I’ve been going to write this post for about a week now and finally have the right words for it all. Its funny how we are lead on our paths and wait until the right moment. We often wonder why at times we wait and put things off. It’s not always procrastination, but rather our Father telling us to wait until He has given us the exact tools we need to carry on.
Tonight I received word that my best friend from H.S. mother passed away. Her dad is seriously ill battling cancer. I’ve lost contact with her since she married around 1983-84 there about. I’ve often thought of her and wondered how she is doing. I’ve missed her and reminisce all the great times we had together.
Tonight hit me hard. It was an awakening. At first it was hard to breathe. I just wanted to bawl, but only allowed a few tears. I had so many emotions flowing through me; I didn’t know how to feel. I decided to work on more organizing of the house. That wasn’t helping. So I thought I would go straighten up my desk. I looked at all the inspirational books we have and thought I need to read that one…not that one…oh wait a minute, that’s the one I really need to read. Then I came to Charles Stanley’s Life Principle Bible and was going to work on it…then I thought, no, I need to listen to a pod cast. I haven’t done that in ages.
Well, that’s what I needed and then it hit me as I’m listening to the end of one I had started months ago. The words…the exact words I needed to fit in with what I’m going to write about. By now you are probably thinking, “You just wrote several paragraphs now. You have a story to tell yet?” Yes indeed. It’s a story I pray will stir the hearts of those that need it and strengthen those that already know. So here goes.
It all started over a week ago. I went to pick up the kids to take them all to school as usual. The oldest girl was in a foul mood and was not happy. I tried to keep my cool until she started taking it out on the van. I snapped at her; and then reminded myself that anger on top of anger gets one nowhere, so I gained control. We were all loaded up and on our way, and the grumbling with the children continued. I reached down and grabbed a worship CD. The first one, “God is Good!” They grumbled a little more and I started to pray. I kept on praying asking for peace and restoration. It got quiet. The next thing I knew, they were singing, well all but one, but the grumbling subsided. By the time we dropped the first boy off at his bus stop, everyone was giggling and happy. Thank you Lord!
The next song they like to hear each morning, “Jesus Take the Wheel,” then “I Can Only Imagine.” This part of the story shows how God’s Love for us can be so calming. We only need to let Him in and learn to love as well.
Okay, that’s just the beginning. At first I thought, ugh, this day is starting out just great, then He showed me, don’t be so negative. Put on that positive attitude, be a builder and bring peace. Obey, and good things come of it.
Later that day I got an excited call from my husband. He had been going through problem after problem on one of the buildings they had plans for. He prayed on the way to work that morning and said, “Father, I need you to do something about this today. We need to get these problems solved so that this project is no longer delayed.” He no more than got into the office before he even had a chance to take his coat off, and the phone rang. It was one of the people working on solving the problems to tell him that “all” the problems had been solved. The project was moving forward!” Praise God.
And it just keeps getting better. He’s been praying for more work to come in since taking over the company completely. Each time he prays and asks for help, He shows up. The problems are solved, the money comes in. He’s been flabbergasted and stated he doesn’t know what is going on and that he doesn’t know how much more he can handle.
I reminded him to be careful with what he says. The answers came to us in church a week ago this past Sunday. “Tithing;” yes you read right; tithing. It’s right in the Bible that we are to give 10% of our goods to the Lord. I kept feeling empty when we would not give our full amount. Now mind you, we are in a church where they do not keep track of what we give. Our Pastor knows that’s between the Father and us.
Well I knew we were not doing the right thing and kept telling hubby my feelings on this. Then without my knowing it, he started giving 10% sometimes more. He’s been faithfully tithing for some time, and giving more when needed or prompted to do so. He knew it was right and knew that was what he was supposed to be doing.
Then came the picture at the “Men at the Cross,” that he was instructed to buy. He knew he was supposed to do it for the church, and it happened. It was money I didn’t think we had, then the Lord reminded me, “do not worry child, I will take care of you.” You know what? He has done just that.
We have learned to be faithful to our Father, our Lord and Savior. Jesus gave His all for us. We are asked to do a small thing for Him. I mean seriously, it is small when you compare it to giving your life for everyone! My husband has faithfully been giving what we are suppose to for several months now, and wow, the blessings keep coming.
He asked some of the pastors and myself if it was bragging to tell people about this. We all told him that the Lord wants us to share the good news, just not in a boastful manner. This is why I’ve waited. I wanted to make sure I wrote this with the right words.
Two things to share with you that drove me to write this. One is from words we heard from Oral Roberts at church this past Sun: “If you don’t give a harvest, why do you plant a seed?” Those are some powerful words.
Then last but not least from Charles Stanley:
“If you hunger more for worldly riches than for the treasures of knowing God; then you’re climbing the wrong ladder of success. Genuine eternal blessing is more than it’s measured in relationship with Jesus, not monetary accumulation. Make Christ your top priority and chief joy, and you will experience true prosperity.”
Wow! How true that is. We need to really grasp hold of this message that He is sending us. We were talking with some of the pastors and they have seen others experiencing similar testimony’s. We were struggling, worried where the money was going to come from, business was slow and low and behold, faith kicked in and He’s answered every call. Other’s have had the same experience. Faith! Plant the seed! We talked of how many are struggling and afraid to take the plunge. All I can say is do it with your heart in it! Have faith! Be true to Him and He will bless you beyond your wildest imaginations. Don’t do it wanting and expecting, but do it in faith, with Love and a giving heart. He’ll know if you are doing it for personal gain or not.
Long story short: Ever since hubby started planting the seed faithfully, life has improved. Ever since I grabbed hold of all that was happening and got back to the Bible, life has improved more. We have become builders with the grand children and joy has surrounded us. We find it much easier to handle difficult situations. When the enemy strikes, we say NO! We pray and life returns to normal. We still go through out dark times, but they are much easier to walk through now. When one of us starts to stray, the other grabs hold and reels us back in. I can't begin to describe the way life has become other than it is so much more of a positive atmosphere, and we feel His presence. It's beautiful! It's beyond beautiful. There are no words to describe it; you just have to experience it yourself. Don't give up! He never does with us.
Be blessed everyone. Walk in the light of the Lord. Believe in Him. Trust in Him. Have faith in Him to walk you through. And remember, we come closer to Him in our weakest and darkest moments. He’s molding us and preparing us. Love and blessings to you all!
Showing posts with label faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label faith. Show all posts
Monday, November 9, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Relax Sunday
Today I'm going to do this a little bit differently. I started the the series of Faith and Trust and this will build from it.
Trust in the Lord our God that He will provide an give you a wonderful day. Have Faith in the Lord that He will lead you to do the right things.
Relax today in His love and spread that love. Hug your children/grandchildren. Tell them how much you love them and that you thank the Good Lord for them. If you family isn't close by, call them and tell them how much you love them, and how thankful you are for them.
Take time to pray, tell Him how much you love Him and How it's all for Him.
Relax and let Him hold you and walk with you. Stay in His presence and have faith and trust that your day will be restful and relaxing. For without faith and trust in Him, your days become disheveled.
I hope you all have a beautiful relaxing Sunday and remember to include Him in your day! After all, He is the one that gave us this day of rest. May the Lord our God pour out His blessings upon you today and always. May He give you strength and wisdom to carry you through. May the love He has for us shine through us and overflow unto others. Make and ripple and watch it grow and grow.
Remember to always P.U.S.H. Love Him, Love everyone, even your enemies.
I leave you with: Luke 6:27-36 (NKJV)
27 "But I say to you who hear; Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,"
28 "bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you."
29 "To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either."
30 "Give to everyone who asks of you, and from him who takes away your goods do no ask them back."
31 "And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise."
32 "But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them."
33 " And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same."
34 "And if yo lend to those that from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back."
35 "But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the un-thankful and evil."
36 "Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful."
