It will not be taken away from her...

I write this with a pen dipped in sorrow. I rejoice at mom being whole, but I miss her.
Her ending was one of Light. not of the Circumstances of her body - but of the people she touched through her ministry. The words of Jesus ring through my head...
    'It will not be taken away from her.'

To set this up - let's look at a well known passage from the Bible - a passage that describes sisters (in flesh and in Christ) so well...

Luke 10:38-42
 38 As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. 40 But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”

41 But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! 42 There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

This is a story where one sister is working, the other is sitting at Jesus' feet. Martha - the worker - doesn't think the other sister, Mary, is doing enough to 'help' and she tattles on her. Jesus brings back a truth we all need to remember - Mary was concerned about the right thing - sitting at the feet of Jesus.

You see, mom was a bit of both. She had the gift of serving and was typically the one doing the preparation in the kitchen, behind the scenes. However, Mom sat at the feet of Jesus and learned from him. 

I watched her read her Bible.

I watched her teach Sunday School.

I watched her go out of her way to meet the needs of people who had less.

I read her journals where she prayed for me to have a child.

I saw her wrestle with her circumstances and go to God for the answer.

I saw her being a light to the very special CNAs and nurses that took care of her.

At the end, mom could no longer serve with her hands and feet - as Martha served. She couldn't walk or cook.

But - I saw her serve with that which was not taken from her. She gave out Jesus. She loved. She listened. She prayed. She taught the word of God until two days before she died. Her time that was spent at Jesus' feet was not taken from her. It was multiplied. As His word says in Isaiah 55:11 'So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it..' 

So in honor of my mother - I want to make a challenge.
Sit at the master's feet. Read the word of God. Listen, dwell, let it sink in. Get to know Him. Live for Him.
We don't have much time in this life - so we, with urgency, should know and share this precious savior with everyone. He Is the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the father except through Him (John 14:6) 
He was worth every step mom took with him. He was worth ever moment she spent with Him when she could no longer take steps.
He is worth it, and other lives were blessed because she sat at his feet.
And it was not taken away from her.

Choose Love

Matthew 22:34-40

This has been a rollercoaster of a year in America. I almost don’t want to know any more news about anyone. TV can stir up anxiety. Elections tend to bring out the worst of people – and watching comments fly on Facebook… Words sting.

I have seen people rip people up – as have you – for disagreeing on ‘points.’ But I wonder… Do we really know what ‘points’ we stand for? I know I could use more education.

Watching all this makes me feel sad and lonely. I sat down to just get in the Word – to recover from the stress of life and God brought me back to His purpose – love.

Love covers a multitude of sins. (1 peter 4:8)

I think we feel a decline in society – a moral decline, an authoritative decline, a decline in faith of the One we had put our trust in with this country.

Due to this decline – we suddenly feel the need to bring up what we stand for –and throw insults at those who don’t agree. I have seen this in brothers and sisters in Christ – and you have too.

But how do we choose love in such circumstances? 

1.     Go back to God. Spend time in His word – asking for his truth.

a.     Arm yourself with the Armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18) our battles aren’t against flesh and blood – which translates – each other

b.     Ask him to change your heart

c.      What is truth? Seek it. Jesus says – I am the way the truth and the life. (john 14:6)

2.     Search out what you believe in his word. Just don’t take others words for it. (I see many arguments where people are stating words, but where is the truth?)

3.     Look at the things we can work on as individuals… in other words, we have logs in our own eyes we need to fix before we worry about specks in others. (Matthew 7:1-6)

4.     Finally – look at Jesus. How did he live? How did he treat others?

I keep thinking about love your neighbor as yourself. We have a gift as a Christian. We have Jesus. This is a gift to share. I met 3 precious children on a walk yesterday. They wanted to pet Edward and asked how old joseph was. They were sweet, kind and courteous.  They were different races from me. They were created in God’s image.

As I walked away – my heart broke for those out there who are precious creations of God. They need a savior – He came that ‘non should perish’(john 3:16.) And I realized… We are wrong. We are looking at everything wrong, we are hurling stones, we are sitting in pits like vipers waiting to strike at anything- like a hurting animal striking at the very person that could help them.

