My Nickels Worth

From the Mountain to the Valley

2008-03-06T17:29:00.000-08:00

The following is from 1 Kings 19, most likely you have heard it. I am going to back up to 1 Kings 17:1 where Elijah tells King Ahab that there will not be any rain nor dew for the next few years except at his word. This is because King Ahab, Queen Jezebel and the nation were worshipping other Gods particularly Baal.

Then in 1 Kings 18 Elijah has King Ahab bring the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah to Mount Caramel. Elijah has the prophets of Baal set up an alter with a bull on it to sacrifice. He has them get it all ready, but not set fire to it. Then he tells them to call on the name of their God to see if he answers by setting the sacrifice on fire. For half a day they call out, rant, rave and carry on like mad men trying to get Baal to answer and nothing happens.

Elijah's now takes his turn to see if God will answer by fire. "31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, 'Your name shall be Israel.' 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs [a] of seed. 33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, "Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood." 34 "Do it again," he said, and they did it again. "Do it a third time," he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench. 36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again." 38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. 39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, "The LORD -he is God! The LORD -he is God!"' 1 Kings 18:31-39

Elijah then has all the false prophets seized and killed. He tells King Ahab, '"Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.' 42 So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees. 43 'Go and look toward the sea,' he told his servant. And he went up and looked. 'There is nothing there,' he said. Seven times Elijah said, 'Go back.' 44 The seventh time the servant reported, 'A cloud as small as a man's hand is rising from the sea.' So Elijah said, 'Go and tell Ahab, 'Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.' 45 Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain came on and Ahab rode off to Jezreel." 1 Kings 18:41-46

We see in 1 Kings 19 Jezabel wants Elijah killed for killing all her prophets and he has to run for his life. Now Elijah has just experienced two very powerful and emotional victories for the Lord by defeating the prophets of Baal and having the Lord bring rain due to his prayer. Instead of feeling like he was on a mountain, he was physically and emotionally exhausted which made him depressed. Finally Elijah stops running, sits down under a tree, and prays for God to take his life. '"...I have had enough, Lord,' he said. 'Take my life..." 1 Kings 19:4

I have had enough! Have you ever felt that way. I know I sometimes do. Elijah was tired, hungry, and weary of not receiving any rewards for his work. I know as a mother, I often feel that way. What God did to lead Elijah out of this depression was to have him eat and rest and then sent him back to his mission. Most of the time making it to the mountain top is a hard climb requiring much energy. It is imperative to stop from time to time to eat properly and get plenty of rest. I believe that is why God calls for Sunday to be a day of rest. We all need rest from our busy lives. Then we will have the strength to focus on the work God still has for us to do. We may never get rewarded for our work on earth, but God has promised us that we will when we get to heaven. "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9 So the next time you find that you have tumbled off the mountain into the valley, take a break, eat, rest, and start climbing again!

"But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:31

Staying on the narrow path - have a blessed week!

Visit my website www.thenarrowpath.net

Trouble Comes Even When You are in His Will

2008-02-26T16:18:00.000-08:00

How many times have you been where you thought God wanted you to be, yet the storms came anyway? At that time, did you wonder if you had misread what God wanted you to do putting you in the wrong place? I know I have. I believe that is because we have the misconception that being in God's will means everything will be easy. Nothing is further from the truth. In fact, being in God's will means everything will be more difficult. The story of Elijah in 1 Kings 17:1-16 is an example of this. In 1 Kings 17:1 Elijah informs King Ahab that there will be no rain because Israel was worshipping idols again. Then in verse 2 God tells Elijah to go hide because Queen Jezabel is killing all of God's prophets because she is a worshipper of Baal.
Read the following text: 1Kings 17:1-16
"Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe [a] in Gilead, said to Ahab, 'As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.'
2 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: 3 "Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. 4 You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there."
5 So he did what the LORD had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. 7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the LORD came to him: 9 "Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food." 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?" 11 As she was going to get it, he called, "And bring me, please, a piece of bread."
12 "As surely as the LORD your God lives," she replied, "I don't have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die."
13 Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.' "
15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah."
God specifically told Elijah to go hide by the brook and He would provide for him, but the brook dries up. If I was Elijah, I would have most likely complained about that. Then God specifically tells Elijah to go to the widow and she will provide for him. However, when he gets there, she tells him she can't because she doesn't even have food for herself. If I was Elijah I probably would have thought, "Well God, did you give me the wrong address? How can this person with no food for herself feed me?" Even though Elijah was doing exactly what God told him to do it wasn't easy. The fact that Elijah is having to hide in the first place is because He obeyed God. As you can see, you can still have troubled times even when you are in God's will. Obedience to God can not be equated with easiness of task or times. What you can be rest assured of though is that obedience to God will mean peace in your heart. So the next time you see a storm brewing on the horizon, don't automatically assume it is because you are out of God's will. Don't fail to notice though, that God did provide for Elijah miraculously which brings more glory to Him. If the brook hadn't dried up and the widow hadn't ran out of food, then Elijah would not have seen the miracle of the little bit of flour and oil never running out. When the storms roll in look for God's miracles and praise Him for them.
Staying the narrow path - Have a blessed day!

Check out my website at www.thenarrowpath.net

A Mother's Prayer

2008-02-17T14:03:00.000-08:00

Dear Lord,
Please show me the hypocrisy in myself. Show me what I do that I don't want them to do - so I can stop.
Show me how to be the person I want them to be - when they grow up. For I know, they will do as I do, and not as I say.
As I desire to know You more - I pray they do too.
Help me to train them instead of yell at them.
Remind me to nurture them instead of blowing them off because I am busy.
May kind words and a gentle tone come out of my mouth - so they too will have kind words and a gentle tone.
Let them see in me compassion, gentleness, patience, and kindness as I see those traits in Jesus Christ.
I pray that only truth and righteousness be found in me, so that it will also be found in them. Father, remind me daily to choose to give you full reign over my life, so I will be a reflection of You.
I pray Lord they see my love for them as I see Your love for me.
I will purposely set my feet on Your path of Holiness because I know that two pairs of smaller feet are right behind mine.

You cannot teach your children what you do not know, and you cannot go where you do not want your children to go.
Michelle

Please visit my website at www.thenarrowpath.net

New Year's Aspirations

2008-01-01T10:03:00.000-08:00

Well it's that time of year again. I can't believe 2007 is nearly gone, it just seems like yesterday that it began. This is the time of year for reflecting on the past year and making resolutions for the upcoming year.

I quit making new year's resolutions a few years ago, because I couldn't keep them. I never lost the weight, I didn't make it on my knees every day to pray, I didn't read my Bible every day, and I wasn't patient with my kids all the time. It was just easier to not make the resolution than deal with the guilt of failure.Our pastor gave a good message on resolutions this morning that made me reevaluate my position. He pointed out the fact that we are all sinners and we all will fail at sometime. None of us can do the right thing all the time, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try. So I am going to make some new year's aspirations this year that I will strive to keep daily, yet knowing that I am going to fail sometimes. Instead of feeling guilty when I fail, I will just get up, dust myself off, and keep moving up the path to get me closer to those aspirations step by step.

