Make peace

IDoing things in a way that make for peace at home, does not always feel like an option.  Many times I put pressure on myself in ways that make me uptight instead of peaceful.  This affects my husband and my kids.  I am becoming more and more sensitive to it.  Sometimes I feel like I have to pressure myself.  I'm not sure if that's true. I truly get the most done when I'm inspired/motivated, not pressured.  Trying to get stuff done by putting pressure on yourself, is like walking on a treadmill.  You are walking but your are going nowhere.  Pressure never results in relief, it only produces more pressure.  Some people think that pressure and guilt help you get things done and change for the better.  But really the only thing they are good for is to show you how much you need the Holy Spirit.  You will find in the bible that the Holy Spirit inspires, He doesn't "pressure".  Making peace comes from being "inspired" by the Holy Spirit, not being pressured  by yourself or others. If you need more inspiration in your life pray for more of the Holy Spirit in your life (Luke 11:13). And remember pressure leads to stress, and stress leads to disease.  The Holy Spirit leads to inspiration and inspiration leads to peace, health and wholeness.  Letting the Holy Spirit lead you might not get things done as fast as you want them done, but it will lead to something much greater then just an item checked off you to-do list

Is your box too small?

We all have our own boxes and parameters in which we live our lives.  This is not a bad thing.  Healthy boundaries are a good thing.  They are from God.  In the bible, the Israelite people had boundaries.  God gave all the tribes except the Levites a section of the land that God gave to them as an inheritance.  That means that there were borders for their tribes.  We all know that children behave better when there are healthy boundaries in place for them.  Children actually feel more secure with healthy boundaries in place.   Just like our children;  we, as children of God, feel safe within the boundaries that God has laid out for us.  However, we begin to grow just as our children grow.  As our children grow, they get more and more freedom and not as many boundaries.  The box that they live in gets bigger and bigger.  When they were little, certain boundaries kept them safe.  But as they grow, those same boundaries can become toxic to them and hinder their growth.  I believe the same is true as children of God.  I believe as we grow in Christ, the boundaries that once kept us safe, can become toxic for us and hinder our growth.  That's kind of where I'm at right now.  The box that I lived in, the boundaries that once gave me a sense of safety, are starting to feel very unsafe for me.   The scripture below really speaks to this for me:

^{1 Chronicles 4:10
10} And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested.

The thing that I really hear in this scripture right now, is that Jabez is relating God enlarging his territory with him causing pain.  Almost like he is saying, God spread out my boundaries so I don't cause pain to others.  I believe that when we start to grow and our boxes become to small or our boundaries become to tight, if we don't participate with God's expansion, we will cause others pain.  When we restrict our growth, it causes others pain.  Sometimes we restrict ourselves for those that we love and we think we are protecting them by doing that, when really what happens is we begin to cause them pain because we are unhappy and not feeling like we are walking in our purpose.   Our box starts to make us sick and many times that gets taken out on those closest to us.  Many times in protecting those we love from our own "purpose, we end up hurting them.

Your lack

This whole issue of holding on to stuff has been on my mind.  I am

Finding myself in need in a couple areas. It seems the more I hold on to what I have, it seems the more I lose.  Do you know that this applies to more than money. This applies to "time", "energy", etc.  Lately I have been thinking about how Jesus remedies our "lack".  "Well, Jesus I feel like I don't have enough time to do what I need to do.  What do You say to that?".  I hear Jesus saying "Give away more time."  Don't get me wrong, there are times when I know, taking more timeout for yourself, is the answer.  But I feel like Jesus is telling me right now "if you want to get more, you have to give more".  If I don't give more, then even what little I have will escape me.  We are not able to preserve what we have. It is hard to give more when you feel like what you have is not even enough.  The way God works is that you have to invest what you have to multiply it.  

1 Kings 17:8, 10-16 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink.” And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” So she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.’” So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah. 

Luke 19:12-26 Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’ But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’ “And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten minas.’ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.’ And the second came, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned five minas.’ Likewise he said to him, ‘You also be over five cities.’ “Then another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief. For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ And he said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ “And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.’ But they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas.’ ‘For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 

Taking chances

Many of us as women are not giving ourselves permission to "just be ourselves". We

are bombarded with different expectations of what a Godly woman is suppose to be and look like.  We have a lack of regard for individuality. It's healthy to ask yourself at times " who told me I had to be this way". God asked that similar question to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.  He said to them "Who told you that you were naked?"  Many times the things that make life stressful are expectations on yourself that have not come from God

A new Calendar!

I was marking some things on my calendar that I have coming up and I went to turn to the next month and I realized I had finished my 2014 calendar.  I really couldn't believe it!!  I feel like I just bought that calendar and I'm already finished.  This year has been an emotional one.  Lost my grandma and my dad this year.  My dad passed just a few months ago.  My Christmas spirit hasn't been at it's normal height this year.   I haven't been as reflective as I normally am to prepare for the year ahead.  I think today, through the prayers of those around me, I feel like turning to find that my calendar is done that it's time to anticipate great things in the New Year.  God has done some great work in my heart this year.  Money is one area.  I just don't spend like I use to.  He has blessed me with this desire to not want to use credit cards.  I found He has given me what I need to stay within a budget.  It is something I rejoice in because it's an area that I have covered in much prayer over the years.  Getting away from spending compulsively.  As I go into 2015, what lies on my heart is the question of "How does God want me to give?".  "Where does God want to expand me?"  I have been reading the book of Joshua and these were some of the earliest battles of God's people.  One of the things you see is God's people conquering and taking over "territory" after "territory".  In 2015 it's about going into new territories of life and taking them over

Covenant relationships

Our commitment to others.  Many of us wonder how to live under the umbrella of God's favor and blessings.  I love God; and being in a relationship with Him is extravagant for me in and of itself, but I to have wondered how to live under the umbrella of God's favor and blessings.  Don't get me wrong, I have a good life right now.  But something in me says there is more. More peace, more joy, more abundance.  Recently the word I heard in my spirit is "covenant".  I have heard it before.  God functions within covenants that He makes between Himself and His people.  A covenant is like "a promise".  It's like an agreement between 2 or more parties.  Many times we think we can earn God's blessings by doing good.  But that is not how God operates.  I find that in the current climate of our culture, relationships are becoming of very little importance.  People don't nurture and build relationships anymore.  The texting, facebook, and other forms of technology and social media break down the fabric of what it takes to build real, lasting relationships.  With that being said, the obvious consequence is not really understanding what it means to build a relationship with God.  Understanding that all God's blessings come through a relationship with Him that is based on His promises.  As I reflect on the book of Ruth and what Ruth said to Naomi when Naomi was starting her journey back to her home.  The words that Ruth spoke to Naomi where covenant words, they are similar to what God has said in the covenant He made with His people in the Old Testament.  Ruth committed to a relationship with Naomi; to dwell with her and join with her people, and make Naomi's God her God.  This was a lifetime commitment Ruth made and God blessed her abundantly because of her covenant with Naomi.  With divorce rates sky high in our culture, it's obvious that we are no longer a people built on covenant type relationships.  Because of this, there is much turmoil in our world today and in our families.  But as believers, I think it's a great time to examine the relationships around us and our relationship with God.  Personally I am praying that I can live a relationship/covenant based life. Lord help me and all who want to go in this direction, in Jesus name.

