This is how I should pray

I didn't have to go far in my Bible reading today before the Lord spoke to my heart.  I read Luke 11 and within just a few verses the Lord was stopping me to reflect on what He wanted me to see. 

It starts out with Jesus praying and his disciples asking him to help them learn to pray.  He then gives them an example in verse 2-4 of how they can pray that reflects the acknowledgment of God's holiness, His ability to provide all they need, His power to forgive us, and his willingness to help us forgive others and then resist the temptation to do it (sin) all over again. 

As I read this I prayed it for myself today.  He is the great and Holy God who will one day again return to bring me home to His Kingdom.  Until then he will provide me with all that I need to make it through even just THIS day.  He will forgive me when I screw it up today. He will help me forgive my children or anyone else I'm with today that will sin as well. He will help me to turn from the enemy and his evil ways and stand firmly in righteousness......therefore (just like the disciples!) that is how I will pray. 
For this is how Jesus says I should pray:
Father, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. Give me each day all that I need, forgive me of my sins, as I forgive those who sin against me.  And don’t let me yield to temptation.
Luke 11:2-4

Only one thing matters

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 2 Peter 1:3


This verse reminded me today that God has called me to a life goodness and righteousness before Him. Sometimes this can be an overwhelming thought as we look at all of our short comings and sin, but if we truly love God and we are genuinely seeking Him and His goodness above all else (just as my blog is named!) then we have all that we need. Nothing else really matters.

the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives .....we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. 2Peter 3:10-13

As we are tempted to worry about many things. Let us not loose that one simple focus. Jesus is coming back. We are to live righteous and fruitful lives FOR him until that day comes. Everything else is rubbish in comparison. Unfortunately thought, the rubbish....that argument with my husband.....the misbehavior of my children.....my messy and disorganized house.....laundry......Christmas shopping.....all this rubbish overshadows the one good thing. Jesus will return. Am I making every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him? 2Peter 3:14 or am I overwhelmed and worried and letting other things take over?

Dull and Boring Book of Kings

My CBS Bible study this year is on the books of 1&2 Kings and the minor prophets.  Other times when reading through the books of Kings I have always thought of it as a historical book of time tables with battles, ancient kings and other uninteresting accounts.  All the strange names and kingdoms seem so far removed from everyday situations that I seem to find common ground with in other parts of the Bible.  This time though, the study is helping me to see Kings in a new way.

Today I saw something interesting in the historical perspective of the books.  The author always seems to evaluate the kings on their walk (or lack of) with God.  Instead of really focusing on military, architectural, or geographic achievements, the kings lives are summarized by their spiritual walk.  Even today our presidents, CEO's, political figures and Military officials are mostly evaluated on things such as economic well being of our country, the effectiveness of our health care or social systems, the ability to win votes, please people, and even war strategies. But the Kings these books were judged entirely on their Spiritual walk.  Could you imagine if we did that with the authority figures in our nation today?  Oh my!!
Eventually we will all be evaluated and judged this way.  Our perfectly clean homes will do us no good, our lovely wardrobe and jewelry will be worthless. Even how our children turned out will be of little importance.

How would I live differently if I truly believed that my spiritual health was the most important aspect of my life?  How would my priorities change if I really grasped the idea that nothing but my walk with God really matters?  Maybe there is more in the books of Kings than I thought in the beginning.  I suspect  that I am going to learn a whole lot more than I had originally thought in this study.  :)

He's not finished with me yet

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old is gone the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17


I started a new memory verse system this week and this is the first verse that I have to memorize. I have been carrying this verse in my pocket, reviewing it and pondering its meaning over the last day. At first it gave me such hope. To be reminded that we are a new creation and made NEW is exciting and encouraging but then just as quickly as I found joy in this idea I also began to see my old self still crouching right around the corner. In the very day that I was memorizing this verse about being in Christ and walking as his new creation I found my self struggle with anger and an outburst of wrath! What IS this? If I am a new creation and the old is gone why in the world did I just get angry with my own child and have a sudden outburst of wrath with out any warning! I thought my old self was gone and the NEW was here??

