From my heart to yours...

From my heart to yours... I have spent so much of my life seeing through eyes of fear not eyes of love… fear of looking stupid, fear of being rejected, fear of letting people get too close, fear of being hurt. I was a Believer… I had the joy of Christ living in me, but I was living a life in defeat, and I did not even realize it.  I had not recognized I was letting my own insecurities cause such fear in my daily life rather than choosing to live in faith through Christ’s love… how much better it is to live in love not in fear! 

The opposite of fear is faith… faith that if you look stupid… people that really know you still love you... faith that if you are rejected… those people don’t know what they are missing out on and you will show them love anyways... faith that God will bring great people into your life that you can be close with... faith that if you do get hurt by people... God’s love can heal all wounds. 

Let God do the healing… remember the enemy wants nothing more than to cause us fear and keep us wounded.  You are not his victim… you are a victor through Christ!

Perfect love casts out fear. 1 John 4:18 

Let God’s perfect love wrap you in His arms… He delights in you and wants His best for your life.  Faith in Him is the path to follow.

"The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save.

He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with his love,

He will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17

SHOUT for joy... that is your battle cry… stomp on the enemy and keep moving forward!

This was put on my heart not only for me, but hopefully for some of you too. 

Rejoicing in Truth!

Half-way is Never Enough…

When I got married I was under the impression marriage should be a 50/50 thing... give and take... 50/50. I had expectations of how the relationship should work... we need to meet each other halfway. It isn't just with marriage either... it can spread to any of your relationships with family and friends.

It didn't take long before I realized doing “50/50” just was not going to work!  By trying to do life that way, I was putting conditions on my love for the other person, which led to disappointment and frustration... 50/50 says "I'll do my part and you do your part"... it bases love on performance. We get more concerned with what the other person is giving rather than what we are giving. How could I ever judge what is my 50% or my husband's 50%... when I look at it like that I see I am trying to build a foundation all on my feelings... love isn't a feeling... love is an action... it's a choice. Like the choice God made when He sent His Son to die for each of us. God has always and will always give us 100 percent. Truthfully, I know I never even deserve 10% of His love... yet He pours His love out on me in abundance.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that 

while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

Now, it is your turn… will you try to work on changing your marriage relationship to 100/100... in fact, how about trying it with all your relationships… even that person that gets on your nerves?  Not saying it is easy... and honestly it will never be 100/100... some days it might be 80/100 or 75/100... we are just human, but it gives us a goal to strive for each day.  I know for me… I am a work in progress!  It is not done through your strength but through the strength that comes from yielding your life totally to Christ.

A little respect and loving kindness can go a long way.  Know making just a small effort to reach out to others is a big deal!  Every act of kindness will be water to a thirsty soul.  As Believers we are called to be light in this dark world, so whether your spouse or friends or family are Believers or not… they need to see that our words and actions bear witness to the Love we have living inside of us.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see 

your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.  Matthew 5:16

Rejoicing in Truth!

Boundaries...

How many times do I try to put boundaries on God in my life, instead of trying to live in the boundaries He has placed on my life??? While reading in Jeremiah 5… in verse 22 it talks of how God has marked boundaries for the ocean and it is not allowed to go pass a certain point on the shore.  The waves can roll and roar and get as big as they want but they are only allowed to go onto the shore as far as God allows.

How many times do we draw the line in the sand with our disobedience?  God has a plan for each one of us and all He asks is for our love and obedience. We choose to put a limit on the blessings from God by thinking our way is what is best… sounds ridiculous but how many times do we do that?

“The person who has My commands and keeps them is the one who [really] loves Me; and whoever [really] loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I [too] will love him and will show (reveal, manifest) Myself to him. [I will let Myself be clearly seen by him and make Myself real to him.]” John 14:21 (Amplified)

There have been many instances in my life lately that have really made me think of how self and disobedience could be getting in the way of God’s work in my life and through my life.  Those moments when someone else’s actions affect me… like it is all about me… NOT!  Realizing that in those times when we put our discomfort above our service for God… are those times that we may be stepping over the line of idolatry… putting ourselves before our mighty God??? Through humility we are able to surrender all conflict to God.  I have learned I need to take a step back and realize what others are doing or not doing is not my problem to fix! (So hard sometimes!!!)

Please read Psalm 119:73-88… there is so much refreshment in this passage.  God has made you the way you are. Our desire should be to learn His Word.  His judgment is right and true.  His tender mercies will be our delight when we humble ourselves to His ways.  All hope needs to be in His Word.  I love what it says in verse 88, “According to Your steadfast love give life to me; then I will keep the testimony of Your mouth [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying it].

Father God, I pray that you will help me to know You are my refreshment. Open my eyes to see that Your Word is water to my dry soul.  I thank You for Your tender mercies, always remembering that You are the hope in any circumstance. Always mindful that Your steadfast love brings life to me.  Help me, Lord, to hear, receive, love and obey Your Word.  In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

Rejoicing in Truth!

Calamities of Life...

How is your summer… peaceful, quiet, relaxing… hurried, busy, exhausting… or somewhere in between?  When I was still in school I loved summer, as I am sure most kids do! Not sure that my mom felt the same way though!?  I hear so many mothers anticipating the end of the school year and the beginning of summer so their routine can be more relaxed and how nice it will be to have their kids home. But long about mid-July, after the kids have been out of school for 5 or 6 weeks… relaxing has turned into boredom… quiet has turned into chaos… and peace has turned into squabbling!  And Mom just might be thinking school could not start soon enough!  Ready for a vacation from summer vacation!

If you read in Psalm 57, David is praying a prayer for deliverance from King Saul. The King is pursuing David to kill him… King Saul does not want David to become King.  I love in verse one where he is asking for mercy from God, “in the shadow of Your wings will I make my refuge until these calamities be passed.”

Calamities of life can be anything from problems with your children to loss of a job or even a loved one and anything in between. You can choose to run from things like this in your life but you will never be able to escape… you will always be looking behind to see if your past troubles are catching up to you.  If we don’t learn something from the calamities in life, we may be on the path to repeat them.

We have two choices when calamities come along… try and run from it and keep running until we are so tired we can’t run anymore… or run to the merciful arms of the God of the universe.  Cry out to Him! God knows everything that is happening in your life, but He still wants to hear His children call out to Him (v. 2).  Trust that He has called upon Heaven to do what is best for you.  He sends His mercy and truth to save you… He is your defender (v. 3).  Exalt God in your words… praising Him, calling Him by the names that speak of His greatness… He is bigger than any calamities of life (v. 4-5).  The “snags” of life will try to defeat you, but God is in control… He will turn things meant for harm into things for His glory (v. 6).  Others are watching to see how you will handle calamities in life… choose to praise God no matter the circumstance.  Your testing will become your testimony and will bring God all the glory (v. 7-11).

Don’t try to hide in a cave like David did… there is refreshing shade from the heat of life in the shadow of God’s wings.  Run to Him… Rest in Him… Be Refreshed by Him. 

Rejoicing in Truth!