This week...week 3 in our online Bible study...I was introduced to an awesome verse of scripture and it pretty much transformed my week, and hopefully lead me to a place where I could help others transform theirs as well. This is the verse I'm talking about...
"...to bestow upon them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called Oaks of Righteousness, a planting of The Lord for the display of His splendor." Isaiah 61:3
I've been going through a situation in my life, that while it is far from the most difficult situation I've ever been in, it is still a toughie. If I would let it, this situation could have real power to get me down and drown me in self-doubts and insecurities. I'll be honest, for a little while, it was. But that was only because #1 I was letting it and #2 I wasn't having as much faith in God to take care of it as I should've. I know so much better. I've got years of God getting me through tough situations, and I had no reason to believe He wouldn't do the same now. However, I could really start feeling my faith wander and self-doubt grabbing its hold on my life, on my spirit. Then, as He always does, God allowed a few things to happen.
First, He allowed something to occur that gave me just a little shove of encouragement and confidence, which in turn, made a HUGE difference in the way I was perceiving things. Then, He brought the above verse into my life and into my heart and into my mind, which really gave me a shove of encouragement. The verse also got me thinking, as did the reading in our OBS study book that went along with the verse. Renee compares an oak to a pine. Then I started doing it myself. I thought about a pine tree. I imagined the way it would stand in a storm...flimsy, branches flying everywhere, gusts of wind and rain chipping off pieces of its wooden trunk a piece at a time causing it to become even weaker than it already was. Then I imagined an oak in the same storm, and got a completely different picture in my mind. An oak is strong, beautiful, sturdy, meant to last. It stands tall and firm in the middle of a storm. Then the last part of the scripture spoke to me:
"They will be called Oaks of Righteousness a planting of The Lord for the display of His splendor."
Then it was like I could hear God saying to me,
"So which one are you going to be, Jenny? Are you going to stand weak like a pine only to be knocked down by self-doubt and insecurity, or are you going to stand tall and strong, and be my Oak of Righteousness...my display of splendor?"
I knew my answer, and it immediately lifted my spirit. God is the answer in this situation, just like He is in all situations. He's not going to let me down. He's not going to leave me alone, stranded on an island of pain and self-doubt. He's going to lead me in being the strong oak that I know I can be and that I can encourage others to be, but only with Him as the everlasting leader.
"For the Lord will be your confidence, and keep your foot from being caught." Proverbs 3:26
And there's more where that came from! God bless and have an awesome weekend everyone!
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Thursday, October 17, 2013
I Believe
Online Bible Studies are back and I am super stoked. Actually, right now I am super tired, but I'll get to that story in a bit. But first I want to take a look at the definition of a very power word-a word that can bring about excitement or fear, sometimes both. I'm talking about change.
CHANGE: to become different
to make (someone or something) different
to become something else
When it comes to change, I am generally a fan depending on what you are trying to change. If someone wants to change my furniture around that's ok. If there was a vote to change the order of events of church services I'd be ok with that too (not sure if I would have much company in that though). I'm generally pretty flexible. However, there are those times when change is not my friend and I will fight it until I can't fight anymore. When my husband wanted me to change insurance carriers from a woman I'd known for decades to a company I didn't know at all, I was not a happy camper. And why was that? Why are we so afraid of change? I mean the change I just referred to was going to be saving my family hundreds of dollars a year, so why would I fight that? Because it would force me to leave my comfort zone, which in this situation, was a family friend I had known probably since birth. This was a lady whose voice was always a comfort when someone in our family got into a wreck or had a car issue because we knew that she would fix it and fix it quickly. She made me feel comfortable. She made me feel safe. And most of all, she was what I had become used to for thirty years.
I was thankfully raised in a family of believers so I do not really know a life without God. But I do know what it is like to fight the changes that God wants me to make. I'm struggling with it right now. Worry. I'm not a huge worrier, but there are certain things in my life that I feel like I couldn't stop worrying about if I tried. My family is usually what I worry about the most...their safety, their health, their lives in general. When I have a family member going through something really difficult, I immediately try and think of a way to make it all better. That is the nurse and the mom in me. But I'm realizing that, more times than not, I can't make it better. I can't make the bad disappear. And it drives me crazy. Of course I pray about these situations always, but it is difficult for me to stop asking God to just take my family out of the painful situations and put them in happy ones again. If is difficult for me to change my nature from wanting to fix everything and make everyone better to just letting it go, accepting I can't fix it, and completely handing it over to God to fix. One of my biggest insecurities is feeling like a failure when I can't fix the people I love. But this is an area of my life in which I know change is a must, and it is what I am really trying to learn through this study. I want to gain an even stronger relationship and trust in God. Our inspirational verse this week reads:
"Then you will know that I am The Lord. Those who hope in me will not be disappointed."