I went to bed last night discouraged and praying that God would give me wisdom in this. This morning as I sat in my quiet time He did just that. While we are a new creation sin is still here. Romans 6:6 says :We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. What this verse says is that sin loses it's power over our lives, what it does NOT say is that sin is GONE. While we are a new creation, we still have the “old man” that must be put to death.

This will not happen over night (or in 15 years in my case!!) It will take God's Word and the Holy Spirit in unison to experience that new nature. Our partis to submit in this daily process so that Jesus becomes greater while we become less. He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less. John 3:30

This is a long process and we have to be patient and hopeful not allowing the enemy to feed us the lies in the process.Today I set aside my failings from yesterday and press on toward a new day. A new day is yet one more opportunity to become less so He can become greater. It all comes back to humility. The greatest thing God is teaching me right now.
God sees us already as a finished product. I am SO thankful for that!

King Rehoboam

In my Old Testament reading I am in the book of 2 Chronicles.  Today I was reading in chapter 12 and came across the story of King Rehoboam.  He was the son of Soloman and the grandson of David.  With a lineage like that you would think he would automatically inherit success, but along the way he made quite a few mistakes that caused him to fall out of the favor of the Lord.

His first pitfall was rejecting the council of older men (in 10:8) and instead consulting with younger men who had grown up with him. Dispite this he still became strong and established a great kingdom. The most profound thing to me about Rehoboams story though was found in the beginning of chapter 12. It says when Rehoboam was firmly established and strong, he abandoned the Law of the Lord, and all Israel followed him in this sin. (12:1)
This verse reminded me of my post yesterday!  Isn't it funny that right when he was strong (obviously in his OWN strength!) he became prideful and abandoned the Law of the Lord!  Not only did he fall into sin but he caused all the people of Israel to follow in his sin! And just as the verse I wrote about yesterday says:  Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.  And sure enough:   Because they were unfaithful to the Lord, King Shishak of Egypt came up and attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam’s reign. (12:2)  But here comes the great part:  Because Rehoboam humbled himself, the Lord’s anger was turned away, and he did not destroy him completely. (12:12)  Whooooo hooo!!!  Praise God for his loving MERCY!!! Because Rehoboam humbled himself...that is the part of this verse that I love the most.  Another lesson to me today about the importance of being humble!!

In His strength

I have been finding myself so discouraged lately with all that I have to do and how little I am accomplishing in a day. I feel like I used to be so on top of things and get so much more done.  It has made me do a lot of grumbling and complaining!  I realized this morning that maybe being a little more tired and a feeling overwhelmed at times is God's way of humbleing me. 

When I used to be the "doer" and never tired or got behind I think I might have been a little prideful.  I never would have admitted it but at times I would look at other people and think...."man you need to get it together..or...why is she not as productive as I am?"  It's been a long time since I had silly thoughts like that but it's true.  Well, about 2 or 3 kids later, a crazy busy schedule, an over worked husband and a few health issues later, I find myself very much humbled.  I used to think I did all those things in God's strength, but the truth is I was doing it in my own.  I was proud of how fast I was and how much I could do in a day.  Now I realize more than ever that I can do NOTHING with out the help of God's and in his strength.

Being humbled begins with realizing that I NEED Christ everyday in every way. I can not do anything with out His help. I can not be a good mother- a loving wife- a thoughtful friend - a caring neighbor - I cannot do anything without the help and encouragement of the one who gives me strength. I have learned after many times of trying to do all these things on my own strength that I will always fail. I will grow weary over time and fall. Even "thinking" I can do any of these things on my own strength is Pride. Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall. Proverbs 16:18

He cares for the humble, keeps his distance from the proud

Though the Lord is great, he cares for the humble,but he keeps his distance from the proud. Psalm 138:6
My first lesson as I seek the Lord to transform me is to be humbled.  Just as Psalm 138:6 says, if I am not humble He will keep his distance.  Pride is a sin and the great God we serve can not draw close to sin.  If I want to be closer to God I must rid myself of my sin. I can only do that through Jesus and his cleansing power.  My heart is full of sin- but for today I know the Lord is drawing me to look at my sin of pride-fullness. I look forward to seeing how he plans to transform me from being proud to being humble- like Him.