Relax, let the sun shine in your heart! Many hugs, lots of love, and blessings to you all!!!
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Faith and Trust
This post is to discuss faith and trust in the Lord. The reason for this choice is there has been so much going on in so many peoples lives lately that has had many questioning why would this happen, why aren’t my prayers being answered, is He listening…The list goes on.
Our Pastor has been talking about Faith and Trust a lot. I’ve heard others talk about one or the other or both often. It’s been a big subject more than usual lately. It’s been placed on my heart to take my time and really look at this subject in the Bible and share what I find and learn. One could say, “Well if you’re a Christian, a believer, then trust and faith should not be a problem.”
Well in a sense it seems it should be this way. When we read Scriptures, we know it is stated over and over again how we are to trust our Lord God for everything. We should have faith in the Lord as well. How could we lose it? Why should this be a subject that needs to be discussed?
For one, we are of the flesh, like it or not. We are not perfect, nor will we ever be. There are events in our lives that can leave us wondering, questioning, doubting, etc. For instance, this is something that happened recently to someone. They prayed for safety for their son when driving for the first time. Shortly after that, the son had an accident, (not his fault). Thankfully he was not hurt, but it put the family in a worse financial situation than they had been in. The question came, how can this happen right after praying about it? Why would God do this?
This is where faith and trust comes into play, but we fail to see it as naturally we are confused, and it’s hard to see at the time. This is when it is good to talk with others we know that are in the Lord. It is easy for someone that is not going through that situation to remind them that even though it doesn’t seem right, it’s confusing; God has a plan in our lives. We are a works in the making. He may have done that to teach the son something, or the parent, or the family. We don’t know and may never know.
The important thing here is we need to hold onto our faith in knowing that God is there. He already knew this situation would happen. He had it planned for a reason. The good thing is the Lord was thanked for keeping the son safe and not injured. Blessings, count our blessings. When we are able to wave off the negative aspects and look at the blessings, we can overcome our displeasure's and questionings a whole lot easier. Have faith and trust that He is doing what is needed to be done. He has a good reason for what happened. Perhaps even it happened to teach the other party involved a lesson and you were used as He knew you could handle it. You were the one with the faith and they are not. We never know. Just believe, trust, and keep the faith!
I’m going to do this subject in a series. I don’t know how many days I’ll do this, but what ever it takes without making it too long each time. And then there will be other subjects to follow. It was placed on my heart to pick a different subject from the concordance and discuss it here. I thought okay. I know I’ll learn more from this, and hopefully it will help others and prayerfully lead at least one, but hopefully more to the Lord. I would like to know how you all feel about this. Be honest.
I’m going to end today’s post with this Scripture from Matthew 6:25-34 (NKJV) and the definitions for Faith and Trust taken from Merriam Websters On-line Dictionary.
Faith: 1 allegiance to duty or a person; fidelity to one's promises; sincerity of one's intentions.
2 belief and trust in and loyalty to God; belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion; firm belief in something for which there is no proof
3 Something that is believed especially with strong conviction; especially: a system of religious beliefs.
Trust 1 assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something; One in which confidence is placed.
2 Dependence on something future or contingent; reliance on future payment for property (as merchandise) delivered.
3 a property interest held by one person for the benefit of another; a combination of firms or corporations formed by a legal agreement; one that reduces or threatens to reduce competition.
4 a change or duty imposed in faith or confidence or as a condition of some relationship; something committed or entrusted to one to be used or cared for in the interest of another; responsible charge or office
25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink: nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more that clothing?”
26 “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”
27 “Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?”
28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toll nor spin;”
29 “and yet I say to you that even Solomon, in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”
30 “Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?”
31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?’ Or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?”
32 “For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.”
33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.”
34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
Matthew 6:25-34 (Message Bible).
25-26 “If you decide for God; living a life of God-worship; it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes, or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to Him than birds.”
27-29 “Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.”
30-33 “If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think He’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do His best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way He works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how He works. Steep you life in God-reality, God-initiative, and God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.”
34 “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”
Our Pastor has been talking about Faith and Trust a lot. I’ve heard others talk about one or the other or both often. It’s been a big subject more than usual lately. It’s been placed on my heart to take my time and really look at this subject in the Bible and share what I find and learn. One could say, “Well if you’re a Christian, a believer, then trust and faith should not be a problem.”
Well in a sense it seems it should be this way. When we read Scriptures, we know it is stated over and over again how we are to trust our Lord God for everything. We should have faith in the Lord as well. How could we lose it? Why should this be a subject that needs to be discussed?
For one, we are of the flesh, like it or not. We are not perfect, nor will we ever be. There are events in our lives that can leave us wondering, questioning, doubting, etc. For instance, this is something that happened recently to someone. They prayed for safety for their son when driving for the first time. Shortly after that, the son had an accident, (not his fault). Thankfully he was not hurt, but it put the family in a worse financial situation than they had been in. The question came, how can this happen right after praying about it? Why would God do this?
This is where faith and trust comes into play, but we fail to see it as naturally we are confused, and it’s hard to see at the time. This is when it is good to talk with others we know that are in the Lord. It is easy for someone that is not going through that situation to remind them that even though it doesn’t seem right, it’s confusing; God has a plan in our lives. We are a works in the making. He may have done that to teach the son something, or the parent, or the family. We don’t know and may never know.
The important thing here is we need to hold onto our faith in knowing that God is there. He already knew this situation would happen. He had it planned for a reason. The good thing is the Lord was thanked for keeping the son safe and not injured. Blessings, count our blessings. When we are able to wave off the negative aspects and look at the blessings, we can overcome our displeasure's and questionings a whole lot easier. Have faith and trust that He is doing what is needed to be done. He has a good reason for what happened. Perhaps even it happened to teach the other party involved a lesson and you were used as He knew you could handle it. You were the one with the faith and they are not. We never know. Just believe, trust, and keep the faith!
I’m going to do this subject in a series. I don’t know how many days I’ll do this, but what ever it takes without making it too long each time. And then there will be other subjects to follow. It was placed on my heart to pick a different subject from the concordance and discuss it here. I thought okay. I know I’ll learn more from this, and hopefully it will help others and prayerfully lead at least one, but hopefully more to the Lord. I would like to know how you all feel about this. Be honest.
I’m going to end today’s post with this Scripture from Matthew 6:25-34 (NKJV) and the definitions for Faith and Trust taken from Merriam Websters On-line Dictionary.
Faith: 1 allegiance to duty or a person; fidelity to one's promises; sincerity of one's intentions.
2 belief and trust in and loyalty to God; belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion; firm belief in something for which there is no proof
3 Something that is believed especially with strong conviction; especially: a system of religious beliefs.
Trust 1 assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something; One in which confidence is placed.
2 Dependence on something future or contingent; reliance on future payment for property (as merchandise) delivered.
3 a property interest held by one person for the benefit of another; a combination of firms or corporations formed by a legal agreement; one that reduces or threatens to reduce competition.
4 a change or duty imposed in faith or confidence or as a condition of some relationship; something committed or entrusted to one to be used or cared for in the interest of another; responsible charge or office
25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink: nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more that clothing?”
26 “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”
27 “Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?”
28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toll nor spin;”
29 “and yet I say to you that even Solomon, in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”
30 “Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?”
31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?’ Or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?”
32 “For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.”
33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.”
34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
Matthew 6:25-34 (Message Bible).
25-26 “If you decide for God; living a life of God-worship; it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes, or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to Him than birds.”
27-29 “Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.”
30-33 “If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think He’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do His best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way He works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how He works. Steep you life in God-reality, God-initiative, and God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.”
34 “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”
Monday, March 2, 2009
Marriage Monday
I'm joining Denise at Shorty Bears Place with Marriage Monday. I thought this was a great way to share the great works of our Lord!