And I remembered the verse – love your neighbor as yourself. I looked that up in Matthew 22. I wanted to see the background to this statement. I read the entire chapter and observed that Jesus spent a lot of His time answering questions that were thrown at him to catch Him in a trap. He was there to save – and he was rejected by the religious leads of the time -  and his own received him not (John 1:11)

He was asked ‘What is the greatest commandment?’ here is his response:

Matthew 22:37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

As humans – we are each uniquely designed – in the image of God. One translation of the Bible (the message) put it this way:

Genesis 1:26 God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them

        reflecting our nature

We should take care with God’s creation. We are all we have on this Earth. We won’t all agree-even in our own faith. But have compassion towards one another. Our goal isn’t to be proven right – it’s to love. How will other see his love in us – if all we throw out there is hate.

If we err – let it be on the side of love – and trust God enough to fix what we can’t. Let’s bring him back into the picture.

A Place of Peace

Romans 12:1-8

Lately, I have been looking at lives of some influential Christian women – and have wanted that kind of life. I see peace; I see movements of the Lord. Both women are living out their dream- and they are totally different lives- but they are lives lived well. I have been contemplating and wondering how to get there…

I have been asking the Lord about this and I have come to a point.  I am at a new place. Joe and I have walked many roads of training to prepare us for the next step. I have let people and circumstances control me. I have been tired and weak. I have wined – and here we are.  

A new town, a new place and a new road. I am choosing to be all of who I am and who God made me – here. I will write when I can. I will live when I can. I will express likes in the things I like and will not worry about approval. I think that’s what it adds up to.  Being who I am in God – not who someone else is, or trying to live up to other’s standards.

I have been reading an incredible devotional by Joyce Meyer called ‘The Confident Woman.’ [1] I realized that we as women try to please. We try to please people, friends, family, coworkers etc. We say yes, we hold in opinions, we try to fit a ‘mold’ that we have created of the perfect ‘church woman.’  Well, I’m over that mold. I think it’s time to be Spirit led – and to fit the mold He created for me.

You see, we all have a unique and specific mold God gave each of us. We are created with talents, with gifts with likes and dislikes that shape our uniqueness. To be that women I strive to be, I have to be the woman God created Me to be – not some other person I think I should be. The way I know to do that is do dive into my relationship with Him. He made me, He knows me, He shapes me – as He does all of you – to be His unique design. And it’s time to be me.  I think that should be the goal for all of us. We can’t do everything that seems like a ‘good’ work. We need to do the work God calls us to do. It may be raising a baby, it may be selling houses, it may be being a friend to that hurting coworker – but how will we know if we aren’t spending time with Him?

I have a challenge. Why don’t we all spend some time in prayer for our callings? I want to commit to 7 minutes a day to pray for God to show us His calling. (Now this isn’t the only amount of time to spend with him.) I encourage you to get a good devotional, a journal, a bible – (without markings – thanks for that idea Jaime Dyer) and notecards. Take time with God – write down the verses that speak to you on the notecards – keep them with you – and start living as the woman you are called to be. 

Go Be!

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[1] https://www.amazon.com/Confident-Woman-Living-Boldly-Without/dp/0446558400

Here am I, Send me.

I saw post that got my attention today. The post was a picture that had these simple words written on it:

            Our Father is looking for AVAILIABITILY.

                                    Not

                                   Ability

The post was followed with a scripture God gave me years ago. Isaiah 6:8 ‘Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send Me!’

I was reminded of a devotion I read the other day. (The devotions are both by Christine Caine.[1] I recommend you check her out.) The capturing quote was: It’s so important to stay committed to growing in the gifts God has given you. 

The verse: Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms (1 Peter 4:10). 

It made me stop and think. Several things occurred to me.

