A Dot in His Picture...

Over the last year we, my hubby & I, have really had to change the way we are living our life. Serving God & trying to do His will, as we understand it, has been a part of the majority of our married life… but God has really challenged us (me) more than ever.  God is always asking me, “How much are you willing to trust Me? Are you ready to give everything up as you know it, to follow Me to something bigger I have for your life?”  I am sharing this to only say that God keeps “shaking” us/me awake to what new step He has for us... what might be next?

As a kid I can remember playing with a sliding tile puzzle… maybe some of you don’t even know what I am talking about. It is a hand-held plastic game board, about 3”x 3”, that had 15 interlocking tiles that you would slide around trying to put all the tiles in order to make a picture or to get the numbers in order.  Each tile was important to the puzzle, and each move you made could make it or break it.  There would be many times I would slide the same piece around in a “circle” trying to get it to go where it belonged. I must confess there were times I tried to cheat by popping a tile out so I could solve it easily… that never worked though because even if I could get it popped out I could not get it pushed back in!

That is how my life feels sometimes lately… like a sliding tile puzzle!  God has every piece of my life in His hands and He has to be the one to make the picture.  There are many days I try to slide a tile into a different position and that usually just scrambles things all the more.  I can only see one piece at a time… and some days maybe not even the whole piece… but God can see the whole picture. 

Okay, so here is my fleshly truth… there are moments or even days that I want to turn back from this path.  It seems too hard when I feel like I don’t know where I belong.  I feel lonely and isolated, and let’s face it… just plain impatient!  I know God knows what He is doing, but does He have to take so long to do it??? Really?!

And God’s truth… He knows the plans He has for me, plans for peace and not harm, and a future filled with hope (Jeremiah 29:11).  He also has promised never to leave me (Hebrews 13:5) He said, if I love Him I will be obedient to His Word (John 14:23, 2 John 1:6).  And just like Jesus said to Peter when Peter wanted to walk on water to come to Jesus, but failed… “You of little faith, why do you doubt?” Matthew 14:31

That is it… there really can be no arguing with God’s truth! I cannot live by how I feel which changes from moment to moment! I have God’s solid truth to stand on.  I may be only a dot in His big picture, but it is okay… that is where faith and trust have to come into play.  I must trust Him enough to go where He says to go, move where He says to move, and speak what He says to speak.

As we grow in our faith… we can see clearer & clearer, or maybe it isn’t really clearer, but rather that we are walking by faith & not by sight! (2 Corinthians 5:7) Some days I must look like… 2 steps forward, 3 steps back! Do you have those days too? We can always say, “No.”… but the truth is… it is not about us.  We all are a dot in His picture! Is your dot in the place where He wants you to be?

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. ~ Psalm 51:10

I don’t know what you are going through, but God does… He cares.  Cry out to Him and lay yourself at His feet.  When feelings start to overtake remember His Truth!  Lord, I pray for each person that reads this… help us to keep our eyes focused on You… the One that holds life in His hands. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Rejoicing in Truth!

Carin

Stirred But Not Shaken...

It is 2016! How is your new year going so far?  Just a few days in… I pray it is going good!  This year I found a year ending and a new year beginning to be a little depressing.  Not really sure why… has anyone else felt that way?  I love every moment God gave me in 2015, and I am looking with anticipation to each day He presents before me in 2016.  2015 was a big year for us… lots of good stuff happening… our first summer with the B&B officially opened, my 50^th birthday, Luke & my 25^th wedding anniversary, my baby sister got married! Those memories & milestones are so precious to me! It was a year of celebration! So what happened to sour the way of thinking about 2015??? Although the past year was not all “cherries and rose petals” but each step I took, I had to keep trusting God, & He brought me through.

The last few years there has been an important word or two that has been significant in my life for that year. Most of the time it took me awhile to catch on that it was a word that was purposely given to me. So this year I decided to pray about a word to live by in 2016… God has stirred up the word, “FAITH,” in me! I know as a follower of Christ that should be a no brainer, right? But it is about going deeper in my faith… God has really been stirring things up in me… stirring is not always the most comfortable feeling, would you agree?  There are so many uncertainties in my life right now, but the one thing that is for certain is my FAITH & God’s faithfulness!

Do you have dreams that you let go long ago?  Has circumstances taken you off course?  Is there a huge “wall” in front of you leaving you feeling defeated?  Have you received a promise from God that has fallen by the wayside in your mind?  Maybe this very moment is the time to pray and ask God if He would stir up that thing in you again.  FYI…Do NOT do it unless you are ready for the stirring to begin! It could be going back to school for your degree… getting married… starting a family… going into business… ???  You know what that thing is for you.