Transformation

Until we get to heaven we are all in the process of a transformation.  For some reason that word has been standing out to me lately....transformation.  The dictionary defines the word transform:  a. to change in composition or structure b : to change the outward form or appearance of  c : to change in character or condition

That last part "c:" is what I want to see in my life.  A change in my character and condition.  The condition of my heart, my attitude, and my character.  When we are Seeking God first in all things we will automatically be transformed.  Our hearts and minds will be transformed, but I also bet that our outside appearance will change as well just as "b:" says.  Joy will radiate in our faces and and something about us will just "look" different.

I want to be continually transformed.  I am asking God today to help me be transformed into more of His likeness.  I am not even sure what areas he wants to transform and so I take a risk in even asking him that!  But I want it no matter what it takes.  I want to seek Him first in all things and allow His holy Spirit to change me as he sees fit.  The goal is to change me....no one else. To see my own sin.....no one else's. To be humbly transformed by the only one who really matters. My Lord and my Savior.

So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are transformed into his glorious image.  2 Corinthians 3:18

Dealings with my heart

For my Birthday a sweet friend sent me a new book.  Its a little book that at first glance looks like a mini Bible bound in black leather.  It's called The Valley of Vision.  It's a collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions.  The Puritans were a group of Christians in the 16 and 1700's that broke away from the church of England and came to America in hopes of dedicating themselves to a life of purity and devotion to God. They believed that every individual must be reformed by God’s grace to fight against sin, and to do what is best for him/her and right before the Lord. Their strength in this came from their practice of prayer and meditation. Many of them who clung to doctrines of grace wrote down a record of God's intimate dealings with their souls, not with an eye to publication, but as a test of their spiritual growth, and to encourage themselves and others in their quest to purity and holiness. 

As I am reading this collection of prayers and writings it is a sweet reminder to me of why I started this Blog several years ago.  I started it so that I could keep a journal of all the things God was doing my heart and how he was changing me as I sought to Seek Him First in my my family, in my marriage, in my relationships, and in my life as a whole.  I did not write it for publication and certainly not with motives of self boasting for if anything it has shown my weakness and my lack of ability to do or write anything that makes a bit of sense outside the grace of God on my finger tips as I peck away on the key board. 

I do know though that it does test my spiritual growth and almost helps me to stay accountable to myself as I seek to be learning something new all the time.  I notice that during the times in the past that I have been able to write consistently it has made for times of great spiritual growth and inspiration with in myself.  If anyone else gets anything out of what I write then that will be another added miracle only possible by the grace of God. My influence on others would only be for encouragement and personal reflection on the lives of those who read it.  My prayer would be that they too would join me in a quest for purity and holiness.  For if we are still on this earth walking, breathing, and living our lives then it is only by the grace of God so that we can bring Glory to His Great Name and do his good works until the day of Jesus return. 

"For me, living means living for Christ....."  Philippians 1:21
"for we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior." Philippians 3:20

Light after the darkness

I left off my last post with pictures of snow covering my almost bloomed spring flowers.  Although life got busy and I never got a chance to take pictures of them, those snow covered beginnings of life did turn into beautiful blooms.  It was a lovely spring and one that I appreciated more probably than any other in the past.  The long, dark, cold winter made the spring seem brighter and more beautiful than any other. 
Today my sweet neighbor and friend gave me Psalm 119 to read in the order of the following verses  18,15,5, &45.  It came out like this:

I lie in the dust. (when I think of dust I think of a pit! A dark, filled with nothing, dust on the bottom PIT!) Revive me by your word. Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions. I will study your commandments and reflect on your ways. Oh that my actions would CONSISTENTLY (that's key for me!) reflect your decrees. I will walk in freedom because I have devoted myself to your commands.