1.     God was calling me to get and get with Him.

2.     The words of Peter were – ‘use whatever gift you have received to serve others’.

I think we as Christians misunderstand the word ‘service’. I remember taking spiritual gifts tests and personality tests earlier in my life, and I would feel guilty about the questions on ‘service’ so I would not answer them correctly.  I think we look at service as always standing behind others, serving food, being hospitable and ‘standing in the background to help.’ We don’t realize that serving others – according to the Bible- is using the spiritual gifts you are equipped with as our means of service. Yes, there are many ways to help and that is good, and there are times where we need to help, but some of us are called to teach, to shepherd, to exhort, to administrate, to give, to help, to mercy, to hospitality…. But how do we know unless we take a spiritual gifts inventory. (I suggest going online and finding a great one like the one lifeway has… or if you go to our church, take the place ministry class.)

All of this to say… Be who you are called to be. I feel like waves of life hold us in place spinning our wheels to keep the house up, the activities up, the crazy schedules up, the serving at church up; but are you truly serving the ways He designed you to? How do you know?

The key is spending time with God – in His word, and talking to Hiim - It’s out of that relationship that the abundance flows. He meets you with grace and understanding. He gives you peace and ability to do what you need to do to complete your tasks.

But what if He happens to be calling you to something specific? A specific way to serve that doesn’t involve running around like a chicken with its head cut off? How will we hear His still small voice if we aren’t being quiet with Him? How can He send you if you don’t take the time to hear Him? And how can you serve the way He is calling you to, if you don’t know what your gifts are?

The day you accepted Christ, you were filled with the Holy Spirit. Just like you were born with natural talents and abilities, you are ‘reborn’, as a Christian, with spiritual gifts. It’s exciting to me to think that God would give each of us a ‘spiritual’ gift to serve Him with – so go find out what yours is.

And… if you already know what your gift is, are you  ‘growing’ in that gift? We are at an age where the spiritual temperature is turning up. Christ is coming back, and there is a world out there that needs to know about Him. There are so many distractions in this world to keep us off task, and keep the world from hearing the message of Christ.

So what are you going to do about it?

The important thing? Be available. Talk to Him daily. Get alone with Him and let Him speak to you. He will start revealing things He has for you to do. There may be big things and there may be daily things.  You may need to go on a mission trip, start a Bible study, speak to your neighbor – make a meal for someone (or in my case- by a lasagna for someone)

He may call you to something so exciting your socks fall off.

Just remember – you may not feel like you are ‘equipped’ to do this new thing,,, He just wants you to say ‘ Here am I , send me.’

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[1] http://christinecaine.com/index.php

Worthy

Good morning.

It’s been a while since I’ve been on here. I am hoping today finds you well. I find myself in my 8^th month of pregnancy – and what a journey.

The last 8 months have been easier than the 14 years it took to get here… but this month seems a little rough. I know many of you have gone before me in this journey and understand the sleepless nights (I know you are thinking… just wait till little bambino arrives…) but that’s where I’m feeling some angst.

God has used these last few months for a long hard look at me. I am realizing how much I have let outside circumstances control me. Can I get an amen? I have seen years of my life lived through an unhealthy lens. In the end – I have not lived like a daughter of the most high. I have lived feeling like I can’t live up to and don’t deserve to be in the room with the rest of His daughters.

How many of us have such a cloudy view? The culprit is insecurity – and it is rampant in women. We are taught from day one about competition. We are brought up in society to strive to be what media deems as a worthy woman. And we actually challenge ourselves to be that. How can we take a messed up society and put our worth and value in what they think?

The answer is where we put our time. We listen to what people say. We let everyone around us influence our decisions. We read magazines, watch TV and listen to a radio where we want to swing from the light fixtures… (I can’t get that song out of my head now…)

Are we filling our minds with truth though? Is our best image a 5’10 Photo shopped model that hasn’t eaten in 3 years? The answer is… NO.

I realized that at the end of my anxiety rant of not fitting into anything, and feeling a little like the hot air balloons we are decorating my nursery in… that my time has not been well spent the last few months. I am striving to figure out how to get a nursery put together and I need to sit back down and listen to One who created me.

The truth: I am chosen, adopted, transformed, renewed and loved. Did you know you are too?