Here is a list of my new year's aspirations that will grow my character:
1. I aspire for the life of Jesus to be revealed in me. (2 Corinthians 4:10)
2. I aspire to be thankful all the time, no matter my circumstances. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
3. aspire to treat others the way I would like to be treated, focusing on tone of voice I use to speak to my family. (Matthew 7:12, Luke 6:31)
4. I aspire to be able to hear and follow God's will for my life.

Here is a list of what I need to do to achieve those aspirations:
1. Read or listen to the Bible daily (I like to listen to the dramatized NIV Bible on my ipod) and pray daily.
2. Fill my mind with positive thoughts, (ie. Christian radio, very little television, Christian books etc) and choose to be thankful.
3. Pray daily for kind words, play with my children more, try to see the world from their eyes.
4. Have daily quiet time, and organize my schedule to write more.

I can see I have a lot of work ahead of me this year and I can only achieve these things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13). Whatever your new year's aspirations are pray each day for the Lord to help you to achieve them, because we can do nothing through our own power. In our Sunday School class today someone shared their 2007 resolution was to be more grateful and the way they achieved that was writing down every answered prayer. I like that idea, so I am adding a page to my notebook to keep a record of all answered prayer. May God be with you and bless you in 2008.
Happy New Year!

Visit my website www.thenarrowpath.net

A New Location

2007-11-29T13:46:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to let everyone know, that I now have a website that I will posting all my blogs to. Please visit it at www.thenarrowpath.net .

What are you celebrating this Christmas?

2007-11-29T13:30:00.000-08:00

Why 2000 years later do we still celebrate the birth of Jesus? Why is His birth so important? The answer to that is found in the reason for His birth. Jesus, who is fully God, was born to die. You may say, “Well yes, everyone born on earth is going to die.” However, everyone born on earth is not born for the sole purpose of dieing. Jesus’ sole purpose on earth was to die for you and me.

We are all sinners according to Romans 3:23. We will never be “good” enough to get to heaven on our own merit according to Isaiah 64:6. God is a Holy and just God and cannot allow sin into heaven. This poses a problem, since we are all sinners and cannot earn our way into heaven, how shall we get there? That brings us back to why we celebrate the birth of Jesus. Because He, and He alone is how sinful man gets into heaven according to John 14:6.

Through Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross, all of our sins will be forgiven, if we accept Him as our Lord and savior. That’s a big “if” right there. It requires action on our part. According to Ephesians 2:8-9, God, through His grace, provided a way to heaven for us (salvation), through faith in Jesus. This salvation through Christ is a gift to us, we cannot earn it. What are you celebrating this Christmas? Jesus as a babe in a manger, or Jesus as your personal Lord and savior. The only way you can celebrate Jesus as your personal savior is if you have made Him that? Is there a time in your life when you remember making Jesus your personal Lord and savior? Do you remember a time when you admitted to God you were a sinner, you believed Jesus died and rose again for you, and you committed your life to Him? Eternity is a long time for “I think so.” If you don’t know for certain that you are saved through faith in Christ Jesus, right now is the time to “nail” that down.
Romans 10:9-10: "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”

Salvation is simple, turn your heart to Christ, pray and ask God to forgive your sins. Tell Him that you believe Jesus died for you and rose again. Tell Him you want to live the rest of your life for Him. Once you do that, truly meaning it, you will never feel the same again. If you do pray on your own to receive Christ, the next step is to find a Bible believing church and make that public by baptism. Then start reading your Bible daily.

It is my prayer that you are celebrating your salvation this season and not just the birth of a babe.
God Bless You and Merry CHRISTmas!

God's Name is Jehovah Shammah

2007-09-17T13:49:00.000-07:00

My God is an awesome God with many names, and His names show His character. Jehovah Shammah is the one I want to discuss today. Jehovah Shammah means, "The Lord is there." Simple but wonderful. God is here with me day in day out. Here are just a few thoughts I had about this as I was thinking about it.

Jehovah Shammah...
Before the sun, the moon, the stars, and the earth was created, God was there.
When Adam and Eve at the forbidden fruit, God was there.
When Abraham left his home and the only lifestyle he had ever known to become a nomad, God was there.
When Sarah was barren and couldn't have a baby, God was there.
When Lot was rescued from Sodom and Gommorah, God was there.
When Abraham was about to sacrifice his only son, God was there.
When Jacob tricked Isaac and stole Esau's blessing, God was there.
When the Israelites were trapped between the Red Sea and the Egyptians, God was there.
When David faced Goliath with just a small stone, God was there.
When Christ hung on the cross to save us from our sins, God was there.
When the twin towers fell, God was there.
When hurricane Katrina came ashore, God was there.
When the doctor told me my son had cerebral palsy, God was there (he was the one holding me up).
When my son took his first steps (even though they said he might never), God was there.
When cancer or other illness strikes, God is there.
When you lose a loved one, God is there.
When you lose your job, or can barely make ends meet, God is there.

Jehovah Shammah - praise you for always being "there" no matter where that is for us. No matter the trial or celebration God is always with us.

May God Bless you and your family.

What is Worship Really?

2007-08-17T15:20:00.000-07:00

I recently attended a women's conference with Kathy Troccoli as the speaker and Travis Cottrell as the worship leader. It was an awesome conference. I love being in the presence of 800 women who openly and or expressly worship the Lord. Then on Sunday Travis and his band was at our church as well and did an awesome concert of praise and worship music. Honestly it was a let down there after coming from the conference, and not due to the singing or performance - they put their hearts and souls into it. The congregation for the most part stood still, with little or no expression on their faces and occasionally would clap a little (yes, I attend a Baptist church if you haven't figured that out yet).

So how are we supposed to worship the Lord and what is true worship? I believe the answer is different for each person. I personally was not raised in church and do not have any inhibitions. However, I often feel restrained during worship because most people are restrained. When I am in the presence of the Lord, I get so excited that sometimes I want to leap out of my seat and shout hallelujah. For me to truly worship the Lord, it has to be expressive. By this I mean, clapping, raising my hands and my face to Him, my eyes have to be closed as well (not falling down in the aisle or whopping people on the head). My most awesome worship experiences happen when I am in the car alone with praise and worship music blasting. Of course, this probably freaks out the other drivers on the road to see me with both hands in the air and my eyes closed! (Just kidding, I keep my eyes open). I also have awesome worship experiences down on my knees during morning prayer time.

Now others can have true worship experiences without moving a muscle and looking straight forward with a smile on their face. I admire these people, because for me being still means my mind is wandering. In my church, the still worship is most widely used. What is wrong with expressive worship though? I can't find anywhere in the Bible that says, "Thou shalt worship with out movement or expression on thine face." Yes, you should be reverent, which simply means we should honor God. I feel like God is truly honored when we give Him our full attention and our entire heart. For me giving to Him is more active. It was for David in the Bible also. In 2 Samuel 12-16, it says David celebrated with all His might, dancing, and leaping in the streets, praising the Lord.

Here are just a few other verses that refer to worship.
Psalm 134:2 "Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the LORD."
Psalm 149:3 "Let them praise His name with dancing and make music to Him with tambourine and harp."
The following chapter of Psalms I love: Psalm 150
1 Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens.
2 Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.
3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre,
4 praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute,
5 praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.
Isn't that awesome, I'd feel like leaping and shouting hallelujah right now.