Freely love??

God has really been speaking to me about "freedom" in various aspects of life.  He has been showing me how freedom is necessary to experience true love in any relationship, including our relationship with Him.  This translates into our marriage, how we treat our spouse, our kids, and how we experience love ourselves.  I recently came to a point in my life where I just wanted to love freely.  I just became tired of all the shackles that kept me from being free in this area.  But more importantly, being free to love with the gifts that God gave me to love with.  I don't love like other people love and neither do you because we are all individuals created in the image of God, but because we are all different, we all show love differently.  Many times we don't allow ourselves to be free in that expression.  We think we have to love a certain way or something is wrong with it.  Your love is not going to look like my love and that's ok because it's just as powerful and affects the lives of others just as deeply and people are in need of you loving them through your special gifts given to you by God.  Ruth has been on my mind lately.  I have been reading from the book of Ruth in the bible.  This woman allowed herself to love her mother-in-law Naomi freely and boldly.  Not even caring what her mother-in-law thought of it.  Look at this dialogue below between Ruth and her mother-in-law (this was after both Naomi's sons died leaving their wives behind as widows, Naomi's husband had also died):

" ⁷ Therefore she went out from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. ⁸ And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each to her mother’s house. The Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. ⁹ The Lord grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband.”
So she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. ¹⁰ And they said to her, “Surely we will return with you to your people.”
¹¹ But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? ¹² Turn back, my daughters, go—for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, if I should have a husband tonight and should also bear sons, ¹³ would you wait for them till they were grown? Would you restrain yourselves from having husbands? No, my daughters; for it grieves me very much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me!”
¹⁴ Then they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
¹⁵ And she said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” ¹⁶ But Ruth said:

“Entreat me not to leave you,
Or to turn back from following after you;
For wherever you go, I will go;
And wherever you lodge, I will lodge;
Your people shall be my people,
And your God, my God.
¹⁷ Where you die, I will die,
And there will I be buried.
The Lord do so to me, and more also,
If anything but death parts you and me.”

¹⁸ When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her.

I think most would look at this text and say "Oh, Ruth was such a good person and so noble".  But I don't think Ruth was good or noble.  I don't think Ruth was trying to be good or noble.  I think Ruth was "free".  She had grown to love Naomi very much and this was how she desired to express that love, so that's what she did.  This really stuck with me.  It's not the devotion to her mother-in-law that stuck with me, it's what freedom empowered her to do.  To freely love, it's important to accept who you are with strengths and weaknesses and understand that God gave you certain gifts and you can only love through those gifts. The bible says every good and perfect gift is from above.  Gifts are given to us by God and they are channels through God's nature is expressed.  God's nature is love.  The bible says that God is love.  Love is the most important area to be free in.  Ruth being free, is what led to her being a virtuous woman.  Freedom came first.  Remember that

 

Is discontentment bad?

I did not previously feel comfortable with the idea of questioning whether discontentment could be from God at times.  There is a scripture that says "godliness with contentment is great gain".  That scripture kept me from exploring whether or not discontentment has a purpose in my life.  As I read further into the context of that scripture, I believe Timothy is speaking more about material things.  But I'm starting to think when it comes to the conditions of our hearts, that some discontentment is from God.  There are certain areas in my life where I would like to experience much more joy.  I believe there is so much more to be had, then what I presently experience.  I believe that God has placed it on my heart that there is more.  It seems God won't allow me to be satisfied with mediocrity in any area of life.  But there is one particular area where my heart refuses to settle for anything less than the joy and blessings that God intended.  That area is motherhood.  There are lies that Satan has spoken in our culture about motherhood that has totally changed the way we perceive and govern ourselves in it.   My dad passed recently and one big thing God showed me through my dad's life is that He answers prayer and never to give up praying for something, no matter how long it takes.  The prayer I have about motherhood is something that was deposited in my heart very early on in my motherhood journey.  I know it's from God and I know He will answer my prayer, for an abundance of joy and freedom.  Jesus came that we may have life and have it in abundance.

Being released to "Freely love" in 2016

Are you tired??

Today I was tempted to get overwhelmed about all that I needed to do (my responsibilities).   It made me feel burdened down.  I asked myself, "What can Jesus offer me right now, to help me?".  I asked myself "What do I need?"  "Where is the lack right now?"  I realized I needed rest.  So I went to the bible:

Matthew 11:28-29New King James Version (NKJV)

²⁸ Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

I have seen this scripture before, but today was different.  As I read God began to speak to me about it.  He let me know, that the superficial means of getting rest are not always available and that there are times where you need to dig into our reservoir of deep, abiding, and eternal rest that comes from a relationship with Christ.  But the next thing that stood out for me in the scripture was that it said rest for your "soul". In the greek "soul" is defined as t.he "seat of affections and will".  It is also defined as "to breathe, blow" .  There is a more precise definition for the greek word used for "soul" below:

psuché: breath, the soul

Short Definition: the soul, life, self
Definition: (a) the vital breath, breath of life, (b) the human soul, (c) the soul as the seat of affections and will, (d) the self, (e) a human person, an individual.

The thing that is really encouraging me right now with this scripture is that Jesus says "Come to me".  We have so many different things we turn to when we need to rest.  I feel like Jesus is giving me a specific instruction to "Come to Him" when I'm overwhelmed.  It's like if my dad was to say. " If you need money, don't go ask anybody else; come to me" .  It's like Jesus is speaking directly to me here.  I just keep hearing Him say "Come to Me" over and over again.  I almost don't want to type anything else because this in it's simplicity is helping me so much right now.  We put our relationship with Jesus off so much.  Guilty of turning to so many other sources for our refreshment, and while some of those sources have a place in our lives;  It cannot take the place of Jesus.  Because while other things can offer a certain degree of rest for your body and such, those things will never offer rest for  your soul.  According to the definition above, you live out of your soul.  That is where your individuality exists.  It is where life flows out of, and the seat of affection.  We definitely need to put Jesus in the "seat of our affections".  If we want Jesus's life to flow out of us.........................Jesus states that where we need rest is in our souls. He doesn't want to give us a superficial, fleeting rest, He wants to give us rest where we breathe, where we live, where our affections dwell, in who we are.  Who doesn't want that??  

