ears. We have special privileges with our King which has been delightfully given to us. Doesn’t that make you feel special to know that YOU are the closest to the King? There is nobody that has to be the in-between…YOU get to go straight to Him!

1 John 5:13-15 (The Message) “My purpose in writing is simply this: that you who believe in God’s Son will know beyond that shadow of a doubt that you have eternal life, the reality and not the illusion. And how bold and free we then become in his presence, freely asking according to his will, sure that he’s listening. And if we’re confident that he’s listening, we know that what we’ve asked for is as good as ours.”

I am thankful we serve a God that loves us so much and has given us complete and total access to Him!! All we have to do is start talking…He’s already there waiting for you to speak.

Today, I am linking up over at Thankful Thursday. LYNN is our host this month, visit http://unequalmarriage.typepad.com/ for more Thankful Thursday posts.

Laced With Grace - The ultimate price

2010-10-11T01:01:00.002-05:00

I have joined the Laced With Grace writing team. I have shared a devotion today entitled "The Ultimate Price"

John 3:16 (NIV) “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Visit Laced With Grace for the devotion!

Thankful Thursday - Brave missionaries

2010-10-07T01:00:00.022-05:00

I am thankful for brave the missionaries all over the world!

I read a news article yesterday click here for article about a missionary named Andrew Palau preaching a two-day Love Kampala Festival in Uganda, in spite of the heavy terrorist threats. More than 80,000 appeared to hear his preaching in spite of heavy security, metal detectors and the fear of attack.

It takes great commitment, determination and trust in the Lord to go to dangerous places and preach the gospel. The sacrifices that missionaries make are remarkable.

Mark 16:15 “He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”

I am thankful for the missionaries God has raised up to such a high calling. I pray more will rise up to go out and reach our hurting and lost world.

Today, I am linking up over at Thankful Thursday. Lynn is the host for the month of October; visit Spiritually Unequal Marriage for more Thankful Thursday posts.

WFW - It’s time to expect more!

2010-10-06T05:00:00.010-05:00

I walked past this advertisement slogan on a poster hanging on a wall “It’s time to expect more” and I started wondering how true that is when we pray! I know I have found myself time after time sending off my prayers and then clinch my teeth tight and holding my breath hoping and wishing that God will hear my prayers and answer my despite cry; while in the back of my mind I am full of doubt and worry that my cry will not be heard. Why would we not expect Him to hear and answer our prayers? We are what matters the most to Him. He notices everything in our lives…right down to the smallest detail; nothing happens without Him knowing it! If he collects our tears in a bottle then there is no doubt about it that He will hear our prayers and answer!

Luke 12:6-7 (NIV) “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

I have learned over the years that He is listening and He is a million steps ahead of me! He wants us to come to Him with all of our concerns, worries, and problems. He longs to listen to how we feel, what’s on our minds and what we need from Him. He wants us to come to Him for help (Psalm 46:1). He keeps record of every sleepless night we toss and turn and wrestle with our troubles. We should pray with confidence knowing that He hears us and expect Him to move on our behalf.

Matthew 7:7-8 (CEV) “Ask, and you will receive. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened for you. Everyone who asks will receive. Everyone who searches will find. And the door will be opened for everyone who knocks.”

What are your expectations when you pray? If your expectations are like mine were years ago, Stop expecting NOTHING and start expecting SOMETHING!!! It’s time to expect more!!

It's Word Filled Wednesday and I'm linking up on the Internet Café. Visit Internet Cafe for more Word-filled Wednesday posts.

Thankful Thursday - Dancing in the rain

2010-09-30T16:33:00.003-05:00

“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass; it’s about learning to dance in the rain.”

I’m not sure who wrote that quote but they are right. Life isn’t about waiting until the storm is over so we can resume our lives and pick up where we left off when it was rudely interrupted us by its down pour. It’s not about focusing on the storm; it’s about embracing the storm. It’s about learning how to dance in the rain.

James 1:2 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.”

So why would he say consider it pure joy? Trials are not joyful!! They are hard and sometimes painful and I’m sure none of us look forward to them!! Why would we want to consider the storms in our lives pure joy? I think he says this because he understands the purpose of trials and what they bring. After the storm clears and the darkness turns into light you are left with an experience that will help you grow! Growing is a good thing and that’s what James learned about the storms of life. He learned that we should consider it pure joy during those times because good things are going to come out of it!

No pain…No gain

If you were to go to the gym and lift weights and work out for hours each day overtime you will begin to see the results of your hard work. It’s not fun to work out and most of us dread it, but the results are well worth the hard work it takes! You know the saying…NO PAIN NO GAIN!! Very true! If you don’t put the effort into working hard then you can’t enjoy the wonderful results. We have to endure these storms so we can mature and develop spiritually or we will stay where we are and never grow. Like growing pains we experience as we begin to grow from a child to an adult. If we didn’t have growing pains that would indicate that we are not growing.

