It's the end of the first month of 2010

Can you believe it !! One month into 2010. Do you feel like it is going to be a special year? Something you are anticipating...something's coming. Well, a couple of the women I meet with each week feel it too. I hope that it is a great year of personal growth in my life. I'm looking forward to it. Are you?

Let me know if you are anticipating a great year and what it is you are looking forward to.

Pondering this week

I love this time of the year as well as every believer should. It's a time of reflection and appreciation for the many blessings afforded to us in Jesus Christ. This week Len and I watched "Walking With Jesus" on the Discovery Channel.
Ponder this:
Jesus did not do anything in his ministry that wasn't planned
He had control of everything that occurred from entering the gate on a donkey to being crucified on the cross
He had a total understanding of the reactions that he would cause during this significant time of celebration by turning over the moneychangers tables
He knew the actions of his friend Judas
He knew the hearts of men then and He knows the hearts of men now

It gives me great peace and comfort to know that He will be in complete control in the days before His return.

I invite you to consider all that He did and count the ways He is in control.....beginning with your life.

Choices

Christmas can be a very depressing time for many people. Thoughts of unhappiness, lack of what they have or even suicide can hang over people like a black plague.
For years I battled depression. Some months were so dark that I could barely count a good day.
What I have found over the years is, there is hope...you can survive depression! Here are some of the ways I have found to turn my dark days around:

Remember goodtimes, smile check this hyperlink out..did you know this: A smile costs nothing, however it brings great richness to the recipient. I SMILE MORE.

Be thankful for family, friends, food, shelter, freedom, health, sight, physical abilities. There's always someone who is in a worse situation or condition than you. I count the ways I am blessed.

Concentrating on the truth . I know that I am loved by God with a never ending love proven through Jesus Christ His Son. I focus on my personal relationship with Christ, God, the Holy Spirit which helps my relationship with others.

I read more of the Word of God so I can filter all the negative thoughts and happenings through God's truth and not through my feelings.

I Choose each day to follow God's way, to trust my life, my well-being, my future to His care. I choose to change the way I think, the way I act, by renewing my mind. This results in actions of love toward myself and others.
Am I perfect? No..but I have hope of being made new into His likeness more each day.

2 Cor 3:18 All of us, with no covering on our faces, show the shining-greatness of the Lord as in a mirror. All the time we are being changed to look like Him, with more and more of His shining-greatness. This change is from the Lord Who is the Spirit.
New Life Version (NLV)
Copyright © 1969 by Christian Literature International

Acceleration

Acceleration is a transitive verb with one meaning of a: to enable (a student) to complete a course in less than usual time b: to speed up (as a course of study). Well that's the journey I thought I was on until a month ago. I had been doing this spiritual journey book by Dr. Bruce Wilkinson. It's the second time I've read the book. I had been sharing in huddletime in The ReignForest that I've been stuck on the last three days but actually it was Day 26 of the book entitled "Keep Yourself from Idols". Whatever takes our hearts from him, or shares it with him, is an idol. There are three species of idolatry: 1)desire of the flesh - refers to all the outward senses; 2)desire of the eye - gratified by such objects as either grand or beautiful or uncommon and 3)"the pride of life" - seeking happiness in the praise of men or "taking care of our reputation". While trying to find the idols in my life I prayed the prayer "God remove anything from my life that takes me from knowing you more intimately, if it is pride remove it or rout it out." Ahh...dangerous prayer - almost as dangerous as praying for patience. So the past ~30 days I had been doing soul searching about idols in my life.

Speed up to this past week-end. I had a lesson..uhm "a God moment" in my flower garden. I was trying to remove a little wild tree/shrub thingie that was developing in my garden. I wanted to chop it out. I went to the shed to get the ax but couldn't find one but found an ax pick instead. Well, that'll do. There I am wielding this big thing swinging the pick into the ground to get to the bottom of this stubborn root. As I swing and strike deeper into the ground I'm saying to myself "Man this thing is deep-just how deep do I have to go?" and suddenly there was the picture before me and the softness of a familiar inner voice "Your pride is just like that root and that's why your stuck and you're experiencing so much pain lately." gulp... God moments don't always make you stop in your tracks and lights go on well at least this one wasn't like that. It seemed like this one kept low and started grower brighter and clearer until - the lights are fully on.

Here's the reality...I had cried for something to be revealed, my sinfulness, disobedience, guiltiness so that I could be discovered and be made known more to myself than to God. He knew what the problem was all along. Sometimes I don't know what the problem is because I don't want to or don't want to face the reality of myself.

Here's the results...once God showed me what it was, I repented of it and received a spiritual breakthrough.

Here's some hope...you know that root I dug out. The deeper the pick went the root got smaller and then relief I yanked it out. By tending my flower garden more closely I'm going to be checking for any wildshoots before they take deep root. In my life, it means staying close-intimately close to God my Father, Jesus my Lord and Savior and being sensitve to the Holy Spirit so that the revealing of self (weeding) is less painful.