What is "reasonable"

There is a scripture burning my heart right now:

Romans 12:1New King James Version (NKJV)

Living Sacrifices to God

12 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 

The 3 words that stood out to me in the text are 

1.  Living

2. Present

3. Reasonable

There are only 3 things I want to share from my heart:

1.  In the Old Testament you had to kill the animals before you sacrificed them, so they were "dead" sacrifices. But it says in the scripture above that God wants "living" sacrifices.  Why does God want living sacrifices now instead of dead sacrifices?

2.  The word "present"  is defined in the greek below:

paristémi: to place beside, to present, stand by, appear 

 The particular part of the definition that stood out to me was "to place beside".  I saw a movie where some snow dogs got abandoned in Alaska during a very harsh winter and they had to survive on their own.  This word presents reminds me of a certain scene played out in the movie.  The pack of dogs had a leader.  It was a girl and she had a kind of seniority over the pack of dogs. She also took care of them.  Well she became injured and was unable to be find food. There was another dog who was kind of the rebel of the pack.  Well, he went and killed a bird and even though he was hungry, he dropped what he had in front of the "leader".  He walked up to her, as she lay on the ground, dropped it in front of her and then backed away to where the rest of the pack stood.  It was like a show of honor and respect.  That is the best visual, for me, of presenting my body as a living sacrifice to God. I'm like "this is all I have God, I give it to you."   Just as the dog dropped what he had in front of his leader, I drop what I drop what I have in front of God then I leave it with Him.  It's like "Here is what I have God, I give it to you". It's like "Here is what I am God, I give it to you".  

3.  The word reasonable really stood out to me.  Because it's like God is saying "This is reasonable for you to do, it's not unreasonable.  It's reasonable."  I asked myself "What do I think is reasonable as opposed to what God thinks is reasonable?"

Below is the greek definition for the word "reasonable" as it's used in this context:

logikós (from 3056 /lógos, "reason") – properly, logical because divinely reasonable, i.e. "what is logical to God" (logic working through the divine reasoning known through faith). 

It says above that to offer our bodies a s living sacrifice is what's logical to God.

All these things are making me think about some things differently.  I hope it challenges you as well.  God bless.  

What is letting go

A dear friend of mine caused me to question today, what it really means to let go.  Even though I hate to spend times talking about Satan, if it's to my advantage I will.  I have noticed that the area where the devil attacks me most is where it concerns my children.  These are mental attacks. But I also am always concerned about whether or not I am giving my kids what they need in every area.  I'm starting to wonder if that "concern" or is it worry, but I started to ask myself "Is that concern a doorway for Satan.  I noticed He always hits me right there, making me feel inadequate and even producing feelings of fear when it comes to my role as a mother.  It's almost like I start having conversations with myself about how I am mothering and then Satan joins the conversation.  It starts with me, but it seems I am giving him ammunition  to oppress me in this area.  While these episodes are short lived, they tend to happen pretty frequently.  Today I started wondering about the phrase "Letting go and letting God".  I wonder if since the enemy constantly comes at me in this area, that maybe I need to go in an extreme opposite way; in the way I think in this area.  The only way I can remove any ammunition, in this area, that the enemy might use against me is to starve him.  Sometimes we think it's ok, as believers to dabble a little bit in worry.  Even "concern" seems noble.  That's what I kept telling myself.  But there were occasions in the bible where Jesus said "do not worry" and "do not let your heart be troubled",  I tend to dabble in these things a little bit, even though Jesus told me not to, I find that when I do allow my heart to be troubled or allow myself to engage in a little bit of worry, here comes the devil beating me down with it.  The area of motherhood, it is so evident for me of this work of the enemy.  Look at the scripture below:

^{1 Peter 5}

⁶ Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, ⁷ casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

⁸ Be sober, be vigilant; because^[c] your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

Notice after it says cast your cares upon God, it talks about how the devil walks about seeking whom he may devour.  I have decided that in the area that the devil attacks me the most, I am going to go to the extreme opposite of worry. No more ammunition for the devil. Every time I feel my thoughts bordering on worry or being troubled, even if it's disguised as concern;  I will not indulge, even dabble a little in it,  I will resist immediately and cast my cares on God.  I can only do this through the help of God's Holy Spirit.  I'm praying the Holy Spirit will help me identify these troubling thoughts quickly. so I can cast them on God.   I think the problem sometimes, is that our thoughts can kind of take us on a tangent before we have identified them.  We don't always recognize, where a seemingly reasonable thought can lead to worry or being troubled.  We just don't know it at the time, until we are confessing certain things out our mouth.  Like I find that I will start saying things like "I don't feel like I'm doing enough with Carson (my 2 yr old son).  Or I'll say "I feel so inadequate". I find that my thoughts go on a tangent, then the devil enters the conversation and says thing like "You are inadequate for your children" or "You are not doing enough at home with your son".  Then I just confess exactly what I hear.  No more, with the Holy Spirit's help I can shoot down those wrong thoughts, in Jesus's name.

How ARE you doing?

I'm a stay-at-home mom as most of you may know.  I have a 2 yr old (boy) and 6 yr old (girl).  My life is very repetitive.  When you have young children life can seem to run together.  Your days, your weekdays, and weekends.  I believe when you go from 1 child to 2 children, you are just not able to put as much thought and energy into certain things as you use to when you had 1 child.  Feeling like you are doing the same thing day in and day out can be fustrating.  Many questions can arise.  Such as; "Am I doing what I am suppose to be doing right now?",  "Is there something else additional that I need to be doing".  My life is very full, there is plenty to do, but these questions do arise. Children can be draining, and you don't always know what to do to re-fuel.  I believe in living an inspiring life and I believe a mom inspires her children and her spouse.  What do  you do when you are feeling uninspired yourself.  My encouragement to you is; not to panic.  Don't panic,  God once told me that if I want to know how I'm doing that I need to look and see how Jesus is doing and that's how I'm doing.  The measure of how we are doing in life is not our feelings, it's not our inspiration of lack thereof, it is not our excitement; these things will change from day to day.  The bible says we are the righteousness of God in Christ.  This is what we are despite everything else.  I find that when we start to look to ourselves for answers and solutions it can be grievous.  But when we take our eyes off ourselves and put them on Jesus and make Him our only measure of how we are doing, it's only a matter of time before everything else lines up.  Take your eyes off yourself, put them on Jesus. Keep confessing that you are the righteousness of God in Christ.  Keep remembering that Jesus is seated at the right hand of God and you are seated with Him in the heavenly places.  That you have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.  Check out Deuteronomy 28 to see what those blessings are.  Keep your eyes off you, off your feeling, and off everything else.  I just reminded myself of the 1 thing that I need, I hope I reminded you to.  God Bless!!!