-Isaiah 49:23b NIV
And there it is. When I trust in The Lord with all my mind, all my heart, and all my soul, He won't disappoint me. This is His promise, and I believe in a God who does not and will not break His promises to His children.
As a nurse, a mother, a daughter, a sister, and a friend, I have a lot of people around me who I love and who are always going through things...painful things, scary things, unfair things. Things that I would love to be able to lift each and every one of them out of...but here's the thing. I can't. But God can, and He will in His time. And now it is my time to let go and stop trying to do God's job for Him. My interference merely slows things down and gets in the way of His awesome plans which will trump mine every time. He's got this. Always has and always will.
God bless all of you! Here are some pictures of change in my life over the years:
This is my cat, Callie. She has definitely changed the lives of our family. This quiet, skiddish cat turns into our guard dog when someone comes to our door that she doesn't know. She is also quite talkative with her high pitched squeaky meows. She has definitely made an interesting addition to our family...that is for sure!
Even better than a cat is my family. My husband and my daughter have forced me into change and flexibility over the years and I wouldn't trade any of it for gold!
And here we have our newest influence to change. God gave our family a new gift this summer and we are so excited...even though we know that massive amounts of change are on the horizon when we finally get to welcome "the peanut" into our crazy world.
CHANGE: to become different
to make (someone or something) different
to become something else
When it comes to change, I am generally a fan depending on what you are trying to change. If someone wants to change my furniture around that's ok. If there was a vote to change the order of events of church services I'd be ok with that too (not sure if I would have much company in that though). I'm generally pretty flexible. However, there are those times when change is not my friend and I will fight it until I can't fight anymore. When my husband wanted me to change insurance carriers from a woman I'd known for decades to a company I didn't know at all, I was not a happy camper. And why was that? Why are we so afraid of change? I mean the change I just referred to was going to be saving my family hundreds of dollars a year, so why would I fight that? Because it would force me to leave my comfort zone, which in this situation, was a family friend I had known probably since birth. This was a lady whose voice was always a comfort when someone in our family got into a wreck or had a car issue because we knew that she would fix it and fix it quickly. She made me feel comfortable. She made me feel safe. And most of all, she was what I had become used to for thirty years.
I was thankfully raised in a family of believers so I do not really know a life without God. But I do know what it is like to fight the changes that God wants me to make. I'm struggling with it right now. Worry. I'm not a huge worrier, but there are certain things in my life that I feel like I couldn't stop worrying about if I tried. My family is usually what I worry about the most...their safety, their health, their lives in general. When I have a family member going through something really difficult, I immediately try and think of a way to make it all better. That is the nurse and the mom in me. But I'm realizing that, more times than not, I can't make it better. I can't make the bad disappear. And it drives me crazy. Of course I pray about these situations always, but it is difficult for me to stop asking God to just take my family out of the painful situations and put them in happy ones again. If is difficult for me to change my nature from wanting to fix everything and make everyone better to just letting it go, accepting I can't fix it, and completely handing it over to God to fix. One of my biggest insecurities is feeling like a failure when I can't fix the people I love. But this is an area of my life in which I know change is a must, and it is what I am really trying to learn through this study. I want to gain an even stronger relationship and trust in God. Our inspirational verse this week reads:
"Then you will know that I am The Lord. Those who hope in me will not be disappointed."
-Isaiah 49:23b NIV
And there it is. When I trust in The Lord with all my mind, all my heart, and all my soul, He won't disappoint me. This is His promise, and I believe in a God who does not and will not break His promises to His children.
"God is not a man;
he will not lie.
God is not a human being;
his decisions will not change.
If he says he will do something,
then he will do it.
If he makes a promise,
then he will do what he promised."
he will not lie.
God is not a human being;
his decisions will not change.
If he says he will do something,
then he will do it.
If he makes a promise,
then he will do what he promised."
-Numbers 23: 19
God bless all of you! Here are some pictures of change in my life over the years:
This is my cat, Callie. She has definitely changed the lives of our family. This quiet, skiddish cat turns into our guard dog when someone comes to our door that she doesn't know. She is also quite talkative with her high pitched squeaky meows. She has definitely made an interesting addition to our family...that is for sure!
Even better than a cat is my family. My husband and my daughter have forced me into change and flexibility over the years and I wouldn't trade any of it for gold!
And here we have our newest influence to change. God gave our family a new gift this summer and we are so excited...even though we know that massive amounts of change are on the horizon when we finally get to welcome "the peanut" into our crazy world.
 |
| So see, with change, be it a little or a lot, comes inevitable blessings from our Father. He knows what is best for us and that is all He wants to give us. I can't wait to see what change He blesses us with next! God Bless! |
Friday, September 6, 2013
Glimpses of God
So I cannot believe that we are almost done with this Bible study. It has really zoomed by, but I've learned truckloads of ways that I can get closer with God and make my relationship with Him even stronger.
