shout and be glad

Zechariah 2:10 "Shout and be glad O Daughter of Zion.  For I am coming and I will live among you," declares the Lord.

What a glorious promise, Lord, you will live among us

We will be your people
We are your people
We will always be your people
Nothing can snatch us out of your hand

I look at temporary
  you look at eternal

I see just a glimpse
  you see completion

It always has to be

your timing
your way
your purpose
your plan

I want nothing more than that for me and my family

no matter what the cost.

Zachariah 2:13 Be still before the Lord all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.

give careful thoughts to your ways

Haggai 1:5 Now this is what the Lord Almighty says "Give careful thoughts to your ways."

Haggai 1:6 You have planted much, but harvested little.  You eat, but never have enough.  You drink, but never have your fill.  You put on clothes, but are not warm.  You earn wages only to put them in a purse with holes in it.

Basically, you are not following God.  You are working hard, but you are not content, you're not getting ahead, you are not satisfied.  Your priorities are in the wrong place. 

Your plan is not working.

Haggai 1:7 This is what the Lord Almighty Says "Give careful thought to your ways."

Haggai 1:8 Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house so I may take pleasure in it and be honored," says the Lord.

Do what God told you to do.  Follow his plan for your life, not yours.  Bring pleasure to him.  Do things that honor him.

and the outcome........

Haggai 2:19 (b) From this day on I will bless you. 

Help me Lord to give careful thoughts to my ways.

My way is not working.

I'm discontent/not satisfied
working hard, but not harvesting
eating, but wanting more
drinking, but wanting more
never warm
go through money, never have enough

GIVE CAREFUL THOUGHT TO MY WAYS

Truly Lord, what do you want me to do?

Spouse
Children
Job
Church
Habits
Money
My life

It has to be what you want, Lord.

not what I want.

Help me to give careful thoughts to my ways Lord........

rejoice

Habakkuk 3:18

Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.

No matter what happens every day of my life

I will rejoice in you Lord!

I will be joyful in God, my Savior

Nothing can take away the fact

that you love me unconditionally
that you never leave me alone
that you are for me not against me
that you know me better than I know myself
that you totally are in control
that you know what is best for me

I will rejoice that you are my Savior

that you, Jesus, opened

hope for me
heaven for me
eternity for me

You do know what is best.

I will be joyful in you through and in all things!

not his own

Jeremiah 10:23  I know O Lord that a man's life is not his own, it is not for man to direct his steps.

You Lord God are the one who directs my steps.

My life is in your hands.

You ordained it.
You created it.
You sustain it.
You protect it.
You provide for it.

My life is not my own.

It belongs to you.

You could snatch it away from me, this very minute, if you wanted to.

Help me to truly remember Lord

How great you are

How small I am

My life is yours Lord

Use it for your glory.

mindful

Psalm 8:4  What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him.

We are so special in your eyes, Lord.  You love us completely.

You love us unconditionally.

You know us better than we know ourselves.

You care for me

You provide for me

You protect me.

Listening to the birds singing this morning made me stop to think.

They sing praises to you Lord

yet they don't intricately get to know you

like I get to know you

I get to fellowship with you Lord

I get to know you

trust in you

love you

You are God - eternal - everlasting - almighty - powerful - holy - righteous - perfect - glorious - sovereign - in need of nothing

YET

You are mindful of me

You care for me.

Absolutely amazing Lord!

bound

We do live so bound by time
it is how we define our days
from the moment we rise
til we put it all away.

Always glancing at the clock
trying to get it all done
running here and there, sometimes frantically,
always seeming to be on the run.

We need to take the the time to stop
and pause throughout the day
to catch a breath and sit a bit
and spend a few minutes to pray.

power of words

The power of words

They can hold you hostage -

to bitterness
to anger
to sorrow
to worry
to sadness
to pain
to discouragement
to fear
to tears

OR

They can lift you up -

to love
to be encouraged
to smile
to be happy
to be content
to feel secure
to trust
to be at peace

Words are powerful. 

We really need to think twice before we talk.

Sometimes the best gift we can give is truly the gift of silence.

today I grieve

I don't know who will read this, who has been reading these words of mine, I know why I chose to turn off comments and why I'm not blogging on my other blog and one day I may share why, but not today.

Today I'm sad.  Today I grieve. 

