True Love...

True love ❤️ came down from heaven!

True love ❤️ died on the cross for you and me  that we might live!

True love ❤️ loved us first!

True love ❤️ is unending grace!

True love ❤️ is Jesus! 

❤️ Jesus is the reason I can love all the ones I hold dear today and everyday ❤️

❤️❤️ Happy Valentines Day ❤️❤️

Joy in the Journey

2016 was a tough year for my family, we were getting blows from multiple sides. My husbands health continued to decline, we had a doctor take advantage of us, injections that caused more harm than good, a heartbreaking fall out with some family members over our different religious beliefs, the kids were hitting a rough stride in school, and so the list goes on.

I started praying for direction for my life at the beginning of 2016, I wanted Gods will more than anything (still do :) I wanted Him to use me and to find a purpose in my life based on His desires not my own. I started praying for this every day. Let your will be done, use me Lord, send me Lord, use my life for your purpose and your glory. I felt like God started speaking to me amidst the pain that He was going to use me.

I had an opportunity to take a preaching/teaching class over the summer. I remember some people even discouraging me from what I felt was God speaking to me to take this class. It was a 6 month class. The first two sessions I came home in tears. Why had I wasted my life? I was Gods girl when I was young and I threw it all way for what? People who didn't love me, lifestyles that didn't suite me, so much wasted time. Now I am a grown woman, how can I make an impact for His kingdom this late in the game. I stuck with it though, I loved the class, I wish even now I could just stop everything I am doing and go to seminary.  I wrote a sermon about trials and at the end presented it to my class.

Around August I got a call from a woman at our church. Her and her husband were seeking Gods direction and the pastor had an opportunity for them but if she took this opportunity it would mean she couldn't teach the Women's Sunday School class any more, she had called to ask me if I wanted to take over the class. I was floored, I felt warm tears brimming my eyes, this was God. He had already spoken this to me and He was bringing it to reality.

I recently had the opportunity to work with a couple of wonderful godly women to plan a Women's Worship Night. I presented my sermon I wrote in the preaching/teaching class earlier that year.

I don't know where God is taking me or how He plans to use me but I know this - Do not listen to the people who speak unbelief to your heart, do not listen to the enemy who wants to diminish your worth rather listen to the Lord who has a plan for you, who loves you, and who is ready to use you for His glory! I would never have had the blessings I have had during the trials I have faced if I had listened to the doubt. Keep praying for Gods will in your life and watch Him reveal it!
We have some awesome tech guys and gals at our church who recorded the Women's Worship Night! The first video below is our amazing worship leader Kelsey singing Break Every Chain and How can it Be. My friend Laura is speaking about Our Living Hope! (I must say she tells the best flea story I have ever heard :) The second video is Kelsey singing Place of Freedom, Lord I Need You and Not for a Moment, I speak about finding Joy Through Trials.

Never forget God has a plan for you, whether you know it or not He does. If that plan is at its infancy trust Him for He who started a good work in you will be faithful to complete it!

Prayer

Do you believe in the power of prayer? We have been given an open line to God but that line is worth nothing for us if we don't use it. We can not only pray for our lives but powerfully intercede for others. In the Bible Paul is often found praying for his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

Paul is giving us an example of how we can pray for believers as he expresses his prayer for believers in Ephesus in Ephesians 1:15-20. 

1) We can pray for believers to have Wisdom and Discernment!

Verse 17: "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him"

2) We can pray for believers to have an assurance of eternity and of the blessings that are promised to us!

Verse 18: "the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints"

3. We can pray for believers to know the Power of God, to have confidence that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same power that is alive and at work today through them as believers!

Verse 19 & 20: "and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,”

How powerful would it be if you chose a fellow believer and just prayed for their spiritual welfare daily? Jesus prayed for ALL who believed in Him, we can follow His example by lifting up our brothers and sisters in Christ!

Resolutions

New Year - New You???