You never know who is watching you

Laurie from Women Taking A Stand taught a Sunday school class last week on how people are watching our actions and listening to our words; judging us by what we prove to them. She had a very good point when she explained it’s a lot like if we were on trial. The judge and jury will judge you on the evidence alone! It won’t make any difference what you say, everything is judged on evidence…proof!

What evidence are you giving to prove that you are a Christian? Are you proving that you are a Christian by the way you act and what you say each and everyday? You never know who is watching you to see how you react to the rain fall of grief and heartache. What if God divinely appointed them there to witness your faith? Are you proving your faith during the rainfall?

“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” – Albert Einstein

Each difficulty is a learning opportunity, a chance to prove what kind of faith you have in God! A chance to witness! The dark is always before the morning. When the morning finally arrives it will be more than you could have imagined.

Philippians 4:13 (NLT) “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”

On this Thankful Thursday I am thankful for the strength that God supplies to endure the storms of life. May we never forget we don’t have to do it alone, but with the strength He supplies we can endure anything that comes our way!

Today, I am linking up over at Thankful Thursday. IRIS is our host this week, visit Grace Alone for more Thankful Thursday posts.

WFW - Where Are You Walking?

2010-09-29T09:18:00.015-05:00

HIS way or OUR way

To walk is to pursue a course of action or way of life. We ALL are walking each and everyday of our lives. The question is WHERE? Are you walking the course that God specially constructed for YOU? He has designed a particular course for each of us. Are you traveling down the road he designed for YOU? We are going to pursue either HIS WAY or OUR WAY…one of the two.

There are only two routes to choose from…Your route or God’s route.

Divinely arranged for you

Psalm 37:23 “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord… ”

In my words: “If you are a righteous man living for the Lord delighting in his ways, the path you travel will be divinely arranged for you.”

He has divinely arranged your future!! Who better to arrange my future than God!!

He has good things for us!

Good things are waiting for you

The Lord desires for us to have abundant life!!! He wants us to be happy and have a successful future!!! He desires only good things for us. You can’t have an abundant life without God. It’s just not possible. I’ve been there; there was nothing abundant about my life before I started pursuing and living for Jesus Christ.

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you plans to give you a hope and a future.”

In my words: “I know what your future holds because I have designed it, I see the end which is good for I only want good things for you in the time that is yet to come.”

Trusting in Him

We think we can start traveling down our own route thinking that we know what we want, we know what is good for us and we can make our own good decisions without God. After traveling that route we created for ourselves we realize that we were wrong and we don’t know what we want, we can’t make our own decisions without God and we don’t know what’s best for us.

Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and he shall direct your paths.”

In my words: “Trust the Lord completely without any doubt even if we can’t understand or comprehend it in our minds; in every way follow Him and he will give us direction to where he desires us to go.”

Pursing HIS route in our lives is not always easy and we won’t always understand why things happen the way they do and for what purpose. He has wonderful things in store for ALL of us! Just because we experience hard times doesn’t mean he is mad or angry with us. That is just LIFE! We will ALL face difficult times in our lives and circumstances that we would rather not experience. When it doesn’t make sense to us; we MUST trust him that he wouldn’t take us down a road without purpose. When things happen that we don’t understand, trust in Him that he knows what’s best for us and knows what he is doing. We have a different perspective than he does.

To read more on God’s perspective visit “His Perspective” http://fromthepagesoflove.blogspot.com/2010/09/his-perspective.html

He will guide you

Psalm 32:8 “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.”

In my words: “I will give you knowledge and give you guidance to where I desire for you to go; I will give you wise actions to follow and will keep my eyes on you 24/7 without taking breaks.”

Take a closer look at Psalm 32:8 ....

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.” There are 4 promises found in this scripture!

o He promises to instruct you (give you knowledge)

o He promises to teach you (guidance)

o He promises to counsel you (give you wise actions to follow)

o He promises to watch over you (keep his eyes on you 24/7)

Now that’s comforting!! He promises to guide us the whole way!! Sometimes we get this idea that God doesn’t know what’s going on in our lives. We ask the questions “Is he aware of what’s going on?”… “Is he paying attention?” The scripture says that He is ALWAYS watching us. He doesn’t just watch us some of the time; he is watching around the clock never taking is eyes off of us. He doesn’t take breaks!!

What route are you taking? Are you on traveling down a road you designed for yourself or the one God designed for you?

It's Word Filled Wednesday and I'm linking up on the Internet Café. Visit http://internetcafedevotions.com/ for more Word-filled Wednesday posts.