Back in 2003 when I lived in Montana at the time, one of the most influential books I read was A Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren.  The book captivated me from the beginning when he began it with "it is not about you" for truly it is not about me, it is always about Jesus.  Every word he wrote in that book I could gained knowledge and wisdom about, when he talked about serving, when he talked about gift envy (I was guilty of that one in relationship to the talents my husband had in playing guitar on the worship team out front and I was "stuck" in the nursery holding and rocking babies). I thought my gift was less important than his, until God gently reminded me I truly was doing such a wonderful ministry to hold babies and love on them so their parents could go and be fed by the word in worship service knowing their kids were lovingly taken care of.

On 12/12/2003, I was reading the book, A Purpose Driven Life, while I was waiting for my son at an appointment he was at.  It was a particularly stressful time for our family in several different ways and things and I was pretty much spent on things going on with our then 18 year old daughter and the struggles she had with depression, psychosis, and thoughts of suicide and self harm.  I remember reading in the book the importance of forgiving those that hurt us, but we did not have to trust them right away, they had to earn our trust back.

What I didn't realize at the time, and didn't realize until a short time later when I put events together, was at the very same time I was reading these words my daughter was taking an overdose of medications in an attempt to kill herself. 

She had struggled with depression and thoughts of suicide the majority of her high school years and I was diligent to watch her when she was "particularly bad" and tried to get her the help she needed.  If I ever felt she was a danger to herself, she accompanied me everywhere, I never left her alone.

This particular time I had no warnings that she was in a state of mind of wanting to harm herself.  When I left her to take her brother to his appointment, I didn't suspect anything different or wrong about her and her behavior.

She was napping when I left, which she had a tendency to do. I didn't think anything of it until I came back from church later that evening and had asked my husband if she had come out at any time during the time I was gone.  He indicated she hadn't.  It was a several hour time span that was around the time she might have made herself something to eat.  When I realized she was still in her room, in her bed, I got concerned and "stormed" her room, confronted her with what was going on and she told me "I took some of my pills". 

I couldn't quite get how much she had taken and of what and I tried to sort out what was left of her prescriptions, but realized she probably needed to be taken to the hospital for their evaluation.

That's another story for another day, but suffice it to say, she survived, for which I am grateful.  

I could forgive her for what she did, but my trust had to be rebuilt and I also knew despite my best efforts and my diligence, I could no longer keep her safe in our house.  She ended up going for a prolonged hospitalization and as painful as it was, we could not have her come back and live with us for I no longer trusted her word, nor trusted I could keep her safe.

Mental illness is devastating for the one that if affects and the family it affects.

My heart grieves and is so sad for Rick Warren, his wife, and his family tonight on the loss of their precious son Matthew.  I truly understand they tried to do the best they could to get the help he needed. 

I had the privilege of attending Saddleback Church that Rick Warren founded and pastored for a few months while we lived in the Laguna Niguel area of Orange County.  You can't imagine how big of a church it is until you actually see the campus. 

I had the privilege of listening to his sermons and see Rich Warren worship.  He is genuine, he loves Jesus, he shares the message of Jesus. 

I know he and his family grieve tonight.

I know God is with them comforting them.

I know they will draw on God for their strength.

I can't imagine their sadness, their pain, their hurt.

I ask if you read this and if you pray, you pray for them..........

Lord, be with the Warren family, comfort them, help them to feel your presence, help them to continue to trust in you, help them in their grief, just be with them, in Jesus' precious name I pray.......amen......

John 4:40-41 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them and he stayed two days.  And because of his words, many more became believers.

Their hearts were receptive and open to change.  Contrast that with the people in the region of Gerasenes where the demon possessed man was (Mark 5:1-20, Matthew 8:28-34, Luke 8:26-39). 

After Jesus drove the demons into the herds of pigs, the townspeople pleaded with him to leave their region. Luke says they were overcome with fear.  They asked Jesus to leave and Jesus, being the perfect gentleman, left.  Jesus, being the perfect gentleman, stayed in Samaria when asked to do so.

Interesting contrast though that one group asked you Jesus to stay, one group pleaded with you to go.  You do the same these days Lord.  You go where you are wanted, you leave where you are not wanted.

And then we wonder why there is school violence or violence in other places......

We are such fickle people, Lord.  We want you on our terms, not your terms.

We want to direct you, instead of being directed by you.

We want to control you, as if we even could do such a thing.

But it is ultimately each one of our choices who we say you are Jesus

And how we welcome you into our lives.

Will we welcome you?

Will we ignore you?

Will we ask you to stay?

Will we plead for you to go?

In my own life, Lord Jesus, I choose to ask you to be in my life.  I choose to ask you to always stay with me.  I choose to want to know you more, whatever the cost, whatever you may ask me to do.