So my question is, how come people are totally comfortable jumping up and down, shouting, and make pig noises or whatever your mascot is, yet embarrassed to express your love to the Lord.

What is the most awesome gift you could receive? Let's just say it is a red convertible corvette. If my husband led me outside one day with my eyes closed, and when he told me to open them there sat a cherry red, convertible corvette with black leather interior and a big red ribbon on it and he said, "Honey, this is my gift to you just because I love you." I can promise you, the neighbors would see some leaping, shouting and dancing in the street!

Jesus gave us the greatest gift of all when He died on the cross for us, so we could live in heaven for eternity )if we accept Him as our personal saviour), just because He loves us. Yet, are we truly worshipping Him with all our heart?

Friend, don't live life in your comfort zone or any kind of a daze or zone - live it to the fullest praising and worshipping the one true God with all your might (whether that means simply in your heart, or with an outpouring of expression, or simply with a lifted head or hand)!

Have a blessed day.

What I learned at Children's Camp

2007-07-23T08:44:00.000-07:00

Well it has been an extremely busy summer. The last few weeks have consisted of a family reunion 10 hours away from our home. A week's visit by my husband's family which meant there were 13 people in my house, VBS, and children's camp. I am still trying to recooperate after camp last week. Needless to say that is why I haven't blogged in 2 months. We had a great family reunion and saw family members that I haven't seen in 6 or more years. We also had a great visit with my husband's family. The children loved VBS and my daughter loved camp.

When I asked her what she learned at camp, she couldn't remember. The message of the week was basically how to live for God and to live out His plan and purpose for you, it could have possibly been a little over her head since she's only 9.

I can tell you what I learned though. (I was the counselor for the 3rd grade girls and there was 7 of them in my room).
I learned that:
1. Our children are not getting enough exercise. They complained the day after the hike about being sore. I wasn't sore and I haven't worked out in 2 months.
2. Our children are hooked on electronics and have a hard time learning if it isn't a video game or tv show. We could hardly keep them awake and focused during worship and they were so uninvoled in Bible study. I taught Bible study to 3 different groups of 3rd and 4th graders and in each one I asked them "what was Moses' mission?" In all 3 groups I received the answer "to build the ark." I know how many times these kids have heard these Bible stories, why are they not retaining the information?
3. 3rd grade girls have not yet learned they can't say everything they think, which resulted in a lot of tears and hurt feelings for the week!
4. My mission to train up my children in the ways of the Lord is growing tougher every day. I am going to have to compete with tv, video games, the computer and many other things that my parents didn't have to deal with.
5. Finally I learned that I am getting old! I was completely exhausted all weekend. Of course my daughter was too but 9 years olds still need a lot of sleep also.

All in all it was a good week. The Lord blessed us with good weather, no sickness, no injuries and the biggest praise of all a few of the children were saved! The times the girls were not fighting I loved listen to them talk and play and hearing their giggles made it all worth it.

I hope you are enjoying your summer and spending some time making memories with your family.
Have a blessed Summer!

RELAX

2007-06-04T21:09:00.000-07:00

I have been having a lot of problems with my back since January this year. During my last massage (very painful massage I might add), I asked the therapist why my neck muscles were so tight. She said that I am carrying all my everyday stresses right there in my neck. I usually pride myself in not stressing, so I wasn't sure about that. However, my muscles were so sore for a couple of days after the massage, I realized that I have a tendency to tighten up all my muscles in my back, neck, and jaw fairly often. This is probably why the dentist keeps telling me that I am grinding all my teeth down. I didn't even know I was doing that until it hurt everytime I did it.

After giving it some thought, I decided she may be right. All this trouble started one week after my husband broke his ankle (his RIGHT ankle). Talking about stress, having to drive my husband everywhere was a nightmare. Fortunately it was only for 6 weeks, I'm not sure our marriage could have survived much longer. He says that I am an "aggressive" driver. Hmmm...Just because I don't poke around doesn't mean I'm aggressive. He also complained about my quick starts and stops. Well, that's what the gas and brake pedals are for.

When I shared the thoughts about my back pain, possibly being from stress with my husband, He wondered out loud, what stress do I have in my life. Well I'm not responsible for a multi- million dollar business, only the educating and training of the 2 other people who live in our house. Of course sometimes simply being in the presence of small children is stressful as any stay at home mom can tell you.

Moving on, that is when I started having all this back pain. So I decided to make a conscious effort to keep my muscles relaxed and trust God more with all these things that cause stress. So I wrote the acrostic below to help me remember what it means to relax.

Realizing Christ is in Control
Everything is taken care of
Laying all my burdens at His feet
And truly trusting Him is
Xactly what I need to do daily.

So my nickel's worth of advice is to relax - hopefully I can have a better control of this soon. Stress and worry is very bad for your health even if you don't realize it. One of our very healthy young friend's recently had a lung collapse. The doctor told her it was from stress. So be healthy and relax.

Have a blessed week or month!

My strength or His?

2007-05-09T08:47:00.000-07:00

Well, the last two days I've had my focus on me, rather than the Lord and His mighty strength. Being soley responsible for your children's education is a huge responsibility. It is definitely one the Lord has called me to, and I am being obedient to that. What I often forget is, what He has called me to do, He will equip me to do. I have been really frustrated and discouraged the last few days, because educating my children isn't a walk in the park, and is actually very difficult. My mistake though, is taking it on as my sole responsibiltiy.

The Lord was so good to show me last night and this morning that He made me the mother of my two children for a reason. He did not give me "normal" or "easy" children for a reason. I guess He believes that I can handle raising them up the way He has commanded. I know He has put those two precious children on this earth for a purpose, and it is my responsibility to make sure they are fully trained and equipped to carry out His plan. He did give us as parents that responsibility, however, He never intended for us to do it on our own. He is with us all the way guiding and leading us. When I've hit the wall, and I don't know what else to do or try, He has always been there to show me, when I've asked. He was faithful in that again. It is amazing to me, how I can be so discouraged one day and so relieved the next, but that is the beauty of having an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. The hard part of having this relationship is just like any other relationship, I have to work on it. It doesn't just happen, so when I back off and start relying on my own strengths and abilities, discouragement quickly sets in. When I put my focus back on Him, and rely on His strength, then the peace and joy comes back. Hallelujah!

I guess my point of this blog is, if you are discouraged then take a look at yourself. Are you relying on your own strenth or His?

May God bless you this week.

Set Apart

2007-05-02T06:22:00.000-07:00

There has been so much response from the last post, that I had to come back and share even more of God's sovereignty with you. My father-in-law sent us an email after reading the post, and he said God gave Jase his strong will to overcome the odds and, "there is no telling what God has in store for him." Of course our pediatrician has told me every time I have taking in him for something (like the 2 or 3 month period, when he was 2, that he would wake up and scream from 3am to 5am because he wanted to come get into our bed, which I had only allowed one time when he was sick), "He is strong willed and God made him that way so he can achieve what God has planned for him. You are going to have to learn how to channel his determination." Easier said than done of course. He tells me that pretty much every time he sees Jase.