Desire

2010-09-21T08:45:00.001-05:00

The word Desire means to long or hope for…it’s a longing, a craving! When you have a desire for God with your whole heart you will seek him. When you seek him you will find him. When you find him you will love him. When you love him you will desire what he desires. You will love what he loves and hate what he hates. You will have the same desires of who you serve. You think the same, act the same and talk the same.

Things God Hates…

Proverbs 6:16-19 “There are six things that Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.”

· Haughty eyes (proud look)

· Blatantly and disdainfully proud

· Excessive self-esteem

· Lying tongue

· Making untrue statements with intent to deceive

· Hands that shed innocent blood

· To harm those who are free from guilt or sin especially through lack of knowledge of evil; harmless

· A heart that devises wicked schemes

· Plan to bring about; plot.

· To form evil plans

· Feet that are quick to rush into evil

· Established a position in acting with speed to eagerly move toward evil; sinful, wicked

· A False witness who pours out lies

· Testifying intentionally untrue information

· A man who stirs up dissension among brothers

· To cause quarreling

He doesn’t hate YOU…he hates the SIN

If we are longing for things that are mentioned in Proverbs 6:16-19 then we do not love God. If we loved Him we wouldn’t desire to have ANY part of those things.

John 14:21 “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me….”

Do you hate the things God hates?

Things God Loves…

Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”

· Truth

· The property (as a statement) of being in accord with fact or reality

· Noble

· Possession, characterized by, or arising from superiority of mind or character or of ideals or morals

· Right

· Conforming to facts or truth

· Acting or judging in accordance with truth or fact

· Pure

· Unmixed with any other matter

· Free from dust, dirt, or taint

· Spotless, stainless

· Lovely

· Delightful for beauty, harmony, or grace

· Admirable

· To have qualities worthy of admiration

We should desire the things he loves and those things that are detestable to him should be detestable to us!

He is a God of… love, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, forgiveness, purity, joy, peace, patient, merciful, understanding, etc…

Mark 12:28-33 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"

”The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: '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 mind and with all your strength. The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these."

Well said, teacher," the man replied. "You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To Love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

We should desire these things. We should have a craving to be more like him in everyway. What things do you desire? Do you love the things God loves?

Read: Colossians 3:1-15, 1 Corinthians 13:4-13, Galatians 5:22-23, Proverbs 11:23

LACED WITH GRACE - You are on your way

2010-09-19T23:32:00.008-05:00

Today I have shared a devotion over at the Laced With Grace site. It is entitled "You are on your way"

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

We are like caterpillars when we start our spiritual walk with God. We were made to fly, but first we have to grow and mature to get there. It takes time before we turn into beautiful butterflies and begin to fly. We must understand that the journey from being a caterpillar to becoming a butterfly is a process that takes time, patients and grace from God.

For the rest of the devotion please visit Laced With Grace

A Fresh New Start

2010-09-08T10:33:00.001-05:00

Philippians 3:13-14 “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.”

Today is a new day…a new beginning…a brand new start!!! Sometimes when I glance back into the past I am troubled by the bad decisions and mistakes I have made. We all have regrets, but we all have a choice to make. We can choose to dwell on them or we can choose to forget them.

Isaiah 43:18 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.”

Learn from your past mistakes and get back up and try again. Maybe sometimes it seems like all you do is keep falling, but don’t let that keep you down…NEVER give up!!! Get back up and try again. Sometimes it’s easier to give in to not wanting to get back up and try again. Let go of the past and press on toward the future and what it holds for you…what God has for you.

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

Thomas Edison – “I didn’t fail ten thousand times. I successfully eliminated, ten thousand times, materials and combinations which wouldn’t work.”

What a great way to look at it. Thomas Edison could have given up after the many times he failed over and over again but he didn’t. It’s how you end the race. That’s what counts. Focus on the future and forget the past. God is more interested in our future not our past. Satan is the one that is fixated on our past!

Lamentations 3:22-23 “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

I am so thankful for God’s Grace and Mercy that covers us!!! His love for us is unfailing and unconditional. He will NEVER leave us and CAN’T stop loving us!!!

His Perspective

2010-09-07T10:38:00.002-05:00

When we are faced with a difficult situation in our life and don’t understand why this could happen…trust Him! When we pray for something and get frustrated or angry because we haven’t received what we have been desperately seeking for…trust Him! When things don’t go just the way you would like them to and you are faced with unexpected twist and turns…trust Him! When he says “No”…trust Him! God is not holding anything good from you; he is holding back something that could cause harm. He knows what’s best for us. I know we think that we know what is best for us sometimes, but the truth is that we really don’t. We are looking at the whole situation with a different perspective than God. He sees everything from a much different perspective than we do.

