Patience…. My least favorite word of all time. So many “well meaning” people have tried to be an “encouragement” to me over the years by saying things like, “God will bring you just the right man, you just have to be patient” or “God will show you what He wants for your future, you just have to be patient”.
Read MoreI know that this is a familiar verse. But if you really look at this verse you will see that God's being near to us requires and action on our part. We have to first draw nigh to God. This can be done in several ways: Prayer, reading God's Word, being faithful to church, just to name a few. It is easy to let the "stuff of life" get in the way of our walk with the Lord and the devil actually prefers it that way. In this story I am about to share with you is my personal experience of the Lord working and convicting me of my walk with Him.
Read MoreOh how often I feel IT'S NOT IN ME ---but God shall give an answer of peace! Life can be so pressing at times and I don't have an answer. I'm thankful that I can run to Jesus. Psalm 86:7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: FOR THOU WILT ANSWER ME.
Read MoreIn the hustle and bustle of life today, it's easy to get caught up in whirlwinds of tasks and responsibilities that constantly demand attention. We find ourselves running from one thing to another, sometimes barely taking a moment to transition properly. However, amidst the chaos and busyness that can easily overtake our lives, there is a timeless truth that our Lord Jesus shared with us, speaking directly from His loving heart: "Come apart and rest a little while."
Read MoreI was born into a Christian home and went to church every Sunday. I remember one Sunday morning sitting in church listening to the message and when it was time for the invitation I knew that I needed to accept Jesus as my Saviour. I went home and that afternoon my dad sat with me on the couch and clearly explained the Gospel to me and I accepted Jesus Christ as my Saviour when I was 4 years old. I was baptized the next year.
As a Christian of any age and any stage of life, there are simple principles in the Bible we can remember when we don’t know what else to do. The Bible instructs us first of all to – (S)eek God. In James 1:5 the Bible says, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him as of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not: and it shall be given him.” This verse tells us when we need wisdom to know what to do, all we have to do is ask God. If we have trusted Christ as our Saviour, God listens and wants to answer our prayers. He has told he will give us wisdom if we will simply ask. First thing first, seek God and ask Him for wisdom.
Read MoreSo as you go throughout your day remember to think about how you are speaking just as much as what you are speaking. So many of life situations can be handled so much better if
we guard our mouth and how we communicate with others. Psalm 141:3 - Set a watch (guard), O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.
When I’m feeling bad, useless or lonely, just knowing that my Lord is there in my time of need brings me peace and joy.
He never sleeps. He’s never tired. He’s always there to keep me, to shield me, to preserve me. Isn’t that wonderful?!
Have you ever gone somewhere and took more luggage than what you needed? I remember on numerous occasions taking way too much! Most of the stuff I didn't need. It was frustrating dragging all of it around.
Read MoreAs we go through our lives and about our daily business doing all the right things, all the good things, are we living “in him”. It can be so easy to go into auto pilot. If we are not careful we can almost become robotic. Not intentionally, not even with a bad spirit, but we are doing all the things and checking off all the boxes of things to be done without giving our full attention or full spiritual awareness to them. Stop and think about it for a minute.
Read MoreI don’t have to wallow in my imperfections. I trust in His mercy, because He has promised it to those to seek it, with a broken heart. My hero. The valiant defender of my heart. The Rock of my strength. How does He strengthen me spiritually? By being who He is. Lift your voice in praise, thank Him for who He is. Take His Word before Him! He loves and delights when we dare to take Him at His word. Mercy, marvelous mercy. He delights in me. Why? I can never answer that question because I know who I am. I challenge every lady reading this to read 3-5 Psalms a day. Repeat these verses out loud in your prayer time, He will take you to High places. Then, you too will sing and shout and in tearful words in prayer say, Marvelous Mercy! What a God I have! We don’t have to be perfect, just faithful.