Stirring is a time that will test (grow) your faith… BIG time!  When you are making a cake you put all the ingredients in and then you must stir it to make all those individual items turn into a cake.  I am sure if an egg had feelings it would not be thrilled when it is being whisked into the batter, but stirring is the way to get the end product.  I feel it is kind of the same when God starts stirring.  You may not be thrilled either!  I have said things like, “God, my life is good… I am comfortable right where I am.” Or, “Is my faith really strong enough?”  Or, “I am afraid.”  What God has shown me through this is that He brings these times into our lives to push us to rely on Him more… His strength, His mercy, His grace. 

It says in James 1:2-4 “Consider it pure joy, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”  Stirring… pure joy???  Umm, that may not be your first thought on that, but know that  each step you do take in faith brings more joy.  You will never persevere if you never take the first step!

I challenge you to keep moving forward, but glance back and see all that God has brought you through.  Remembering where you were to where He has brought you is always a faith builder.  Stand up to His stirring in you.  Trust that if He has stirred up something in you He will give you exactly what you need to complete it.  Choose to live in His truth and promises.

Father God, Forgive our unbelief.  I pray that whatever you are stirring up in each one of us would produce the faith we need to let You be BIG in our lives.  I pray the desire of each heart is what You have placed there.  Let the thoughts, dreams, and visions be what You, Heavenly Father, want for us. Shield us from the darts of the enemy… take fear far from us.  Grow our faith as we accomplish what You have set before us.  Praising You for who You are… what You have done and are going to do.  In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

Rejoicing in Truth!

Carin

Finding a Piece of Peace…

I woke up around 4a.m. & I couldn’t get back to sleep. My brain kicks into gear & then it just swirls from one thing to another… a spiral of anxiety woven very rapidly! I knew I had to get it under control before it went too far, so I began to pray. Lately there have been so many times I really don’t even know what to say when I pray… sometimes all I can say is, “I trust You, Lord.” Sometimes I just say the name of Jesus! There is power in His name! Jesus tells us in John 14:13 that whatever we ask in His name, He will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. For me… just calling out His name brings peace of mind!

In my “grown-up” life I have pretty much always played it safe… although the last 10 years has brought a little more unpredictability at times. I guess that happens when you choose to step-out in faith… our move to Lake City 10 years ago was a big step for me. Then deciding to follow a God-given dream to move to Ludington was a “crazy” giant step! Through these times I never felt unsafe or insecure of the future… not that any of it was easy… hope was always at hand… I could see it, because God had given me a vision for it all!

I am not sure why this business adventure Luke/we are trying to get off the ground is knocking me for a loop! I know my dear hubby has searched for wisdom from God… I believe that Luke will do excellent as a crop consultant… it is perfect for his gifting! So why am I letting fear of the future consume me at times???

I know many people can’t understand why we are doing what we are doing… I don’t understand it either, from a human point of view… and for the most part peoples’ opinions really don’t matter to me! We are both in our 50’s! How crazy is it to start down this unpredictable path???

All of a sudden, I was just wondering why am I writing this & what is the point… but as I’m writing down these thoughts, I am seeing more of what is really going on with me… it all goes back to TRUST! With the B&B God gave me a very clear vision of how it should be… He painted pictures in my heart & mind… it was all very real & tangible to me! With Luke’s business, which he has named “Shining Legends Agronomy”, is all in his heart & mind… I can’t see the vision or even understand much of what he does or how it all works! The only real part I can play in it is to support Luke & trust that he is following what God is guiding him to do!

Oh man! Why does it have to be TRUST???!!! You can’t touch it… you can’t taste it… you can’t hear it… you just have to surrender to it! That is really the only way to have peace of mind! It sounds so easy… but it’s not… it really is not!

I came across something I wrote 4 years ago today:

“PEACE – complete surrender to God’s will; letting His breath breathe life into my soul; trusting completely that God has it all under control, regardless of what it looks like to me… there is no PEACE without faith.

For He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek PEACE and pursue it. 1 Peter 3:10-11”

This is a battle for me… I know God is stretching me & growing my faith. I am not trying to whine… I am just trying to be honest & real… hoping that whoever reads this might get a glimpse of what God has for them through my testimony! I am just a work in progress… I must be because I have big old growing pains!