Getting back to the point, God did create Jase with a strong will not only to overcome his physical challenges, but also to fulfill His purpose and plan. When Jase was born I had one of those calendars over my kitchen sink that had a verse and a little devotion for each day. Several weeks after he was born, I noticed that the calendar was still on April 17 the day he was born. So I picked up to change it and I read what it said for that day: "He...set me apart, even from my mother's womb, and called me through His grace." Gal. 1:15 Then the devotion part read: "Each child has been uniquely created by God to fulfill a special part of His plan for the ages. Use every resource you can to help your child discover that part." I tore that page out and it is on the front page of his baby book.

From that moment I knew Jase would be called for something special. Of course, I did not know at that time, how often God would bring that back to my memory to encourage me that Jase will overcome, and he has been created for a special purpose just like all of us. My daughter has also been created for a special purpose. She isn't strong willed like Jase (praise God), but she is sweet, loving, compassionate, happy-go-lucky, and always has a smile on her face. The smiles of children I think are one of God's greatest gifts! They can lift the heaviest heart and light up the darkest night.

Friend, I just hope you remember that you too, have been created for a special purpose. Since we were created on purpose, we need to live our lives with purpose. Pray for God to show you your purpose, if you don't already know it. Don't just exist, live for your purpose, let God have control in your life, and live it with passion for Christ.

Have a blessed, purposeful day!

The Miracle Score

2007-04-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Lord really filled my heart full of joy this weekend. For those who think that God doesn't perform miracles anymore must not be paying much attention. We saw one this weekend (or I guess I should say the continuance of one). Our 6 year old son scored a goal in his soccer game this weekend! I know for most parents that wouldn't seem like much of a miracle. Most parents were not sitting in a doctors office 5 years and 4 months ago like we were. Most parents were never told that their child had cerebral palsy and may never walk. That's why scoring a goal is a miracle for us.

After his game last week, he told me he wished he could run as fast as the other kids and it nearly broke my heart. His coach worked with him this week and taught him how to stay ahead of the other boys and down by the goal and it worked, he kicked one in! Only God can take us from a broken heart to one filled with joy. He may not be a ball handler because he isn't fast enough, but he was determined to contribute. He is the most determined child I have ever seen and has been from the minute he was born (actually before he was born - I was in pre-term labor for 6 weeks - he was determined to get out whether it was time or not). It is always amazing to me how God can use a 6 year old to encourage me. Not only is he determined to succeed at whatever he is trying, he is usually doing it with a smile. Speaking of smiles the one on his precious face after he scored the goal could have lit up any room. That smile made 5 years worth of therapy 4 to 7 times per week worth it.

I took him and his sister ice skating the past Friday. She has been once before and did very well. This was his first time on the ice and his feet would not stay under him. I had signed them up for a group beginner lesson. The teacher was so patient and wonderful with him. By the time we were finished he could skate slowly with me holding his hand. I was tired and ready to go, so I asked him if he was ready to leave and he said, "No, I'm not stopping until I can do that." He was pointing to a kid whizzing by us as he said that. DETERMINATION! I told him that most people can't be that good on their first time. He was ok with that, and let us stop.

I am so thankful for all the patient people in the world. His soccor coach, the lady giving the ice skating lesson, all his therapists. They are very special people who help him achieve success beyond what we knew he could. They are patient and loving when working with him and they never make him feel different or inadequate. They are always encouraging and building him up. God places them in our life as part of His miracles. He has blessed us tremendously. Although, we would give anything for our son to not have CP we are so thankful that we get to be part of His awesome work, faithfulness, and answered prayers.

Have a blessed week.

Who are you trying to please?

2007-04-04T06:17:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile again, but basically I only make posts when God puts something on my heart to say and I follow in obedience by making the time to say it. I am studying Daniel right now. I completed Beth Moore's study on Daniel and now I am doing Kay Arthur's Daniel study. I really enjoy digging into the Bible because then His word becomes alive and active just as He promises.

Anyway this morning this verse caught my attention. Daniel 1:9, "Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel." To catch you up King Nebuchadnezzar had besieged Judah and carried off captives from Judah back to Babylon. With these captives are Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. King Neb. has sought out the best and brightest from these captives to be educated and indoctinated into Babylonian culture so they may serve in His court. Daniel has made up his mind not to be defiled by this culture and has asked the official in charge of him if he may eat fruit, vegetables and whole grains instead of the "rich" food of the king's table.

In verse 9 you see that God changed the heart of this official to where he will show favor to Daniel. This is not the only time you see this. God did the same thing for Joseph when He was sold into slavery by his brothers. As I was digging a little further, I noticed a cross reference verse with verse 9. It is Proverbs 16:7 which says, "When a man's ways are pleasing to the Lord, He makes even his enemies live at peace with him."

Often we tend to follow the ways of the world to please those around us. This is the wrong approach. Our only goal should be to follow and please God and then He will cause those around us live at peace with us. They may not think we are "cool" or like us, but they will live at peace with us. Sacrificing our integrity and our committment to God to "fit in" with the crowd will only end up causing us more grief in the end. Often what happens is, if we profess to be christians, but then live as the world does, the people we are trying to please will most likely mock us. We are also being a huge stumbling block.

Many of us are around people that either we don't like or that we are trying to please, the best way to handle this is to just seek God and His will for you. Live your life as He commands and He can change the hearts of others to live peaceably with you.

As a born people pleaser, I have had to learn this lesson the hard way. I know now that it is much easier to stay on my path with God and pray for someone who is causing me grief than to try to be like them so they will like me. Pray for those who are thorns in your side and just like I did, you will see a change in their attitude. The person I learned this with, didn't become my best friend, but she became more amiable and became polite to me as opposed to hateful.

So today I ask you, who are you trying to please on a daily basis? Those around you or God?
May God's Blessings Be upon You!

Where's Your Focus?

2007-03-05T06:16:00.000-08:00

This morning the Lord showed me another reason I was struggling the last two months. My focus was on me and not on Him. I was feeling discouraged and defeated because my eyes were on all the little annoyances, trials, and failures of daily life instead of Him. I should be crying out to Him on a daily basis instead of letting myself get down every time something doesn't go my way. If I keep my focus on HIM, taking all these things to HIM, then I become closer to HIM and encouraged by HIM (Note it's all about HIM, HIM, HIM and not me, me, me). Instead I wallow around in self pity and allow myself to become discouraged and depressed. Of course the Lord has showed me this before. Unfortunately He has to remind me often to keep my eyes on Him and not on the things of this world.

Thank you Lord for your patience! Please help me extend that same grace and patience to my children.

Have a blessed and peaceful week and remember keep your eyes up!

The Sin of Unbelief

2007-02-23T07:28:00.000-08:00

It has been awhile since I have blogged again. There are just so many "priorities" right now that it is hard to find the time. I have really struggled the last two months and until last night I wasn't sure what with. In January I felt depressed all month and the Lord helped me work that out by showing me to come to Him more on my knees. Last night I figured out what I was still struggling with.