The question on today's post that I am going to try my best to answer is:
"How can my life experiences help provide people with glimpses of God?"
I do a few ministries with children in our church...Sunday school, Vacation Bible School, and a children's moment during Sunday morning service, and I've talked to them before about how they can witness to people. Much like myself, the children aren't big on preaching to people about living a life for Christ. I was raised in a household where telling people what they were doing right and what they were doing wrong as far as God goes what not the way to lead people to Him. Quite the opposite, many times I've seen that kind of approach backfire and force people to shy away from God, for fear they just are not and will never be good enough. The way I was taught and how I continue to teach the children how to lead people to God is by showing people how great God is in your life...by simply telling people, "Look what God has done in my life and look at the awesome blessings He continues to give to me!" Christianity...having that faithful and blessed relationship with God is beautiful. Letting people know how God has blessed you is nothing but awesome, and can help those people say and believe that not only do they want a relationship with God, but that they can have one too! I mean who wouldn't want a life of security, love, and peace? If we show others how God makes that happen in our lives, it's only a matter of time before they start really believing that it can happen in theirs too.
Check out his Bible verse from Philippians 2: 14-16. I'll offer some different translations and a little verse mapping as well.
"Do everything without complaining or arguing so that you may be innocent and pure as God's perfect children, who live in a world of corrupt and sinful people. You must shine among them like stars lighting up the sky, as you offer them the message of life. If you do so, I shall have reason to be proud of you on the Day of Christ, because it will show that all my effort and work have not been wasted." Good News Translation
"Do everything readily and cheerfully--no bickering, no second-guessing allowed! Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night so I'll have good cause to be proud of you on the day that Christ returns. You'll be living proof that I didn't go to all this work for nothing." The Message
"Do everything without complaining or arguing so that you will be blameless and pure, children of God without any fault. But you are living with evil people all around you, who have lost their sense of what is right. Among those people you shine like lights in a dark world, and you offer them the teaching that gives life. So I can be proud of you when Christ comes again. You will show that my work was not wasted--that I ran in the race and won." Easy-to-Read Version
And now a little verse mapping...
As Christians, God wants us to live our lives doing everything without complaining or arguing so that when people look at us they can tell who we are living for...God.
Living in a world that is corrupted, squalid, polluted, sinful, and has lost its sense of what is right, God wants us to be a breath of fresh air and shine like stars lighting up the sky.
God wants us to live our lives so that just by looking at us, people get a glimpse of good living and the living of God.
By doing that, we aren't living our lives in vain, but we are living them to carry the light-giving Message into the night...to offer others the teaching that gives life.
Then on the day when Christ returns, He will see that He didn't come back for nothing. He came back for the world!
Just as I am doing right now, give these verses much thought before you start your day, and let the Words encourage you to do God's work in the lives of others. Let these Words, and any other verses in the Bible that are helpful and encouraging to you...let them all be our guide to our day to day. Reading these verses inspires me to be God's light in a dark world. I want to shine like a star in the sky so that all a person has to do to know that I have God in my life and in my heart is just watch me for awhile. This is my Godly goal. I will have days of success and I will have days of failure, but I will always have God either way. And God is great!
The question on today's post that I am going to try my best to answer is:
"How can my life experiences help provide people with glimpses of God?"
I do a few ministries with children in our church...Sunday school, Vacation Bible School, and a children's moment during Sunday morning service, and I've talked to them before about how they can witness to people. Much like myself, the children aren't big on preaching to people about living a life for Christ. I was raised in a household where telling people what they were doing right and what they were doing wrong as far as God goes what not the way to lead people to Him. Quite the opposite, many times I've seen that kind of approach backfire and force people to shy away from God, for fear they just are not and will never be good enough. The way I was taught and how I continue to teach the children how to lead people to God is by showing people how great God is in your life...by simply telling people, "Look what God has done in my life and look at the awesome blessings He continues to give to me!" Christianity...having that faithful and blessed relationship with God is beautiful. Letting people know how God has blessed you is nothing but awesome, and can help those people say and believe that not only do they want a relationship with God, but that they can have one too! I mean who wouldn't want a life of security, love, and peace? If we show others how God makes that happen in our lives, it's only a matter of time before they start really believing that it can happen in theirs too.
Check out his Bible verse from Philippians 2: 14-16. I'll offer some different translations and a little verse mapping as well.