My hubby and I have been married 27 years. It hasn't been all glorious, but thanks to the Lord, it has been the best two years that has made the whole 27 years worthwhile. When we gave ourselfs to the Lord, our marriage became the strongest it's ever been. I'm so grateful to the work the Lord has done with him. He's become my rock, soul mate, best friend, glorious earth father and grand father, and the most wonderful husband a woman could ever ask for.
Don't get me wrong. I've always loved him through thick and thin. I took my vows seriously when I married him. I vowed to never break them. We both made mistakes, but I believe it happened so that we could grow stronger together. I strongly believe it takes two to make or break a relationship. My hubby takes a lot on his shoulders for the problems we had, but I believe we both had an equal share in that. Besides, the Lord wants us to look forward, not behind. We learned from our mistakes, and that's what matters.
He now has more faith than I could have ever imagined. He leads our family in ways I would never have thought possible in my wildest dreams. He's teaching me every day. I draw a lot of strength from him. I'm proud of all that he does, and love spending any free moment we have together. I look forward to the rest of our lives together. He's an amazing man, and I knew from the moment I saw him that he was a keeper. ;) God works in misterious wonderful ways. I thank God for him daily.
Monday, February 9, 2009
God's Promises: Monday
It's the start of another week. Am praying that it will be a beautiful, glorius, blessed week for all!
Belief; Faith; Mercy; Worship; Prayer; Guidance; Fruitfulness; Holy Spirit; Salvation; and Peace. Today's Scriptures taken from the NKJV.
Belief: John 3:18: "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
Faith: Ephesians 2:8: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God."
Mercy: Exodus 33:19: "Then He said, 'I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."
Worship: John 4:24: "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
Prayer: Jeremiah: 29:12: "Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you."
Guidance: Isaiah 28:26: "For He instructs him in right judgment, His God teaches him."
Fruitfulness: Hosea 14: 5: "I will be like the dew to Israel; He shall grow like the lily, and lengthen his roots like Lebanon."
Holy Spirit: Isaiah: 59:21: "As for Me,' says the Lord, 'this is My covenant with them; My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants' descendants,' says the Lord, 'from this time and forevermore."
Salvation: 1 Timothy 2: 3-4: "For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."
Peace: Isaiah 32:17: "The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteounesss, quietness and assurance forever."
Belief; Faith; Mercy; Worship; Prayer; Guidance; Fruitfulness; Holy Spirit; Salvation; and Peace. Today's Scriptures taken from the NKJV.
Belief: John 3:18: "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
Faith: Ephesians 2:8: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God."
Mercy: Exodus 33:19: "Then He said, 'I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."
Worship: John 4:24: "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
Prayer: Jeremiah: 29:12: "Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you."
Guidance: Isaiah 28:26: "For He instructs him in right judgment, His God teaches him."
Fruitfulness: Hosea 14: 5: "I will be like the dew to Israel; He shall grow like the lily, and lengthen his roots like Lebanon."
Holy Spirit: Isaiah: 59:21: "As for Me,' says the Lord, 'this is My covenant with them; My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants' descendants,' says the Lord, 'from this time and forevermore."
Salvation: 1 Timothy 2: 3-4: "For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."
Peace: Isaiah 32:17: "The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteounesss, quietness and assurance forever."
Sunday, February 8, 2009
I Saw The Light!
As I sit her tonight, finally having the chance to catch up on some blog reading, still have half way to go, a great feeling came to light. I love how he turns negative to positive. :)
I had written about the enemy attacking so many, and how so many need prayer and how we all need to be diligently praying for one another and taking a stand.
Well, it hit me tonight as to how that all just seemed so negative. It wasn't meant in that manner, it was meant as a wake up to some and a call out for more prayer; as we can never pray too much.
Then while reading the last good news posts I've read today--so many of them, Hallelujah!--that I heard a small voice saying, "See, not every thing is all gloom and doom right now. Sometimes you allow yourself to fall into that very trap where Satan wants you to fall. He works in ways that you often don't see. He's sneaky and you must be careful. You had written about waiting upon Me. This is exactly what you need to do. I will take care of those problems that you see. It's by my time. Lean on me dear child. Let me carry the burden. Let not your heart be troubled."
How true this is. Why is it we can think we are on the right track and are actually falling into that trap that we don't see. It's because he is as sly as a fox. This is why we need to remain focused on Him. We need to hold the faith. I love the way He saves us. The way He works in us. God Is Good All the Time; and All the Time, God Is Good! :) :) :) Yes, I'm smiling and free! Thank You Lord! And thank you to all of you that shared such great uplifting news. His timing is always perfect.
I saw the light
I saw the light
No more darkness
No more night
Now I'm so happy
No sorrow in sight
Praise the Lord
I saw the light!
I had written about the enemy attacking so many, and how so many need prayer and how we all need to be diligently praying for one another and taking a stand.
Well, it hit me tonight as to how that all just seemed so negative. It wasn't meant in that manner, it was meant as a wake up to some and a call out for more prayer; as we can never pray too much.
Then while reading the last good news posts I've read today--so many of them, Hallelujah!--that I heard a small voice saying, "See, not every thing is all gloom and doom right now. Sometimes you allow yourself to fall into that very trap where Satan wants you to fall. He works in ways that you often don't see. He's sneaky and you must be careful. You had written about waiting upon Me. This is exactly what you need to do. I will take care of those problems that you see. It's by my time. Lean on me dear child. Let me carry the burden. Let not your heart be troubled."
How true this is. Why is it we can think we are on the right track and are actually falling into that trap that we don't see. It's because he is as sly as a fox. This is why we need to remain focused on Him. We need to hold the faith. I love the way He saves us. The way He works in us. God Is Good All the Time; and All the Time, God Is Good! :) :) :) Yes, I'm smiling and free! Thank You Lord! And thank you to all of you that shared such great uplifting news. His timing is always perfect.
I saw the light
I saw the light
No more darkness
No more night
Now I'm so happy
No sorrow in sight
Praise the Lord
I saw the light!
Friday, February 6, 2009
Prayer Requests
My dear friends, I have a request of prayer from all of you. My heart is hurting right now, but I know He will take care of it. I've noticed the enemy striking and working hard all over the world, working hard on breaking us down. Trust me, this is not a pity party I'm having, just a sharing of what I see right now, and it's almost brought me down. But God's faithfulness and strength has lifted me back up and I know that no matter what, I must focus, keep walking forward, and hold on to faith. It sure does get hard sometimes though, doesn't it?
Any way, I have friend who wants nothing more than to be fulfilled with the Lord. She seeks Him all the time. Her heart yearns for her husband to do the same, but he won't even discuss it with her. She is going through a tough time and unable to read the Bible and is having difficulty praying. Another is going through similar trials. She is having a hard time focusing and knowing what to do with her time. Her husband had been seriously hurt in a church and will not go back, discuss the Lord with her and does not want to hear about it. She so desires to have him return.
It breaks your heart to see such beautiful women experiencing this. So if you could pray for them. I'm not giving out names for obvious reasons. He knows who you are praying for. Another woman and her husband are having dire financial problems, plus there is a chance her husband may lose his job. Please pray for them. They have three beautiful boys too. She has given herself to the Lord, but her husband hasn't. We need the husbands to come to the Lord, as they are the leaders of the home. They need to be able to righteously uphold the home and family. Let's pray hard for this.
Our son has had a set back with his meds. It was a bit uneasy for the past two days, but thankfully he knew he needed help and got it. Pray for healing in him and the breaking of generational curses of mental illness. It runs heavy on my side of the family.
We were suppose to finally see our sons two kids this weekend, but of course with what he is facing, it isn't possible. I've come down with the crud. So weak and sleepy and my face feels like it is going to explode. But I am believing I will be healed soon. Pray for healing so that I can go visit the kids at least.