Picture this…a child is outside in the front yard playing with a basketball and it rolls out into the street. The child begins chasing after the ball when the father runs after him and grabs his arm to pull him back. The father knows better than to let his child run out into the street where he could get hurt…it’s dangerous!!! The child doesn’t understand because he has a different perspective than the father. His perspective is that he wants to get his basketball. His father’s perspective is that if his son runs out into the street he could get hit by a car. Sometimes in our lives things turnout differently than we planed or we never receive the thing that we have been praying for. When the answer is “No” it is not because God wants to withhold any good, it’s only because he loves us and knows what is best for us. Even if we don’t understand, we must trust in him that he knows what is best for us. Even though we are adults we are still his children. Just like our earthly fathers know best, our father in heaven knows what’s best for us!!

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

In my words: “Trust the Lord completely without having any doubt; don’t go by what man’s mind can understand for we cannot understand God’s ways. In every course of action and sequence of events recognize His authority and he will point out your steps to take.”

There have been times in my life when God told me no to some things that I desperately wanted. It wasn’t until years later that I understood why he said no to me and boy was I ever so grateful. I was holding onto disaster and didn’t even know it.

Imagine holding in one hand a gasoline can full of gasoline and in the other you are holding a match. You are holding DISASTER in your hands! God sees what will harm you when we see something that we want. It is hard sometimes because we don’t see what he sees, all we can see is something good, but he sees every detail that we can’t.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

In my words: “I know what your future holds because I have designed it, I see the end which is good for I only want good things for you in the time that is yet to come.”

God desires for us to have abundant life!!! He wants us to be happy and have a successful future!!!

What if the thing that you are asking God for will only bring disaster in your life? He is able to see that, but we cannot. Have you been kicking, screaming and rolling around in the floor throwing a fit over something that he won’t give you? What if that very thing that you are holding onto is nothing but disaster? Our perspective is something that we want and we see no harm, but God sees something completely different.

Our God is a good and loving God that only wants the BEST for us! Nothing less! If he says no…trust Him because there must be something that he sees that you don’t.

Refuse To Let It Grow!

2010-09-02T10:11:00.000-05:00

A seed is a source of development or growth. Sin is like a seed planted into the soil; it can only survive and grow if you give it tender love and care.
A tree starts out with a small tiny seed and over time eventually grows into a huge tree. Sin starts out small like a seed and it slowly grows into something massive, consuming you completely.

In order for a seed to grow and develop it needs water, sunlight, the oxygen in the soil, room for the roots to grow and etc. If you are letting it grow by giving into that sin over and over again , then you are NOT refusing it…you are NOT resisting it. By saying “NO, I refuse to have this in my life and I will conquer my flesh,” you are making a choice to refuse to water and nurture that seed (sin) for it to develop and grow.

Romans 7:18 “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.”

We can carry it out and conquer our flesh (sinful nature) with the help of the Holy Spirit. We CAN overcome the desires of our flesh, but we have to make a choice and choose to refuse to let it grow!

If you plant a seed and take care of it, supplying everything it needs to grow, then you are allowing it to grow and stay alive. If you make the choice to refuse to let it grow by resisting the devil, you are cutting off its life support and it can’t grow or live. It will die, thus conquering your flesh.

James 4:4 “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.”

James 4:7-10 “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will life you up.”

Are you giving the sin in your life room to grow? Is there something in your heart that you need to refuse to let it grow? Make your choice today to CHOOSE to REFUSE to let it grow!

You Are Forgiven

2010-08-30T10:08:00.003-05:00

He's not mad at you

He's not disappointed

His grace is greater still,

than all of your wrong choices

He is full of mercy and he is ever kind

Hear his invitation, His arms are open wide

You can come as you are,

with all your broken pieces

And all your shameful scars

The pain you hold in your heart,

bring it all to Jesus

You can come as you are

Louder than the voice that whispers your unworthy

Hear the sound of love,

that tells a different story

Shattering your darkness and pushing through the lies

How tenderly he calls you,

His arms are open wide

You can come as you are,

with all your broken pieces

And all your shameful scars

The pain you hold in your heart,

bring it all to Jesus

You can come as you are

You can come as you are with all your broken pieces

And all your shameful scars

The pain you hold in your heart,

bring it all to Jesus

You can come as you are

When we make mistakes sometimes we think that God is mad at us. We are harder on ourselves than he is with us. We hold onto the bad choices we have made and won’t let it go and forgive ourselves. He is asking us to let it go and come to him. He LOVES us with more PASSION than we could ever realize or possibly comprehend. When we make mistakes we don’t need to run FROM Him…we need to run TO Him!!

Every time we mess up the devil is right there whispering lies into our ears….

“He doesn’t love you anymore”
“He is going to leave you now”
“He is angry with you”
“He is going to make you pay”

Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

We are saved through the blood of Jesus Christ. There is nothing we can do to earn our salvation. The payment has already been made by the blood.

Ephesians 1:7 “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”

If you have made a bad choice in your life and you are still holding onto it…let it go. You are forgiven! Stop holding onto those bad choices and put them down. Let them go and run into the arms of the Lord. He is waiting with open arms.