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword?... Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” ~ Romans 8:35 & 37

Rejoicing in Truth!

Carin

Key to Faith...

I just had to share this devotional I came across, it is from the book "From Dream to Destiny" by Robert Morris. I hope it blesses you the way it did me! So powerful!

* The key to our having faith is in hearing the Word of God. I want to emphasize this: the key to having faith is not in obeying the Word of God – the key to having faith is in hearing the word of God. Now I believe in obeying the Word, and we must obey God if we want to have His blessing on our lives. But it is not obedience that produces faith. Rather, it is faith that produces obedience. And faith only comes by the Word of God.

This is not my idea. God made this very plain in Romans 10:17 when He said, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." This scripture passage says that if I hear the Word of God, "faith comes." In other words, faith shows up. So all I have to do is hear the Word of God. So there is something about hearing the Word of God produces faith.

Now I know the Bible says that I must be a doer of the Word as well. James 1:22 says, "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." But it is hearing the Word that is the key to doing it! Because the more I hear the Word of God, the more faith I will have. And the more faith I have, the more I will want to obey God and live out the Word.

The reason that a lot of people are not doers of the Word is because they don't really have faith. The more faith you have, the more you will obey. The more you obey, the more the presence of God will manifest in your life. And the more often you live in the presence of God, the more you will prosper and succeed.

Every one of us can prosper, and everyone of us can be successful! And the way we begin is by hearing the Word of God. So start to make the Word of God part of your life. Listen to His Word whenever you can. Read the Bible daily. Memorize Scripture passages, meditate on them, and write verses on notecards to tape on your mirror. If you hear his word consistently, faith will naturally come. God promised that it would. And as your faith increases, you will find that you are walking in obedience. As you walk in obedience, you're going to have the presence of God on your life. And if the presence of God is with you, you're going to succeed!

There are no words to describe the blessing of having God's presence in your life. Right now I can feel that the favor of God is on my life, and it is a wonderful thing. It is so wonderful that I don't want to do one single thing to mess it up! The favor of God makes you feel that nothing is impossible. The favor of God makes you feel that anything you attempt to do for God will succeed. Because when you sense that God is with you, you know your efforts on His behalf will not fail.

What could possibly be worth losing that blessing, that favor, that manifested presence of God? I don't want to walk in disobedience, because I know that if I disobey God, His presence will leave my life. And I don't want to lose His presence or His favor!

So it really wasn't a hard thing that day at the airport to leave a note on the car I had bumped. It really wasn't hard to decide that we would miss our plane. It was easy to do the right thing – when I remembered that God has called me to be faithful in small matters, as well is great, as I live out my destiny according to His will.

I want to walk in the destiny God has planned for me. And I know that if I am to be set over much, I must be found faithful in little things – even a crack in a piece of plastic on an old car.

Eventually I received a call from the lady whose vehicle had been damaged. I apologized for the accident and gave her our insurance information so that she could get her bumper repaired. But before we got off the phone, she said, "I just have to ask you a question. I have shown your note to everyone in my office, and no one can believe that you actually left a note. It would have been so easy to just drive away. We don't know if you're a saint, a space alien or what – but none of us can figure out why you would leave a note."

The woman was an unbeliever. Yet she recognized that there was something different about my behavior. So I was able to explain to her the reason that I had left that note. I was able to share the gospel with her and tell her how Jesus Christ had changed my life – that he could change her life also. "You said that everyone in your office wants to know why I left that note," I said to her. "Be sure that you tell them. Be sure to tell them that the reason I left that note is because Jesus Christ has changed my life – and He wants to do that for all of them, too."

There is nothing on this earth that can compare to the joy of a moment like that, when the presence of God rests upon you as you do something important for Him. But it all begins by being faithful in the smallest things – by being a faithful steward. If I had not been faithful to do the right thing about the accident, I would never have had the opportunity to be God's messenger to the people in that office.

Faithfulness – good stewardship – causes us to be successful in everything we do. It causes us to have the favor of God and His presence in our lives. So be faithful in little things. Be a good employee, a good steward "as to the Lord" (Colossians 3:23). Spend time in God's Word and watch your faith increase. As faith comes, obedience will naturally follow. And when you honor God and walk in obedience to Him, He will honor you with His presence. Then His favor and blessing will rest on your life, and you will prosper in all you do.

Rejoicing in Truth!
*Excerpted from From Dream To Destiny by Robert Morris (Regal). Available this week as part of the Living Free teaching series.