Doubt, fear, and stress all due to the large amount of responsibility I feel for our children's education and training. Actually it is undue stress that I am putting on myself because of my sin of unbelief. I went to the Mandisa concert last night and as we were singing about how great, high, and awesome our God is, I realized I was taking on His responsibility. I can't make my children grow up to love Him, and I can't keep my children from sinning any more than I can make myself not sin. I have read so many parenting books and tips and newsletters on how to train your children to grow up to be Godly adults that I was almost taking God out of it and trying to do it all myself. Having somewhat of a perfectionist nature what was happening was that I had taken on this task all by myself to make my children perfect (funny because I myself am so far from perfect) that every time they misbehaved I felt like a failure. Satan had taken and twisted even my best intentions to train up my children in the nuture and admonition of the Lord into a fear of failure and doubt. My God can do anything in the world and if I am simply striving to do the best I can to raise my children it doesn't have to be perfect, because our perfect God will take it from there and complete it perfectly.

God is clear in the Bible that not believing Him is a sin. This morning I asked Him to forgive me for my sin of unbelief and I turned my children over to Him. I will do the best I can to teach them about Him but I will not be perfect and neither will they and that is ok. I know that instead of worrying about all Satan's traps in the world like sex, drugs, alcohol, pornograpy that could ensnare them, I have to pray for God to strengthen them to say no those traps. I pray for them to have pure hearts and to grow up loving and serving God, now I have to believe Him when He says, "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." Praise God for His promises, I do believe Him and I hope you do too.

Hope you have a blessed week or month depending on how long it takes me to blog again!

The Necessity of Kneeling

2007-01-19T07:19:00.000-08:00

For a few weeks now I have been feeling tired, run down, not wanting to do anything, and lazy. I have been short tempered and snappy. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. I have even been praying about and asking the Lord to restore my joy and to show me what I have let steal my joy. Well this morning it became very clear to me what my problem was.

For the first time in I can't remember when, I got down on my knees to pray. I pray daily sometimes in my chair where I do my quiet time, sometimes in the car, sometimes getting dressed, off and on all day pretty much. However, I had not been down on my knees in awhile. I was praying so hard yesterday for Him to show me what was wrong with me, I know He is the one who prompted me to pray on my knees this morning. Before Christmas I prayed on my knees daily, somehow through all the holidays I let that slip. Let me tell you it makes a difference that is unbelievable.

As soon as both of my knees hit the ground this morning tension released out of my body and immediately I knew that this had been my problem these last few weeks. I felt the Lord's presence cover me and my joy return. Like I said I have been doing bible study every morning and praying daily, but the difference is in the position. I can't explain how much better I feel, like a dark cloud has lifted off of me.

Thank you Lord, for waiting patiently on me as I tried to do things my way, taking short cuts. He was there this morning waiting patiently to restore me and I am so thankful for a God that loves me this much despite all my shortcomings.

Give it a try if you don't pray on your knees daily, you will be suprised at how much closer you will feel to God.

Have a blessed weekend!

Unfinished Business

2007-01-07T14:42:00.000-08:00

Our pastor gave a very good sermon today and a few things he said challenged me, so I thought I would pass them on.

God put every person on earth for a reason and there are things that he has called each of us to do. Thinking back on 2006, did you accomplish everything God called you to do? If not, then it isn't done because only you can do what God has called you to do. When our pastor asked us did we accomplish everything in 2006 that God had called us to do, I immediately started to ask God in my mind, "Did I accomplish everything you called me to do?" Before I finished forming that question to God in my head an answer was already there. No, He had immediately brought to mind one task left undone before I even finished asking the question.

For several years I have been writing a bible study that He has called me to write, I'm in the rewriting process but not finished. I have often had the discussion with God that He doesn't need me to write Bible studies because He has authors like Beth Moore and Ann Graham Lots. There is a bible study written for every subject you can think of, so I don't really know what I can add. Every time I get convicted about not completing this task He has called me to, I will comfort myself with the thought that it really isn't a necessary task since so many others can do it so much better. Before that complete thought formed in my mind today, our pastor said loudly and strongly, "Only you can do what God has called you to do." Yes, there are many published Bible studies that are awesome, but they are not the one He has given to me to write. So I have unfinshed business to do this year, do you?

Our pastor also made this statement, "Good is often the enemy of what is best in your life." Well I did many good things this past year, but did I obey God so I could experience the best? I'm afraid I may have let good be sufficient for my life this past year, how about you?

Well not this year, I'm praying for God to show me how to prioritize what's best so I can do those things and say no to the things that are simply good.

Wishing you only the best for 2007!

The New Year's Resolution!

2007-01-05T06:31:00.000-08:00

Well it has been awhile since I have posted. We had a very busy holiday season. It was wonderful though. I had a fabulous time in New York City with my husband and some friends celebrating our 14 wedding anniversary. We also went to Tampa for a weekend for his Co. Christmas party and then home to TX (yes, we haven't actually lived in Tx for 16 years but it is still home) for Christmas. My husband took the last 2 weeks of Dec off and we had a wonderful time with him. He has 4 weeks vacation and I think he had only taken a week the whole year. That's not really a good plan, he really needed those 2 weeks and it has certainly refreshed our marriage.

It is the wonderful time of year that everyone wants to make New Year's Resolutions. I didn't make any last year because I never keep them. However I am going to this year and I would like to share mine with you. Over and over the past year a theme has come to me in bible study, sermons, books just about every where I turn God has shown me one thing over and over and I have blogged about it several times. "Keep my commands, then you will know you are mine" God says. This is repeated so many times in the Bible, and my blogs "Living Lives Set Apart" really talked about it in depth. Something I have figured out is that when God really wants me to get something and make a change in my life, He repeats it over and over. He has been repeating this theme over and over to me more than any other I believe.

In Proverbs 7:1 He says, "My son keep my words and store up my commands within you." So there you have it. Those are my 2 New Year's Resolutions:
1. "Keep my words" - Live Godly lives according to God's commands in the Bible (How do I know what those commands are? See resolution #2)
2. "Store up my commands within you." Read, study, and memorize the bible

This year I am going to resolve to have bible study time 5 days per week, prayer time everyday of the week and do my best to live as God commands. The funny thing is the living Godly part comes easy when you have the study and prayer time down. I started this past fall having a friend call me at 6:30 in the morning so I could have bible study time before I start my day. It is amazing the difference in me and my family as well because we all know that in order for the family to be at peace Mamma needs to be at peace.

How am I going to keep these resolutions - simple. Keep an accountablity partner calling me in the morning and keep my date with God Mon-Fri before I start my day. Then through prayer I will ask God to help me keep His commands and believe me He is faithful to do that. I get convicted most of the time just thinking about breaking one.

My husband said it best in his Sunday school lesson our goal for this year should be "Livin for heaven in 2007!"

May God grant you a blessed and happy New Year!

How much should we shelter our children?

2006-12-05T22:10:00.000-08:00

I know this is something many Christian parents struggle with. We certainly struggle with it being homeschool parents. We do not want to send our children into the world when they are adults unprepared. I recently read an article that helped me put this into a Biblical perspective as opposed to the world's perspective which we hear a lot more of. Our society often makes us think that sheltering our children is a bad thing. Gena Suarez, co-publisher of the Old Schoolhouse Magazine brought out some important points worth consideration. First look at the meaning of the word shelter, Protect. Defend. Guard. Preserve. Watch over. Shield. Safeguard." So what is the opposite of shelter "endanger and expose."

