Take time to see.
Nature reflects God's beauty.
Nestled in the trees.
Arriving in the wind.
I feel His presence.
I know He's here.
Breathe in His goodness.
Jesus, lover of my soul.
As I sit here this morning, the day after Christmas, I sit with mixed emotions. First, I am so thankful for and overwhelmed by the love of Christ.
"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace" Isaiah 9:6.
He is truly wonderful, ......my counsellor, ......my God ... my heavenly Father, and from whom all my peace comes. And He is the reason for this season and the true meaning of Christmas. He is the reason I am here today. Without Him, I am nothing. Without Him, I am incomplete and life has no meaning. Because He was born, because He died, and because He lives today, I have hope and love and the promise that no matter what tomorrow may hold, my future is secure.
But there are so many who do not know Him.
For so many, this Christmas, the greatest gift of all is left unopened.
Deceived and fooled by the temporary pleasures of this world, people reject and push away their only hope for true happiness and eternal salvation. They reject the One who loves them more than anyone else, the One who will never leave them, the One who knew them before they were even born, the One who gave everything so that they might live.
My heart grieves for the lost today.
Family and friends.
Young and Old.
And those whose names I do not know.
My heart grieves for those who are deceived today.
Grieves for those who have accepted the lies as truth.
Grieves for those who have chosen the temporary in place of the eternal.
Grieves for those who are searching in all the wrong places and will never find what they are looking for.
Grieves for those who have left the greatest gift they will ever receive, unopened.
As one who loves to give gifts, I cannot imagine how Jesus must feel. It gives me so much joy in giving someone a present and watching them receive it, open it, and know that they truly love it! A gift that cost me a little time, money and effort. But to give your life, everything you have, and to be rejected. My heart breaks.
So today, I pray.
I pray for those who God has placed on my heart, those who I love and those who He loves even more. And I remain thankful for all that He has already done and all that He said He would do.
And though my heart is heavy, my soul sings.
Sings of His goodness and faithfulness.
Of His mercy and lovingkindness.
Of His Grace.
Thank you, Jesus, for all the gifts that You have given me.
Thank you for those you have called me to pray for and who will one day cry out to you and accept your gift of salvation.
Your love is amazing.
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
As I sit and stare at my neglected blog (sigh....), I am reminded of the reason I started it in the first place. Then, I see my title and subtitle, and realize how they reflect where I am today.
Is That You, Lord?
....Hearing His Voice Above All the Noise
I can't tell you how many times lately I have questioned whether what I was hearing was God or not God. Wondered if I heard Him speak, or if it was just me.
How many times will I travel this road?
How many times will I find myself parked in this same spot?
Same mountain, different hiking boots.
Stop.
Take a drink.
Listen.
Yes, Lord.
How lovely is Your dwelling place, O Lord! (Ps. 84:1)
Forgive me for replacing my time with You with things, personal goals, to do lists, appointments, etc etc....
Teach me Your way, Lord, and I will walk in Your truth; give me an undivided heart. (Ps. 86:11)
As I was reading one of my books tonight, a prayer by Lysa Terkeurst became my own....
Lord, may nothing separate me from You today. Teach me how to choose only Your way today so that each step will lead me closer to You. Help me walk by the truth today and not my feelings.
Help me keep my heart pure and undivided. Protect me from my own careless thoughts, words, and actions. And keep me from being distracted by MY desires, MY thoughts on how things should be.
Help me to embrace what comes my way as an opportunity....rather than a personal inconvenience.
And finally, help me to rest in the truth of Psalm 86:13, "Great is Your love toward me."
You already see all the many ways I will surely fall short and mess up. But right now, I consciously tuck Your whisper of absolute love for me into the deepest part of my heart. I recognize Your love for me is not based on performance. You love me, warts and all.
Have mercy, that's amazing.
But what's most amazing is that the God of the universe, the Savior of the world, would desire a few minutes with me today. Lord, help me to remember what a gift it is to sit with You like this.
It has been a while since I last posted! I have started back to school this semester, so not a lot of time to blog!
I have recently started going through a bible study course on Faith by Kenneth Hagin so I thought I would post a few scriptures and paragraphs from my first lesson.
But without faith, it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. ~ Hebrews 11:6
Notice particularly the first part of Hebrews 11:6: "But without faith it is impossible to please him..." If God demands that I have faith when it is impossible for me to have faith, then I have a right to challenge His justice. But if He places within my hands the means whereby faith can be produced, then the responsibility rests with me whether or not I have faith.