"Do everything without complaining or arguing so that you may be innocent and pure as God's perfect children, who live in a world of corrupt and sinful people. You must shine among them like stars lighting up the sky, as you offer them the message of life. If you do so, I shall have reason to be proud of you on the Day of Christ, because it will show that all my effort and work have not been wasted." Good News Translation
"Do everything readily and cheerfully--no bickering, no second-guessing allowed! Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night so I'll have good cause to be proud of you on the day that Christ returns. You'll be living proof that I didn't go to all this work for nothing." The Message
"Do everything without complaining or arguing so that you will be blameless and pure, children of God without any fault. But you are living with evil people all around you, who have lost their sense of what is right. Among those people you shine like lights in a dark world, and you offer them the teaching that gives life. So I can be proud of you when Christ comes again. You will show that my work was not wasted--that I ran in the race and won." Easy-to-Read Version
And now a little verse mapping...
As Christians, God wants us to live our lives doing everything without complaining or arguing so that when people look at us they can tell who we are living for...God.
Living in a world that is corrupted, squalid, polluted, sinful, and has lost its sense of what is right, God wants us to be a breath of fresh air and shine like stars lighting up the sky.
God wants us to live our lives so that just by looking at us, people get a glimpse of good living and the living of God.
By doing that, we aren't living our lives in vain, but we are living them to carry the light-giving Message into the night...to offer others the teaching that gives life.
Then on the day when Christ returns, He will see that He didn't come back for nothing. He came back for the world!
Just as I am doing right now, give these verses much thought before you start your day, and let the Words encourage you to do God's work in the lives of others. Let these Words, and any other verses in the Bible that are helpful and encouraging to you...let them all be our guide to our day to day. Reading these verses inspires me to be God's light in a dark world. I want to shine like a star in the sky so that all a person has to do to know that I have God in my life and in my heart is just watch me for awhile. This is my Godly goal. I will have days of success and I will have days of failure, but I will always have God either way. And God is great!
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Stick With It
Here we are! It's already week five of OBS! I have to be honest...this week I have not been very good at "sticking with it"...the Bible Study that is. Yes, I finished my chapters which is fantastic, but the week was not as inspirational and encouraging as I wanted it to be for one reason and one reason only...me! I was not opening myself up to be inspired and encouraged by the wonderful messages we receive daily from our leaders and from God.
My life has had a bit of change over the last couple of months. My husband and I found out that we will be blessed with another baby, which we are totally thankful for. But let me tell you...this precious unborn angel has left me zapped. We also have a three and a half year old who has been zapping my energy as well, God love her. Both of these angels are nothing but blessings, but I've been allowing myself to get beat down by all the negative stuff...nausea, exhaustion, hormones, exhaustion, insane-frequently changing cravings...and of course, there's exhaustion. But I have been allowing myself to be so consumed with all the negative that I completely closed my fist to the positive...and that includes getting all I can get out of this awesome online Bible Study!
Today, as I was catching up on my Bible Study questions and sitting down to finally do my blog hop, I was reviewing the previous few posts on the OBS website, and of course, wouldn't you know it...God spoke right to me. I opened the page to yesterday's post and right there, big, bold, and beautiful declared this awesome verse out of 1 Chronicles 28:20:
"Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don't be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you."
I mean could God have said it any clearer to me? He is saying, "Be strong, Jenny! Don't get scared and discouraged! Stick with it! I'm right here!"
How awesome is that? Then, it got me thinking about good old Joshua when God expected him to carry on in Moses' place in leading the people into the Promised Land. Talk about scared and discouraged! I love this story, it is the place where God always leads my heart and my mind when I start to get just the way Joshua did at first. Just like all the other fearful times in my life, God leads me to this verse:
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." -Joshua 1:9
Once again, could he be anymore clear to me...to us? Did He say "well, I'll be with you when it starts getting really tough." Nope. Did He say "well, ok. You're scared, so I'll hold your hand this time, but next time you're on your own." Not even close. God says that He will be with us wherever we go. Good times...bad times...sad times...and silly times. He's there for everything. He's here to help me not just get through this pregnancy, but to get through it with joy in my heart so that there is not doubt of the blessing He has given to us again! It's the same with this study. These studies have been such an inspiration to me since I started them about a year ago. They have changed my life and made me so much closer with God! My love for Him is so much deeper and my concept of Him is so crystal clear. He brought me here. He opened the door to this awesome study and these awesome leaders and Bible study members! And He didn't get me this far to drop the ball. He's going to continue leading me in the right direction...His direction. I just have to wake up and STICK WITH IT!!! Which means I need to get with it. Head up, eyes up, palms open. This week is going to be an awesome week. I am once again, prioritizing my relationship with God over sleeping in late, household chores, favorite tv shows, and anything else that tries to get in my way. First thing in the morning is generally when I get my great big cup of God. Coffee used to be in there too, but nausea has replaced that with gingerale. But if I don't have that time with God first thing in the morning, I'm lost for the rest of the day. I'm like a dog chasing my tail, going round and round in circles getting absolutely nowhere fast. Of course, in order to get that much needed time with God, I have to get myself up before the rest of the house. I don't know about you, but I can't really spend my much needed quiet, concentrating time with God when my loved ones are awake and moving around. So with God's help, I will start this week right and keep it that way!