The only way to get out of the dust -the pit- is to look to Christ (not the "snow" ~our struggles) and KEEP our eyes on Christ.  Looking to Him is the only way to get out and stay (consistent!) out of that pit.

When you are in a pit it is dark.  Only when you look up can you see the light.  Keep looking up towards the light!  He will pull you out and then with our eyes on the light he will keep us from falling back in there again and again!

Do not be discouraged

Just to reiterate my post a few weeks ago about being CrAzY busy....I must mention before actually posting this that it was started on the 19th of April!! I love to write but WHERE is the time!!  :)

Have you ever been so excited about something and then when your least expecting it things take a turn and you find yourself feeling discouraged?  This happens a lot in our faith.  It can happen for different reasons.  Sometimes it is something called Spiritual warfare and sometimes it is simply God changing your course toward something different.  With prayer and careful discernment of a situation it can be easy to tell the difference.  Either way God is good, He knows what He is doing, and we can trust Him!  God's will always prevails and we must not allow the enemy and his lies discourage us.
A few days ago I posted some pictures on here of green sprouts that were starting to peek out in my yard. I talked about how encouraged I was by the fact that during this hard cold winter full of deadness these little shoots were coming up and showing new life.  God was working even when I could not see Him, and the new green leaves popping out were signs of His Goodness coming through. But check out these pictures taken just a few days later! 

Even in those times when we can not physically "see" what God is doing we have to trust him. The enemy is always out to try to distract us from seeing and trusting God's good work.  Don't let him win the battle. God always has the victory and nothing can stop His good work....not even an April 18th snow storm!  I trust that He STILL has plans to bring up pretty flowers underneath that snow, and we can trust that He still plans good for us even when we can't see what it is He is doing. 

..in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 8: 37-39

He's always working

I remember when we bought this house the lady that owned it before us told me a whole list of things that were planted in the yard that would come up in the Spring.  I had forgotten about it until just this weekend when I began to see some of the little green shoots peeking out of the ground ALL over the yard, around the trees and in the flower beds.  It is kind of exciting seeing and knowing that something beautiful is coming but not really knowing what.
God is constantly at work in our lives in this same way.  We don't always know what God is up to but we do know that what ever God is doing it is going to be good and beautiful. I am so thankful that He wants to make me righteous, holy, and good just like Himself.  I know that in order to achieve this He is constantly working in my life and in my heart.  I think sometimes we can begin to feel a little stagnant. Maybe not "seeing" God working or what it is He is doing in our lives at the very moment.  Maybe just like I have been writing about, we are in a "waiting" time. But just like those flowers in my yard, God is still working. 

I haven't really "seen" anything going on in the yard or in those flower beds, but obviously something has been at work or those little green shoots wouldn't be peeking out right now.  I am not always sure what God is up to, but I do know that we can find encouragement in the fact that God is always working!  I am looking forward to seeing what will come out of those flowers in the yard, and I am looking forward to seeing what God is working on in my heart right now.  Even if I don't really "see" a whole lot going on at the moment.

Waiting on the Lord

As I thought more about waiting over the past few days I asked myself "what am I waiting for?" It seems like we are all always "waiting" on something. We always have a hope in something. Some people are waiting on that new job offer, some on that new baby, a husband, a vacation, for us military people....that next assignment. Seems like the next "thing" is what we are always waiting on. Sometimes we get so focused on the thing that we're waiting on that we forget to live right now. We find ourselves always waiting on the "next thing" instead of being content with that which has already been given to us. We are waiting for that pay raise...instead of being thankful and praising God for the money that he provides for us right now. We are waiting on that next phase of baby-hood so much that we miss the joy of the phase they're in now. I was guilty of this many times with my first baby. I found my self always saying things like "I can't wait until she can...." Sometimes saying "I can't wait until .." means we are not content with where we are right now. Waiting is hard when we know what we are waiting for. It is even harder when we don't even know what it is we are waiting for. Those are times when God calls us to be content right where He has us. Not looking for the next best thing. Contentment..... I am praying for God to teach it to me. Am I content just waiting on Him and Him alone? Or am I always striving for that next best thing? And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you. Psalm 39:7 But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; Micah 7:7