God has told us that without faith it is impossible to please Him, but He has also told us how to get faith. If we don't have faith, God is not to blame. To blame God for our lack of faith is nothing but ignorance. If we lack faith, we are to blame.
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. ~ Romans 10:17
In every gospel of Jesus Christ, there is provision for every need - salvation, deliverance, safety, preservation, healing, and soundness. Whatever need you have, the faith to receive your answer comes from hearing the Word of God. As you determine to feed upon the Word continually, you will see your faith grow to be able to receive the wonderful promises God has provided for His children.
..
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I've heard it in the chillest land
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.
by Emily Dickinson
I was reading in one of my books last night that I've read over and over again, and thought I'd share a couple of short paragraphs with you that seem to go along with our current bible study lesson.....
(A Divine Confrontation by Graham Cooke)
It is easy to be joyful when things are going well for us. However, real joy does not depend on what is happening in a positive way. Real joy comes from the lord and is a source of great strength to us in time of trial and difficulty. The fruit of joy grows in poor circumstances in which we need to rejoice in the presence of God and His eternal promises.
The fruit of patience grows in troublesome situations in which we want to strive to take shortcuts or avoid difficult things instead of allowing the Lord to teach us to persevere in trust. God uses people and events to develop His character as well as His gifting in us.
We must learn how to enable the oil of the Holy Spirit to come between us and prevent the tension from becoming a friction. We get overheated through lack of oil. lack of grace, and lack of the fruit of God's nature in our hearts. Be challenged about this aspect of our walk with God. Learn to see other people through the eyes of God. When encountering difficult people, practice the grace of God. Develop the fruit of His nature. As you do, opportunities will open up for you in the nature of God.
There is always tangible success for us in these situations. Nothing may change in the circumstances, but something may change in us. Alternatively, our circumstances may change in many ways as the favor of God is poured through our chosen behavior. We must learn to respond to God and not react to circumstances.
As you can see, we are a fun group of girlies! ha ha
We made masks of all sorts and personalities :-) Aren't they lovely??!!
Of course mine had bright neon pink feathers and glitter! :-)
After our craft, we talked about our masks and why we wear them, where we wear them, and who we wear them for. And we posed the question, does our mask better represent who we really are, or the person we'd like to be? Sometimes its easier wearing a mask so that we don't have to be honest about our feelings. Sometimes we even prefer others to wear their masks so we don't have to hear about their problems. Larry Crabb warns against this attitude: "Church is too often a place of pretense and therefore a place without hope. When brokenness is disdained, where the real story is never told, the power of God is not felt. Where brokenness is invited and received with grace, the gospel comes alive with hope."
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 says "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
Life can be a mess sometimes! And things aren't always perfect or the way we planned them. But according to this scripture we don't have to lose heart even in the midst of our difficulities! And there is usually a greater purpose and larger perspective to whatever it is that we are going through that God is trying to show us. Not that He causes our suffering, but for some reason, He allows us to go through it at times.
Two "Principles for Living" found in Session 2 were really good this week!......
~Often in the midst of suffering or struggles, God sets a fork in the road. Your choices at these critical crossroads will set the course for your future.
(Often we try to avoid things that send us reeling into difficulty and stress, but we do get to choose how to respond to them! p.22)
~Your life can send a powerful message of the amazing relationship a person can have with God. Even when you're spiritually and emotionally weak, God can use you to redeem the lives of those around you.
(So your ministry doesn't stop just because you are having some difficulties in your life! We can minister through our pain and hurts to help set others free and receive healing!)
At the end of our meeting, each lady was given a gift to remind her of the harvest waiting for her, just as Naomi, too, will receive a harvest in our story.
This Friday Session 3 is Signs of Hope. Hope to see you there!! :-)
I haven't had time for crafting lately, so I thought I would just repost this card from last year! I made it for a friend as a Happy Fall greeting :-) So once again, Happy Fall my friends! And hopefully I'll be able to find some time to make something new, especially with the holidays right here upon us! Anyone have any extra time out there to spare? Maybe you could put it in an envelope and send me just a little...... :-)
Sorry girls! We have to cancel, or actually postpone, Session 2 for this Friday (tomorrow). The kids have been sick and we don't want to spread the germs! :-) So have a great weekend and I'll see you next Friday!