Gracious and Heavenly Father,
Thank you so much for the blessings You continue to give me. I know I have been lacking and tired this week. Please, Lord, help me to rise above the fear, discouragement, and exhaustion, and help me to open my heart, my mind, and my palms completely to Your Word and Your guidance. I don't want to miss any of the blessings you have for me. Thank you, Father, for being with me wherever I go.
My life has had a bit of change over the last couple of months. My husband and I found out that we will be blessed with another baby, which we are totally thankful for. But let me tell you...this precious unborn angel has left me zapped. We also have a three and a half year old who has been zapping my energy as well, God love her. Both of these angels are nothing but blessings, but I've been allowing myself to get beat down by all the negative stuff...nausea, exhaustion, hormones, exhaustion, insane-frequently changing cravings...and of course, there's exhaustion. But I have been allowing myself to be so consumed with all the negative that I completely closed my fist to the positive...and that includes getting all I can get out of this awesome online Bible Study!
Today, as I was catching up on my Bible Study questions and sitting down to finally do my blog hop, I was reviewing the previous few posts on the OBS website, and of course, wouldn't you know it...God spoke right to me. I opened the page to yesterday's post and right there, big, bold, and beautiful declared this awesome verse out of 1 Chronicles 28:20:
"Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don't be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you."
I mean could God have said it any clearer to me? He is saying, "Be strong, Jenny! Don't get scared and discouraged! Stick with it! I'm right here!"
How awesome is that? Then, it got me thinking about good old Joshua when God expected him to carry on in Moses' place in leading the people into the Promised Land. Talk about scared and discouraged! I love this story, it is the place where God always leads my heart and my mind when I start to get just the way Joshua did at first. Just like all the other fearful times in my life, God leads me to this verse:
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." -Joshua 1:9
Once again, could he be anymore clear to me...to us? Did He say "well, I'll be with you when it starts getting really tough." Nope. Did He say "well, ok. You're scared, so I'll hold your hand this time, but next time you're on your own." Not even close. God says that He will be with us wherever we go. Good times...bad times...sad times...and silly times. He's there for everything. He's here to help me not just get through this pregnancy, but to get through it with joy in my heart so that there is not doubt of the blessing He has given to us again! It's the same with this study. These studies have been such an inspiration to me since I started them about a year ago. They have changed my life and made me so much closer with God! My love for Him is so much deeper and my concept of Him is so crystal clear. He brought me here. He opened the door to this awesome study and these awesome leaders and Bible study members! And He didn't get me this far to drop the ball. He's going to continue leading me in the right direction...His direction. I just have to wake up and STICK WITH IT!!! Which means I need to get with it. Head up, eyes up, palms open. This week is going to be an awesome week. I am once again, prioritizing my relationship with God over sleeping in late, household chores, favorite tv shows, and anything else that tries to get in my way. First thing in the morning is generally when I get my great big cup of God. Coffee used to be in there too, but nausea has replaced that with gingerale. But if I don't have that time with God first thing in the morning, I'm lost for the rest of the day. I'm like a dog chasing my tail, going round and round in circles getting absolutely nowhere fast. Of course, in order to get that much needed time with God, I have to get myself up before the rest of the house. I don't know about you, but I can't really spend my much needed quiet, concentrating time with God when my loved ones are awake and moving around. So with God's help, I will start this week right and keep it that way!
Gracious and Heavenly Father,
Thank you so much for the blessings You continue to give me. I know I have been lacking and tired this week. Please, Lord, help me to rise above the fear, discouragement, and exhaustion, and help me to open my heart, my mind, and my palms completely to Your Word and Your guidance. I don't want to miss any of the blessings you have for me. Thank you, Father, for being with me wherever I go.
Thursday, August 22, 2013
His Word Is My Weapon
We've had another amazing week at OBS...and it isn't even over yet!
As I read Chapter 4, a couple of things really stuck out to my heart. Reading how Jesus was tempted by the devil, but refuted those temptations with scripture...this is a powerful tool. Check out these awesome words:
"Then the devil came to Him and said,"If you are God's Son, order these stones to turn into bread."
But Jesus answered, "The scripture says, 'Human beings cannot live on bread alone, but need every Word that God speaks." Matt. 4:3-4
Jesus is saying that we need God's Word to live...we need it to sustain our otherwise empty hearts. And He wasn't just talking about then nice, encouraging Word. He said we need EVERY Word that God speaks...this includes the not so nice. But we take it all into our hearts knowing that God says all of it because He loves us more than we can fathom. His Word proves that He loves us when we're up and when we're down...when we're at our best and when we're at our worst. His love...His Word is always beautiful and always right. No one can refute it. Even the devil knows that.