I love this line in the song above “Come As You Are” by Pocket Full Of Rocks - His grace is greater than all your wrong choices.

Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

We are not perfect and we will fail. He is the one that will NEVER fail us!!

God's Unfailing Love

2010-08-26T07:13:00.002-05:00

The bible mentions God’s unfailing love in many scriptures. Most of the scriptures come from the book of Psalm written by David. He desperately cried out to God to rescue him in his time of trouble. In those scriptures he spoke of God’s unfailing love like he was encouraging himself. Because of his circumstances, I think he was feeling like God has turned his back on him and forsaken him. (Read Psalm chapter 6)

We can’t go by how we feel; our feelings will lie to us! I know I have to say things to myself sometimes for encouragement when I don’t feel it. Just because we feel like God doesn’t love us doesn’t mean that he doesn’t love us…we just feel that way. The truth still remains the same…God loves us! We have to go by what we know is true! David knew that and he constantly reminded himself of this truth…that God’s love is unfailing.

Trust that God loves you! That is what his word says. Unfailing love…. Let that sink in a bit.

To fail is to….
o Weaken
o Fade or die away
o Stop or fall short
o Become absent or inadequate

We can’t comprehend the love that God has for us. NEVER will his love fade, die away, stop or fall short, become absent or inadequate. Unfailing is the OPPOSITE of fail.

His Unfailing love will….
o NOT weaken
o NOT fade or die away
o NOT stop or fall short
o NOT become absent or inadequate

Psalm 21:7 “For the king trusts in the Lord; through the unfailing love of the Most High he will not be shaken.”

What a comfort! To know that God’s love for me will NEVER change and will ALWAYS stay the same and CAN’T be shaken.

To read more scriptures on God’s unfailing love read Psalm:
Chapter 6 (6:4) Chapter 13 (13:5) Chapter 21 (21:7) Chapter 31 (31:16) Chapter 32 (32:10) Chapter 33 (33:5,18,22) Chapter 36 (36:7) Chapter 44 (44:26) Chapter 48 (48:9) Chapter 51 (51:1) Chapter 52 (52:8) Chapter 77 (77:8) Chapter 85 (85:7) Chapter 90 (90:14) Chapter 107 (107:8,15, 21,31) Chapter 119 (119:41, 76) Chapter 130 (130:7) Chapter 143 (143:8, 12) Chapter 147 (147:11)

That Little Voice

2010-08-24T08:10:00.003-05:00

Romans 2:15 “Since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.”

God has place a conscience inside of us to help guide us. It doesn’t matter where you are with your walk with Christ or if you don’t have a walk with Christ, you have a conscious. Our conscience is sent by God with one purpose which includes the standards of how God desires for us to live.

It’s like having a little Jesus sitting on your shoulder all of the time guiding us in every situation.

When you are doing something that you should not be doing and your conscience is whispering in your ear telling you to stop…what is your response?

Do you listen to that little voice?

Sometimes I think we just grab a long strip of duct tape and tape its mouth SHUT!!! That’s what happens when we IGNORE our conscience. That little voice can’t be heard if it has tape over its mouth. Until we take the tape off, you will not hear what that little voice needs to say.

Does your conscience have tape over its mouth?

Acts 24:16 "So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man."

Worry Weighs You DOWN

2010-08-23T10:44:00.000-05:00

Psalm 55:22 (KJV) “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.”

What are you carrying around with you today? Are you holding onto things that you are worrying about and can’t seem to let go? Take a moment and write down everything that is weighing you down.

Now, using your imagination pretend that you are putting a backpack on your back. Each problem that you are worrying about represents one brick. Place all the bricks into the backpack. Is your backpack heavy? Even if you only have one brick it is still heavier than it should be.

1 Peter 5:7 (NIV) “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

Proverbs 12:25 (NIV)”An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.”

God wants us to give those things that trouble our hearts to him and let him CARRY it and HANDLE it. We can end up carrying around so many burdens that our LOAD is so HEAVY we can barley keep going. That is not what God intended for us to do when troubles come along in our lives. He wants us to give ALL our cares to him and trust him that he will take care of it!!

When you are faced with a problem you have two options.

1. You can carry it around with you
2. Give it to God

If you carry it around with you then you will worry about it…if you worry about it you will ONLY focus on the PROBLEM and worry yourself to death. If you give it to God and trust in him, then you will be FREE from worry and will focus on HIM and not the PROBLEM. It effects what you focus on…your PROBLEM or GOD.

Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV) “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Give your burdens to HIM!!! You will feel so much better!! :)

Spring Cleaning

2010-08-21T14:59:00.000-05:00

I never understood why it was called spring cleaning. Why in the spring and not any time? Well…I was thinking that it may be in the month of August, but it is about time for me to do some spring cleaning in my spare bedroom. I have been putting a little of this and a little of that in that spare bedroom for a while and it is now completely full of nothing but JUNK!! I need to go through all of it and clean it up, get it organized and trash all of the stuff that needs to go!!

I wonder what kind of JUNK we store in our hearts without even realizing it. A little here and a little there and before you know it you are completely FULL to the RIM with lots of JUNK that needs to be cleaned out in a quick hurry.

Psalm 51:10-12 (NIV) 10 “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”

When was the last time you sat down with Jesus and repented, asking him to clean your heart out? Is it time for some spring cleaning in your heart?

He's Got The Whole World In His Hands

2010-08-20T07:05:00.001-05:00

He's got the whole world in his hand

He's got the whole world in His hands,

He's got the whole world in His hands.

He's got the wind and the rain in His hands,

He's got the whole world in His hands.

He's got the wee small baby in His hands,

He's got the whole world in His hands.

He's got all you lovers in His hands,

He's got the whole world in His hands.

He's got ev'rybody in His hands,

He's got the whole world in His hands.

He's got the whole world in His hands,

He's got the whole world in His hands.

I remember singing this song in Sunday school when I was a child; it has been playing in my mind this morning. The words to this song really stood out to me today. The whole world is in HIS hands. That means EVERYTHING!!! What a POWERFUL and MIGHTY God!!! If he is BIG enough that the whole world is resting in his hands then that means he is IN CHARGE!!! To be in the hands of God is to be taken care of and watched over.

He watches over us, takes care of us and is in charge of us. He is IN CHARGE of our destiny!! He made the sun, moon, stars and universe…all land, waters, mountains and the sky. That is the God we serve!! He created us, loves us, is taking care of us and is IN CHARGE of us!!

That means YOU are in his hands...your FINANCES…your FAMILY…your HEALTH…your SITUATION…your JOB…your DESTINY!!!

Matthew 6:25-34 (NIV) 25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[a]? 28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Sometimes we can worry ourselves to death about things that could happen because we don’t know what the future holds. I sure am glad that my destiny is resting in the hands of God. Your situation isn’t out of HIS control or out of his hands…it’s out of YOURS!!!

Dear Lord, help us to not forget that you not only created EVERYTHING but are IN CHARGE of it all. So easily we begin to worry and stress over things that could happen to us that hasn’t even happed and probably won’t ever happen. Help us the next time we start to worry about what the future holds and to remember that the whole world is in YOUR HANDS.

In His Hands

2010-08-19T09:42:00.001-05:00

Jeremiah 18:6 (NIV) 6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.

He is the potter and we are the clay. We are like the clay in the hands of God…shaping and molding our hearts! Each and every day he is continually working on us and perfecting us.

I’m not the same person I once was years ago because he has been working on my heart and is making it what he wants it to be. I don’t have the old desires I once had…I have new desires in my heart that were never there before!!

What a beautiful thing to be created by him! Just think…YOU are in HIS hands!!! He has this grand idea of what he wants to make YOU!!

Think about it!!! If you were to mold a pot out of clay, you would first start with just a clump of clay. You would place it on the wheel and begin to work!! Shaping and molding the clay in your hands after a while you would begin to see some sort of shape. The more and more you are shaping and molding the clay it will begin to start looking like a pot!!

There is nothing beautiful or special about a clump of clay. You can’t do anything with it and it doesn’t serve any purpose. BUT when you put a clump of clay into the hands of God…then you get something beautiful and spectacular!!

Dear Lord, I want to be in your hands for you to mold and create whatever you desire for my heart. Continue to create me into the person you have always desired for me to be. Take my heart and mold it…rearrange it…change it into something beautiful!!!

Are You Eating?

2010-08-17T09:12:00.000-05:00

Matthew 6:11 “Give us today our daily bread.”

Could you imagine going a whole day without eating a single meal? What about weeks, months or even years? That’s so crazy!! Why on earth would we do that? Well, the answer is we wouldn’t!!! We MUST eat to LIVE!!! Our bodies need to eat daily to survive. It would be impossible to NOT eat anything at all and still be ALIVE, LIVING & BREATHING!! It works the same way in our spiritual lives. If we wouldn’t dare go without eating on a daily basis to ensure staying alive then why would we ignore that in our spiritual lives? It’s EXACTLY the same!! We MUST eat to LIVE in our spiritual lives. We shouldn’t be to the point where we are okay with living each and every day without the Word of God in our lives. We NEED it to LIVE and MUST have it to SURVIVE. Think of it this way…every time you open your bible you are sitting down at the table about to eat a satisfying and nourishing 3 course meal. Consuming the Word of God is essential and needs to be our highest priority in our lives. If we are NOT eating spiritually then we can’t keep it ALIVE. That is the only way we can continue to LIVE. Just like our physical body, if we don’t eat then we will die. How long has it been since you have had your daily bread on a daily basis? Is your spiritual life starving to death? It is so easy to forget and not think of getting into the Word of God is like eating daily to live. Why don’t we start today!! Let’s do it together!! Start diving into the Word of God and bring back your LIFE and LIVE!!

