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Showing posts from 2013

Loving God

dancingwithGodblog.com Another year to worship Jesus and love Him! I can't wait!  "There is hope for me yet because God won't forget all the plans He's made for me I have to wait and see He's not finished with me yet." ~"Wait and See"- Brandon Heath Thank you Lord for all the places You're taking me, Your love, and all the memories with You that you're making. Don't let me get caught in other's ways, but get lost in Your tender ways. Take me where You want me to go, and help me just love You. I thank You for this new year- I can't wait to wait and see! Let me get lost in Your freedom. Holy Spirit, lead me. I can't wait to see what You're going to do this next year! I put everything in Your hands let it all turn out for Your glory. Love,

{Christian Book Review}: Ten Days Without

barnesandnoble.com 10 Days Without is a book written to inspire Christians to stop being passive. In the way they seek God. In the way they worship Him. In the way they serve others. I've noticed and prayed against this habit myself- the tendency we have to move beyond contentment and go into what Day calls 'slackitism'. It's feeling the conviction of the Holy Spirit tell you to do something, and then completing it half way. Or not doing it at all. Or relying on someone else to do what God Himself has called YOU to do. I love the idea centered around this book. It's calling us to GET UP out of the church and go out and see what God is doing in this broken world. As each section beckons us to give up a comfort to peek into the lives of others while praying and fasting, God gives us a glimpse of what it's like to live in the eyes of the person who doesn't have shoes, or legs. In this eye-opening book, Day challenged me to fight the tide of '

Simply Him

googleimages This morning I had beautiful whitespace (as FaithBarista Bonnie Gray calls it) in my favorite place. My mind was muddled and I was trying to fix it myself. Walking along the beautiful lake, I clutched my books to my chest and thought. Even the gorgeous scenery against the light November wind hadn't calmed me. I heard something: Do you remember how you were when I first met you? Me: A mess. Don't you think if you were there, a mess without any sense of direction and I guided you out of that and brought you here, that I won't guide you? I will guide you out of anything and everything. You just keep loving Me and spending time with Me and you'll find you're already there. He spoke to me. He spoke to me!! I'd been so worried about where He wanted me to go and how I was going to get there and how far away I was from that place that I forgot His basics. I'm just here to love him and spend time with Him...then I'll look up one da

The Past and His Love

uppphotos.net "But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward- to Jesus. I'm off and running and I'm not turning back " (Philippians 3:18, MSG). Do you see the determination in this verse? It was the first thing that stuck out to me when I read this in the Message Translation. I'd been looking back at my journal and memories from the last few months of having wonderful communion with the Lord, and wondered why my time with Him now didn't look like it had. It was something I'd been praying about this for awhile but hadn't really gotten an answer, just a little Scripture about the past that I shook off. I didn't want Scripture's answer, I wanted His. And I got Him. Not just an answer- Him. Comforting arms and all. I read this ve

Relying

iheartinspiration.com Hello! I just wanted to encourage those of you who are going through something super tough. God's mercies are new each morning, and especially for those of us that are using our faith muscles. Know this:  we need to be renewed. We need to be reminded. We need a WORD from Him, letting us know that we are truly in the palm of His hand. I'm sort of in this place where a Word from God starts to get clouded in by doubt, and today, I realized that I needed my strength, everyday, from the Lord to get through the day. Are you in the same place? Did the Lord tell you something that, as time passes by, seem to get clouded by doubt? Let me share something He put in my heart today: "22  Then came the Festival of Dedication [ b ]  at Jerusalem. It was winter,   23  and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade.   24  The Jews  who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, te

Condemnation & Seeing Beauty Out of Ashes

sharecovers.com If you're avidly seeking God and you make a mistake...don't forget- you're human. No matter how much we love and want to please the Lord, we will make mistakes as long as we're here on earth, unfortunately. If I had it my way, I'd love it if I could please Jesus every time, but we both know I'm human and that's just not going to happen. My experience is this: If you make Jesus your life and you try to do everything to please Him and you make a mistake or a series of them, and even after repenting you've still got a nagging feeling pulling your heart down- that my friend is condemnation. It's something all believers are tempted to feel, but if you stand on Him and let Him strengthen you, you don't have to fall into that trap. Jesus told me this today: "For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings." --Hosea 6:8 (NIV) I'm not that hard to please. If you're tr

{Christian Book Review}: I Kissed Dating Goodbye

soverigngraceministries.org Out of all the courtship and purity books I've read (and hounded in my room, haha), this is one I didn't have a particular liking for. It was kind of...blah. Mr. Harris writes on a subject I fully support and am practicing in my own life, the principal of keeping yourself and letting God keep you clean in both your soul and your physical body, not only for marriage but for life. He writes on the importance of taking an interest in why you date and urges us as readers to take on a new attitude of selflessness and loving with Christ's love as we embark on a romantic relationship that starts first with friendship and then to marriage. I have no doubt in my mind that this book was written out of the Lord's will and the message spoken was His, but I felt in my spirit that this particular book was not for me. I could see his message but couldn't get into it, couldn't get connected to it. Although I identified greatly with the pur

Celebrating

blogs.cisco.com Today, the word celebration  is on my heart. Think about it: how many times a year do we just take time to celebrate ourselves and where we are in our journey with Jesus? As I was thinking about it yesterday I realized the answer was a whopping no. I've never taken time to just celebrate where I am and where He's taken me and the things I've been able to do because of Him. How sad this was to discover that I wasn't taking the time to appreciate how far He's taken me from where I was and how He is changing me everyday. This summer I took a month-long trip to Switzerland and in spite of the beauty landscape and my welcoming family, Jesus held my hand as I walked through a trial. There was almost nothing I could do! I set out to protect my heart from anything that could wrench me from my Savior and into the hands of the world (read: avoiding secular music, television...etc.) and apart from reading the Bible and listening to Christian music and wa