My dad had fallen on ice a little over a week ago and broke some ribs. They were concerned about his liver due to the location of the break. He is suppose to be taking it easy and doing no lifting. Well, he's a stubborn man, had gone to a Catholic school, faithfully went to church, and then quit. He believes, but something is holding him back. He is a very, very giving man. Always giving of himself, but will not ask for help. They heat their home with a wood stove. He's been going out and hauling in wood. My sister who has the back problems drove out with her son so he could haul wood in for him. Yesterday dad got up as he was in pain and put some wood in the stove. Mom got up and told him to go back to bed as it was 4 am. So he did. He tried to get back out of bed when he woke up and popped something in his back. He was unable to get up. Mom had to help him after he laid there for awhile groaning. She finally heard him.
My little sister finally had an MRI done on her back. They messed up and didn't do the lumps. She did find out that she has ruptured discs and bone fragments pushing into her sciatic nerve. The earliest she can see the Neurosurgeon is the 17th. Meanwhile, her husband and sons are not being of much help. They won't bathe the girls (the ones they just got custody of before all this happened), they won't clean the house, and she is not to do any lifting or bending of any kind. She is to keep her back straight. She couldn't take it any more and got up and gave the girls baths, cleaned the bathroom, scrubbed the kitchen floor on her hands and knees, and cleaned up the kitchen. She's a very thorough neat housekeeper. Anything remotely getting dirty, or something out of place drives her nuts. The beginning of the weak she talked of them letting trash bags full pile up in the house. Grrrrr. She has a heart of gold. She is like our dad, always giving of herself. While working in the nursing home, she kicked some behinds and whipped the place into shape. Residents hadn't been receiving proper care. Many were being neglected. Air tanks were not being checked. It was sad. She finally got many of the workers there to take pride in what they were doing, boosted moral, and got many of the workers to open their eyes as to how much those residents could bring happiness and how rewarding it was to take care of them. I'm so proud of her. She is a good woman in the Lord following His plans for her. She worked despite the constant chronic pain she was in. Those residents meant the world to her and she strived to make sure they were happy. She would take time to help them, even though she wasn't an aide or a nurse. She was laundry. She had worked as an aide years back, but her body can't take it any more. The laundry was hard on her too, but she stuck it out until now.
Then I have another sister that had thyroid cancer. Now they are thinking she has cancer somewhere else, along with other problems and is needing an operation, which they don't want to do, as she has blood clots in her legs that they can not get rid of. So she is a high risk.
A friend whose father is going down hill quickly. Another whose mother is in and out.
Now, on a good note--I should have put this all first--we finally get to see all our grandchildren! Praise the Lord. My lil' sis, come to find out was out of groceries, and had rent due. They were waiting on a check from her hubby's brother, but it never showed on time. They had to pay rent, which meant no food for two weeks. Low and behold. The day they "had" to pay the rent, her middle son received a check from way back when. It happened because he had called the company and asked for his W2's. This was from a place he had worked at where they used to live. He didn't even know he still had a check coming. Guess what, her son let her have the money for rent. The check was for $4.00 more than their rent! They were able to pay rent and get groceries. Hallelujah!!! God's timing is perfect. My mothers health is improving day by day. God is good.
This is why I'm asking for everyone to be praying diligently, and hard that the enemy is knocked down. That the cabal over our country is replaced by the glorious light of the Lord. We will not let the enemy take control. We will take a stand and fight the enemy.
I have to admit, the phone call from my sister was what almost broke me down, then I received a message from one of my friends, I started to get down; and then with her needs, I realized and said, "NO!!! you will not bring me down. I will not let you take me too. I'm a daughter of the Almighty God. I believe in Him and I trust in Him. You are not going to break my faith. No way, no how. I know I need to cast my cares up to Him and trust in Him to take care of it all."
Whew!!! Just writing this lifted a load off of my shoulders. He's moving right now. He's healing right now. Ask and He shall answer. Seek and we shall find. Knock and He will open the door. Oh Thank You Heavenly Father. Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, we need You so now. Bring heaven down to earth. Shake the people alive. Wake them up to You. Open their ears, their eyes, and their souls. Fill us with the Holy Spirit. Don us all with the Armor of God. Anoint us with a covering. Surround us with a hedge of protection. Cover us with the Blood of Jesus, and seal it in Jesus Name I pray. Thank You Daddy, Thank You Jesus! You are the Almighty, the Alpha and Omega, El Shaddai, Elohim, El Rohi, Jehovah Jireh, Jehova Ra'ah, El Elyon, Adonai, Jehovah Rophe, Sweet Father in Heaven. We love You, We thank You. We believe Daddy, we believe! In Jesus Sweet Name, Amen!
Any way, I have friend who wants nothing more than to be fulfilled with the Lord. She seeks Him all the time. Her heart yearns for her husband to do the same, but he won't even discuss it with her. She is going through a tough time and unable to read the Bible and is having difficulty praying. Another is going through similar trials. She is having a hard time focusing and knowing what to do with her time. Her husband had been seriously hurt in a church and will not go back, discuss the Lord with her and does not want to hear about it. She so desires to have him return.
It breaks your heart to see such beautiful women experiencing this. So if you could pray for them. I'm not giving out names for obvious reasons. He knows who you are praying for. Another woman and her husband are having dire financial problems, plus there is a chance her husband may lose his job. Please pray for them. They have three beautiful boys too. She has given herself to the Lord, but her husband hasn't. We need the husbands to come to the Lord, as they are the leaders of the home. They need to be able to righteously uphold the home and family. Let's pray hard for this.
Our son has had a set back with his meds. It was a bit uneasy for the past two days, but thankfully he knew he needed help and got it. Pray for healing in him and the breaking of generational curses of mental illness. It runs heavy on my side of the family.
We were suppose to finally see our sons two kids this weekend, but of course with what he is facing, it isn't possible. I've come down with the crud. So weak and sleepy and my face feels like it is going to explode. But I am believing I will be healed soon. Pray for healing so that I can go visit the kids at least.
My dad had fallen on ice a little over a week ago and broke some ribs. They were concerned about his liver due to the location of the break. He is suppose to be taking it easy and doing no lifting. Well, he's a stubborn man, had gone to a Catholic school, faithfully went to church, and then quit. He believes, but something is holding him back. He is a very, very giving man. Always giving of himself, but will not ask for help. They heat their home with a wood stove. He's been going out and hauling in wood. My sister who has the back problems drove out with her son so he could haul wood in for him. Yesterday dad got up as he was in pain and put some wood in the stove. Mom got up and told him to go back to bed as it was 4 am. So he did. He tried to get back out of bed when he woke up and popped something in his back. He was unable to get up. Mom had to help him after he laid there for awhile groaning. She finally heard him.
My little sister finally had an MRI done on her back. They messed up and didn't do the lumps. She did find out that she has ruptured discs and bone fragments pushing into her sciatic nerve. The earliest she can see the Neurosurgeon is the 17th. Meanwhile, her husband and sons are not being of much help. They won't bathe the girls (the ones they just got custody of before all this happened), they won't clean the house, and she is not to do any lifting or bending of any kind. She is to keep her back straight. She couldn't take it any more and got up and gave the girls baths, cleaned the bathroom, scrubbed the kitchen floor on her hands and knees, and cleaned up the kitchen. She's a very thorough neat housekeeper. Anything remotely getting dirty, or something out of place drives her nuts. The beginning of the weak she talked of them letting trash bags full pile up in the house. Grrrrr. She has a heart of gold. She is like our dad, always giving of herself. While working in the nursing home, she kicked some behinds and whipped the place into shape. Residents hadn't been receiving proper care. Many were being neglected. Air tanks were not being checked. It was sad. She finally got many of the workers there to take pride in what they were doing, boosted moral, and got many of the workers to open their eyes as to how much those residents could bring happiness and how rewarding it was to take care of them. I'm so proud of her. She is a good woman in the Lord following His plans for her. She worked despite the constant chronic pain she was in. Those residents meant the world to her and she strived to make sure they were happy. She would take time to help them, even though she wasn't an aide or a nurse. She was laundry. She had worked as an aide years back, but her body can't take it any more. The laundry was hard on her too, but she stuck it out until now.