Happy to Wait

I am girl who loves loves the sun and summer. Most of my life I have lived in pretty warm places. Places ranging from Puerto Rico where I went to High School, New Mexico, Charleston, SC, even the Sun Shine State which I called home for the past 2 years, but this year I spent my first winter up north in Michigan. The experience kind of reminded me of being pregnant. The first few months were fun and exciting. The new clothes are fun to buy. I enjoyed the snow covered trees and houses. We enjoyed warm soup and hot fires. But right about February the fun and newness was starting to wear off! Christmas was over and the nostalgia of all this snow, ice and cold was fizzle off fast! My new clothes and boots that were so cute and exciting to wear in September and October wear getting old and I was so sick of my winter coat, hat and gloves that if I could I would love to throw them into the nearest bonfire! If you have ever been pregnant you will remember this same feeling about your maternity clothes about the 9th month of your pregnancy!! Well here it is the end of March and while I know Spring is right around the corner it is still 19* outside today and I feel like I have been waiting FOREVER!! One thing I did realize today though is that in all the warm places I have lived all my life, I have never looked SO forward to spring as I did THIS year. This will be one of the most exciting, heavily anticipated Springs I have ever experienced! It's funny how the things we have to wait for always are so much more appreciated than the things that come to us easily or quickly. Just ask any mother that has struggled through infertility and after many many years finally conceives that first baby. One thing that came clear to me today as I thought about the upcoming Spring is that while it seems to be a long time coming, it has already been promised to us. We know it is coming, but just like the saying goes "good things come to those who wait" ...everything that comes from God IS good, so we know that the more more He has us to wait the better whatever He has for us must be. Waiting means God is working! That makes me happy to wait. The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. Lamentations 3:25

No time for anything!

I noticed my last my post was called "no time for that lie".....today I realized I have no time for anything! !! My goodness.... weeks goes by so quickly and where does it go? The older my kids get the less time I seem to have. For some reason I thought it would be the opposite!! As busy as my life is, I pray that God will help me to see His goodness and show His love even in the chaos of this season of my life. So grateful to serve my husband and my children in love, as hard as that may be sometimes. That reminds me of a conversation I had with one of my very best friends just a few days ago. We have been trying to plan to see each other for months. We had looked into a Lake House in Holland Michigan that belongs to one of her family members. The idea of a girls getaway had us both giddy with excitement. As we tried to put the whole thing together one obstacle after another kept coming up. Her husband is in school in the DC area and mine is at the brink of major career and life changes. Between home school conventions, spring break, husbands work and school schedules.....this girls getaway began to get more and more impossible. We both fell into the temptation of frustration and discouragement. As much as we wanted this time together, and actually felt deserving of it for that matter, we also came to the conclusion that this was not God's time. As hard as it was to accept, this time was a time for us to serve our husbands and our children. Sacrificing that which we both so badly desired. Our Lord sacrificed every thing for us...unto death He gave of himself. Why is it so hard for me to do the same? This is something I am still still seeking to understand, but for now I am being obedient and trusting that God has a perfect time. For now we will serve with joyful hearts! He will tell us when the perfect time is to see my sweet friend. There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven~ Ecclesiastes 3:1