Another scripture that I really enjoyed reading and studying is actually found in the Bible Study questions...I'll include a few different translations to show some different perspectives.
"The righteous eat to their hearts' content, but the stomach of the wicked goes hungry." NIV
"The righteous have enough to eat, but the wicked are always hungry." GNT
"An appetite for good brings much satisfaction, but the belly of the wicked always wants more."MSG
Lots of Word for thought here. I'm going to do a little verse mapping to break the Word down a bit:
"The righteous"/"An appetite for good": those who not only believe in God, but carry Him in their hearts; know that His love is above all else.
"eat to their hearts' content/have enough to eat/brings much satisfaction": Being a true believer in Christ means that we will never go spiritually hungry; we will never be alone; we will always know love; our hearts and souls are filled to the brim with God's love.
I'll sum up the last chunk of scripture:
The wicked are never satisfied; they always want more; they are always hungry; if they aren't hungry right now, they will go hungry--their time will run out. Hearts of the wicked are not filled with joy-true joy. Their hearts aren't filled with the unfailing love of Christ either. And how much they are missing! Their hearts are empty caves unable to be filled with God's love because they refuse it.
I fell asleep praying last night, which is something I love doing. Talk about preparing your mind for a peaceful rest. But as I was praying, I was releasing a few matters to God. Matters that had been consuming my mind and my heart throughout the day, and I just wanted to be done. So up to God they went! I know now that it's not an "if" God will take care of these particular burdens or future burdens...it's "when" He will take care of them. When I say "yes" to God and lift my burdens up to Him, they are off of my heart and into His hands...the way He likes it. Have a great weekend everyone!
As I read Chapter 4, a couple of things really stuck out to my heart. Reading how Jesus was tempted by the devil, but refuted those temptations with scripture...this is a powerful tool. Check out these awesome words:
"Then the devil came to Him and said,"If you are God's Son, order these stones to turn into bread."
But Jesus answered, "The scripture says, 'Human beings cannot live on bread alone, but need every Word that God speaks." Matt. 4:3-4
Jesus is saying that we need God's Word to live...we need it to sustain our otherwise empty hearts. And He wasn't just talking about then nice, encouraging Word. He said we need EVERY Word that God speaks...this includes the not so nice. But we take it all into our hearts knowing that God says all of it because He loves us more than we can fathom. His Word proves that He loves us when we're up and when we're down...when we're at our best and when we're at our worst. His love...His Word is always beautiful and always right. No one can refute it. Even the devil knows that.
Another scripture that I really enjoyed reading and studying is actually found in the Bible Study questions...I'll include a few different translations to show some different perspectives.
"The righteous eat to their hearts' content, but the stomach of the wicked goes hungry." NIV
"The righteous have enough to eat, but the wicked are always hungry." GNT
"An appetite for good brings much satisfaction, but the belly of the wicked always wants more."MSG
Lots of Word for thought here. I'm going to do a little verse mapping to break the Word down a bit:
"The righteous"/"An appetite for good": those who not only believe in God, but carry Him in their hearts; know that His love is above all else.
"eat to their hearts' content/have enough to eat/brings much satisfaction": Being a true believer in Christ means that we will never go spiritually hungry; we will never be alone; we will always know love; our hearts and souls are filled to the brim with God's love.
I'll sum up the last chunk of scripture:
The wicked are never satisfied; they always want more; they are always hungry; if they aren't hungry right now, they will go hungry--their time will run out. Hearts of the wicked are not filled with joy-true joy. Their hearts aren't filled with the unfailing love of Christ either. And how much they are missing! Their hearts are empty caves unable to be filled with God's love because they refuse it.
I fell asleep praying last night, which is something I love doing. Talk about preparing your mind for a peaceful rest. But as I was praying, I was releasing a few matters to God. Matters that had been consuming my mind and my heart throughout the day, and I just wanted to be done. So up to God they went! I know now that it's not an "if" God will take care of these particular burdens or future burdens...it's "when" He will take care of them. When I say "yes" to God and lift my burdens up to Him, they are off of my heart and into His hands...the way He likes it. Have a great weekend everyone!
Friday, August 16, 2013
Say What?
Here we are! It’s
already week two in our “Yes” online Bible Study. I love it!
Saying yes to God is definitely a life-changing experience, and
something I will need to do over and over because I mess up. I get lazy.
I get scared. God knows that
about me and He loves me because of it.
It is those times when I am down and out, and feel hopeless…the times
when I am at my weakest He is at His strongest in my life. During those times of desperation and
heartache is when He holds me tightest.
I’ve had many “Say What?” moments with God, but there is one
that always sticks out when I think about how important it is to say yes to God
no matter what He is telling me to do. A
little over two years ago, my husband and I decided that we were at a point
financially where I could start working part time and be home with our daughter
more. Going back to work after she was
born was one of the hardest and heart-hurting things I have ever had to do, so
imagine my joy when my husband and I came to this decision of me not having to
work as much!