Then I have another sister that had thyroid cancer. Now they are thinking she has cancer somewhere else, along with other problems and is needing an operation, which they don't want to do, as she has blood clots in her legs that they can not get rid of. So she is a high risk.
A friend whose father is going down hill quickly. Another whose mother is in and out.
Now, on a good note--I should have put this all first--we finally get to see all our grandchildren! Praise the Lord. My lil' sis, come to find out was out of groceries, and had rent due. They were waiting on a check from her hubby's brother, but it never showed on time. They had to pay rent, which meant no food for two weeks. Low and behold. The day they "had" to pay the rent, her middle son received a check from way back when. It happened because he had called the company and asked for his W2's. This was from a place he had worked at where they used to live. He didn't even know he still had a check coming. Guess what, her son let her have the money for rent. The check was for $4.00 more than their rent! They were able to pay rent and get groceries. Hallelujah!!! God's timing is perfect. My mothers health is improving day by day. God is good.
This is why I'm asking for everyone to be praying diligently, and hard that the enemy is knocked down. That the cabal over our country is replaced by the glorious light of the Lord. We will not let the enemy take control. We will take a stand and fight the enemy.
I have to admit, the phone call from my sister was what almost broke me down, then I received a message from one of my friends, I started to get down; and then with her needs, I realized and said, "NO!!! you will not bring me down. I will not let you take me too. I'm a daughter of the Almighty God. I believe in Him and I trust in Him. You are not going to break my faith. No way, no how. I know I need to cast my cares up to Him and trust in Him to take care of it all."
Whew!!! Just writing this lifted a load off of my shoulders. He's moving right now. He's healing right now. Ask and He shall answer. Seek and we shall find. Knock and He will open the door. Oh Thank You Heavenly Father. Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, we need You so now. Bring heaven down to earth. Shake the people alive. Wake them up to You. Open their ears, their eyes, and their souls. Fill us with the Holy Spirit. Don us all with the Armor of God. Anoint us with a covering. Surround us with a hedge of protection. Cover us with the Blood of Jesus, and seal it in Jesus Name I pray. Thank You Daddy, Thank You Jesus! You are the Almighty, the Alpha and Omega, El Shaddai, Elohim, El Rohi, Jehovah Jireh, Jehova Ra'ah, El Elyon, Adonai, Jehovah Rophe, Sweet Father in Heaven. We love You, We thank You. We believe Daddy, we believe! In Jesus Sweet Name, Amen!
Monday, January 26, 2009
God's Promises: Monday
Belief; Faith; Mercy; Worship; Prayer; Guidance; Fruitfulness; Holy Spirit; Salvation; and Peace. CBS Version.
Belief: Romans 9:33: "As it is written: Look! I am putting a stone in Zion to stumble over, and a rock to trip over, yet the one who believes on Him will not be put to shame."
Faith: James 1:5-6: "Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and it will be give to him. 6 But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind."
The ones who do not believe are given plenty to deal with. This is the Lords way of trying to shake them up and bring them to Him. But if they do not heed, they will receive more and more disruption in their lives. This comes from experience in my own life.
Mercy: Psalm 103:13: "As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him."
He is a compassionate Father without a doubt. He has such great love for us all.
Worship: Psalm 99:9: "Exalt in the Lord our God; bow in worship at His holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy."
He is Holy, He is Holy, He is Holy, our God!
Prayer: Isaiah 30:19: "For you people will live on Zion in Jerusalem and will never cry again. He will show favor to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears, He will answer you."
Yes, the Lord answers our prayers faithfully. Maybe not in the way we want, but He does answer them. We just need to be patient and wait on Him, as it's by His timing.
Guidance: Proverbs 16:9: "A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord determines his steps."
This is true. Without the Lord's guidance, we set ourselves up for stumbling often. We can't go it alone. With the Lord, life is much, much better. Without Him, there is much, much sadness and frustration.
Fruitfulness: Jeremiah 31:12: "They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will be radiant with joy because of the Lord's goodness, because of the grain, the new wine, the fresh oil, and because of the young of the flocks and herds. Their life will be like an irrigated garden, and they will no longer grow weak [from hunger].
Isn't this great!
Holy Spirit: John 7:38-39: "The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.' 39 He said this about the Spirit, whom those who do believe in Him were going to receive, for the Spirit had not yet been received, because Jesus had not yet been glorified."
Being filled with the Holy Spirit is a beautiful thing when we listen to Him.
Salvation: 2 Corinthians 5:21: "He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
What a sacrifice God and Jesus made. All to save us from our sins. If that isn't a profession of love, I don't know what is. This morning, I was woken at 3, and finally gave in and got up at 3:30 am. I was sitting praying by my computer after I turned it on. The screensaver came up and He spoke and said, "look at your screen." There was Jesus in the clouds with His arms outstretched and it said, "How much do I love you? And He spread His arms and died on the cross for us." Hmmm, that is a lot of love.
Peace: Psalm 85:8: "I will listen to what God will say; surely the Lord will declare peace to His people, His godly ones, and not let them go back to foolish ways."
When we follow the Lord, we do not have to worry about being foolish. When we let ourselves slip away from Him, we set ourselves up for embarrassment.
Belief: Romans 9:33: "As it is written: Look! I am putting a stone in Zion to stumble over, and a rock to trip over, yet the one who believes on Him will not be put to shame."
Faith: James 1:5-6: "Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and it will be give to him. 6 But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind."
The ones who do not believe are given plenty to deal with. This is the Lords way of trying to shake them up and bring them to Him. But if they do not heed, they will receive more and more disruption in their lives. This comes from experience in my own life.
Mercy: Psalm 103:13: "As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him."
He is a compassionate Father without a doubt. He has such great love for us all.
Worship: Psalm 99:9: "Exalt in the Lord our God; bow in worship at His holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy."
He is Holy, He is Holy, He is Holy, our God!
Prayer: Isaiah 30:19: "For you people will live on Zion in Jerusalem and will never cry again. He will show favor to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears, He will answer you."
Yes, the Lord answers our prayers faithfully. Maybe not in the way we want, but He does answer them. We just need to be patient and wait on Him, as it's by His timing.
Guidance: Proverbs 16:9: "A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord determines his steps."
This is true. Without the Lord's guidance, we set ourselves up for stumbling often. We can't go it alone. With the Lord, life is much, much better. Without Him, there is much, much sadness and frustration.
Fruitfulness: Jeremiah 31:12: "They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will be radiant with joy because of the Lord's goodness, because of the grain, the new wine, the fresh oil, and because of the young of the flocks and herds. Their life will be like an irrigated garden, and they will no longer grow weak [from hunger].
Isn't this great!
Holy Spirit: John 7:38-39: "The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.' 39 He said this about the Spirit, whom those who do believe in Him were going to receive, for the Spirit had not yet been received, because Jesus had not yet been glorified."
Being filled with the Holy Spirit is a beautiful thing when we listen to Him.
Salvation: 2 Corinthians 5:21: "He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
What a sacrifice God and Jesus made. All to save us from our sins. If that isn't a profession of love, I don't know what is. This morning, I was woken at 3, and finally gave in and got up at 3:30 am. I was sitting praying by my computer after I turned it on. The screensaver came up and He spoke and said, "look at your screen." There was Jesus in the clouds with His arms outstretched and it said, "How much do I love you? And He spread His arms and died on the cross for us." Hmmm, that is a lot of love.
Peace: Psalm 85:8: "I will listen to what God will say; surely the Lord will declare peace to His people, His godly ones, and not let them go back to foolish ways."
When we follow the Lord, we do not have to worry about being foolish. When we let ourselves slip away from Him, we set ourselves up for embarrassment.