Just a quick reminder for those of you attending the Famine to Fairytale bible study at my house. Don't forget to set aside some quiet time this week for the Taking it Home section on pages 17-18. The introspective questions as well as the offering questions to take to God will help you make the most of this study. Also, remember, it is important to write down thoughts, feelings, and key insights that God reveals during your quiet time. There will be time for sharing on Friday for those who are interested in doing so.
Our craft for Session Two is going to be really fun! We are going to make a mask! We will have only about 10-15 minutes to create, so be thinking about what you would like your mask to look like. I will have the masks and supplies available for you to decorate with, but if you have something specific you would like to bring to decorate your mask, please feel free to do so! I can't wait to see our different personalities reveal themselves in this activity!
This morning was our first bible study. We had a great meeting! As we invited the presence of the Lord into our midst, the Holy Spirit took over and became our facilitator! We shared some personal time getting to know one another better, eating, having some coffee, and making a collage of our dream vacation! (See pics below) Then we dove into our lesson and discovered how we each relate to Ruth or Naomi in some way or another. We were reminded of God's faithfulness and His desire for each of us to fulfill His purpose for our lives.
An exerpt from Lesson 1:
The story of redemption is captured well in fairytales. Since girlhood many of us have dreamed of living a fairytale. We long for adventure and the thrill of being claimed as royal brides. That yearning in our hearts is natural because we were created for a real-life fairytale. In fact, we're destined to find freedom from bondage through the King's love - a scenario not entirely unlike Cinderella's story.
Sadly, the original paradise God created for us is now lost for a time. When the Enemy deceived Adam and Eve and they rebelled against God's perfect plan, we became slaves to sin and struggle. But through Jesus we have a way out. Still, even after we come to faith in Jesus, we still must wait for the final "happily ever after" ending that God promises.
Real life is messy, and is at times filled with tragedy. Life's pain and heartaches seldom make sense to us, and can leave us wounded, discouraged, and disillusioned. As we walk the path of tragedy and triumph with Ruth and Naomi, let's consider how their story relates to our own.
One of our favorite scriptures for today was:
"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30
Princess Theresa & Princess Linda :-)
Princess Shelly & Princess Stacey :-)
Our vacation collages!
In celebration of Fall (my favorite time of the year), at the end of the meeting, each lady was given a small pot plant for herself and one to give away. :-)
There is still time for you to join us! If you haven't registered for a bible study yet, and think that this one might be for you, come on over! Call the church, leave a comment here, or send me an email and I'll get your book ordered!
Next Friday, Lesson #2 is HOLDING ON TO HOPE. See you then!
Have a great weekend!
So I said I would post again before our first meeting....looks like I'm barely sneaking this one in! Our first meeting is tomorrow morning at 10:00 am at my house (and for obvious reasons, I won't post my address or phone # here!). I think everyone knows how to get to my house, if not call the church and ask for my cell phone number. Or just follow the smell of coffee and cinnamon streusel muffins........
Starting Friday, Oct 3, I will be doing a Women's Bible Study entitled "Famine to Fairytale" (Gene & Elaine Getz). It is a study of Ruth and Naomi and their path to redemption. The study is from the Women of Purpose series which highlights ordinary women God used in extraordinary ways. Any ordinary women out there dreaming of extraordinary things? :-) Pick me, pick me!
Here is a paragraph from the back of the book....
Both incredible women, the intertwined stories of Ruth and Naomi teach us so much about how God can bring incredible joy out of tragic circumstances. From the opening scene in the book of Ruth, filled with famine and tragedy, to the almost fairytale ending, we see the real life struggles. Real life is messy, and these women are far from perfect. Yet, their faith and devotion through the pain and tragedy of life led each to experience unexpected joys, and the blessings that God was longing to give them. In the same way, God has unexpected joys for each of us today!
The bible study is only 6 weeks long so shouldn't be that hard to complete (even for those of us who have a hard time staying on task and FINISHING things!!). :-) If you can't attend the meetings at my house, but would like to get a book and follow along with us, let me know! Each lesson has icebreakers and/or a craft (and you know I LOVE crafts!), so hopefully we'll learn some things AND have some fun! And of course, you know I'll be posting pics. :-) It will be a great opportunity to get to know not only Ruth and Naomi, but each other and perhaps discover some things about our own selves!
So let me know if you are interested! I'll post an update before our first gathering.