Christ is Risen

Christ is Risen by Matt Maher

Let no one caught in sin remain*
Inside the lie of inward shame
We fix our eyes upon the cross
And run to him who showed great love
And bled for us
Freely you bled, for us

Christ is risen from the dead
Trampling over death by death
Come awake, come awake!
Come and rise up from the grave!

Christ is risen from the dead
We are one with him again
Come awake, come awake!
Come and rise up from the grave!

Beneath the weight of all our sin
You bow to none but heavens will
No scheme of hell, no scoffer's crown
No burden great can hold you down
In strength you reign
Forever let your church proclaim

Christ is risen from the dead
Trampling over death by death
Come awake, come awake!
Come and rise up from the grave

Christ is risen from the dead
We are one with him again
Come awake, come awake!
Come and rise up from the grave

Oh death! Where is your sting?
Oh hell! Where is your victory?
Oh Church! Come stand in the light!
The glory of God has defeated the night!

Oh death! Where is your sting?
Oh hell! Where is your victory?
Oh Church! Come stand in the light!
Our God is not dead, he's alive! he's alive!

Christ is risen from the dead
Trampling over death by death
Come awake, come awake!
Come and rise up from the grave
Christ is risen from the dead
We are one with him again
Come awake, come awake!
Come and rise up from the grave

Rise up from the grave...

He is Risen!  He is Risen Indeed!

it does exist

Just in case people don't want to believe it, spiritual warfare does exist and we are all susceptible to be attacked.

Our small group (community group, fellowship group, whatever you want to call it) is doing Jennifer Kennedy Dean's Living a Praying Life study.  We met Friday night.  It was a great study. 

Our dynamics of our small group have changed over these past two years.  Long story but when we moved to where we are currently living, one of the things that helped it be "bearable" was our church and our getting involved with a small group.  I'm not one to usually get involved in something like this but within weeks of starting to attend the church, I knew I wanted to connect with a small group and we signed up for one.

I'm sure it was God's nudging for me to do so.

The leaders of the group were wonderful, made us feel welcomed, we had a great time with getting together, discussing various Bible studies, having potlucks, etc.

One of the leaders of the group (a married couple) got cancer this past summer and required extensive surgery and now is on a 7 month course of chemotherapy.  We didn't meet for several months while she was recovering from surgery and starting her chemotherapy.  We only recently started meeting again this past month.

We decided to do the Living a Praying Life on my suggestion based on me hearing about it on another person's blog and getting the study myself, doing it on my own and just absolutely learning so much from it.

Because of the energy it takes to go through chemotherapy and the family dynamics involved with it all, the leaders of the group knew they couldn't lead this particular study. I asked hubby, who is an excellent leader, he led a study through Romans in the summer and it was highly received, if he would lead the study but I would do all the prep work. Get the questions ready, copy things that needed to be copied etc.  He agreed.

I enjoyed putting together questions under the direction of God. I know he was leading me for what to discuss.

Like I said before, Friday night's study was great.

Friday we get home from group and things fell apart.  My computer had to have some maintenance and I couldn't get on it for the night. I love my computer time and I felt "cheated". I got into a terrible mood that lasted all that night into the next morning.  By the grace of God, hubby was pretty tolerant of my childish behavior.

I wanted to pick a fight and though I really tried to restrain my words, they were still itching to get out.  I was bringing up things that still bothered me from a few years back and wanted to "duke it out" with hubby.  Thankfully he showed a lot of restraint. 

Finally this afternoon at the grocery story after I was just ranting about this and that, I stopped and said "do you know what this means". Hubby said "what?".  I said "we had a great study last night.......someone wasn't happy about it".  I was under attack.  I gave into the attack, sadly I did.... I hope next time I won't give in (sadly I'm sure I will).

But it has happened so many times in the past. A great time of fellowship with God, a great lesson, a great message, a great quiet time. And then attack like this.

Elijah experienced the same thing.  He at one time challenged the prophets of Baal to a "duel" their gods against his God. He set up where there would be a sacrifice. Whosever god/God consumed the sacrifice would be the true God.

In a mere few words, Elijah says:

1 Kings 18:36-39, he says And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, "LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again." Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, "The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!"

The other prophets of Baal had shouted all day for their "gods" to consume the sacrifice and nothing had happened.

Elijah was victorious.  Yet a few days later he trembled when he heard this: 

1 Kings 19:1-5.  Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. ² So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.”
³ Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, ⁴ sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” ⁵ Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.

