Search Me, O God, and Know my Heart

(Let's Talk! Tuesday has been suspended for an indefinite period of time. I am being obedient and trying to refocus on the purpose of this blog.  Sorry Vicki and Starla!  They have been so faithful in posting...You can go check out their blogs anyway!)

It seems that most people I have talked to this week and some things I've read have been about the heart. 

I think God is speaking. :)

The simple word, heart, brings to mind a palette of pretty pinks and reds, Valentine's Day, cupid and his arrow, first love, and just....pure.... sweetness.  Awwww..... :)

But our heart can prove to be just the opposite.

Our heart is a very important, vital organ in our physical body.  It also has a huge part in our spiritual well being.  In our heart, we can love to the fullest or we can hate with a vengeance.  In our heart, we can hide secret sins and unforgiveness or we can expose our weaknesses and be healed.  In our heart, we can form intimate relationships with our closest friends or we can build a wall to keep everyone out.  In our heart, we can KNOW God, or we can say NO to God.

The bible tells us that God "searches every heart and understands every motive."   It also tells us in Proverbs to guard our heart above all things!  Why?  Why above all things?  Because it is the wellspring of life.  It is where we first become intimate with God.  It is where we first hear Him.  But it can also be the place we harbor sin and evil.  Jeremiah 17:9 says "The heart is deceitful above all things..."  Sin is a matter of the heart.  Since birth, our hearts have been inclined toward sin.  We must willfully and purposely choose what is right and good, not forgetting or forsaking God.

God can see through everything, to the very center of who we really are and He still loves us completely!  Right where we are at this very moment!  We don't have to pretend to be something we are not.....when we do we are bringing that which is false before Him.  Be honest about where you are so that He can have the freedom to move in your life and continue the process of molding you into His image.  Are you angry?  Do you have unforgiveness?  What are you harboring today in your heart?  

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.  Ps. 139:23-24

It's time for the church - not the church building or organization - but the CHURCH - the PEOPLE of God -to RISE UP and take our place!  It is time to CROSS THE LINE.  We can't do it dragging our JUNK behind us or hiding it within us, pretending to be holy.  Let's get rid of it and watch God move!! 

xoxo

Shelly

Let's Talk! Tuesday

 
 



A few more-serious-than-usual random things....


1.  I am currently re-thinking/re-structuring/re-planning my blog and re-evaluating its purpose. 


2.  Starting my folder for my book projects and trying to learn more about the publishing world. (Studied some agents blogs' today which is why I am re-structuring my blog!)  Printed out lots of good stuff today.


3.  I start substitute teaching part time at Logan's elementary school next week, so am also currently planning/scheduling every hour in my day to ensure I get everything completed!


4.  Limiting my time on facebook.....seriously, a person could get lost in conversation on there and waste a lot of valuable time!   How much time do you allow or think is acceptable for social networking?


5.  What is your take on self-publishing?  And what about ebooks?


Short, but to the point today....glad we got the chance to chat, even though it was almost midnight for me! :)

XO

Shelly

The Winds of Change!

I read this status on my blogger friends Barbie's facebook page this morning....

When the winds of change come, do you turn and walk the other direction, or do you lean into the wind, embracing it, anxious to see where it might take you?

My response was....I pray that I will have the courage to embrace the wind every time it comes!  Because you know....change isn't always so easy peasy!  We get set in our ways, comfortable with the way things are, and set up camp!  The problem with that is God isn't given the freedom to move in our lives....

So today, I pray that I can set aside MY agenda, MY schedule, MY plans, and follow His leading....without leaving skidmarks.

Come Holy Spirit!

I'm sure I'll be writing more on this subject....and sharing a bit of my personal testimony soon....  But for now.....the laundry is calling my name :)

Oh, by the way, when I was creating this post, I noticed that it is my 100th post!  Caught me totally off guard and I'm ill prepared to celebrate!  lol  I see lots of organized, on time bloggers with extravagant 100th post celebrations and have dreamed of doing mine.....maybe I'll do 101, or 103 or ....you know.  haha :)  But I do want to have some sort of giveaway....I'm thinking one of my favorite books or something.....so don't stay away too long!

Have a blessed Monday!!

XO

Shelly

Snapshot Saturday

This morning we had our first high school football scrimmage....just in time for Snapshot Saturday! :)

 

Here's my freshman running the ball :)

 

Good job, Taylor!  And way to go Indians!!  Off to a great season!

Happy Saturday, friends :)

XO

Shelly

YOU: create

I missed the last couple of weeks posting with Sara over @ Gitzengirl so I was determined to join in this week even though I'm out of town!  I was really excited when she started several weeks ago because I LOVE to create things, and this will give me some incentive to get the glitter out! 

Having said that, there was no glitter this week! :)  I've been out of town staying with my sister and helping my niece transition into her own bed and her own room!  I think we've succeeded....so that's my accomplishment for this week! 

I remember my first child....18 years ago this month!  We put her in the bed with us and she slept there for 4 years until our second one came along!  Our next two kids never had a chance...they went straight to their baby beds! :)  My niece is 20 months and my sister's first and only baby, so she's ahead of the game according to my time table!