No time for that lie

When I first started this blog I was starting it with a friend who too was starting one. Following in her idea I started out trying to share each day something God was teaching me spiritually as I sought to do just as my blog is named....Seek Him First. Sometime in the last few days as I sat trying to think about what to post I let the enemy feed a little lie to me. A lie that made me wonder for a moment if I really ever had anything of Spiritual importance to write anymore. Great things used to just come to me, but for some reason with four kids (consisting of a teenager, a tween, an elementary schooler and preschooler!) and a husband.....my life has seemed almost so overwhelming sometimes that I barely have time to think about what to make for dinner better yet what God has taught me today. So what the enemy wanted me to think is that God isn't teaching me anything....I don't have the TIME for Him to teach me anything. Well I know that just simply isn't true. As I was in a rush making dinner tonight I realized that there were 5 minutes left on the kitchen timer before my food was due out of the oven. As most nights are in this house we had a lot going on this evening and dinner could not be late. Everything was ready to go so with 5 minutes on the timer I wondered in my head what I could do with this spare 5 minutes....facebook...e-mail....then God prodded....I could pray. I walked in the office sat on the chair and gave the Lord 5 minutes of prayer. Even when that timer went off I pulled out dinner to cool and went back for 5 minutes more. ;) What I learned during this 10 minutes of prayer is that the only thing I don't have time for is the enemies lies. Yes, my life is crazy, yes my life is busy, but even in all the rushed wild craziness the Lord is teaching me things every single day. And as I continue to Seek Him First, He will continue to teach me and show me all that He wants me to know.

Don't fall for the Phish Food!

My husband and I started a little "healthy eating" plan together after Valentines Day. We were doing so well and then out of the blue my husband looses his mind Friday night and comes home with a pint of my very favorite ice cream...Ben and Jerry's Phish Food! I was so mad at him but at the same time didn't take it upon myself to do anything about it other than sit on the couch over the coarse of the last 2 nights and eat the whole container! Last night as I finished it off I thew the container in the trash. This morning as I came into the kitchen before my early morning work out I pulled the container back out of the trash to see just how many calories I had to make up for this morning after sabotaging my "healthy eating" plan over the weekend. That entire container of Ben and Jerry's Phish food had a total of 1400 calories!! I was so mad at myself for sabotaging my weekend eating that I got on my treadmill with the intention of working out as hard as I could and seeing how close i could get to depleting that 1400 calorie deficit. I was on that treadmill for 45 minutes about to kill myself doing intervals sometimes so hard that they would have had me flying across the basement if I had mis-stepped on that belt going faster than the speed of light. I was sweating like never before and in the end as I looked at the calories burned on the display it showed that I had burned a whole whopping 434 calories. Almost 1,000 more to go! Good grief I'll NEVER make it! That darn ice cream tasted so good at the time, but the after effects are nearing impossible to make up for! It was at that moment that I realized that sin is just like that. Sin always seems good at the time but the after effects make you realize that it really wasn't worth it at all. That is what makes our savior so great. He doesn't require us to "burn" off all that sin. If He did we would be hopeless. There would be no way we could ever work out enough to make up for all the sin in our life. Instead, He just wipes it away! Free! Without any "work out" from us. Oh how grateful I am for that. So as with my Ben and Jerry's when we mess up, all we can do is throw out the empty container....give it to Him, start over, and allow Him to help us make a better choice next time! if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 1John 1:7

ASCENDED to do His great work!

Following up on what I wrote about yesterday I am SO excited to share what God showed me this morning when I read Ephesians 4

Starting in v. 9 it talks about how Jesus "ascended". In order to ascend he had to "descend" first. He had to be brought to lowly places. (this earth) but because he did v. 10 says he was then able to “ascend higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.”
After writing yesterday about one of the lowliest places I have ever been it was made so clear to me HOW it is that God made beauty out of my mess......He brought me (I descended) to my "lowly" place so that He could ascend me higher and I could then in turn do what he has gifted me to do which is in v. 11&12....be teachers....v.12 "Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ."
v. 10 says that the whole reason Jesus ascended (and left us here to do his work) is so that the entire universe can be filled with himself.....wow!! that's a big job!! But this world is getting uglier by the minute. There is no better time than now to be (v.13) bringing others (starting with our children and then other women) to "maturity in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ." Then if you read on 14-16 it talks about no longer being immature like children but instead "growing more and more like Christ."
That of course.....should be our ULTIMATE goal in teaching. ;)

That's what He called us for....to equip others to do His work and build up the church body and helping them become mature in the Lord.
"He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts GROW, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love."