Let's look at this verse "For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy." -Psalms 61:3 This verse is just one of many that refer to God as being "our shelter."
Just as He is our shelterer we should shelter our children.

Now, God does not protect us from everything. He allows us to have experiences that will grow us spiritually and bring us closer to Him. So likewise we cannot protect our children from everything. How do we know what to protect them from and if we are overprotecting them. By prayer. Some things are common sense. We try to protect them from things that will harm them. We do not let our children play in the front yard unless an adult is with them. Is this being overprotective? Depends on who you ask. Ask a mother who's child was abducted and most likely the answer will be no. I want to do everything I possibly can to protect my children from being abducted, so I may be overprotective at times. If I am going to err I would rather err on being overprotective than under.

There are going to be many things in my children's lives that I cannot protect them from, but there are many things I can. I can protect their innocence by keeping the trash on tv, internet, and radio out of their lives. Do we cut all that out all together? No, we just monitor it closely. We are very picky about what our children see, watch, and hear. By homeschooling our children we are protecting them from many things the school system would bring thatwe know and most likely many things we don't. I know we are protecting them from intense pressure. They have all their adult working lives to deal with that no need to now. Our children are young enough that we can choose their friends. It is important at young impressionable ages for children to have good role models and this includes their friends. This may sound crazy, but their are certainly many young children out there with very admirable qualities. My son is extremely impressionable he can hear a word one time and repeat it in the correct context. He picks up on behaviors very quickly also. Everytime he is around our nephew he comes home acting just like him. Which is only a problem because my nephew is 2 and my son is 5. It will take me at least a week to break him from acting and talking like a 2 year old everytime. Of course I don't keep him from seeing our nephew this is a learning opportunity for him not to mock everything he sees.

Gena Suarez makes the following comment that I say Amen to, "Lord, thank you for sheltering me. Please never stop. “Over-shelter” if You will (if there is such a thing). Fine with me! Over-protect, Over-defend, Over-guard me; please do! I’ll take it all, Lord. Keep me tight to Your side. I’m safe there. There, I can breathe. It’s where I live."

I live in the shelter of my Father and I want my children to feel the same. Every step of the way I will be asking the Lord to show me when I need to back off the sheltering of my children, but I won't do it unless He tells me to because He is the all knowing one with infinite wisdom and I put my trust in Him.

Hope this makes sense and doesn't just appear as rambling. God commands us to bring our children up in His nuture and admonition and we can't do this if we are overexposing them to the world.

Hope you are having a wonderful Christmas season. Take some time to thank God for sending Jesus to us!

Unshakable

2006-11-09T06:18:00.000-08:00

I know in my last post I said I was going to do a series on the commands of God. After praying about it though, I have decided to turn that into a Bible study for children that I can try to get published, so I am not going to blog on it. I did come across some great verses this morning that are worth blogging on.

Psalm 62

1 My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

These verses are addressing our security. Do you have security or are you an insecure person? If you have security where does it come from? It is reasonable to say that a truly secure person is a content person. Those of us who are insecure tend to keep searching for that security in different things (ie job, material possessions, relationships with people). In the end though every thing on this earth is going to fail us, so there we are right back to that original insecurity. Verse 1 tells us how to have the security we seek and the contentment God intened us to have. The following commentary says it very well:

'Ps 62:1"In him alone do I trust; there is calmness of mind; I have no apprehension as to what can happen. My mind is at peace, for I feel that all is in the hands of God, and that lie is worthy of entire trust and confidence." The feeling is that which exists when we have entrusted all to God; when, having entire confidence in his power, his goodness, his wisdom, his mercy, we commit the whole case to him as if it were no longer our own. Such is the calmness-the peace-the quiet-the silence of the soul-when all is left with God.' (from Barnes' Notes, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft)

If we place our trust in God, He is our security, our peace of mind, our rock. Nothing can shake us when we are resting in Him. There will be many earthquakes in our lives. We can choose to be rocked and shaken or we can choose to stand on the unshakable rock of Christ Jesus. I know He is my salvation and no matter what happens on this earth one day I will be in Glory with Him. Hallelujah!

Have a blessed week!

The Commands of God

2006-10-30T07:39:00.000-08:00

Well it has been awhile since my last post. Life has been very busy. Naturally schooling my children at home takes up a chunk of my day everyday. The material for this blog has been on my mind for awhile and every time I would sit down to write something would happen and I would have to quit. I discovered this verse doing Bible Study and was very excited about it and still am. I love how when you read the Bible you can read something you've read a hundred times yet you can still see a fresh word in it.

So let's look at 1 John 2:3-6 "We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did."NIV

Now let's see what the amplified version says, "And this is how we may discern [[a]daily, by experience] that we are coming to know Him [to perceive, recognize, understand, and become better acquainted with Him]: if we keep (bear in mind, observe, practice) His teachings (precepts, commandments).
4Whoever says, I know Him [I perceive, recognize, understand, and am acquainted with Him] but fails to keep and obey His commandments (teachings) is a liar, and the Truth [[b]of the Gospel] is not in him.
5But he who keeps (treasures) His Word [who bears in mind His precepts, who observes His message in its entirety], truly in him has the love of and for God been perfected (completed, reached maturity). By this we may perceive (know, recognize, and be sure) that we are in Him:
6Whoever says he abides in Him ought [as [c]a personal debt] to walk and conduct himself in the same way in which He walked and conducted Himself."

These verses actually go along with my previous two blogs on living lives set apart. If we are children of God, then we will keep His commands and keeping His commands means we walk as Jesus did. I did a little search and found from Genesis to Revelation that there are 838 verses with some form of the word "command" in them. However according to these verses we need to mostly be concerned with the commands of the New Testatment. A quick search showed that there are 130 verses in the New Testament that contain some form of the word "command".

Do you know all the commands of God? How can we be expected to keep the commands of God if we don't know them? That's where quiet time, Bible reading, and Bible study come in. So guess what some of my future blogs will be covering? You guessed it, the commands of God! I probably won't cover all 130, but I will just let the Lord's guidance tell me which ones to cover. So until next time, start praying for God to give you wisdom and revelation of Himself and His Word!
Have a blessed Day!

Living Lives Set Apart 2

2006-10-06T08:10:00.000-07:00

The last blog I talked about what it takes to live your life set apart from the world and for God. Most of us fear being different, yet that is exactly what God has called us to be. We discussed the verses in Proverbs that tell us how to live our lives for God and not the world.

How do we stay on God's path? Proverbs 4:20-24 tells us. " My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words 21 Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; 22 for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body. 23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. 24 Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. 25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. 26 Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. 27 Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil."

Most people think the Christian life is a bunch of "thou shalt nots". The christian life is not about a bunch of rules, it's about a relationship. Once you have an intimate relationship with the Lord of Lords and King of Kings you follow His commands because you want to out of love. As a Christian there are things that we need to "put off" to be set apart, but there are also things that need to be "put on" to be Godly.