My Goal: To spend time with the one who gives peace. To hear what He has to say about me. I know I’ve talked a lot about this this summer – but that’s been my road. I think he wants to help me rid myself of lies before this baby comes. I don’t want to put my crazy insecurities on him.

My other goal: That you as well take time to hear truth. You are called. You have a calling. God has chosen you to be the mom, coworker, teacher, friend, sister, wife, collaborator, or whatever he has put you in, and you are there with a mission and purpose. You are designed to accomplish the task with His help. Today – I want you to put Him at the helm. What is He saying to you? Where does He want you? What is He teaching you?

I heard a piece of a study by Mark Batterson (from his new book ‘If’) and he was explaining the time we spend with God. We as reactatory people live in so much condemnation over confessed sins – that we don’t actually hear truth. He said condemnation is guilt over confessed sins and conviction is guilt over unconfessed sins. In life we live in guilt over sins we have confessed. We spend a lot of time regretting sins that we commit, but not so much in sins we ‘omit.’ Sins of omission are sins of things we need to do, but don’t. I think that’s been this examination of my viewpoint. We work on trying to not sin the way we always do, but we don’t always realize that we are sinning by not doing.

Hang on here – there is a point. I am not living like a God ordained child. I am living like a flawed individual not even seeing that I hand my worth over willingly to other people. This is the meaning of the verses Psalm 139:23-24 – 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.

This isn’t to condemn you – it’s to help you see that you may be living in a state you don’t even realize. Daily I see new things that shaped my thinking. I see how I react to things, and I am completely wrong. These things shape my reactions and my long term belief not only of myself and who I am, but also of my low view point of God.

Truth – I have gained weight…a good amount – but it is to carry the gift He has given me, and this gift seems to like steak biscuits and gravy.

Lie- I look horrible, I can’t believe how much weight I have gained, I need to eat 100 calories a day till he comes…

If I live in the truth, then I don’t care what people think – and I can enjoy the fact that I am pregnant – something I wasn’t sure would ever happen. I can live abundantly with Christ and his promise by the renewing and transforming of my mind. (Romans 12:2)

If I live in the lie, then I take every ‘large, fat, your about to pop’ comment to heart – knowing I have another month and will get bigger. I will live miserably hating what I see instead of cherishing a promise that God is handing me. I will live in anxiety.

I know I’m not alone. I know that we do this with so many things in our lives.

Ladies (and gentlemen,) let’s live in the truth. Today –gird yourself with the belt of truth. Spend time with Jesus. Ask him to bathe you in truth and peace. You’ve got a heck of a life to live. Do you want to live in anxiety or abundance?

Let’s live in abundance. I have a precious gift that I want to cherish.

You are a precious gift from God and you are cherished. Let’s act like it!

The Victor

Exodus 14:14
Good morning!

Since I have written the last blog – there have been a few challenges that have attacked specific parts of the armor. So I thought today would be a good day to start looking at some individual pieces.

Some of our greatest battles are in our mind. Do you ever arrive at work in a total bad mood because of what you had been thinking all morning?

Do you set up scenarios with people in your mind, where they do something you don’t like and you are telling them what you think? Do they happen to be people who rub you wrong? This can be family, coworkers, and potential co-workers, specific friends you work out with, or go to church with? The enemy has many strategies to play us against each other. Disunity is a huge detriment to the church. The longer we are mad at each other and don’t trust each other, the less we do for Christ.

I read a blog from the book of Nehemiah about using our position to fight for those who can’t fight for themselves. We take stands when we see injustice, but do we cause injustice ourselves?

I think it’s easy as women to be intimidated by other women, and some voices of authority. We cave, we think of ourselves as weak. We tip toe around not to upset anybody. It’s time to claim our ground back.

We are daughters / and children of the King. We are heirs to a throne. We have the power at work within us – that very power that raised Christ from the dead. Do we tap into that power, and how do we do it?

First – I think we have to get a little mad. I am tired of letting thoughts control me, my attitude, and my emotion. That thought can be fear, anger, misunderstanding, etc. Our minds are the battle field.