Totally revelational

Sometimes God takes us out of a particular behavioral pattern in our lives,  it's not always because that particular behavior is "bad".  But it could be getting in the way of God showing you Who He is in a specific area of your life.  He wants to remove you, show you what He is able and willing to do for you; and then put you back so you can walk in greater faith in that area.  I see a picture in my mind of a big hand that represents God's hand.  I see God's hand with a tiny person in it;  and God is lifting them up and out of something.  Then I see that same hand of God holding that same tiny person placing them back down;  then that hand of God sets the tiny person back down, gently brushes them off, like and parent would do when a child falls and gets dirty, then sends them their way.

Our relationship with words

We have very strong relationships with word patterns.  Meaning that, there are certain statements that we make all the time.  Some of the relationships we have are not good relationships and they produce bondage on top of bondage in our lives.  As I am trusting God to change how I speak, I am also discovering how my words affect my faith.  A simple question  like "What are we going to do if.........?  I feel the need to ask these types of questions a lot.  I want to be prepared.  What exactly do I want to be prepared for?  What am I anticipating?  These are good explorations because it helps us discover why we say the things we say.  Sometimes God brings you to a point where He wants you to stop trying to be prepared for everything and start trusting Him.  He just wants to show us that He totally has our back.  He wants to grow our faith.  That might mean stepping away from some of the reliance we have on our own ability to "plan" and just let God take over.  "Planning" in and of itself is not bad, it's not bad at all.  However, there are times in our lives.  There are times where God is saying " Let Me take over for awhile so I can grow your faith and show you what I can do".

1 Peter 3:10 For“He who would love lifeAnd see good days,Let him refrain his tongue from evil,And his lips from speaking deceit. 

Faith I didn't know

I have had some experiences in my life, God knows I have.  But nothing compared to the prison that consisted of emotions, thoughts, fears, doubts, etc.! I have been in the prison of anxiety, the prison of depression, the prison of thinking too much about things.  So many prisons,  too numerous to count.  I thought I needed them all.  My prisons protected me from the elements,  what would I do if I looked around and I didn't have the 4 walls rom protect me.  Without these walls I would feel so exposed, so vulnerable.  But God is showing me something.  The world has raised us to believe our skeptic, worrisome nature is necessary to survive in this world, to succeed, and to protect the one's we love.  The last 2 days I haven't been feeling well,  very nauseous and it was draining the life out of me, I wasn't enjoying anything because I just didn't feel well,  and I hate it when something like that happens that is out of my control.  Today as I felt better,  the Holy Spirit started talking to me about faith. He started to encourage me to stop thinking about tomorrow, what you have to do; and if all is going well, enjoy it!!  Enjoy it by faith.  Live in the "good".  Not somewhere between the good and the evil.  Live in the freedom of faith, not somewhere between faith and worry.  I've heard some of this before,  but I think God is finally showing me how to actually do it.  We worry about problems that don't even exist.  We do things "just in case". I can't live the "just in case", "I want to make sure", "what if" life anymore.  It has been a prison.  If "all is well" than "all is well!!!  Life is good for my family and I, and I will not apologize for it.  Life has not always been good for me. I have seen evil days and those days are behind me.  God has good and only good in store for my family and I.  He says that He is good.  He says He has good plans for us.  He says His plans are not to harm us.  I have moved from the "some good days and some bad days street" to "good days and only good days avenue".  There are those who would "love life and see good days". Not feeling well this time around,  really made me want to live life a different way.  Here is the revelation that came today:

I have heard so many people say things "in faith" and nothing happen.  I have heard people speak "positive" and end up with a life full of stress and "labors". What keeps me from living the "let go" life of complete faith?  I'm scared nothing will happen.  That would be true if I wasn't a believer in Christ, sealed by the Holy Spirit.  But because I am sealed, signed, and delivered in Christ; when I let go, that's when the "good life" happens.  This is for me, I can't speak for anyone else.  I have been challenged by God to see "good" days.  That only happens when you choose to relax and enjoy God's goodness.  We have a world of people who try to keep you from doing that.  And when you talk about it, they will shut you down and spike your thoughts with the evil in the world.  These people are uncomfortable with the "quiet" life.  These people think you have to be "ambitious".  They say "Is that all you do all day?"  They are uncomfortable with the lack of "activity" in your life.  They believe more in an "accomplished" life then a "good life".  Some of these people believe more in a "sacrificial" life than a "good" life.  God says that He desires "mercy" not "sacrifice". God wants a relationship with us, that's all.  It's what we were created for.  He does want us to  live life and "see good days".  Look it up in the bible.  A lot of Christians agree with the live life part, but the "see good days" part will cause some to be conflicted.  They will say "Well, what exactly does that mean?"  Instead of taking it at face value and believing God for it, we are suspicious of it.  I'll leave you with this.

1 Peter 3:10 

For“He who would love lifeAnd see good days,Let him refrain his tongue from evil,And his lips from speaking deceit. 

Where do "natural currents" take you?

Natural current of everything in our world is towards decay and corruption and if you don't come against those natural currents with the word of God everything in your life will naturally flow that way.  Everything meaning your finances, your body, your health, your energy, your children, your home, your family, your marriage, your job, your business. EVERYTHING.  We really have to speak the word of God over everything in our lives, but in addition, we have to speak the Word of God into our children.  Talking to our children about the Word of God is like planting seeds, if you are not planting good seeds, trust the devil will gladly take over and plant bad seeds. 

I've entered a new stage with my daughter who is 6 going on 7 yrs old.  I have seen her bad attitudes and her whining and pouting escalate over the last month and it has started to really trouble me.  One of the main reasons it troubles me is because I love her and I know that these attitudes are causing her to not be able to be thankful for all the blessings that she has.  If she is not thankful, then she is incapable of enjoying her life.  Today, I was upset about all this and troubled.   I had to take some luxuries away from her like her time on the ipad, plus I had to tell her that she was to stay in her room today.  Sometimes separating a child from their family for a time will help them appreciate the company of their family more.  But what was on my heart is that I couldn't just leave her to herself during this time of punishment.  I had to take the opportunity to invest in her and pour into her, like God does with me.  Noah (my daughter) and I have done devotional time reading the bible for years, but this was the first time we sat down and truly had a bible study and this was the first time I was able to use God's word to give her something that she could start using right now.  See many times as kids get older, parents feel like they are free to not have to spend as much time taking care of the kids.  I am finding that the opposite is true.  While there is less time with some of the grooming, dressing and physical upkeep, there is more time that is necessary to talk about feelings, what we do with those feelings, how to stay focused on the right things, and more time is necessary to help them to nurture their own relationship with God. A child left to themselves, no matter how much you "discipline them"  will automatically go with the natural current of the world; decay and corruption.