Monday, January 19, 2009
God's Promises: Monday
Belief; Faith; Mercy; Worship; Prayer; Guidance; Fruitfulness; Holy Spirit; Salvation; Peace. (NKJV)
Belief: Acts 10:43: "All the prophets testify about Him that through His name everyone who believes in Him will receive forgiveness of sins."
What more could one ask for? It's that simple.
Faith: Hebrews 11:6: "But they now aspire to a better land--a heavenly one. Therefore Gos is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them."
The Father has a beautiful home waiting for us. When we believe and follow, we have a lot to look forward to.
Mercy: Exodus: 34: 6-7 : "And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, 'The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long suffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children tothe third and the fourth generation."
Jesus showed much mercy to the people. Our Father is a merciful God. We should be thankful for all that they do for us.
Worship: Psalm 95:6-7: "Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. 7 For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand."
We have more strength when we are on our knees!
Prayer: Matthew 21:22: "And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."
When praying, we must do so in faith if we wish to have our prayers answered. On the same token, we must be patient and remember that it's all on His time and according to His plans for us.
Guidance: Psalm 48:14: "For this is God, our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even to death."
God will never desert us. He's always there through the good and the bad.
Fruitfulness: Psalm 1:3: "He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper."
When we live in faith, we will be fruitful.
Holy Spirit: John 14:16-17: "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever--17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you."
To be filled with the Holy Spirit, to have the helper with us is the most wonderful beautiful experience. We should ask daily to be filled with the Holy Spirit in order to walk in the way of the Lord.
Salvation: 2 Corinthian's 5:17: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."
Amen! Letting go of the past is so important in order to hav the closeness with the Lord.
Peace: Colosians 3:15: "And let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hynms and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord."
Yes, take in the word, let is fill you, worship Him and listen to the words of the songs, taking in every word sung/spoken. Fill yourself with His teachings.
May the Lord fill you with His blessings and walk with you daily. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Belief: Acts 10:43: "All the prophets testify about Him that through His name everyone who believes in Him will receive forgiveness of sins."
What more could one ask for? It's that simple.
Faith: Hebrews 11:6: "But they now aspire to a better land--a heavenly one. Therefore Gos is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them."
The Father has a beautiful home waiting for us. When we believe and follow, we have a lot to look forward to.
Mercy: Exodus: 34: 6-7 : "And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, 'The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long suffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children tothe third and the fourth generation."
Jesus showed much mercy to the people. Our Father is a merciful God. We should be thankful for all that they do for us.
Worship: Psalm 95:6-7: "Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. 7 For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand."
We have more strength when we are on our knees!
Prayer: Matthew 21:22: "And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."
When praying, we must do so in faith if we wish to have our prayers answered. On the same token, we must be patient and remember that it's all on His time and according to His plans for us.
Guidance: Psalm 48:14: "For this is God, our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even to death."
God will never desert us. He's always there through the good and the bad.
Fruitfulness: Psalm 1:3: "He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper."
When we live in faith, we will be fruitful.
Holy Spirit: John 14:16-17: "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever--17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you."
To be filled with the Holy Spirit, to have the helper with us is the most wonderful beautiful experience. We should ask daily to be filled with the Holy Spirit in order to walk in the way of the Lord.
Salvation: 2 Corinthian's 5:17: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."
Amen! Letting go of the past is so important in order to hav the closeness with the Lord.
Peace: Colosians 3:15: "And let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hynms and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord."
Yes, take in the word, let is fill you, worship Him and listen to the words of the songs, taking in every word sung/spoken. Fill yourself with His teachings.
May the Lord fill you with His blessings and walk with you daily. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Testimony to God's Love
It has been two and a half years now since my hubby, son & I have given our lives to the Lord. My only wish is that we had done it sooner. As I had stated in an earlier post, I had given myself to Him as a child, but strayed when I turned 16. I owe my walk with Him to my paternal grandmother. She was a blessing in my life big time.
Anyway, joining the military I became an alcoholic big time. One year later I met hubby. He too was an alcoholic. One year later we are married and have a child. This is when our lives became very unstable. Our marriage was like a roller coaster. Hubby was hardly home. I poured my life into our children. 15 months after our son was born we had a daughter.
Hubby's drinking was out of control. I had settled down quite a bit worrying about the kids, but was still drinking way too much. It only took one drink then I wanted more and more. What kind of life was this for kids.
There is only one good thing about this time period, I did tell the kids about Jesus, pushed them to believe and hold onto that faith. I tried on Mother's day one year to get us involved in church. That was the only time we went. Hubby wasn't having anything to do with it.
See hubby lost his mom to cancer at the age of 10. This done a number on his whole family. Hubby felt there was no way there could be a God to take his mother from him. I prayed and prayed that somehow, someway he would be shown the light and saved. God is faithful!
So for 25 years our lives went on like this. Hubby doing his thing, I doing mine. I was very family until I had to go back to work. This happened during our kids teen years, so they had very little supervision. Not good plus the fact that their parents were alcohoics. What a sad and dangerous mixture.
We almost lost our son at one point. We had in a sense given up with him, thinking that he was a child lashing out and giving up. Come to find out, he had some serious mental disorders. This is where life tried to turn itself around, but to no avail. It worked for a short time. Year 22 of marriage, our marriage bottomed out. Hubby left us for someone else. Blaimed it all on me. He was right in some degrees, but as the saying goes, "it takes two to make or break a marriage is so true." We were both at fault with the problems.
This is when I found out that I'm bi-polar (mild end thank heavens). I finally got on some medication and started to turn my life around. I didn't give up on hubby, as for some reason I just knew I couldn't let go despite what had happened. I went off the deep end for a bit, drank my meals, didn't care about much at all, and then had an affair myself. I hated myself for it once I woke up. How could I do that when it went against every moral being in myself. I knew it was wrong. That is when I thought I was doomed. There was no way I could make it to heaven after that.
After a year of seperation, hubby & I reunited. We moved to Boise from Mountain Home. We became closer than we had ever been. We poured ourselves into our grand kids. But, we were still drinking heavily on weekends only finally. A year later we moved to Meridian. Our son & I started going to church off an on. It felt good to be back there. I quit smoking and drinking. One month later, hubby and son done the same. Then our son presented us with the Purpose Driven Life books and we studied that together.
The miracle that happened next was unbelievable. We all three became very engrossed in the book. We couldn't read it fast enough. We were taken in by it's very words and wanted to get to know the Lord better. We started working on trying to get hubby to go to church. He felt he needed to learn more first. So he kept reading the Bible and studying.
At one point during the study of the book when everyone had gone to bed, I prayed and then sat quietly. All of sudden I felt hands on my shoulders. At first I jumped and thenrealized that Jesus was holding me. Oh what a feeling. Next He took my hands in His. I cried and he rocked me. I knew then that I was forgiven. How awesome is that? All I had to do is follow His word and repent of my sins and He took me in. How could that happen after committing one of the worst sins possible?
Before long hubby announced that he found a church he wanted to try. So we went to Capitol Christian Center. This has become our home. We love it there. Our Pastors are amazing. We have a good family there. We soon became involved with volunteering. Who would have ever thought?
Ever since then, our marriage has become so strong. I'm amazed everyday by the work God is doing in hubby's life. He has done a complete turn around. Of course this would not have happened had we not given ourselves to the Lord. I don't think our marriage had ever been this strong, nor were we ever this happy with one another.
Hubby now has all the patience in the world with our kids and the grand kids. He's been a blessing beyond blessings. I've never known him to show emotion until these past couple of years. You can just see the pride in him for our kids and the grandkids. He has been so loving, patient, understanding, you name it. I couldn't ask for a better man.