Second – since I am over being controlled, I realized that Scripture is in fact alive and active. Sharper than any two edge sword. The offensive weapon in the armor we talked about last week (Ephesians 6:10-17) is the Sword of the Spirit – which is the word of God. God has given us His word, and I think we are too surrounded by circumstances and distractions to hear what He is saying. Not only that – I don’t think we believe in the power of His word.

We have the Lord God at our disposal – and we watch TV instead. I do this. I let social media take over my night – or reality TV. The way to win the battle is to know. We need to know that there is a battle every day. As we draw closer to the Lord’s return – the battle increases. If we – as Christians – are handicapped, or distracted – we do not have a divine impact on this time. Some people are ok with that. Some can live their lives going to church once a week – and then living their life as normal for the rest. There are a spare few though – that want to become what they are made to be in Christ – and it begins with knowing Him and His word.

So how do we do this?

1.       Dive deeper.

a.       Get involved with a Bible Study. I know the Lord has greatly used Bible studies by Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer, Kay Arthur, Kelly Minter, Jen Hatmaker, and Jennie Allen. Find a book to read – most of these ladies I just mentioned have also written books.

b.      Find an area where you struggle and work on it. If something isn’t blessing you, put it aside and find another book.

Here are a few books that pertain to certain areas.

                                                               i.      The ‘Circle Maker by Mark Batterson is an incredible book on prayer.

                                                             ii.      ‘Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire’ by Jim Cymbala is an amazing book on Faith.

                                                            iii.       Been hurt? ‘Breakthrough prayer’ also by Jim Cymbala is an incredible healing agent.

                                                           iv.      Feeling insecure – ‘So Long Insecurity by Beth Moore is away to defeat those crippling behaviors of insecurity.

Don’t settle where you are. There is so much to learn out there. God is so big, it is impossible to grasp – but I want to hear what He is saying to me!

2.       Set aside a specific time to spend with God and pour out your heart to Him. Tell Him where you are, what you are feeling, where you fail, and where you hurt. Be open and honest with him. Just talk to Him. He’s waiting to hear from you. Pick a time where you are uninterrupted.

3.       Read His word. Bible Studies will get you into His word. But I love to read the Psalms as well.

a.       When you seek Him – He will start opening up scriptures that relate to your day, your circumstances, and your life.

b.      Write those scriptures down. I use a notecard, and record every scripture that jumps off the page – one of my favorite: Matthew 7:7 ‘Ask and it will be given you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened unto you.”

c.       Keep a journal with you. I keep a journal and the notecards with me everywhere I go. I pray in the journal. It’s perfect to have at the Doctor’s office, dentist, long lines somewhere – or maybe a place that I get to and have some time on my hands. Stay connected to the Father.

4.       Memorize His word.

There are key scriptures that will counter act an attack. Research what those are – and memorize them.

Here are a few.

Fear:         

Psalm 56:3 ‘What time I am afraid I will trust in thee.’

            Psalm 34:4 ‘I prayed to the Lord and He answered me – he freed me from all my fears.

           

 Anxiety:

            Philippians 4:6 ‘Be anxious for nothing, but pray about everything.’

           

Crazy thought life:

2 Corinthians 10:5 ‘We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.’

          

 Temptation:

1 Corinthians 10:13 ‘No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.’

        

 Anger:

           Proverbs 15:1 ‘A soft answer turneth away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger.’

If there are more you are thinking of, google ‘scriptures about _______________________’

God gives us ways to overcome in His word.

5.       Stand on His word. If He has given you a specific word, stand on it, believe it! Why would He give it to us, if it wasn’t for us to believe in?

One of my favorite scriptures is “God’s faithful promises are our armor of protection.’ When a mind battle comes – of doubt, or worthlessness – you call out the words God has given you. Say – God’s word says I am chosen and adopted. God’s word says – that when I call to Him He will answer me and free me from my fears.

Give the battle to God. He’s our victor… How do I know?

Nehemiah 4:20 ‘Our God will fight for us.’

Exodus 14:14 ‘The Lord God will fight this battle, and you? Keep your mouth shut.’

2 Chronicles 20:15 ‘This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s…’

Go get your victory. Talk to victor.