I went to my bosses a few days later, explained the
situation, and they said that while they would need to do some figuring and get
certain ducks in a row, they felt strongly that they would be able to help
me. About a week later, I was called
back into the same office and learned that in fact they were unable to offer me
a part time position. I was told
basically that if a part time position in my field didn’t exist presently, they
couldn’t make one. I was stunned, angry,
and sad. I very still in my office,
doing everything I could to hold back tears and thinking about a lot of
things. Thousands of questions were
traveling around in my head, the first being, why would they give me so much hope when there was none to be had? I left work that day, called my husband,
and proceeded to let my tears flow.
A few days after that terrible meeting, I still felt
strongly about wanting to be at home with my daughter more. Don’t get me wrong. I loved my job very much. It was my true niche and I didn’t really want
to do anything else. But everyone who
knows me knows that my family comes well before my career and always has. My happiness in my career was a sacrifice I
was willing to make for my family. With
the feeling of determination braised with some hurt and disappointment, I
started a job search for part time work.
I went to websites, I called agencies and businesses, I put bugs in
ears, and of course, started looking on the internet to see what was available. Everywhere I looked was a dead end. One place was only offering night
shifts. A friend advised me of another
place I was looking at, and strongly encouraged me to look elsewhere because
employees were known to leave this particular agency on their lunch hour and
never come back. It was like hitting
brick wall after brick wall.
I was driving home one afternoon and I looked up and said
“Ok, God! What do you want from me? What do you want me to do? If you didn’t feel it was important to stay
at home more with Caroline then you wouldn’t have placed these strong feelings
upon my heart. So where are you? What do you want from me?” As clear as day, I heard a voice in my mind
and in my heart whisper, just once, “Be still.”
Say What? I was amazed. I was
expecting God to answer me in one of His special ways that would really leave
me thinking, but not this time. He was
as clear as clear could be. “Be
still.”
A few days later, the executive director of our agency, who
had been present at the horrific meeting a couple of weeks prior, made a
surprise visit to one of our satellite offices where I work once a week. He appeared to be bummed out.
“What’s the matter, boss?” I asked him.
“Well, I don’t like the way our meeting went a couple of
weeks ago.”
I semi-chuckled and said,” Well, I really didn’t like the
way it went either, but what it is what it is, I suppose.”
“I know that I made you feel like something was a
possibility when it wasn’t, and I know I let you down. I’m sorry.”
Say What? How many
times in my life has an executive of any kind apologized for making false
promises? I was a little taken back, but
I told him that I appreciated his apology of how the situation ended up. He then proceeded to tell me that while he
knew I needed to do what was best for my family, he wanted me to hang on for
just a little bit to see how things would unfold. If after that time, I still felt the need to
go elsewhere, he would not stand in my way.
Once again, I was whoa’d. I
thought about it briefly and looking straight into his eyes responded,
“I love this job. I
am good at this job. I really don’t want
to leave, so I will hang on for a little while.
But I do not expect to be strung along.”
He agreed, and that was that.
This conversation, to me, was just another way that God was
telling me to be still. My big boss,
traveling almost an hour to have this particular conversation with me was God
telling me again, “Be still.” So I did. I remained still for about eight months until
a position became available and I grabbed it with both hands and never let
go. I’m now working in a job that I love
with people that I love, and most importantly, I get to be at home with my
daughter more days than I work. I said
yes to God and received one of the greatest blessings I will ever receive. It took a while for this blessing to be in
full swing, but it was a learning experience that only God could teach me. I learned the importance of waiting on God’s
plan for my life instead of jumping ahead with my own. I learned how that patience for His plan
reveals blessings I would’ve never known otherwise. Just think if I would’ve jumped the gun ahead
of God and taken a night job. What
blessings I would have missed! No matter
what the situation, God’s got this. He
has us in the palm of His hand and He is not going to let us go.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Me and God
I am so excited to be back into OBS. I've continued Bible study while we've been on a break, but nothing compares to the OBS experience!
Today I've chosen to my blog-hop topic on:
"What is holding you back from going deeper in your relationship with God?"
I was thankfully raised in a wonderful Christian household, so I really don't remember a time when I didn't believe in God. He has always been a part of my life. But my relationship with Him didn't start to really mature until I was an adult. Thanks to OBS, my relationship has grown even more! But there is always room for improvement.
I feel like I have a deep relationship with God, but not as deep as it could be, but to be honest, I never want it to hit that point. I always want to be longing for a deeper, more meaningful relationship with God. I do believe that fear is one of the things that holds me back from God...Fear that God will want me to do something that I can't see myself doing...Fear that if I go down the path of God's plan that I will mess something up, or something will occur that I can't deal with.