Elijah had this incredible experience that God sent down fire from heaven, yet a few days later he was terrified and worried about his life.

I've learned spiritual highs are followed by spiritual lows. 

There's a battle out there we are living.

But take heart, the battle ALWAYS belongs to the Lord.

and he always wins........

read Revelation.........

we know the end of the story.......

thank you Lord that you are and have always been victorious

help me to just be a bit more sensitive in the future when I am under attack to realize it and to pray to you and to remember you are fighting EVERY single one of my battles.

this is the day

Psalm 118:24 This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.

This is the day the Lord has made

God has created this new day

God has allowed me to wake up today
'
God has given me a new day

I will rejoice, take joy in it

I will take joy at what God has done

I will take joy in who God is

I will appreciate the blessings given to me

I will seize the opportunity to

trust God
seek God
love God
serve others

I will avoid that which causes stress

worry
anxiety
fear

I will rejoice in Jesus

My Savior, Lord and King

And be glad in today

I will take pleasure in it

I will remember God has made it

I will remember God knows what I am dealing with

I will remember God is in control

I will rejoice and be glad today!

eyes

Psalm 33:18 But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love.

God is watching those who respect him, revere him, hold him in highest esteem, those who hope in his unfailing love.

God sees - God loves - God constantly sees; does not look away.

Aspect of God - unfailing love

He never gives up, never goes away, he watches those who fear him.

1 Peter 3:12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.

The eyes of the Lord are on

Those who fear him (respect him)

those who are righteous (live moral lives)

Lord I want your eyes on me

watching constantly

not looking away

I want to live the life that makes you be honored and glorified

help me to fear you - hold you in highest esteem

and to live morally for you

I love you Lord.

impossible, part two

Matthew 9:27-28 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”  When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him and he asked them "Do you believe I am able to do this?" "Yes Lord" they replied.

Do you believe I can do the impossible?

Restore your sight

Give sight to you.

Matthew 9:29-30 (a) Then he touched their eyes and said "According to your faith it will be done to you" and their sight was restored.

People came to Jesus with the impossible.

Dead daughter (Matthew 9:18)
Hemorrhaging lady for 12 years (Matthew 9:20)
Blind men (Matthew 9:27)
Man with leprosy (Matthew 8:1)
Servant paralyzed in great suffering (Matthew 8:5)
Paralytic man (Matthew 9:1)

And so many more

Each time they believed - had faith - that Jesus could do the impossible

Raise the dead
Cure the sick
Cure leprosy
Restore sight
Restore movement

According to their faith the impossible happened.

What are my impossibles?

Hubby - job
Son - protection, being on fire for Jesus
Friend - healing from cancer
Daughter - restoration of relationship

You are the God of the impossible Lord, I will wait for you. I will have great faith.

impossible; part one

Matthew 14:27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

Call out to Jesus in times of trouble; he is always there, immediately there; he wants to hear from you.

Matthew 14:28  Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

Testing God; if you are really who you say you are; do the impossible; allow me to walk on water. 

Matthew 14:29(a) "Come,” he said.

Simple command; doesn't have to back up who he is; doesn't have to give his credentials of what he's already done that was the impossible, he fed 5000, healed the sick, etc.  "I am who I am; come". 

Matthew 14:29 (b) Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.

He did the impossible; he walked on water.

Matthew 14:30  But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

He started to doubt when circumstances became too tough or seemed impossible to overcome.  He saw the wind; he took his eyes off Jesus and he began to be afraid, to sink.

We must keep our eyes on Jesus; we must believe he is capable of doing the impossible if he chooses to do so. We must not doubt.  We must not be afraid.

Matthew 14:31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

Why do we doubt? Why don't we believe? Why don't we trust?

We know better.  We know God is more than able to do the impossible. We've seen it documented in the Bible; seen it documented in our own lives, yet we still at times are of little faith and we doubt.

Lord, increase my faith, remove my doubt.  You can do the impossible.

Jeremiah 32:27 I am the Lord, the God of all mankind, is anything too hard for me?

No Lord, nothing is too hard for you.

ask, seek, knock

Matthew 7:7 Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you.

What should I be asking for?
What should I be seeking?
Where should I be knocking?

If I go with the premise that God already knows what I need physically (Matthew 6:28-32); he clothes the lilies of the field, he will clothe me.  He knows I need food to eat, liquid to drink, clothes to wear. 

He knows I need those things.  He knew I would need the physical before he even created me, or anyone else.  He knows our needs.