 

Don't stop believing!!!!

The things that are invisible are more powerful then the things that are visible.  Let me say again, "The things that are invisible are more powerful than the things that are visible"  A long time ago, I accepted Christ as my personal Lord and Savior.  Long time meaning about 12 years ago.  As a young Christian, I made alot of mistakes, had alot of pride.............but even in the midst of that, God had given me the precious gift of faith.  Faith is not something "we have"  faith is something we receive from the Lord.  As I look back on the period of my life where I was very new to my Christian walk, I grew to despise certain things about the period, because I was so prideful and I wished I could of done things differently.  However, God has shown me recently that all that I have now is a harvest from the faith He had given me way back then.  He is showing me not to despise that period in my life because of the mistakes, because even in the midst of mistakes, God looks at the intents of the heart and even in the midst of mistakes, it is possible to still be sowing in faith.  My life is absolutely beautiful.  Not "easy"  but beautiful.  After 8 years my marriage to my husband has blossomed into something I would of never thought was possible.  A dream come true.  My kids are amazingly blessed, and I get to be at home with them even though it is the hardest job on the face of the earth, I love every minutes of it.  Right now, is the best time of my life. People looking into a window of my life.  I don't know if they would agree, because my life looks pretty mundane and repetitive.  It doesn't look very exciting.  That's because the excitement in my life come through my walk with my Savior, my God, my Father.  He is the "Lover of my soul".  But I want to encourage myself and other in is that, while I despised areas of my life where there was sin, mistakes, and pride;  God has shown me that I still had faith and I am reaping a harvest right now.  The way my life and family is right is exactly how I prayed it would be back when I was still new to my Christian walk.  I knew the life I wanted to life and I believed God for it.  I went through some hard times, because I took some hard falls and I don't know where I was on the faith scale at that point, but that didn't negate the period of time where I was believing God for a certain type of life.  I sowed in faith to the life I have now, years and years ago, but I went through periods of questioning all that I was believing God for, but I didn't loose what I sowed to just because I had periods of doubt.  Now I have it.  Don't stop believing, it may take years but you cannot stop believing God for His promises to manifest in your life.  He will bring it to pass.  I know it, just wait on Him.
This revelation from God has encouraged me to continue sowing in faith for the things for my future and the future of my family.  I am not chasing these things that I'm believing God for, because if I keep my eyes on my relationship with Jesus, these things will start chasing me.  Now, I just want to enjoy my relationship with God and my family.  That's it!!!  That's is where my contentment is, my satisfaction and my power.   It is the best time of my life.  Please pray for God to help you enjoy Him in every season,  He needs to become your contentment.  Satisfy yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.  You don't have to go chasing things, they will chase you.  Ask God to help you to taste Him and see that He is good.  He will do it.  He knows He is good, He knows He can satisfy you.  Just ask Him. 

Who to believe????

*Your profit is not according to what you can do but according to what God can provide.

Many times as business owners we are grappling with one of 2 issues or both:

1. Will somebody actually pay me for my service or product???
2. How do I get customers?     

These are the initial questions when someone is first getting started in the marketplace.  I think initially going in, it can be very "self-focused".  Lets say we have an appointment with a potential customer or we are going from door to door selling our product.  In the beginning your mind is racing with things like:

1.  What if they don't like my product?
2.  What if they are not interested in my service?
3.  How do I get them to even talk to me and not brush me off?
4.  What if I make a mistake during my presentation or forget something?
5.   What if they have a question that I don't know how to answer?
6.  What if they don't like the way I look or how I speak?
7.  What if they don't like me??
8.  What if I cannot deliver what I claim to be able to deliver?

WHAT IF I FAIL?

How do we use God's word to address these insecurities we all experience in business.  First lets see if you actually believe God.  Keep in mind  Numbers 23:19, which says "God is not a man, the He should lie". Titus 1:2 says the God cannot lie.  God only has truth, He is not capable of lying.  He can only give what He has and He only has truth. It is impossible for God to lie.  Remember what Jesus said in John 8:32 He says that "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free".

 Where does the whole concept of lying come from?  If it didn't come from God, how did it come into the world?  Lets see, John 8:44 says that the devil is a liar and the father of it.  It also says that when the devil speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources and there is no truth in him.  Now if "the truth" makes you free, what does a lie do to you?

Let's go back to the Garden of Eden where the first human beings lived (Adam and Eve) let's examine what happened when the "father of lies" stepped on the scene.  We are going to look at 2 opposing statements made in the Garden of Eden not long after the creation of man:

Genesis 2:16,17 (God's instruction to Adam)-" And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” 

Now let's look at what Satan had to say about this:

Genesis 3:1-4 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die."

Right here you have 2 opposing statements.  God says you will die, Satan says you won't.  Who was telling the truth?  Well Adam and Eve ate the fruit, lets look at what happened after that.  Let's see who was telling the truth.

Genesis 3:22-23 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 

Adam and Eve believed "the serpent" instead of believing God and they were cut off from being able to eat from the tree of life, so they could live forever.  Death enters. One of the trees that God told them they could freely eat from was the tree of life.  Believing "the lie" that Satan told them

Got them kicked out of the garden and cut off from the great life God had originally planned for them.

Believing lies can cause you to be cut off from the great life God has planned for you.

There you have it.  according to the bible, the truth originates from God and the lie originates from the devil.  We want to bring the truth into our businesses. So now lets address our insecurities with God's truth.    Coming on the next blog post.  Stay tuned....................

                                                          

Kingdom Businesses - Sowing and Reaping

I was inspired by a close sister in the Lord to post some blogs that are focused on business.  I said within myself, if something hits me I will be faithful to blog about it.  Something hit me for the 2nd time today.  Many times we go for years believing that certain concepts in the bible mean one thing for our lives, and we find out later by the grace of God that it means something different.  Well, God is doing this again in my life with sowing and reaping.  I mean, I guess I understood the concept of "sowing and reaping" well enough, but I didn't really understand it in the area of business.  God is beginning a better understanding in me right now. 

Kingdom businesses have to be careful not to operate the same way the world's businesses operate.  While there is a measure of success in the way the world operates in business;  I believe we all can see that the world's success comes with alot of stress, which causes alot of sickness and dis-ease.  When you are a part of God's kingdom, this is not so. 