Directions

2010-08-15T08:35:00.000-05:00

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

I was driving home today taking my usually route and the road was blocked which forced me to take another route home. There was only one option and I had never driven down that road before. Okay, so if you don’t know me very well just know that I will get lost anywhere much less on some road I have never driven down before. So, I think to myself…No problem, I will just whip out my handy GPS and it will guide me home!! No worries!! I won’t get lost!! Well, that got me to thinking about how I felt so confident that my GPS was going to get me home without any problems. I wasn’t worried that it might tell me to turn down the wrong road and get me lost…I was confident that it knew exactly which roads to turn on to get me where I needed to go. That got me to thinking….God needs to be that way in our lives. How can we put more confidence in our GPS than we do in God? Sometimes I think we just toss him in the back seat and jump into the driver’s seat taking the wheel like we actually know what we are doing and where we are going. We end up taking all the wrong turns, driving down all the wrong roads and get so lost we don’t know why we ever tried to do it our way in the first place and not his way. I think that we forget that he knows more than a GPS and has specific plans for everyone. If we would just relax and have confidence in him, give back the drivers seat and let him lead us we will get where we need to go without ever getting lost.

Evil Is Like Rotten Food

2010-08-14T21:47:00.001-05:00

Proverbs 16:17 (NIV) “The highway of the upright avoids evil; he who guards his way guards his life.”

James 1:14-15 “Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”

In my words: “A good Christian man that follows the Lord avoids what is not good and not of the Lord (evil) protecting what is valuable to him (relationship with the Lord… what matters the most… your desire to serve the Lord and to please him in all ways…the way you live your life) keeping away from those impure, unholy, ungodly, unrighteous things will assure him protection and will not be effected by those things.

Guard Your WAY

If you guard your WAY (relationship with the Lord… what matters the most… your desire to serve the Lord and to please him in all ways…the way you live your life) your LIFE will automatically be guarded. How do you guard your WAY? To guard your WAY is to make a choice to closely monitor EVERYTHING that you “intake” or “digest” on a daily basis (what you allow to fill your heart).

Evil Is Like Rotten Food

For an example, if you are trying to decide if you should watch a movie that contains scenes that are ungodly and impure and you are wondering…will this really hurt me? Is it really that big of a deal? Surly just this one movie won’t hurt me? If you can imagine evil (what is not good and not of the Lord) being like food…every choice you make you can think…do I really want to take a bite into this hamburger that looks 7 days old and is turning green and fuzzy??? Ummm…NO is the answer for me!!! That is exactly what evil is!!! Nasty, disgusting, rotting, mess that no one needs inside of them!!! If you don’t look at it this way then you are NOT looking at it as it is. Maybe taking a second to picture what EVIL looks like then maybe you will make a better choice to protect what is valuable to you. To make the choice to GUARD your WAY is by saying “NO I don’t want any part of that which is not good and not of the Lord”. By doing that you are taking a bite of a freshly baked apple pie which is GOOD not BAD. I don’t know about you but I would much rather take a bite of a freshly baked apple pie that melts in your mouth and throws you into a 2 hour nap afterwards than eating a stinky old green fuzzy hamburger!!! Everything that we do will affect us in a good way or a bad way. You may not see the evidence immediately but it is there and will eventually you will see the effects. We HAVE GOT TO PROTECT what is important to us like we are caring around inside of us a precious diamond that is worth all the money in the world and MORE!!! Because that is EXACTLY what we are caring inside of us…the most important thing that could ever exist… the Holy Spirit. We must protect it. In every situation each and every day that we are faced with, we have to make a choice.

Your Life Becomes Guarded

If you guard your WAY then how does that automatically guard your LIFE? If we were to choose not to “guard” or “protect” our WAY then we will be choosing to eat that stinky old green fuzzy hamburger. Weather or not we guard our WAY determines how it will effect our LIFE. Look at it this way…imagine you went a whole day of eating stinky old green fuzzy hamburgers, molded rotting fruit, nasty black old molded bread and disgusting spoiled chunky milk. By the end of the day you would have chosen so much of impure, unholy, ungodly, unrighteous things that you are filled up with them. The effects of choosing evil and not guarding against it will eventually over time get to the point of consuming you and overtaking what you use to be and before you know it you don’t even know who you are anymore and how you got there. So it all starts with guarding your WAY and that will guard your LIFE!!! Everyday choose to reject EVIL and what is valuable to you (his relationship with the Lord, what matters the most to him and life will be protected) will be protected and not affected.