Knowing that, knowing the physical is important, but the spiritual is more important (Matthew 6:33  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well), when I ask, seek, knock, should it be more directed towards something that will impact eternity and not necessarily all that impacts physical to make my life easier on earth?

So to ask for wisdom, understanding, love, patience, mercy, compassion, kindness, peace, knowledge.

To seek - God - pursue him, spend time with him, adore him, fear him, love him completely, totally.

Knock - to make myself, my needs known to God.  Physical thing that happens when you knock.

Ask - speaking
Seeking - looking
Knocking - making a purposeful effort to make my presence known, putting myself vulnerable, will the door open? How will the person opening the door respond, etc.

God is telling me

If I ask - I receive - he hears my prayers - he will provide

If I seek - I will find what I'm seeking - GOD!

If I knock, he will open the door willingly.

Revelation 3:20 Here I am, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me.

When you knock Lord, help me to open the door willingly.

(I'm still thinking a lot about the concept of ask, seek, knock; this is in conjunction with thoughts I'm having as I'm doing a study on prayer based on Live a Praying Life by Jennifer Kennedy Dean).

Just Like Jesus; a book review

For BookSneeze, I am reviewing Just Like Jesus by Max Lucado.  As part of reading the entire book and posting a review of it on my blog and a consumer site, I received a complimentary copy of the book.

It was with great delight when I saw this book was available for review from BookSneeze. Max Lucado has always been one of my favorite, if not my favorite, Christian author.  His talent to put words together in pictures as he describes scripture is truly a wonderful gift from God. 

I was not disappointed, as I knew I would not be, in reading Just Like Jesus.  From the start, the concept of the book captured my heart and attention and I knew I wanted to continue to read the book because I wanted to have a heart like Jesus, which is what the concept of the book is about.

Max Lucado starts out with a "simple" premise.  God loves me just the way I am, but he refuses to leave me here.  He wants me to be Just Like Jesus. 

Over 12 chapters in the book, Mr. Lucado lays out traits Jesus had that we can have too that will make us have a heart like his.  Some of these included A Forgiving Heart, A Worship Hungry Heart, A Focused Heart, and a Hope Filled Heart, among others.  Each chapter was devoted to that particular trait, backing up in scripture how Jesus lived that trait in his time here on earth and how we can live that trait too in our lives. 

My favorite chapter was The Enduring Heart when Max Lucado gave encouragement on finishing the race (our lives) well no matter what we were going through, citing what Jesus had endured for the joy of what laid ahead, the hope of heaven. 

Also included in the book was a study guide with questions aimed at the key points of the chapter that could be done individually or part of a group setting.

All in all, it was a great book. I would highly recommend it for anyone who wants to have a heart like Jesus, for anyone who wants to go deeper in their walk with Jesus, for anyone who wants to fix their eyes on Jesus. 

be still before the Lord

Psalm 37:7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently before him.  Do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Be still before God.

Listen to his small voice.

Be quiet, not anxious.

Wait patiently; that speaks for itself.

WAIT PATIENTLY.

Do not fret, do not worry

Don't get worked up

Don't take matters into your own hands

WAIT PATIENTLY

Do not fret when men succeed in their ways

Don't be anxious

Don't be worried

Don't excessively dwell on it

Even when things don't make sense

When evil is being done

Just go back and remember

Be still before God

and WAIT PATIENTLY before him.

Trust in his timing, will, ways,

Patiently be still.

refixing eyes

2 Corinthians 4:18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

I need to refix my eyes.

I fix my eyes too much on what is seen.

The physical:

No full time job for husband.

Son's safety and decisions about relationships.

Dwindling bank account.

Things breaking, having to be replaced.

Sickness, illness.

I need to refix my eyes on the unseen, the eternal:

Jesus! Author and finisher of my faith
Father God. Creator, provider, sustainer.
Holy Spirit. Comforter, counselor, guide.

I need to refix my eyes on:

God's promises.

God's words.

God's truth.

God himself.

Eternal versus temporary (physical)
unseen versus seen

Lord Jesus, give me new eyes, new vision to see the eternal more and the temporary less.

walk as Jesus did

1 John 2:6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

Whoever claims to have Jesus as their Lord, God, Savior, Redeemer, Ransomer

must - definite command

walk as Jesus did

and how did Jesus walk?

How did Jesus live?

boldly; confidently (he knew who he was in his Father's eyes)

lovingly; compassionately; kindly; patiently; serving others (he knew what people needed and chose to live for them, not himself)

I need to walk as you walk Lord; help me to do so!