Kingdom business owners should be led by God and He should determine where and how you sow, and when and how you reap.  In the world you offer a service or product and your main concern is your profit.  You are looking to turn a profit at the time that the services are rendered.  Now that is smart business, I'm not saying it's not.  In the world business is all about the transferring of goods or the rendering of services to another in exchange for money.  This is not "sowing and reaping.  So what does sowing and reaping look like in a Christian business?  I can't exactly say, but I can give you some idea of what God has put on my heart today concerning this topic:

1. Your profit is not according to what you can provide but according to what God can provide
2. The transactions you make with others is not based on what you can provide to one another but what God can provide to all parties involved.
3. Your qualifications or lack thereof does not determine what impact your product or service will have in the marketplace, God determines that.
4. The anatomy of a "Kingdom Business" transaction is different than a secular business transaction.
5. Being a "Kingdom Business" is not as much about the product or service as it is about the "motivation" of the business owner.
6. It's not about instant "gratification"(profit), but it is about sustaining sustenance and abundance of grace from God.

I'm going to attempt to present a bible study on each one of these points over the coming weeks. Stay tuned...............................................................

Liberty in parenting

Today I had a couple situations arise where  I sensed that The Lord was speaking to me.  I am a full-time stay-at-home mom and it's been almost 7 years.  One of the things I have been praying a lot about during those years is the bondage that can form for myself in this particular station in life.  When your kids have so much access to you all the time, it is hard to know how much to give.  You struggle with guilt and uncertainty.  This starts with nourishment when a baby is born.  One of the concerns I have heard from every mom of a newborn I

have ever spoken with, including myself, is whether or not the baby is getting enough food.  Are they getting full??  This is the beginning of motherhood.  It becomes a defining factor in everything you do.  The first sense I got that God was speaking to me was this morning.  My 2 yr old son bugs me to play with him every morning while I am trying to eat and do my devotional.  So as I sat down to play today, I sensed the Holy Spirit ministering to me.  I don't have to be exciting as I play with him, he just wants me there.  But the big thing I sensed from God is that I shouldn't try to "satisfy" my kids. God said that is His job.  What a huge burden lifted off me.  To know that as a parent, I need to spend time with my children, but it is not my responsibility to leave them satisfied.  Then I sensed God saying something similar to me as we ate in  Chic filet today. When Carson was done with his nuggets, he asked for more.  I told him they were all gone, and as soon as I said that I sensed the Holy Spirit say that it is not my job to make them full, it's God's job.  While it is my responsibility to feed my kids,  it is not my responsibility to make them full.  While parents should spend time with their kids, it is not our job to try to satisfy them, it's God's job.  We place a lot of burden on ourselves as parents and in doing so, we don't allow room for our kids to look to God to "fill" them and to give them that contentment "satisfaction".  When we try to take on God's job along with our own, it causes a lot of guilt and condemnation.  It robs us of our energy and vibrancy as parents.  

The great adventure

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 

Have you ever looked around at nature,at the outstretched heavens, at the universe and realized that God is exciting!!  God is creative!   He is the Creator!!  God has plans for me and for you.  But those plans are not boring and mundane!  Those plans are not labor some and stressful.  Those plans are peaceful an hopeful.  I believe God wants me to be adventure minded,  I believe He wants me to be open minded to where He wants to take my family and I.  Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 

I don't have to create my own adventure or be as the world puts it, "spontaneous". The world knows nothing about adventure!  The world makes destruction appear as of it's adventure.  The world tries to give you "counterfeits" of the real thing.  Today I would say read God word and choose to believe what He says.  Confess that you are the righteousness of God in Christ.  Not because of anything you have done but only because of Christ's finished work at the cross.  Don't try to be good, just keep your eyes on the only One who is good.  Believe God can transform you from glory to glory as you behold JesusChrist  in His word.  Effortlessly be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Hard to receive

Our culture is naturally inclined towards pessimism as opposed to optimism.  Many of us are missing out on great opportunities in our lives just because we won't allow ourselves to believe that it could really work out for the best.  Some of us are automatically suspect if a stranger on the street is nice to us, or simply smiles and says "hello".  Why?  Because we have been taught that nothing is free.  We either have to work for it, or somehow qualify for it.  "Grace" is not an easy thing to teach.  I think the best definition of it is below. 

Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. 

God wants to "give" to us in every area.  He wants to do it all by grace.  I think many of us as Christians limit this to just salvation.  Like "oh yeah, salvation is a gift but we have to work for everything else".  God had me start a list today that I'm sure He is going to grow.  There are a couple things in my life that God has just given to me and I did not work for it, pay for it, etc.  Look below:

1.  I made some horrible mistakes when I was young with my credit, acquired a bunch of debt and eventually filed bankruptcy.  Even had a car repossessed.  Well I was so traumatized by my bad credit that even after many years I had no credit cards and was scared to apply for any because the rejection had a huge impact on me.  I thought my credit would never be good again, I was even about to pay $500.00 to get help fixing it, but right before I did that,I decided to check my credit score and to my surprise not only was it almost 800 but it said on 1 of the credit reports that there was no negative credit history to report .  Well, I didn't have to pay that 500.00 and I didn't have to write any letters.  As a result of my marriage to a godly man who has outstanding credit and financial habits, whatever  he had became mine, that included his good credit. Because I changed my last name when I got married, I got a new identity.  I took on my husbands last name and in doing that I received everything that is his.  That's why marriage is a great illustration of Christ and the church. When we accept Christ we become His bride and we have a new identity and everything that is His becomes ours as well, because we are married to him. 

2.  I am a born entrepreneur,  this started to come out in my teenage years.  Always searching for good investments that I couldn't afford and looking into businesses that I couldn't buy.  Even though I had great jobs,  I always felt confined by the 9 to 5pm.  I always looked for new ways to challenge myself outside of the normal scope of my job description.  Well,  I own more then 50% percent of a successful office supply company now and guess what,  I didn't have to do anything to get it, but be a wife to my husband.  One day he said to me, I need to give you more than 50% ownership of the company, because it needs to be "woman owned".  Am I active in the company??  Ofcoarse! Did I do anything deserving of ownership other than being his wife?  Nope.  Again, it's the same with Jesus.  He has so many good things He wants to give to you just becAuse you are His bride.  

What are you reallly afraid of

What are we really saying with our words of fear, nervousness, anxiety, doubt?

I thought about this statement, because as summer approached, I've experienced an intense amount of nervousness about having 2 young children home with me all day everyday.  But I've also noticed an intense amount of nervousness about other things as well.  Nervousness has not really been something that I feel like I've dealt with on this level before.  But I decided to delve into the nervousness for a moment and ask, "What's really going on here?" As I have thought more about it over the last couple minutes, I realized that my real fear is in starting something and it not working out.  You know, successful people and successful moms, become successful through trying many new ideas and seeing what works out and what doesn't. Somehow, I have convinced myself that I don't have time to try new ideas for them not to work out.  Quite frankly that is propostrous!!!  God is showing me that in order for me to follow my dreams in motherhood, business, and writing I have to allow a lot of space in my life to try lots of different things.  To be honest, the dreams that God has placed in my heart can be very uncomfortable at times.  I think it's when I get an opportunity to actually test drive my dream a little bit, is when I get nervous.  It's just like if a singer was to wait years to fullfill their dream of being a professional in the industry and when their opportunity comes, all they want to do is run.  They have dreamed about it their whole life, but suddenly when you are face to face with it, it seems overwhelming. 