Logan and I are leaving today to go home.  We have been here for 6 days.  He and Rylee have had a great time playing together!

So much fun, in fact...that this was a common scene :)

In keeping with our topic, CREATE, and in anticipation of Fall (I'm always anticipating Fall),I thought I'd post a past project.  

A Happy Fall Card for a friend

I love scrapbooking scissors, pretty paper, polka dots, girly fonts, layers, glitter, and brown stamping ink for distressing edges! Oh yeah...and PINK!

Happy Thursday everyone!!  Don't forget to check out all the other blogs that linked up today with Sara at Gitzengirl!

See ya next week! :)

XO

Shelly

Challenged

I just posted our chat for Let's Talk! Tuesday, but felt like I should repost this from earlier this year as well.  It is for me, if no one else :)  ......

Lately (as you can tell by several of my posts) God has been speaking to me through a single word.  He is always speaking to us, and there is usually a spiritual lesson to be learned and applied in our every day adventure (aka....our life), we must train ourselves to recognize His voice, listen to His instructions, and follow His leading.


So yesterday, as I was reviewing pages in my journal and contemplating what I was going to write for the day, I found myself mulling over a particular phrase that I sometimes use: "Today, I was challenged......or God challenged me to......"


As I considered this word "challenged," I began to ask myself the following question:


Why do I sometimes feel challenged when God speaks to me, gives me instruction, or corrects me?


Immediately, I knew the answer.


Flesh vs. Spirit  (The war within us)

Dictionary.com defines the word challenged as:

• something that by nature or character serves as a call to battle, contest, special effort, etc
• a call to fight, as a battle, duel, etc

When Holy Spirit speaks something to me, it sometimes challenges my flesh.   There is a call to fight, as a battle, a duel!  Why?  Because my flesh is all about self.  My flesh concerns itself with what others think, the spirit is all about what God thinks and how He sees things.  My flesh is concerned with the outward, the spirit is all about the inward, our heart and motives. It takes special effort to make our flesh line up with our spirit!


Walking in the flesh can even become very religious.  (Gasp!) For example, concerning ourselves with the attendance at church, the size of our building or how great our programs are rather than how many people were healed, saved or set free.  Or concerning ourselves with performance rather than quality. 

When my flesh wants to hate or hold a grudge, my spirit says to love and forgive.

When my flesh wants to indulge, my spirit encourages me to practice self control.

When my flesh wants to close myself off from people, eliminating the chance of getting hurt or wounded, my spirit pushes me forward into relationships, risks and vulnerability.

In the natural (flesh), the spirit sometimes just doesn't make sense!

But we are not to live according to the flesh......

And it's about more than just moral behavior.


Our flesh looks at things completely differently than the spirit, handles things differently, tries to solve problems according to our own ability rather than allowing God to handle things, etc. Living and walking according to the spirit or flesh involves our thought patterns, our motives, our innermost being.  Our transformation from flesh to spirit must take place from the inside out.  Our mind has to be renewed according to the Word of God, our thinking has to change.

So when God speaks to me and I am challenged, my flesh is sometimes screaming, "No!"  or doubting, trying to rationalize and "make sense" of things,  while my Spirit is simply saying "Yes, Lord!"  For example, when God asks us to get outside of our self and put someone else's need above our own, it can be a challenge to our selfish flesh (especially if we are in need ourself).  Or when we are sick in our body, but God says we are healed, it can be a challenge to get our thoughts to line up with His word!  Or when there is no money in the bank, but our desk is piled full of bills, and God says "Trust Me...", it can be a challenge to keep our peace and not worry!  Or when God says on a Sunday morning to stop in the middle of a church service and worship or pray, setting all programs and agendas aside, it can be a challenge to our flesh who wants to control everything and make everything "pleasant and acceptable" to our visitors.

Romans 8:5 says that those who live according to the flesh keep their minds set on the things of the flesh. It also says that those who live according to the spirit, do the opposite - they set their minds on things of the spirit.   What are we setting our minds on?

Jesus, in Mark 14:38 says to His disciples, "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak."

The word "watch" in this verse means to be sleepless, keep awake, be attentive, be ready!  Jesus knew that His disciples, apart from Him, were weak and would not make good choices.  He instructed them, as He does us.....Watch and pray!  Don't allow your spirit to sleep, be attentive, be ready!   When we spend time in His presence, praying, worshipping, studying, etc., our spirit is built up.  When we neglect these things, our flesh begins to take over, ruling our thoughts, attitudes, and emotions, eventually causing us to doubt God's word.

As we continue seeking, searching, and drawing closer to our heavenly Father, it will become less and less challenging to listen and obey.  It should be our flesh that is met with a challenge when giving counsel or prompting us to do something contrary to the word of God!

Be encouraged today to walk according to the spirit, not the flesh!  Set your mind on things above. Spend time in His presence, building yourself up. Keep awake, be ready!  Fight the temptation to do it your way, and allow God to have His way in your life!  Choose to believe His word for your life today!!

Colossians 3:2
Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.

Isaiah 26:3
You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.