As you can see, accepting the Lord into your lives can work miracles. Hubby keeps asking me what ever possessed me to never give up on him. I keep telling him that I just knew there was a good man lost inside that body. He says he doesn't deserve me and I laugh, and remind him that we are of the flesh, and we all mess up, some worse than others. That I'm just thankful that we finally found our way to Him. Now our lives are complete!
So I pray that those that do not know Him, come to Him. As life without the Lord is empty. It's nothing but pain and sorrow without Him. Since giving ourselves to the Lord, we have met so many wonderful real, true friends. We have found peace and love with one another. We are armed with the armor of God!
Does Satan try to get us to slip up and go astray, oh yeah. The more we learn and the closer our walk with the Lord, the harder he tries. He attacks the ones that are close and endearing to us. It's hard to watch, but we have learned so much and have learned to rebuke the enemy. We have the opportunity to teach our grandkids the same path. They love it! Our oldest grand daughter craves learning about God and Jesus. How cool is that?! I could never imagine going back to our old ways. We used to think we were having fun. Ha! That's a joke. Looking back, it was nothing but pain and ugliness.
Praise God for His Faithfulness!
Anyway, joining the military I became an alcoholic big time. One year later I met hubby. He too was an alcoholic. One year later we are married and have a child. This is when our lives became very unstable. Our marriage was like a roller coaster. Hubby was hardly home. I poured my life into our children. 15 months after our son was born we had a daughter.
Hubby's drinking was out of control. I had settled down quite a bit worrying about the kids, but was still drinking way too much. It only took one drink then I wanted more and more. What kind of life was this for kids.
There is only one good thing about this time period, I did tell the kids about Jesus, pushed them to believe and hold onto that faith. I tried on Mother's day one year to get us involved in church. That was the only time we went. Hubby wasn't having anything to do with it.
See hubby lost his mom to cancer at the age of 10. This done a number on his whole family. Hubby felt there was no way there could be a God to take his mother from him. I prayed and prayed that somehow, someway he would be shown the light and saved. God is faithful!
So for 25 years our lives went on like this. Hubby doing his thing, I doing mine. I was very family until I had to go back to work. This happened during our kids teen years, so they had very little supervision. Not good plus the fact that their parents were alcohoics. What a sad and dangerous mixture.
We almost lost our son at one point. We had in a sense given up with him, thinking that he was a child lashing out and giving up. Come to find out, he had some serious mental disorders. This is where life tried to turn itself around, but to no avail. It worked for a short time. Year 22 of marriage, our marriage bottomed out. Hubby left us for someone else. Blaimed it all on me. He was right in some degrees, but as the saying goes, "it takes two to make or break a marriage is so true." We were both at fault with the problems.
This is when I found out that I'm bi-polar (mild end thank heavens). I finally got on some medication and started to turn my life around. I didn't give up on hubby, as for some reason I just knew I couldn't let go despite what had happened. I went off the deep end for a bit, drank my meals, didn't care about much at all, and then had an affair myself. I hated myself for it once I woke up. How could I do that when it went against every moral being in myself. I knew it was wrong. That is when I thought I was doomed. There was no way I could make it to heaven after that.
After a year of seperation, hubby & I reunited. We moved to Boise from Mountain Home. We became closer than we had ever been. We poured ourselves into our grand kids. But, we were still drinking heavily on weekends only finally. A year later we moved to Meridian. Our son & I started going to church off an on. It felt good to be back there. I quit smoking and drinking. One month later, hubby and son done the same. Then our son presented us with the Purpose Driven Life books and we studied that together.
The miracle that happened next was unbelievable. We all three became very engrossed in the book. We couldn't read it fast enough. We were taken in by it's very words and wanted to get to know the Lord better. We started working on trying to get hubby to go to church. He felt he needed to learn more first. So he kept reading the Bible and studying.
At one point during the study of the book when everyone had gone to bed, I prayed and then sat quietly. All of sudden I felt hands on my shoulders. At first I jumped and thenrealized that Jesus was holding me. Oh what a feeling. Next He took my hands in His. I cried and he rocked me. I knew then that I was forgiven. How awesome is that? All I had to do is follow His word and repent of my sins and He took me in. How could that happen after committing one of the worst sins possible?
Before long hubby announced that he found a church he wanted to try. So we went to Capitol Christian Center. This has become our home. We love it there. Our Pastors are amazing. We have a good family there. We soon became involved with volunteering. Who would have ever thought?
Ever since then, our marriage has become so strong. I'm amazed everyday by the work God is doing in hubby's life. He has done a complete turn around. Of course this would not have happened had we not given ourselves to the Lord. I don't think our marriage had ever been this strong, nor were we ever this happy with one another.
Hubby now has all the patience in the world with our kids and the grand kids. He's been a blessing beyond blessings. I've never known him to show emotion until these past couple of years. You can just see the pride in him for our kids and the grandkids. He has been so loving, patient, understanding, you name it. I couldn't ask for a better man.
As you can see, accepting the Lord into your lives can work miracles. Hubby keeps asking me what ever possessed me to never give up on him. I keep telling him that I just knew there was a good man lost inside that body. He says he doesn't deserve me and I laugh, and remind him that we are of the flesh, and we all mess up, some worse than others. That I'm just thankful that we finally found our way to Him. Now our lives are complete!
So I pray that those that do not know Him, come to Him. As life without the Lord is empty. It's nothing but pain and sorrow without Him. Since giving ourselves to the Lord, we have met so many wonderful real, true friends. We have found peace and love with one another. We are armed with the armor of God!
Does Satan try to get us to slip up and go astray, oh yeah. The more we learn and the closer our walk with the Lord, the harder he tries. He attacks the ones that are close and endearing to us. It's hard to watch, but we have learned so much and have learned to rebuke the enemy. We have the opportunity to teach our grandkids the same path. They love it! Our oldest grand daughter craves learning about God and Jesus. How cool is that?! I could never imagine going back to our old ways. We used to think we were having fun. Ha! That's a joke. Looking back, it was nothing but pain and ugliness.
Praise God for His Faithfulness!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Faith
Recently I've been doing a lot of pondering. There is so much going on in life. It never fails either, it seems during the holidays is when all starts to unravel. I've wondered why. I have to admit, even as a Christian, I've asked why and then feel bad. I know why, God has a plan, a reason, a season for everything. This does not always make it easier.
Then I sit back and look at those that never question, never let the worldliness get to them, etc. I admire people that are that enveloped in the Lord and pray that I too will get there some day. I know life isn't perfect, as we are of the flesh. We inherited our problems from Adam & Eve. But...we can try to make a difference. We can try to stop the sinning.
I'm getting off course here. I have a habit of letting my mind run amuck when I'm on a thought. I had written of the trials our family is currently facing. Then I look back. We lost my paternal grandfather just before Thanksgiving over 10 years ago. My paternal grandmother just before Christmas a little over 10 years ago. My maternal grandmother New Years a few years ago. We spent Christmas with her watching her suffer terribly. Bot grandmothers died of lung cancer. My grandfather died of Alzheimers having a major heartattack. Everyone was during the holidays. My husbands maternal grandmother and her sister died with in three days of one another just before Christmas while he was stationed in Iraq over 10 years ago.
Now this year, we lost my husbands sister-in-law a week before her youngest sons birthday, just a few months before the holidays to suicide. Our daughters depression is getting worse. Our neice is suicidal and in lock down. My parents are not doing well at all. On the up side, hubby's dad just recently remarried after losing his second wife. Hubby's mother died from cancer when he was 10. His step mom recently passed from a long battle with Lupus, her pancreas shut down and infected her whole body. His dad is now married to a very healthy vibrant woman. We pray all goes well for him.
The best part about the marriage, she is a devout Christian. She has done so much for the church, community, and Israel! She has hubby's dad going to church! Praise the Lord!!!!
When these events take place in our lives, it reminds us of just how good God is. We must ponder on the positive. It is vital that we do. Yes, there are going to be hurtful times in life. It is our solemn messages to not forget who we are to follow. When we get off track, He uses these trials to remind us. When others get off track or have yet to come to Him, he uses those painful times to wake us up.