What do we need to "put on" according to Proverbs 4:20-24?
1. We need to put on our listening ears. ("My Son pay attention to what I say") We have to be still to listen to God and then obey Him to be set apart.
2. We need to "put on" the habit of learning God's Word ("Do not let them -God's words- out of your sight, keep them in your heart") to have the knowledge needed to be set apart.
3. We need to "put on" an attitude of discernment to fill our lives and minds with Holiness.(Guard your heart)
4. We need to "put on" loving speech to everyone including our children. (Keep your tongue in check)
5. We need to "put on" a conscious effort to remain Holy. (Keep your eyes on the path and the goal)

Living lives set apart is not an option it is a command. Christians riding the fence are missing out on the best part of the christian life and that is intimacy with God. Having the manifest presence of God with you daily makes a set apart life a joyful life.

Are you missing the presence of God in your daily life? Then maybe you need to evaluate your position. Are you on the fence? God desires for you to be completely sold out to Him and Living for Him with all of your heart, soul, and might. Do others recognize Christ in you?

Have a blessed weekend!

Living Lives Set Apart

2006-09-25T06:43:00.000-07:00

Most of us know that God has called Christians to live lives set apart. He tells us to live in the world but not be of the world. I think many of us have forgotten that or maybe don't realize fully what that means. Statistics tend to back this up. Christians get divorced at the same rate as the rest of the world, they drink the same alcohol, they use the same language, they watch the same tv shows and movies, and share in the same gossip. We are living the same lives as the rest of the world. We are afraid to be different. We are afraid to stand out and possibly be labeled as weird or "holier than thou". We have bought into Satan's lie that it is a bad thing to be different than everyone else. The reason Satan wants us to believe that lie is because he knows that when Christians live lives set apart they become great witnesses for the cause of Christ. You are the only Bible that some people will ever read and if your words are written the same as theirs then they see no reason to turn to Jesus.

We often think that it is hard to live a life set apart for Christ, the Bible does say the path is narrow. I discovered these verses though as I was reading through proverbs and discovered that it's not as hard as we make it to be.
Proverbs 4:18 "The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day."

The path may be narrow but it is shining brighter than the full light of day and easy to see. Just like the headlights of your car keep you on the street at night. God's path is full of light to keep you on it.

How do we stay on God's path? Proverbs 4:20-24 tells us.
" My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words 21 Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; 22 for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body. 23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. 24 Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. 25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. 26 Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. 27 Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil "

We stay on the right path with lives set apart by:
1. reading God's word and heeding God's word ("My Son pay attention to what I say")
2. Keeping God's word on our mind constantly and memorizing it ("Do not let them -God's
words- out of your sight, keep them in your heart")
3. Guard your heart - keep out the garbage (ie. rated R movies, trashy television shows,
trashy music, bad interenet sites etc)
4. Keep your tongue in check - I think this is probably the most difficult and takes the most
diligence and prayer on our part to do. (No gossip- even if it is true- no foul language, no
yelling at spouse or children etc)
5. Keep your eyes on the path and the goal (The goal is to live Godly lives just like Christ - to
be Christlike) and do not swerve left or right (Consciously make decisions that will keep you
on the path- when you feel God's conviction that you are about to step over the line step
back)
Just like you make choice to keep your car on the road and you steer it on the path, you must do the same with your life. If you keep going in the ditch on the curve, that means you need to slow down and make deliberate actions to stay on the road. If you struggle constantly to stay on the path, pray for God to help you, because He will. One more thing worth mentioning is that the Christain life is not just getting rid of unwanted actions it is putting on Christlike actions. The next time we will take these same set of verses and discuss what we should put on while we take off the worldly actions.

Have a blessed day and drive safely!

Why We Shouldn't Worry

2006-09-20T06:18:00.000-07:00

I discovered a verse in the bible that really stood out to me recently. It is Matthew 6:25 in the amplified version "Therefore I tell you, stop being perpetually uneasy (anxious and worried) about your life." Wow, perpetually uneasy describes most of us more often than we'd like to admit.

The Old English word for worry meant "to gnaw". Like a dog chewing on a bone we gnaw on our situation all day. Do you know that in the New Testament alone the Bible tells us 25 times to avoid worry and anxiety? God isn't suggesting that we don't worry - He is commanding us not to worry. So that means every time we worry we are sinning. Worry is also a form of unbelief which is a sin too. When we take our situation and worry about it, we are telling God that we don't believe He can handle it for us. This causes a rift in our relationship with Him because our eyes are fixed on our situation and not on our Savior.

What do we worry about?
40% are about things that never happen
30% are about the past- which we can not change
20% are about criticism by others which most likely isn't true
10% are about our health which stress makes worse
and only 8% of what we worry about are problems that can actually be solved

Think about what you've worried about most recently, what category above does it fit into?

What does worry do to our health?
According to Dr. Charles H Mayo of the Mayo clinic, worry affects circulation, the glands, the whole nervous system and profoundly affects the heart. Researchers have established a connection between chronic worry and weakened immune systems, cardiovascular disease neurological imbalances, clinical depression, panic attacks, and obsessive compulsive disorders.

The Bible tells us over 350 times to fear not, so why do we insist on living our lives in fear, letting Satan steal our joy, and ruining our health? Worry is a sin, confess it to Him and instead of gnawing on your fear all day - gnaw on the word of God. Try this verse for starters:

"10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

Whom or what shall we fear with the Lord on our side? No one and nothing!

Have a blessed and worry free day!

Hold on to Instruction

2006-09-13T05:58:00.000-07:00

Prov 4:10-13
10 Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many. 11 I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. 12 When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble. 13 Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life. NIV

I'm sure we all know someone we would call "hard headed" (southern word for someone who doesn't listen to any instruction or advice given by others). I know I do, in fact I used to be called that myself sometimes. Today reading these verses I realized the change in myself. The change began when I started studying the Bible and listening to the Lord's instruction and advice that He gives in His word. Now I also greatly value and heed any instruction and or advice I can receive from other Godly people (the key here being "Godly" meaning people that I know study God's word and have an active prayer life).

God tells us to hold on to instruction for it is our life. It is the key to a long, peaceful, fulfilled life in Christ. Many people have a very hard time listening to the wise counsel or instruction of others and I know from personal experience that the reason for that is pride. Well God opposes the proud and lifts up the humble. Taking on an attitude of humility and listening to God and others (when you are given sound Godly advice) can be your key to a long full life.

So the question for the day is are you walking the straight path that Christ is leading you down? Are listening to His wisdom and instruction? Remember God will give you His instruction through the Bible (if you read and study it), through pastors and bible teachers, through Christian music, prayer, and through Godly people that He places in your life. If you want His wisdom and instruction, you need to immerse yourself in all the ways He will provide you with that instruction and then listen. Then after you listen and hear God's instruction you have to hold onto it ("sieze it" is what the greek/hebrew meaning is for hold onto) and follow it. Just letting it in one ear and out the other will do you no good.

I know from experience that God's paths are the only ones that I want to be on. There's nothing better than living in the will of God.

Have blessed day!

Calvinism to Believe or Not to Believe

2006-09-08T06:08:00.000-07:00

What is Calvinism. Well it is a theology that some poeple are chosing to believe in. In a nutshell calvinism says that God has chosen who is going to heaven. That He has elected who will go to heaven just because He wants to. (See www.mslick.com/tulip.htm for more info on calvinism). The opposite theolgy is called arminianism which says that God predestined His children because He knew who would accept Him and who would not.