In conclusion I think the biggest thing that keeps me from embarking completely on the adventure that I know God has for me is my unwillingness to try new things and experience them not working out.  That is how you get to what ultimately will work out.  God Bless you Today

Motherhood marathon

My children, my disciples, pointing them to Christ .  Translating this into everyday life means pouring yourself out all day everyday.  Children place a demand on you like nothing else.  Creating a place of refuge and love in your home.  A place where they will grow, feel treasured, loved and get all they need to fulfill they greates potential in The Lord. Teaching contentment.  So many amazing things to teach and experience with our children as they grow.  Growing as a family, ups and downs. Yes I am building a home.  A wise woman builds her house,  but the foolish woman tears it down with her own hands.

Rythem is on my mind

Lately God has had  rhythm on my mind.  The rhythm of family life has felt somewhat retarded for me.  There is a lack of freedom.  I have been telling myself  "it's because we have young kids" but something has always felt very inadequate about this answer.  I believe there is an extreme blessing for my family and I as I start to catch a huge revelation from God about our family rhythm and what it should be.  Many times we try to fit into the rhythm of the culture surrounding us, when we are all unique and so are our families, so why can't we have a unique way of doing things.  But I believe it requires "stepping out of the box"  letting God lead you in where you need to do that.  If God is leading you it will yield a harvest of peace for your household and not chaos.  It will allow God's rhythms to flow in your family instead of such rigidness.  There are people that will try to hold you back from your freedom, but don't let them.  It is for freedom that Christ set us free.

"Routine" vs "Rythem"

The "cycles" we establish in our lives are very important, as it determines the "rythem" of our lives.  I use the word "rythem". And it makes me think of the word "heartbeat". God has established the "seasons" of the year.  The seasons change and that comes with changes in weather and changes in the natural landscape.  We learn that "change" is healthy and not to hold on to tight to anything.  Since there are only 4 seasons we also learn that consistency is important to.  God has shown me that there are times where I have to insert a change into my routine,  just so I don't get "stuck" in a certain pattern.  While we have routines,  you want your life to have more of a "rythem" than a "routine". Thank You Father!!

A Garden Marriage con't.

Our husbands' God given roles are more limited than wives in the marriage.  I don't mean "limited" in a negative way.  In the Garden of Eden "man" was given a "job" and that job was to tend and keep the garden but the "woman was given a "role". That requires us to do many different jobs, whatever our "role" requires at any given time

What do u believe about God

Belief systems play a huge role in our relationship with God.  How do we believe God feels about us?  What do we believe He wants for us?  How do you think God wants you to feel???

Motherhood and marriage

When u have young children the rythem of life is constantly changing but God has given me guideposts.  When I talked to God about how tired I am at now and how I feel like I don't have energy to do anything else once the kids are I'm bed he said:

John 9:4 I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. 

This let me know todo my work while it is day.

Then I was irritated with my husband this morning and I was praying about being a good wife and He answered me:

Proverbs 31:12 She does him good and not evilAll the days of her life. 

And

Genesis 2:18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” 

These 2 scriptures reminded me of the template God created for marriage in the garden of Eden and I was created for the sole purpose of being a helper to my husband and to exercise dominion in my domain.  The domain that God has given me.  The garden of Eden marriage is pretty simple.

What about Eve???

Genesis 2:18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” 

I believe women struggle with the role that God designed them for much more than men do.  It dates back to the garden when the serpent decided to deceive Eve.  He obviously saw her as an easier target.  I believe Satan still see women as easier targets in some areas.  I find that the biggest debates among married women or whether or not to have children, whether or not to work outside of home or inside of home, whether or not to send kids to school or homeschool them.  These issues stir up the strongest emotions among wives and mothers.  I wonder why???  What side does media lean more towards in these debates???  

What does all this have to do with Eve way back when, in the garden???  Well when God created Adam, He gave him a job; to tend and keep the garden.  When God created Eve He did not give her a "job". He gave her a "role".  That role was a helper to Adam.  This was God's original template for marriage.  As a fulltime homemaker,  the media is like an apple that dangles in front of my face that says "know more, be more, do more.  Just like that apple Satan dangles long ago.  Yes,  Eve intrigues me;  as she should.  She is my original template.

What is "needed"

As a woman,  God has blessed us with many roles.  It may feel like we have a lot to do.  But it is not as it seems.  We need to allow those roles to flow naturally through the power of the Holy Spirit.  In the book of Genesis before Abraham became a father, God had already seen him as a father of many nations
Genesis 17:5
No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. 

The process of faith is what makes manifest the plan of God for your life, not your striving.  The Holy Spirit does not produce striving but rather peace.  Remember Jesus refers to Himself as the "Prince of Peace. 
Isaiah 9:6
For unto us a child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder and His name will be called "Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Anything that comes from Jesus in your life should produce peaceful fruit. 

As I was beginning to clean and tidy up, with my 19 month old home and my 6 year old.  I heard in my spirit "Do things that make for peace"  As seasons of our life changes there are different things that become needful for us to do.  Well we can't do it all, so we should do the "needful" things on a daily basis.

Luke 10:41
And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.  But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her

Mary was seated at Jesus's feet, but God has shown me something else about that scripture.  It's not just about sitting and reading God's word, it's about being able to pick and choose what is needful to do and what is not needful at different seasons in your life.  It's something to thing about. 

Struggling with faith??

Timothy 4:14 tells us the we should not neglect the gift that is in us.  I have not posted in awhile, but I know that God usually shares a word to somebody through me.  I did not want to neglect that gift.  I have been reading and posting about the book of Genesis.  I plan on writing about some things that have been standing out to me.  I pray that this strengthens your faith.  Genesis is a book about beginnings, so it's a great book to read if you are beginning anything new in your life.  I love that Genesis really takes us back to the beginning of "The Faith" that we hold in Jesus Christ. 