Mark 7:21-22 (NIV) “For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.”

Your Eyes, Ears & Heart

We must guard our WAY by guarding our eyes, ears and heart. If we live to serve the Lord and truly desire to please him we should want to be selective in what we involve ourselves in on a daily basis. What our ears hear and our eyes see goes straight into our heart. You may not think listening in on a gossip conversation won’t hurt you, but it does more damage than you realize. If you are letting that gossip enter into your heart it will come out into words and actions eventually. You are what you eat!!! That is a very true statement. You are what you consume (spiritually). The more and more you read the scriptures, dwell on them and study them the closer you become to the Lord. The closer you become to the Lord the more you begin to take on his characteristics and develop a desire for the things he desires. The more you take on his characteristics and develop a desire for the things he desires you begin to act on it. Those are the type of things that will come out of you…GOOD and Godly things. But if you choose to fill your heart with the things that are not of the Lord then that is what will come out of your heart.

1 Thessalonians 5:22 “Avoid every kind of evil.”

What Happens - The Process

What your ears hear and what your eyes see will go into your heart. What goes into your heart is what you will dwell on. What you dwell on will come out into actions and words. Picture it like this…if you plant a seed in the ground it begins to grow and develop. Soon it will burst out of the soil into a real live plant.

Heart Is Your Center Core

Think of it this way…look at your heart like an engine in a car, it’s the center core. If you put sugar in your gas tank instead of gasoline it could cause some major damage and in most instances, cause the car to stall and require major repairs. If you continue to put the sugar in the gas tank then eventually the car will quite working. See?? Sugar wasn’t made for cars…just like that nasty, disgusting, rotting, mess (EVIL) wasn’t made to pollute our hearts. Let’s say you involve yourself in a conversation that is full of gossip and tearing others completely apart with words. You have just eaten that stinky old green fuzzy hamburger. Avoiding that conversation is exactly what guarding your WAY means…to choose to not be apart of that conversation will eliminate filling your heart with things that are not of the Lord. Therefore, guarding your WAY (your desire to serve the Lord and to please him in all ways, the way you live your life).

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things (Philippians 4:8).

Wash Up!!!

2010-08-14T18:52:00.000-05:00

Isaiah 1:16 “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil.”

We wash our hands throughout the day somewhere between 10 to 20 times per day. Every time we go to public places we get back into our cars, pull out the hand sanitizer and get to cleaning!! We never forget to wash up immediately after touching all kinds of filth in public places…after using the restroom…after opening doors…after playing with our pets…before cooking dinner. Shouldn’t it be that way all throughout the day with our hearts? Constantly examining our hearts to see if it needs a good scrubbing? Could you go a whole day without washing your hands? Yuk!! I wouldn’t want to do that…would you? What about several days or weeks? Well, we shouldn’t want to go a day without letting Jesus scrub our hearts clean!! The next time you are washing your hands, let it be a reminder to take a moment and check your heart.

He Is the Vine...We Are The Branches

2010-08-14T18:38:00.002-05:00

John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

I was on my computer and the battery light blinked saying battery low and it hit me…we are just like that when it comes to God! We are not so different than this computer…we are nothing without a source of power…HIM!!! We NEED him each and every day of our lives…he is our “source of power”… he is the vine and we are the branches. So as I plug up my computer with the “source of power”…the blinking light turns off and everything is okay... the battery is charging. That’s what it needed…the source of power “Plugged in” directly. If we will stay plugged up to Jesus (read, study and meditate in his word, focus on him, pursue him daily…etc) we would have ALL we need. We would never have a reason to drink to find answers to our confused minds…we wouldn’t take pills to drown out those bad and painful memories we can’t seem to forget or even know how to deal with….we wouldn’t look for love in all the wrong places when we are actually looking for JESUS…that’s what we need and are looking for and CAN’T live without...JESUS!!! He is the one that brings the PEACE we are searching for... the LOVE we are longing for… the JOY and FULFILLMENT we were made for…NOT THIS WORLD or anything in it….HE IS ALL WE NEED!!!

He Is Able

2010-08-14T13:25:00.000-05:00

II Corinthians 9:8 “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.”

When we are facing difficult times in our lives we automatically think to ourselves “I am not able to do this”… “I am not able to handle this”… “I am not able to change this”. II Corinthians 9:8 reminds us that He is able!!! We easily forget that we don’t have to do it, handle it or change it all by ourselves. Give it to him and know that he is able to handle it.

Dear Lord, help us to not forget that we don’t have to do this alone. Our strength alone is not strong enough to face hard times that come our way but it’s your strength we need to get us through it. You are strong and we are weak. You are able to handle the situation and I am not. I am so glad to have a God that IS ABLE to handle ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that comes my way!!!