Now, if you have accepted Christ as your savior, you are going to heaven no matter which theology you believe. So the theology is really irrelevant to those who are already saved. In my opinion calvinism borders close to legalism.

1 Timothy 1:3-4 says, ".....command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer. nor to devote themselves to myths and endless geneologies. These promote controversies rather than God's work - which is by faith."

Why do I believe Calvinism is a false doctrine? Simple it contradicts the word of God. If you just read Ephesians you might believe that calvinism could be true. However the word of God will never contradict itself and if you read the whole Bible you will find other passages that contradict this theory. I am going to use John 3:16 for my example there are others though. John 3:16 says "for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever should believe in Him will not perish but will have everlasting life."

That one word "whosoever" ruins the whole calvinistic theory. If you look up "whosoever" in the Greek/Hebrew bible dictionary it translate that word as "all". Simply put all who believe in Jesus will be saved. Now I am sure that there are some who can argue with me all day long and try their hardest to say that it is not that simple, but I believe that it is. Faith in God is simple, in fact simple enough for small children to understand it. So I chose to believe the whole word of God. God is the almighty, all powerful creator of heaven and earth and I believe He sent Christ to die for all of us not just some.

Have a blessed weekend.

Walking with Christ

2006-08-29T05:26:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I heard the following posed in a casual conversation: "So you go to church and you hear a great sermon. You get convicted and fired up that you are going to make a change, but that only lasts a few days. You get back to life and you just go right back to doing what you were doing. How do you make the change permanent, how do change your life to walk with Christ daily?"

This reminds me of what Paul said in Romans 7:19-21 "19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. "

This is actually human nature. We want to do good, but the simple fact is we are sinful and can not do it on our own.

So how do we evoke change in our life? Simple we stay in God's word constantly. One sermon a week is not enough to help us evoke change. We have to keep God and His commands on our mind every minute to evoke the desired change. As soon as we get back to work and life we focus on the world around us. God has called us to be in the world but to keep our focus on Him while we are in it.

I think back to the changes I've made in my life. In the past 10 years I have changed the music I listen to( now its just Christain), I changed the movies I watch (no rated r movies), I changed the tv I watched (no trashy tv shows for me and pretty much everything on tv is trashy). These are just a few. The biggest change in me is my thought processes. How did I make changes 8 and 10 years ago that I have stuck with? Well first of all God convicted me of these, while I was doing in depth Bible study 5 times per week. Then I made a committment to make the change. Then I prayed daily for God to help me make the change. I memorized verses that gave me strength to make the change. Most importantly I stayed in the Bible daily not just once a week.

It is impossible to walk with Christ when you only think about Him on Sundays. If you want to walk with Christ, make the committment and then follow through on the committment, do not follow your feelings follow your committment. The Bible says the heart is decietful above all things. Following our feelings will lead us astray, following Christ by true committment will lead us down the path of righteousness we desire. Have a Blessed Day!

Living Wisely

2006-08-28T05:07:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to have it all together? They always make the right decisions and everything seems to always go their way. I think some of the reason why some people seem to never make a wrong decision or choice can be seen in the book of Proverbs. Proverbs chapters 1-4 are all about wisdom, which is something I pray for daily.

Proverbs 3:19-20 tells us that God used wisdom to lay the earth's foundations and by His understanding the heavens were put into place. Then verses 21-23 say, "My son, perserve sound judgement and discernment, do not let them out of your sight; they will be life for you, an ornament around your neck. Then you will go your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble."

Wouldn't it be awesome to go through life and not stumble. The NIV Study Bible explains these verses by explaining the difference between discernement or discretion and sound judgement. Discernement or discretion is an ability God gives many people to think and make correct choices. Sound judgement is only given to those who follow Him. It includes discernement but goes even farther than that. Sound judgement includes the knowledge that comes from instruction, training, and discipline, and the insight tht results from not only knowing God's truths but applying them to your daily living.

I know in my life this has been true. The more I study and know God's word, the better my decisions in daily living have been. I think God's wisdom is one of the most important qualites we can seek from Him and we should do so diligently. After all God told Solomon that He could have anything he wanted, and he asked for God's wisdom. We too can have it, all we have to do is ask and be in His word. Have a Blessed Week!

The Power at Work Within Us

2006-08-07T13:01:00.000-07:00

The Bible is full of references to God's power. My two favorite are found in Ephesians 3:16 and 3:20. Eph 3:16 "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being," NIV Eph 3:20 "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us" NIV I think these verses are amazing. First they tell us that God's power is within us. Second they tell us that the same power He uses to accomplish more than we can ever ask or imagine is at work within us. The power God created the world with, the power God raised Christ from the dead with, the power that answers our prayers and provides daily miracles is within every born again believer. Sadly though most of us are living our lives in defeat rather than in the strength of His power. Ephesians 6:10 tells us to be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. So how do we tap into that power? By daily getting down on our knees, turning ourselves over to Christ, repenting of our sins, praising Him and asking Him to unleash His mighty power in us! Friend everytime you feel down and defeated, remember you have access to the mighty working power!
Have a blessed day!!!

Why I Homeschool

2006-08-06T17:43:00.000-07:00

Well it is that time of year with school starting back again. I guess you could say the "rat race begins". We sent our first child to kindergarten and we hated it. I didn't have children for them to be gone all day and never see them. People often look at me like they feel sorry for me when I say that I homeschool my children, but the truth is we love it. I love seeing my children grow, and learn. It is absolutely amazing to see a light bulb turn on in a child's head when all of the sudden they understand something. I love being with my children and I don't need to send them to school to get a break. Below is a further list of why I homeschool.

Why Do I Homeschool?

Why do I homeschool, mainly because God has called me to. This is the place He wants me at this time in my life. I don’t know how long I will be doing this or what the outcome will be, but God receives all the credit good or bad.

What would my child’s day be like if they attended school? They would have to wake up earlier than their natural tendencies. We would rush around to get breakfast and get dressed with me constantly saying hurry up. They would be gone at 7:30 am and not return home until 3:30pm. They would snack and have some free time until dinner, dishes, homework, bath, and bed by 8:30. I have my child’s mind for 6 hours the school has it for 8.

My child would spend all day with teachers that couldn’t possibly love and know them like I do. What happens if they don’t understand a concept in class and is too embarrassed to ask for help? What if they don’t perform they way they are expected and lose all their self esteem?

What type of peer pressures will they face? Will my child be strong enough to resist the peer pressure?

What type of values will they be taught? Will someone tell them that there is no right or wrong to do as they feel? What type of untruths will be fed to them? Will they be expected to know that the earth is millions of years old and was created by a big bang and not even be told the truth? How much damage control will I be able to do when they are taught the world’s lies (ie. Homosexuality, evolution, Hinduism etc.) At public school, whose God will they be learning about?

Will the teacher care about the different personalities of my children? What if their personality clashes with theirs?

Private school can take care of some of these fears, but between tuition, dress codes, supplies, parties, field trips etc it is very costly and still someone else if forming my child’s mind and personality.

It’s not what I know about school that scares me, it’s what I don’t know. At home, I know what they are learning while I am building a bond and relationship with them that will last forever.

Hope you have a blessed week!