I am ever so thank full today that He descended me to the pits....so that I could be ASCENDED to do His great work! Instead of feeling defeated and weakened by my trial verse 10 reminds me that my trial was meant to bring me HIGHER than I was before. From all that the Lord taught me over the past 2 years, I know that I have so much to share with others. I am excited about it and can't wait to see what the Lord has in store!

Beauty out of messes

Ever since we moved here this summer I have been struggling to figure out what God's plan is for me and for my time here in Michigan. I am finally settled in and am wanting God to show me where to serve and how to minister. When we were in New Mexico and during the first part of our time in Florida God was really leading me in the way of women's ministry. He was opening so many doors and opportunities to speak, teach, and minister to woman. I enjoyed it SO much and was amazed at the good work God was doing in me and and in the women around me.

About half way through our time in Florida (and during what seemed like the peak of my ministry and walk with the Lord) a lot happened in my life. With out divulging all the details I will just say that I went through one of the biggest trials of my life. My family, my faith and my life as I knew it was forever changed by trial and quite frankly tragedy.

Although with the Lords help the pieces have slowly and prayerfully been put back together, I feel like it has taken me a good almost 2 years to really get to a place where I can think about ministry again. When tragedy hit my life my ministry came to a screeching halt and instead of ministering to others, I spent 2 years allowing God to minister to me and my broken heart.

I'm still seeking Him for the strength and wisdom, but I know that my heart does desire to lead and teach again. When you have been to the lowest of your lows sometimes it is hard to convince your self again that you have anything to give to anyone else from the mess of a pit inside yourself. But God does make beauty out of messes....that I suppose is what He wants us to share the most!

Living in Purity and Holiness

I came across this verse this morning during my quiet time in 2 Corinthians and used it as a prayer for myself.
It is from 2 Corinthians 6:3-4; 6-7; & 10
Lord I want to live in such a way that no one will stumble because of me, and no one will find fault with my ministry. In everything I do, I will show that I am a true minister of God. I patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind.
I prove myself by my purity, my understanding, my patience, my kindness, by the Holy Spirit within me, and by my sincere love. I faithfully preach the truth. God's power is working in me. I use weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense.
Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything.

Lord help me to live in a way that is true to this prayer. I know that I have not always, and I know that even still I will time and again fail, but with your help Lord I want to live a life of Holiness, growing more in my Faith and Righteousness everyday.

Praying for the impossible

My sweet friend in Maryland goes to a great church with sermons that I often listen to on-line. Over the last few weeks the sermons have been on the book of Nehemiah. I have never really studied this book in depth, but as I have been listening to these sermons I have really been thinking about the faithfulness of our God to do great things in our lives when we really seek Him with our everything. A few days ago the Lord prompted my heart to memorize Ephesians 3:20 after hearing it at my Esther Bible study one day. I did and it says Our great God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us Even more than we could ever ASK or IMAGINE!! Isn't that amazing! And here I am half the time too faithless to even ask better yet believe that He could go above and beyond!

Feeling Overwhelmed

Feeling overwhelmed these days. Wanting to do too many things and looking too many directions and not sure which ones the Lord wants me to take.

Just a few......
church: which church do we finally commit to? Do we want to "join" as official members? Where do I want to get involved in the church/serve?
Finances: Things have been stretched thin...do I want to get a job of some sort? Help out financially? I have my interests.....jewelry making...my vinyl...home day care?? my hair salon/spa is hiring for their new location...a receptionist maybe??...my photography???
What about my Bible Studies? I am in the Acts study at CBS but also really would love to join the new Esther study at church so I can get to know the woman of the church. I am doing a small study on the Parables of Jesus with my neighbor across the street. And on top of all that CBS has asked me to step into a leadership position.

Oh my head is just SPINNING!!! And as it is spinning here is the wonderful verse the Lord gave me today:

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” Isaiah 30:21
He never leaves us with our heads spinning!! Seeking Him today.