I have to admit though. I told hubby on the way home Sunday; "I've been praying for my sister and her hubby to be shaken and woken to Him, that something is done to wake them up, to open their eyes, ears, and souls to Him for their daughters sake, and theirs." When we recieved the call about my neice, my reaction was why Lord? Why are you using her? Why are you letting her go through more suffering than she alreadys has? But then I remembered; often times those that we are closest to are the ones He uses to wake us up. It hurts to see her suffer. I just have to believe and hang on to the Lord that she will get better and their family will be brought back to where it needs to be. They were drifting apart from one another big time.
Okay, I've rattled on here. I hope I have gotten the intended message out. We need to believe in Christ our Lord and Savior. Giving up only opens the wrong doors. Praying is vital. When we got the call, I went into the bedroom and dropped to my knees and cried out to Him. As hon has pointed out; bless her for sharing that; we must believe, follow, and P.U.S.H.
God Bless you all. Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for your friendship. I am truly blessed.
Then I sit back and look at those that never question, never let the worldliness get to them, etc. I admire people that are that enveloped in the Lord and pray that I too will get there some day. I know life isn't perfect, as we are of the flesh. We inherited our problems from Adam & Eve. But...we can try to make a difference. We can try to stop the sinning.
I'm getting off course here. I have a habit of letting my mind run amuck when I'm on a thought. I had written of the trials our family is currently facing. Then I look back. We lost my paternal grandfather just before Thanksgiving over 10 years ago. My paternal grandmother just before Christmas a little over 10 years ago. My maternal grandmother New Years a few years ago. We spent Christmas with her watching her suffer terribly. Bot grandmothers died of lung cancer. My grandfather died of Alzheimers having a major heartattack. Everyone was during the holidays. My husbands maternal grandmother and her sister died with in three days of one another just before Christmas while he was stationed in Iraq over 10 years ago.
Now this year, we lost my husbands sister-in-law a week before her youngest sons birthday, just a few months before the holidays to suicide. Our daughters depression is getting worse. Our neice is suicidal and in lock down. My parents are not doing well at all. On the up side, hubby's dad just recently remarried after losing his second wife. Hubby's mother died from cancer when he was 10. His step mom recently passed from a long battle with Lupus, her pancreas shut down and infected her whole body. His dad is now married to a very healthy vibrant woman. We pray all goes well for him.
The best part about the marriage, she is a devout Christian. She has done so much for the church, community, and Israel! She has hubby's dad going to church! Praise the Lord!!!!
When these events take place in our lives, it reminds us of just how good God is. We must ponder on the positive. It is vital that we do. Yes, there are going to be hurtful times in life. It is our solemn messages to not forget who we are to follow. When we get off track, He uses these trials to remind us. When others get off track or have yet to come to Him, he uses those painful times to wake us up.
I have to admit though. I told hubby on the way home Sunday; "I've been praying for my sister and her hubby to be shaken and woken to Him, that something is done to wake them up, to open their eyes, ears, and souls to Him for their daughters sake, and theirs." When we recieved the call about my neice, my reaction was why Lord? Why are you using her? Why are you letting her go through more suffering than she alreadys has? But then I remembered; often times those that we are closest to are the ones He uses to wake us up. It hurts to see her suffer. I just have to believe and hang on to the Lord that she will get better and their family will be brought back to where it needs to be. They were drifting apart from one another big time.
Okay, I've rattled on here. I hope I have gotten the intended message out. We need to believe in Christ our Lord and Savior. Giving up only opens the wrong doors. Praying is vital. When we got the call, I went into the bedroom and dropped to my knees and cried out to Him. As hon has pointed out; bless her for sharing that; we must believe, follow, and P.U.S.H.
God Bless you all. Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for your friendship. I am truly blessed.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Prime Time with God
Without fail, PTG has another great article. This time it is on perseverance.
Webster's Description: Perseverance: act of perservering. Persevere: continue doing in spite of obstacles.
The article talks about what we will run into in our life times. Some experience hardships much more than others. No two of us will have an identical life. Yet some of us will experience related problems.
An idea of some of the walls we will meet up with:
"The path ahead of you is strewn with obstacles. People will oppose you. There will be financial setbacks, time pressures, illnesses and misfortunes. Some of the biggest obstacles will be inside of you: self-doubt, insecurity, procrastination, and worry. You must give yourself permission to succeed. " PTG 12/07/08 article.
What do we do when illnesses hit, our economical future becomes questionable, and finances are stretched to almost beyond their means, not to mention the personal struggles?
We persevere, which means we keep going. Never give up. Giving up opens ourselves to allowing the enemy in. The enemy will only compound the problems, often times without us seeing it happen until it is too late. It is important to believe, stay positive, and keep pressing foward. After all, we have been provided for all this time, why should it all of a sudden be taken away from us? It won't be.
So remind yourself of this word when you meet up with another struggle in live; "Persevere!" Keep the faith. I am living proof that life becomes much better when we don't cave to all the pressures. I've been on both sides. The side where we cave, become depressed, give up; and then on the side of believing and having faith. Life has been so much better, even through the hard times!
Blessings to you all!
P.U.S.H.
Webster's Description: Perseverance: act of perservering. Persevere: continue doing in spite of obstacles.
The article talks about what we will run into in our life times. Some experience hardships much more than others. No two of us will have an identical life. Yet some of us will experience related problems.
An idea of some of the walls we will meet up with:
"The path ahead of you is strewn with obstacles. People will oppose you. There will be financial setbacks, time pressures, illnesses and misfortunes. Some of the biggest obstacles will be inside of you: self-doubt, insecurity, procrastination, and worry. You must give yourself permission to succeed. " PTG 12/07/08 article.
What do we do when illnesses hit, our economical future becomes questionable, and finances are stretched to almost beyond their means, not to mention the personal struggles?
We persevere, which means we keep going. Never give up. Giving up opens ourselves to allowing the enemy in. The enemy will only compound the problems, often times without us seeing it happen until it is too late. It is important to believe, stay positive, and keep pressing foward. After all, we have been provided for all this time, why should it all of a sudden be taken away from us? It won't be.
So remind yourself of this word when you meet up with another struggle in live; "Persevere!" Keep the faith. I am living proof that life becomes much better when we don't cave to all the pressures. I've been on both sides. The side where we cave, become depressed, give up; and then on the side of believing and having faith. Life has been so much better, even through the hard times!
Blessings to you all!
P.U.S.H.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Strong Faith
I highly suggest going to Focus on the Family and downloading the pod cast called If Jesus Lived in My House by Lee Strobel. Wow! The stories and experiences he shares are amazing. He was once a journalist for the Chicago Tribune and was an atheist. He went in search of answers on Christianity to find proof that it was real. He discovered it was. He gave himself to Jesus Christ. He’s been writing and speaking ever since.
One of his stories was about a woman who was in her 30’s dying from terminal breast cancer. Her doctor was a non-believer. The woman had a husband and young child. The doctor wrote that she was more concerned about his not being saved and talked to him about it. He was amazed how she wasn’t worried about her disease and dying. She told him that she knew she would have eternal life. He gave himself to Christ! This is just a brief discription of the story.
You can go to the website that I heard the podcast from and either down load it and listen to it that way, or order a CD. Believe me, you won’t be disappointed.
One of his stories was about a woman who was in her 30’s dying from terminal breast cancer. Her doctor was a non-believer. The woman had a husband and young child. The doctor wrote that she was more concerned about his not being saved and talked to him about it. He was amazed how she wasn’t worried about her disease and dying. She told him that she knew she would have eternal life. He gave himself to Christ! This is just a brief discription of the story.
You can go to the website that I heard the podcast from and either down load it and listen to it that way, or order a CD. Believe me, you won’t be disappointed.
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