In Genesis we are introduced to a man named Abraham.  Honestly, Abraham doesn't really do anything major himself in the scriptures but God does amazing things through Him.  When you read about His life, you see him traveling but he also spends a lot of resting under a particular tree.  He has an issue with lying about Sarah being his sister, because of fear that he struggles with.  Abraham is very relatable.  He was God's chosen instrument to father us all according to Romans 4:16. God told him that he would be a father to many nations when he had no children and was very old.  But that is not the amazing part of this, the amazing part is that God told him this would begin with a seed that he would impregnate his wife with.  That was the amazing part, Sarah was in her 90s and past child bearing age.  That's where the faith came in. See men can father children for as long as they are alive.  The faith came in because it would happen through Sarah.  It wasn't necessarily faith that God would work a miracle through him as much as it was faith that God would work a miracle through his wife.  Wow, so this is how the "Christian faith" started.  It says because he believed in the Lord, it was accounted to him for righteousness.  Right here in the book of Genesis you see the first act of righteousness by faith.  You also see that the miracle was that Sarah would carry his seed.  Just as the miraculous birth of Christ, that Mary who had never been with a man would carry a seed and give birth to the Savior of the World.  2 women, 2 seeds, 2 miracles. 

Abraham is the father of  the "Christian Faith".  It was the 1st mention in the bible of "righteousness by faith".  "1st mentions" in the bible are very important.  There is no such thing as Old Testament or New Testament Christians.  The Christian Faith did not start in the New Testament, it started in the book of Genesis.  There are images of Christ throughout the whole bible.  The whole bible is about Jesus Christ.

Look at how Abraham and his "righteousness by faith" comes up again in the New Testament:
Philippians 3:9 - and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith (sounds like what Abraham had);

I think it's also important to know that "righteousness by faith" came before "the law".  The law was never able to save, not in the beginning and not in the end. 

If you are struggling in any area of your faith,  go to the book of Genesis and see where the Christian faith began.  Start Abraham

"Genesis" patterned life

I have been exploring the book of Genesis this week and the history of "Creation".  I woke up this morning, feeling overwhelmed with what I needed to do for the week.  My "To-do" list was mounting on top of me.  Ever-so-often, I start to feel overwhelmed about the tasks in front of me.  Most of the time these are little things that I do on a daily basis.  For some reason, on some days I get overtaken and the tasks appear like a mountain before me. 

When I woke up this morning feeling that way, I asked God how did He not get overwhelmed when He was creating the heavens and the earth.  One of the things that came to mind is that God took everything 1 day at a time.  You notice when He says "the evening and the morning were the first day".  He makes that statement throughout the whole process of Him creating the heavens and the earth, before he "rested"
1 "The evening and the morning were the first day"
2.  "The evening and the morning were the second day"
3.  "The evening and the morning were the third day"

You get my drift................................God took everything day by day.  What a lesson and a great foundational example in which we can pattern our lives after.

Another thing that came to mind is that the first 2 days of creation were not filled with too much activity.  It was almost like building, There was like an increase in activity as the week went forth,  That third day, there seems to be an increase in activity.  It was a 7 day week that God established it seems.  Another great example to pattern our lives after.  Start your week slow, day by day, and build as you go. 

The last thing that I realized today, is that normally when my "to-do" list becomes a monster in my life, it's because I need a mental break.  I normally have to give my mind a break from thinking about the things I have to get done.  I also have to make sure I wait until I'm ready mentally to face my "to-do list"  It's different for everybody, but for me, I know I'm mentally ready when the thought of it does not stir up feelings of fear, and defeat.  When it no longer feels like a bigger burden than I can bear.  Normally when we are in need of a mental break, our mind starts to take "little" things and "magnify" them.  When we are in need of a mental break, our mind fails to experience things as they really are, there is an exaggeration that takes place in every area.  I'm normally "pretty good" at knowing when I need a mental break early on, but I forgot today.  I was reminded.................

God created us in His image, that means we reflect His creative qualities, however in order to see those "creative" qualities at work in our lives, we must fully appreciate the example God set in the 7 days that He created the heavens and the earth and we must let Him teach us how to pattern our lives after that. 

Enjoying God, "Creation's" History

Genesis 1:3-5
Then God said, "Let there be light; and there was light and God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and darkness He called Night  So the evening and the morning were the first day.

Wow, the first day of creation!!!  God called this the first day.  The first day of what.  Not the first day of the "week", not the first day of the "month", not the first day of the year, the first day of all creation.  God is allowing us to witness the first day of all creation and what happened on that first day.  The 1st couple verses of Genesis talks about how "darkness" was on the face of the deep.  Darkness is a loaded word, that implies a lot.  In the beginning there was already darkness.  God did not create darkness.  Because it says in the 1st couple verses of scripture that "darkness was on the face of the deep".  But God did create the light!  From the beginning we see how God responds to darkness.  It says that the earth "without form and void and darkness was on the face of the deep". 
But the "spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters".  What did the "spirit of God" do?  "Hovered", "said", "saw", "divided", and "called" and so it was.  I wonder what made "the spirit of God" decide that this was the day that He was going to create the heavens and the earth?  It seems He hadn't created anything before this.  But maybe He did, but I don't know because the bible calls the creation of the heaven and the earth, "the beginning".  The beginning of what?  The beginning of everything!1.  God calls it the beginning.  If He was here in the beginning, He has no beginning and no end.  What was He doing before "creation"?  I don't know but I will certainly ask Him when I get to heaven.  To fathom that before "our world".  There was this "spirit of God"............just here and that this is all truly His creation.  We are truly His!!  This is all His, "all the earth and the fullness thereof" Nobody can take credit for it or us.  You have to give God the glory, it is truly all His!!

My mind now wonders who was this "Spirit of God" what was He like?  He created such beauty!!  I think about the fact that He created light.  The fact that He said "let there be light" and there was light tells me the He is light!!  He couldn't of spoke it into existence if it didn't exist in Him.  When you look around at nature, flowers, beautiful creatures;  it says a lot about who this "Spirit of God" is and what He is like.  All good things come from Him!!!  Even from the beginning He was good!! and He produced good things. 

I can just imagine silence and or maybe the sound of raging waters.  Either way, the first voice every spoken.   Or maybe it was silence, and the first sound ever, was God's voice. 

It says in Genesis 1:3-5 that "God divided the light from the darkness.  Was it together?  What did that look like I wonder?  I mean when He created us, He had already divided it into day and night.  But it wasn't always that way.  But it says the God said "let there be light".  I doesn't appear as if God created the darkness.  It seems that the darkness existed because God had had not yet spoken.  Maybe that's why He separated the "light" from the "dark".  Because according to the text He did not say "let there be darkness"  He did not speak darkness, but He spoke light.  I would go as far as to say the reason we have "day" and "night is because darkness is not part of His creation.  Again, I say darkness as we know it does not contain the true meaning in the scriptures.  We connect darkness with "night".  The "night" is part of God's creation.  Because it is the division He created.  Darkness does not mean "night".  Before God even started to speak the heaven and earth into existence, He says "Darkness" was on the face of the deep.   It means something more.  Since He said "darkness" was on the face of the deep, imagine that true meaning of darkness is pretty deep.  I just wondered what it was like before He divide the light from the darkness?