Changing the subject a little........you know those moments where you just feel soooo close to God? Like He's right there with His arms wrapped around you? Like your heart is going to explode because it's so full and you can't stop smiling? This morning while driving into town was one of those moments for me. As I was enjoying the beautiful, beautiful Fall weather, it was almost like I felt Him get in my car with me! Thank you, God, for allowing me to feel your presence today. Thank you for spending this morning with me. And help me to know beyond a shadow of a doubt, even when I can't feel your presence, that You are with me. And thank you for FALL!!! I know heaven must be like this. :-)
Have a beautiful day!
before the storm
after the storm
before the storm
After - You can see the corner of our house in this one. So glad the tree fell away from us!!
Beginning the clean up....
I had to show this picture - this is part of my living room - notice the extension cords running through the middle of the floor? When we got home, Shawn was set up in the camper in the front yard with the generator hooked up - all he had hooked up was the refrigerator and the TV with the Directv (which explains the cords!!). I was like, you have to be kidding me!! As long as he had cold food and satelite, I guess he thought he was doing ok!
And this was our temporary home for a couple of nights! The generator was sitting on the four wheeler because we had to keep taking it from the water well to our house! We stayed in the camper just to have hot showers and also it had a propane stove to cook on.
We attemped to take a walk/ride to the river behind our house, but found the road cluttered with downed trees and fallen limbs, plus the river flooded the back half of our property so this was as far as we made it!
I also wanted to include these last 2 pictures of some of the beautiful skies we got to enjoy while at my sisters in the hill country!
After every storm, a new hope shines through. Sometimes the end of one thing can be a beautiful beginning to another. I pray for beautiful new beginnings and hope for all those who lost so much during this time.
We made home with little drama late yesterday evening. We left my sisters about 1:00 pm and headed to McDonald's for lunch! We then ventured to their local WalMart to stock up on some canned items and basic necessities. My brother in law also let me take his extra large cooler to fill up with ice and cold food items (lunch meat, milk, etc). At the checkout, we were told that there was no ice! I knew my cold food would not fare well on the trip home without ice. So I desperately said a small "please God" under my breath and as we were walking out the door we saw 3 bags that had just dropped from the machine! So Taylor grabbed them and I went to pay! Coincidence? Good timing? Whatever.....God is good :-) The challenge now was fitting everything into my Tahoe! It was already filled with the ice chest, blankets, pillows, luggage, and kids! But my kids were so great, putting potatoes and cases of water under their feet and helping me to organize everything to make it fit! So we began our journey home.
To keep this long 6 hour trip (normally 3.5 hours) short, I will spare some minor details. :-) The trip did end up taking a few hours longer. There was not really a lot of traffic, but electricity was of course still out all along our route home, so none of the traffic lights were working. This meant treating them all as a 4 way stop and even when there's not a lot of traffic, things can back up quickly. So we rolled our windows down and turned up our music and enjoyed the nice, cool breeze that God sent our way to replace our air conditioners! Coincidence? Good timing? Whatever....God is good :-)
As we traveled, there were a lot of trees down, signs blown over, tin roofs lifted in spots, but nothing like we are seeing on the news for Galveston, of course. (The kids took pics of the long gas lines, etc, I'll try to post another day.) All in all, we are so blessed. When we arrived at home, some cleanup had already begun, but our yard was still such a mess. There is a huge oak tree across our driveway and lots of big limbs down. But we were told yesterday by a sheriff that we could not burn anything yet so we'll just have to pile it for now.Shawn pulled the camper next to house and hooked it up to the generator. We stayed the night in it last night because the windows are still boarded up, but tonight we will stay in the house. We'll have to take showers in the camper (if we want hot showers, and I do!), and also cook in the camper on the propane stove. Our house is all electric, and the generator won't run everything at once. So we'll just live between the 2 for now! Oh, and my sister said that she saw on the Internet yesterday that we will have power restored by October 5. What????? Yikes.
Is it true we are only 2 days away from Fall???? This is my most favorite time of the year. I can't wait to buy some colorful mums for my porch and make a new wreath for my door, but for now, I'm going to have my 2nd cup of coffee. Have a wonderful blessed day!!!(I'm not editing this since they are turning the generator off for now, so be forgiving!!)
Today is Tuesday and we are still not home. Still no gas, no food supply, and no electricity! But we are going to head for home in the morning anyway. The kids are so homesick and ready to go! So today we will pack, go buy some food to take home, fill the ice chest, and fill up our gas tank! Hopefully we can get going about 6:00 am to avoid some traffic!
Here is a pic of our front yard that Shawn sent to my phone after the hurricane. You can see a tree down, lots of limbs and our windows all boarded up with plywood!
Off to prepare for our camping trip! :-)
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