Let's Talk! Tuesday

Welcome to our chat today!  If you want to link up....give your info to Mr. Linky! :)  And steal my button...it's legal! ;)

My random things for today....

 

1.  I am visiting with my sister for a few days.  She still hasn't been able to find a home church here in her small town, so we visited a nearby church yesterday.  Not the one for her!  So we'll try again Wednesday night........Wish us luck!

 

2.  After church we headed to McDonalds so that Logan and Rylee could have a little air conditioned playtime!  Here is Rylee having  a drink :)

 

 

(Sorry about the quality....it was taken with my less than average cell phone camera!)

3.  I was reading some status updates tonight on FB and this one by Robert Ricciardelli was my favorite:  "To be fed, you must feed, and to be filled, you must fill others.  To really be satisfied in life, you must allow God to assimilate Himself in you and through you in satisfying others.  Surely 'Give and it shall be given' is true and reciprocity is God's universal principle.  God fills 'Givers' with abundance and satisfies them with His goodness as they pour out His love to meet the needs of others." 

It really made me think about how fulfilled I am when I have the chance to share or minister with a group of people or even just one person!  The more we are filled, the more we can give out, and the more He fills us!

4.  Today we were supposed to visit the Children's Museum, but we didn't even make it out of our pajamas!  That doesn't happen very often for me, but boy was it nice!  We enjoyed our day at home, and our trip to the Museum is now on tomorrow's itinerary.  We are looking forward to catching (toy) fish with magnetic fishing poles, traveling into outer space, lending a hand on the ranch, walking in the footsteps of a doctor, discovering underwater river adventures under, and much more!  I better wear my tennis shoes! ;)

5.  And I'll end today's chat with a scripture.....

"I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.  My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together!" Psalm 34:1-3

Have a blessed day, my friends!!  And let us exalt His name together!!

XO,

Shelly

Snapshot Saturday

Today I am participating with my sister over at Tin Bucket Photography for a new weekly display of photos!  Snapshot Saturday :)

 

Photography has been a hobby or love (maybe not love, but strong like...haha) of mine for a long time - probably since my first child was born 18 years ago.  Kids seem to do that to you! :)

 

But my sister has taken it to another level!  Seriously, she takes about 200 photos a DAY of her little girl! haha  And her practice is paying off....she is in the process of starting her own photography business.  I am so excited for her!  I know she will do great. 

 

So, on Snapshot Saturday, we share our favorite photo of the week.  Having just returned from Disney, I have several and most of them have already been posted here.  So I found one from Destin, Florida that isn't really great quality because of the bright sun, but the subject of the photo melts my heart :)

 

This is my baby.  Logan, 5.  He is starting kindergarten in a couple of weeks and this picture tell a story (to me) of his journey ahead.  I love it.  And I love my sweet little man. :)

Have a happy weekend! 

Logan and I are off on a short road trip (4 hours) to spend a few days with my sister and her family.

XO

Shelly

Let's Talk! Tuesday

Yep!....guilty as charged!  I missed last week's chat!  But we WERE on vacation...... :)

So this week, I'm gettin' my chat back on!  I hope you will join me!

Feel free to grab my button for you blog:

And don't forget to link up so that I can come and chat with you on your blog :)
 



I love that we can be random on this post!  Here goes........
 
(and remember....you can do as many or as few as you want!)
 
1.  I'm thinking I may need to wax between my eyebrows because my 5 year old just told me I have peach fuzz......lovely.
 
2.  My baby (who told me I have peach fuzz) starts kindergarten in 3 weeks.....

3.  Have you ever been to Destin, Florida?  We drove through on the way home from Orlando and just HAD to stay the night!  I think we actually ended up next to Destin in Ft Walton Beach.  The beaches are amazing and the water is beautiful!  And no oil!

 
4.  In a few weeks our church is holding a Back to School Outreach and giving away shoes, school supplies, cotton candy, and free immunizations.  I get to help pass out shoes! :)
 
5.  I'm watching House Hunters International (one of my favs!!) on HGTV and a couple has 2 million to spend on a house in Fiji.......TWO MILLION!!  What kind of job do you get to be able to afford to buy a 2 million dollar house?  Or to pay $30,000 a month in rent? (Selling New York)  Just sayin....
 
6.  God never ceases to amaze me.  With all my imperfections, He loves me still.  :)
 
7.  I took a break from facebook for the month of July.....and survived!  :) 
 
8.  Thinking of canceling our Directv service and just getting Netflix through the Internet on our TV. $100.00 a month vs. $9.99.....hmmm.....TV really is such a waste of time anyway.....2 million dollar homes in Fiji.....LOL
 
9.  I want to have a girls night soon and watch hours and hours of chick flicks with no interruptions and eat lots of chocolate and popcorn.  My list would include:  The Jane Austen Book Club, Pride & Prejudice, Sweet Home Alabama, Ever After, The Holiday, ......just to name a few ;)  I may need a weekend....
 
10.  My middle baby boy :) turned 14 last Tuesday while we were on vacation...I just LOVE him!! And he started football practice for highschool this week!  Oh my...

(Relax, Granny....the tattoo is NOT real!)

Happy Tuesday, my friends!  And happy chatting! :)

XO

Shelly