It's the third week of January already, did you make a New Years resolution yet? I stoped making resolutions a couple of years ago. I realized that all I was doing was resolving to do something in my own power and I generally failed after a period of time. In January of 2015 I read an email from an inspirational Christian leader about Naming My Year. This was more than a resolution this was about setting a goal through prayer and seeking Gods direction for my year, biblically backing that goal and claiming it in Christ name!

This year I am focusing on Confidence Through Christ, there are so many great bible verses about getting our confidence through Him. These are the two verses I am focusing on:  “For the LORD will be your confidence, And will keep your foot from being caught.” Proverbs 3:26 NKJV and “Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward.”

Hebrews 10:35 NKJV

This is my third year resolving not to do something in my own power! Would you give it a try? What could your year look like if you sought Gods direction, used His word to guide you and focus you toward that goal and claimed your achieving it through Christ power not your own? 

If I have learned anything it's that my greatest achievements were the ones that I handed over fully to the Lord... 

Word

I finished our church's 2 year bible reading plan on 12/31. I don't tell you this to boast but to encourage you. See I was the person who was way invested in Gods word in my youth but fell off track somewhere when life hit. I tried repeatedly to get back to the word but never really committed, I was gonna do it some day but not now. 2 years ago I made the commitment that the time was now. I wanted to know God better and reading His word is a major part of that. This experience has been transformational to my soul. God has spoke to me through His word so many times I did not even expect. It wasn't a perfect journey because I am not perfect. I would get behind in some seasons, I am pretty sure there's some chapters in 2 Chronicles I glossed over but the point is I made it a point to seek God in His word everyday and it truly has shown me how the Word can renew the mind and the heart and draw us closer to God.  It is never to late to commit to reading the Bible, you will be amazed I promise! I am so in love with Gods word I imagine I will spend my life seeking the truth of its pages. He is a good good father that left us this precious gift, a living word filled with all the truth we need all we have to do is open it 💗 Don't be worried about not understanding, pray for wisdom and God will give it to you! Just open the Bible and let your transformation begin!

His Spirit

As 2017 approaches I find myself asking what did I try to do this past year by my own might and my own power? What are the things that I could have given over to the Lord that I held on to? Where do I want to start fresh in the New Year? 

This verse in Zechariah 4:6 gives us a good answer to how we can accomplish Gods will for our life: "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might not by power, but by My Spirit, Says the Lord of host."

Zerubabbabel could not do Gods work by his own power he needed Gods Spirit to accomplish Gods work! He had to trust God to give him what he needed to accomplish Gods work. Gods Spirit was a necessity, not an option!

We also need to trust God in all the areas of our life, and manage through His Spirit not our own power. We need to speak to Him and seek Him daily!

Is there an area where you have not trusted God? It's never to late to give that over to Him. Have you never known Him? Have you walked away, not prayed or picked up your bible in while? He is waiting and ready for you, His child! Zachariah 1:3 says "Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord of host: "Return to Me," says the Lord of host,"and I will return to you," says the Lord of hosts."

Take time to inhale the good and bad of 2016. What can you do in the New year by the power of God? What can you turn over to Him that you have held back? How can you seek His Spirit this coming year? He already knows and sees what the year holds, trust Him and Seek Him and His Spirit will fill you beyond measure!

Walk Humbly

I have this shirt that says Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly... I know that's in scripture but where? I stumbled across it this morning In Michah 6. 

Michah was a prophet and in this chapter he is pleading Gods case to the the people of Israel. The  people respond in verses 6-7 with a complaint that no offering is good enough for the Lord not even their first born child (they could be a bit dramatic :) they were basically saying God was unreasonable but here is the beautiful response the Lord gives: “He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8 NKJV

You see the Lord doesn't want all of the riches you can throw at Him, He wants your heart! It is not the offering the Lord is seeking in us but the offerer. God is interested in the way we act, in our character, in the inner parts of our heart far far more than any gift we can give! 

The Lord wants us to act justly according to His standards, to love mercy because it triumphs over judgement time and time again, to be compassionate to our neighbor (who is everyone!) and to walk humbly with Him, as a constant companion  tuning our lives to the will of the Lord!

#actjustly #lovemercy #walkhumbly #withGod