Read MoreThe ocean is one of my most favorite places on earth. The overwhelming enormity of both its sight and sound is always a reflection of the thoughts of my heart, both good and bad. I am always overwhelmed with something. And while on this journey of sanctification, I see-saw between the overwhelming “somethings’ of God’s goodness and my own sinful tendencies.
Read MoreThere is nothing better for refreshing my soul, uplifting my hurting heart, or encouraging my spirit than being in God’s amazing creation! God definitely meets me at these special moments. Because of this, on the anniversary of my husband’s home going, I always plan an outdoor adventure. Along with that, I send up a balloon with a tract attached to it. My husband was a passionate soulwinner and it is a way to honor this important part of his life.
Read MoreAnd there’s the gem. Those two little words Trina would use so often in her conversation. MY Jesus. The most important lesson I ever learned from Trina, though I wouldn’t even realize it until YEARS later, was that He needs to be ‘MY’ Jesus. When you speak of your Saviour, it should be personal. The same way you say, ‘My kids’ or ‘My husband’. Possessive. Loving. Is that how you think of Jesus, or do you not really think about that relationship much at all? We all hear quite regularly in preaching that we need to have a relationship with God(Jesus), but do we really think and ponder and try to figure out what that entails? Oh sure, there’s the ‘read your Bible more! Here’s a 1 year plan!’ and don’t you dare misunderstand me, reading your Bible is paramount in a Christians life, but are you just going through the motions of Bible reading so that you can check off a little chart? You’ll be closer to Jesus than if you weren’t reading at all, sure, but would you feel that possessive love? Trina challenged me without even saying it to get that possessive love. To thirst for it. And it’s so funny because, the closer you get the more you want.
Read MoreWe have all heard someone say or have ourselves said something that we don’t intend to act upon. But why would we say something we don’t mean? Most of the time we quickly forget what we said or thought, but what damage have we caused? I have started thinking about this more and have become more aware of it after I heard a phrase in a sermon last year. The phrase was “don’t rehearse evil.” DON’T REHEARSE EVIL. You might be thinking it’s not that bad, it’s not evil because they or I didn’t mean it. If it’s not Phillipians 4:8 worthy it’s evil. If it’s not righteous it’s evil. The Bible says in Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…” and in Matthew 12:34b, “…for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” What is in our hearts? God destroyed all of mankind with the Flood because “…every imagination of the THOUGHTS of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5b) What is in the heart will eventually spill forth to our mouths. “Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.” Psalm 34:13 We need to be on guard for even the tiniest splinter of evil. How do we keep those thoughts and words of destruction from forming?
Read MoreAmy’s known for her “choose joy” mantra and we all know she DOES!!!
Let’s live our lives choosing joy, Praising God, and having a gratitude attitude.
“God is good… all the time…. All the time… God is good!”
Read MoreThis year my plan and I feel the Lord has led me to this… the Pause. To focus on the pause or pauses of life. I want to listen to when the Lord says, “ Pause.” I believe the Lord wants us all to “stop for a minute,” or to “linger” here for a time. He always has a reason. He may have something better for us or He may simply be protecting us from what we can’t see.
Read MoreThen go out and PURPOSE to see others. Look for the gold God has put within those around us, and tell them! Make the effort. In purposing to help others recognize their value, we will help them to know they are seen by our God. “To the world you may be one person’ but to one person you may be the world” is a quote we should remember often. Most importantly, share your “Thou God seest me” testimony with the unsaved. Let them know that they too can be seen, saved, and their eternity changed forever!
Read MoreThe lesson I learned actually took more than one winter to learn. It also took the preaching of the word of God. It took reading my Bible more. It took praying more and it took trusting God more. Did I really believe all things worked for my good? And then, I purposed in my heart that I would learn to enjoy winter.
Read More“I thought we were friends.” / “I thought you loved me.”
The hurt behind those words can overshadow years of life, love, and memories. All the good times fade away when a friendship is betrayed.
Investment, down the drain. Trust destroyed. Love questioned.
Have you been there? / Are you currently there?
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