"I'll Be Happy When..."

I just had to share this devotion from the book, Fit for My King by Sheri Rose Shepherd. It speaks right to the heart of things.

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”  Proverbs 14:12

*Before I became a Christian, my life was a book with a sleek and colorful cover, but inside the pages were empty. Each chapter of what looked like my new life had the same title, “I’ll Be Happy When…”

I followed my own personal success strategies, learned by carefully examining the latest research from all the top celebrities on television and in the magazines:

·        Strategy 1:  I had no basis for right and wrong… I just followed my feelings.
·        Strategy 2:  I bought things I didn’t need to impress people I didn’t really care about with money I didn’t have.
·        Strategy 3:  I made excuses and blamed others because it was easier than accepting responsibility for my own actions.
·        Strategy 4:  I refused to forgive those who had hurt me, and I held on to bitterness and resentment.
·        Strategy 5:  My problems, my happiness, my success, and my entertainment consumed me.
·        Strategy 6:  I was anxious for everything and let all my requests be made known to anyone who would listen.

My personal success strategies left me emotionally starving, lonely, and depressed because money, things, worldly success, and beauty could only hide my pain, they could not heal it.  Our ways will never get us what we really want.

God’s plan is the key to being set free from depression, food addictions, eating disorders, and emotional pain

He whom the Son has set free is free indeed!

His Princess Prayer: 
My Lord, How many times I struggle to believe You are truly here with me. Even though You have proved Your presence over and over again, I still allow my heart to doubt. So here I am again, requesting that You will become more real to me than ever before. Please come comfort me once again that I may find my faith in You again. Thank You for Your never-ending patience with Your Princess.  In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity.^”  Jeremiah 29:13-14

Treasure of Truth ~

He is our strength when we’re weak.

He is our comfort when we’re in pain.

He is our peace when we’re haunted by fear.

He is our healer when our spirit is wounded.

He is our warmth when the world is cold.

He is our power when we need a miracle.   *

Rejoicing in Truth!

Stirring Your Faith...

It is 2012! How is your new year going so far?  Just a few days in… I pray it is going good!  I use to find a year ending and a new year beginning to be a little depressing.  Not really sure why… has anyone else felt that way?  My perspective has changed drastically in the last few years.  I love every moment God gave me in 2011, and I am looking with anticipation to each day He presents before me in 2012.  The past year was not all “lollipops and rose petals” but each step I took trusting God, brought me through.

God has been stirring things up in me… stirring is not always the most comfortable feeling, would you agree?  Do you have dreams that you let go long ago?  Has circumstances taken you off course?  Is there a huge “wall” in front of you leaving you feel defeated?  Have you received a promise from God that has fallen by the wayside in your mind?  Maybe this very moment is the time to pray and ask God if He would stir up that thing in you again.  It could be going back to school for your degree… getting married… starting a family… going into business… ???  You know what that thing is for you.

Stirring is a time that will test (grow) your faith… BIG time!  When you are making a cake you put all the ingredients in and then you must stir it to make all those individual items turn into a cake.  I am sure if an egg had feelings it would not be thrilled when it is being whisked into the batter, but stirring is the way to get the end product.  I feel it is kind of the same when God starts stirring.  You may not be thrilled either!  I have said things like, “God, my life is good… I am comfortable right where I am.” Or, “Is my faith really strong enough?”  Or, “I am afraid.”  What God has shown me through this is that He brings these times into our lives to push us to rely on Him more… His strength, His mercy, His grace. 

It says in James 1:2-4 “Consider it pure joy, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”  Stirring… pure joy???  Um, that may not be your first thought on that, but know that each step you do take in faith brings more joy.  You will never persevere if you never take the first step!

I challenge you to keep moving forward, but glance back and see all that God has brought you through.  Remembering where you were to where He has brought you is always a faith builder.  Stand up to His stirring in you.  Trust that if He has stirred up something in you He will give you exactly what you need to complete it.  Choose to live in His truth and promises.

Father God, Forgive our unbelief.  I pray that whatever you are stirring up in each one of us would produce the faith we need to let You be BIG in our lives.  I pray the desire of each heart is what You have placed there.  Let the thoughts, dreams, and visions be what You, Heavenly Father, want for us. Shield us from the darts of the enemy… take fear far from us.  Grow our faith as we accomplish what You have set before us.  Thanking You for who You are… what You have done and are going to do.  In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

Rejoicing in Truth!

Want more? Read James 1