Time can also interfere with my relationship with God. I'm usually the first one up and the last one down, simply because as a mother and a wife, that's the only time I have to just be with myself (I say as my 3-year old angel yells for me from the top of the stairs). I do my OBS first thing in the morning, but if sleep to long and miss that window, it's hard to find another time throughout the day to devote to it. I like to get the most I can out of the study, so I can't do it when I have kids running around and commotion going on in the background. I pray to God throughout the day no matter what environment I'm in. But I need that true one on one time with Him every morning...just me and Him...so that I can start my day right. I know you all will believe that BIG difference between start the day with God than without. What a blessing it is to start my day with the Lord.
"The revelation of God is whole and puts our lives together. The signposts of God are clear and point out the right road. The life-maps of God are right, showing the way to joy. The directions of God are plain and easy on the eyes. God's reputation is twenty-four carat gold, with a lifetime guarantee. The decisions of God are accurate down to the nth degree. God's Word is better than a diamond, better than a diamond set between emeralds. You like it better than strawberries in the spring, better than red, ripe strawberries. -Psalm 19:7-10 MSG
I had never read this Bible verse before, and it has brought such a blessing to my life. This verse just lays out for you what God has promised us if we just believe.
God promised to never leave us nor forsake us, and I believe that with all of my heart. This week has been a very tough week for my family as we lost one of our dearest friends, and heaven gained another angel. There have been and will continue to be lots of tears shed as we miss her, but never a doubt of God's presence. Though it has been hard to get through our day to day, God has been with us every step. He never promised us that life would be a easy. He never promised that we wouldn't experience loss and sadness. But He did promise that through it all, He would be right here with us. His arms are firmly wrapped around all of this and He is holding us tight as we remember the wonderful person who touched our hearts for so long. For this, I am so thankful. He is our strength. He is our comfort. He is our salvation from life.
Today I've chosen to my blog-hop topic on:
"What is holding you back from going deeper in your relationship with God?"
I was thankfully raised in a wonderful Christian household, so I really don't remember a time when I didn't believe in God. He has always been a part of my life. But my relationship with Him didn't start to really mature until I was an adult. Thanks to OBS, my relationship has grown even more! But there is always room for improvement.
I feel like I have a deep relationship with God, but not as deep as it could be, but to be honest, I never want it to hit that point. I always want to be longing for a deeper, more meaningful relationship with God. I do believe that fear is one of the things that holds me back from God...Fear that God will want me to do something that I can't see myself doing...Fear that if I go down the path of God's plan that I will mess something up, or something will occur that I can't deal with.
Time can also interfere with my relationship with God. I'm usually the first one up and the last one down, simply because as a mother and a wife, that's the only time I have to just be with myself (I say as my 3-year old angel yells for me from the top of the stairs). I do my OBS first thing in the morning, but if sleep to long and miss that window, it's hard to find another time throughout the day to devote to it. I like to get the most I can out of the study, so I can't do it when I have kids running around and commotion going on in the background. I pray to God throughout the day no matter what environment I'm in. But I need that true one on one time with Him every morning...just me and Him...so that I can start my day right. I know you all will believe that BIG difference between start the day with God than without. What a blessing it is to start my day with the Lord.
"The revelation of God is whole and puts our lives together. The signposts of God are clear and point out the right road. The life-maps of God are right, showing the way to joy. The directions of God are plain and easy on the eyes. God's reputation is twenty-four carat gold, with a lifetime guarantee. The decisions of God are accurate down to the nth degree. God's Word is better than a diamond, better than a diamond set between emeralds. You like it better than strawberries in the spring, better than red, ripe strawberries. -Psalm 19:7-10 MSG
I had never read this Bible verse before, and it has brought such a blessing to my life. This verse just lays out for you what God has promised us if we just believe.
- God promises to point us toward the right road...we just have to open our hearts and our minds so we don't miss His signposts.
- God has a life full of joy waiting for us...we just have to ensure that we're follow His life map and not our own.
- God's directions for our lives are clear and easy...we just need our eyes and our hearts to be open to Him, and not the rest of the world.
- God's very existence is flawless and eternal...we just have to believe.
- God's Word is the perfect guide for our lives...we just have to fill our hearts and minds with as much of it as we can.
God promised to never leave us nor forsake us, and I believe that with all of my heart. This week has been a very tough week for my family as we lost one of our dearest friends, and heaven gained another angel. There have been and will continue to be lots of tears shed as we miss her, but never a doubt of God's presence. Though it has been hard to get through our day to day, God has been with us every step. He never promised us that life would be a easy. He never promised that we wouldn't experience loss and sadness. But He did promise that through it all, He would be right here with us. His arms are firmly wrapped around all of this and He is holding us tight as we remember the wonderful person who touched our hearts for so long. For this, I am so thankful. He is our strength. He is our comfort. He is our salvation from life.
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