While this was not an easy breakthrough Dr. Bruce says the insights that I learn from pain will endure. I'm finding that the cost of daily discipleship has some benefits...one is to encourage imitation of Christ and allow me to act in ways that are centered in God's will.

May the hand of God be upon you as you seek His face to receive His peace.

Hope for Today

My journey involves putting God first daily in my life. Not only spending time in prayer but also renewing my mind through His Holy Word. Ministry requires a constant flowing of the life of Christ and that can only come through reading the Bible, prayer, submission and surrender of those areas in my life that are not pleasing to God. I can't do that if I don't spend time with Him and allow Him to search my heart and mind?

Sometimes it's very painful. I'm a broken person, a sinner.

Sometimes it's very rewarding. I'm a child of the King, Redeemed by Jesus & HIS victory over sin.

I'm reading through the Psalms, studying the Names of God and working on disciplines and spiritual breakthrough by Dr. Bruce Wilkinson. It's taking longer than 30 days to go through this 30 day book. Yep, I need these lessons

Here's my verse of hope and encouragment.

Psalm 30:5
For His anger is but for a moment His favor is for a liftime. Weeping may last for the night but a shout of joy comes in the morning.

God's Word is good. God is GOOD.
Peace be with you.

Skipping chores

For the past two hours I have been reading blogs. Oops, what about those chores...well, I'm blog addictive at times. It's probably about once a month. I like reading what other people are saying, feeling, thinking, sharing, holding onto, releasing, coming to grips with and hopefully giving up to the One who has provided the ultimate Hope to each one of us through Jesus Christ.

Well, I have a half-hour of daylight left...I can surely get something done.. maybe one thing done to finish the day before I sit down and watch a movie with my husband, Len. (I think he's been a busy worker bee...God Bless him, he's a good man.)

Word for the day...Peace

Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Believing a lie

The objective of my quiet time has been to develop a personal relationship with God and to grow my devotion to Him.

I believe there was a time I thought I could really hide some of the things in my life from God. That was a lie. I think we all do it. We think we can hide those attitudes, thoughts...the real unattractive characteristics that aren't Christ-like. We try to pretend they don't exist or bury them beneath busyness.

Hey, what about this cool truth..He wants me to fully comprehend that He knows everything about me and that He still loves me unconditionally? He pursues me so I can know Him intimately and submit to how He is recreating my heart, renewing my mind and establishing me.

God always sees me as PresentFuture. It's a reality about God. He sees me now who I am but also can see me as who I will be. Will I be honest with myself and Him and allow Him to create in me His likeness?

Yes and yes.

Are you alright with that? God is pursuing YOU. To know God intimately, passionately, confronting Him personally everyday may be a struggle for you. It's been one for me. I encourage you to begin and not give up, press on.

Be known by the One who loves you with perfect love-God.

Peace be with you.

In the Know ?

Sometimes during my quiet time a verse stands out and strikes like a hammer so I wanted to share this with you.

Romans 1:21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.

So what's your plan of action today ? Your actions will have an outcome.

Take time today to have a heart of gratitude today for all that God has done for us through Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 1:3[ Praise to God for a Living Hope ] Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

Faith, Hope and Love

Yesterday, I had a great time in the prayer closet....is this the way most Saturday's are going to be from now on ? I doubt it but it sure is great while it's happening. Anyway, the gist of what took place is confirmation again of how God uses devotions, books or people to speak to me. Yesterday the message was calling me to Faith, Hope, and Love. (These were the lessons taught by the 2007 Egypt team in Cairo). OK, I'll learn more about it. Faith says, "I believe what God says about the invisible." Hope says "I believe what God says about the future." (Hebrews 11:1) I loved this quote by Pamela Reeve "Faith is...doing the right thing regardless of the consequences, knowing God will turn the ultimate effect to good." That's a short synopsis of the closet.

Then I leave the closet to finish a book I'm reading "Confessions of a Pastor" by Craig Groschell, his next to last chapter is "I'm Afraid of Failure"...specifically "Failure by Faith: You must take faith risks." He says, "You can't please God by giving in to complacency and comfort." At the end of the chapter he shared the story of the disciples in a boat on the water and a storm arises and it looks bad for them but then they see Jesus walking towards them (Matthew 14:27). Jesus attempts to give them a greeting of peace and then Peter decides to speak up and said "Lord, if it's you, tell me to come to you on the water" (v. 28). Jesus gives Peter the "Come" and He heads over the gunwale and begins his water walking journey to go to Jesus. Had he lost his mind or did he "get it" for a brief moment?

I soaked that story in to my brain and spirit like it was new to me and it's definitely not, but...you see I believe I'm heading over the gunwale and out onto the water. I'm in that "seconds" response similar to Peter...I get it ...I'm over and I'm on the water...can't get distracted and look down at the water...gotta keep my focus on Jesus-I know he's there, just follow His voice calling "come".

Stay tuned to this Faith Channel for an update to Hope and Love.