I Saw Doug Addison!!

dougaddison.com Last month, I had an amazing experience at a Joan Hunter Ministries Conference. I'd gotten a letter in the mail concerning it, but do to scheduling, I didn't think I'd be able to attend. I prayed about it, begging God to open the schedule, but it didn't look like it would happen. Lo and behold, that very day there was a breach in my schedule that allowed me to go. Problem was, I didn't feel like it. I was in a nasty mood, didn't 'feel' like worshiping God, and I was letting all types of demonic thoughts rule me. "Oh well, we're already late." "What if God doesn't let me feel His love like He did before?" "I don't even feel like worshiping right now, my heart is too closed off." But as we drove into the 4 Corners Conference Center, a tiny seed of hope flared inside of me. Maybe this is where I'll feel that agape love [agape is a Hebrew word for strong love- it defines that overflowing

Headlights

"The headlights of your car going down a dark winding road on a dark night let you see only a few feet ahead. You cannot see the entire road, so you must respond to each corner and each curve as you come to it. On the side of each curve, there is a steel guardrail, placed their by you and your Savior to keep you from the real damage off the road. The Christian life is much the same. God rarely lets us see what He wants for our life- only what He wants us to do now. He asks us for obedience- and if, we happen to stray off the road, the guardrails you've established earlier will keep us from crashing. He asks for obedience for what He's asked of us today...and like a car's headlight...He'll show us where to go." -Life Change

How to: Spend Time with God

 madouthere.files.wordpress.com Speaking to the Holy of Holies can be a little daunting at first, to say the least. For a new Christian, this can be one of the most dreaded things that comes with living the righteous life. What if He won't answer me? What if I can't hear anything? What if (haha)...I'm bored? Shh! Shh! I don't want to hear anymore 'what if questions'! In fact, I don't want to hear any doubtful questions right now. You just read. Let me tell you a secret- All spending time with God is this  talking to God and telling Him that you need Him in different ways. Then you listen for His response. It works just like a conversation. And just like a normal human friendship, it needs to be maintained everyday to be strong and continue thriving. What? You thought you could just talk to God on Tuesday and then not come back till the next Tuesday of next month? Doesn't work like that. Actually, the more you spend time with God and se

Are you a PHARISEE?

thechristianmessage.org          June 24th, Liz's Journal: " I AM NOT TRUSTING GOD."    I say I am, but I'm not. I know the "theology" (God's Word, the head-knowledge), but I'm living like a Pharisee trying to live them all out at the same time! If I mess up, I make myself miserable over it. Yeah, yeah, I know, "No condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus", but I should've obeyed what He said. "That puts me in a set-back in my relationship with Him...again." I say to this woman- STOP!!!!   Quit trying to live on your own understanding! You're not trusting Him! Are you the woman (or man) I'm speaking to today? I realized this today while on the way back from the doctor's on the freeway. I told God, "Keep me safe, please don't let this eighteen-wheeler hit us." Three seconds later I had my eyes laser-peeled on the road instead of focusing on soaking in God's truth t

{Christian Book Review}: Though My Heart Is Torn

Though My Heart Is Torn, Joanne Bischof (novelcrossing.com) I'm happy to say that the Cadence of Grace series by Joanne Bischof was my first major plunge into the uplifting world of Christian fiction. And honestly, after making the plunge, I'm just about ready to invite Lonnie and Gideon into my home! So this is the second book following the story of Gideon and Lonnie, a young couple who came together by an arranged marriage and stayed together by Christ's abounding love. If you'd like to hear more of that story, check out Be Still My Soul by the same author. So Lonnie, the beautiful girl you see in the picture above, finally gives her heart fully to her wedded husband and is living happily after after with him and their son. And...and right when she thinks that nothing will ever test their love again- BAM! The secret is revealed...Gideon is already lawfully wedded to his former flame, Cassie Allan. Will Lonnie give into the pressure of the world? Can she trul

The Christian Life

...in a nutshell. "He [she] preferred to share the oppression [suffer the hardships] and bear the shame of the people of God than to have the fleeting enjoyment of a sinful life." -Hebrews 11:25 The Bible says that we will never depart from the way of our parents. If you grew up in a Christian home, or even if you didn't, your knowledge of Jesus will never leave you. I can enjoy the sin for a moment but just like this verse says, it's a fleeting moment, and once that temporary fulfillment's over, I can literally FEEL my Father in Heaven grieving. And I join in, too.  Meditate on this scripture if you currently find yourself in a situation that is forcing you to be with unbelievers or those that are lost. Remember, they don't have the standards you do. They're not concerned with pleasing the Father. Don't settle for less. Prefer to share the oppressions and bear the shame, because you'll make your Father smile and be proud of you. -Think a

Motives

These days the Lord has been dealing with me about want. Kind of hard for a girl, huh? It's more like little semi-teachings about what want does to people (selfishness and greed), making idols in life (much easier than you think ,becoming a Saul (losing your humbleness) and most recently, the motives behind the things we want.  unknownmami.com Do you find yourself praying about seemingly trivial things, although reminding yourself that the Bible says to pray about everything? Do you find yourself spending hours looking at the one thing you want online? Do you pray about things...but then not take time to see what God says about it because you're so excited? I know the feeling.                                             powertochange.com A summer promise to treat myself better and improve my quality of life has almost turned disastrous! If God hadn't shown me the path I was innocently going down, I would've been TORN APART!  Like I listed in the fir