"So do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10
2013 has been a year of change for my family. It started with our move into a new home 5 days into January. We joined the masses in doing a short sale on the home we purchased in 2006 so we packed up our belongings and moved into a rental house.
The next thing that changed was our family. My husbands step-mother passed away on Memorial Day after a 3 year battle with cancer. We spent two weeks with his father in Albany, New York to help in whatever way we could.
Yesterday my husband started a new job - a great opportunity came with God's perfect timing so he moved up the ladder in the world of wineries.
I am researching surgeons to have an operation that will hopefully put an end to the chronic pain I have been experiencing for the past two and a half years.
Our little man will start Kindergarten in the fall and shortly thereafter, our family will grow as my sister-in-law will be giving birth to another son.
It will be in our minds the year of change. Some good, some hard, some overwhelming. But through it all, I know that God is with us. None of these changes have come as a surprise to Him. None of it is hard for Him to understand.
So I am grasping for His truth each morning as I read His Word and try to soak in the message He has for me each day...my daily bread. And as the tears stream at times, I will keep searching for His truth, His love and His presence.
In His Grace...
Friday, July 12, 2013
Monday, July 1, 2013
Love the Lord your God
"Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your fathers, promised you.
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you...then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. Do not test the Lord your God as you did at Massah. Be sure to keep the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. Do what is right and good in the Lord's sight so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land that the Lord promised on oath to your forefathers, thrusting out all your enemies before you as the Lord said." Deuteronomy 6:3-19
What do you think? Are we still doing these things in the USA? Are we obeying the Lord's commands and not following other Gods?
Or has this great country, founded on the biblical principles and truths we find in God's word, crossed over into a period where we are testing the Lord our God?
Everything our country was founded on included God. Now through organizations like the ACLU, we are removing God from everything.
I pray that we can turn this country around.
In His Grace...
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you...then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. Do not test the Lord your God as you did at Massah. Be sure to keep the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. Do what is right and good in the Lord's sight so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land that the Lord promised on oath to your forefathers, thrusting out all your enemies before you as the Lord said." Deuteronomy 6:3-19
What do you think? Are we still doing these things in the USA? Are we obeying the Lord's commands and not following other Gods?
Or has this great country, founded on the biblical principles and truths we find in God's word, crossed over into a period where we are testing the Lord our God?
Everything our country was founded on included God. Now through organizations like the ACLU, we are removing God from everything.
I pray that we can turn this country around.
In His Grace...
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Worrying
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? Luke 12: 22-26
I could have spent the weekend worrying about an issue at work. That is what usually happens. My mind just keeps returning to things - issues at work, with family, with friends - and without realizing it, I am worrying. The thoughts consume my mind unless I take control.
But this past weekend, I did my best to take control. I had an issue I wasn't looking forward to resolving at work and my mind returned to it over and over again. But each time, at some point I realized what I was doing. I stopped myself and prayed about it in another attempt to give it to God.
He rewarded my efforts. When I arrived at work on Tuesday, the issue had been resolved and it didn't require anything from me. God handled it when I gave the worry to Him. He is in control, not me.
I pray you can turn something over to God that has been bothering you and see what He does with it.
In His Grace...
I could have spent the weekend worrying about an issue at work. That is what usually happens. My mind just keeps returning to things - issues at work, with family, with friends - and without realizing it, I am worrying. The thoughts consume my mind unless I take control.
But this past weekend, I did my best to take control. I had an issue I wasn't looking forward to resolving at work and my mind returned to it over and over again. But each time, at some point I realized what I was doing. I stopped myself and prayed about it in another attempt to give it to God.
He rewarded my efforts. When I arrived at work on Tuesday, the issue had been resolved and it didn't require anything from me. God handled it when I gave the worry to Him. He is in control, not me.
I pray you can turn something over to God that has been bothering you and see what He does with it.
In His Grace...
Friday, June 21, 2013
Absence
I don't know if I have many readers, but I wanted to apologize for my long hiatus. It has been a trying year for our family and I had been feeling overwhelmed. Subjects to write about slowly stopped coming to me. My ability to see daily life through the lens of Scripture was fading and I didn't know how to get it back.
The two subjects I wrote on this week were slow in coming but I felt the hand of God asking me to continue to share my thoughts and so I am. It may still be a gradual process and I most likely will not write as often as I was in the past, but know I am still looking for His inspiration.
I am praying for anyone that reads and is inspired by my words.
In His Grace...
The two subjects I wrote on this week were slow in coming but I felt the hand of God asking me to continue to share my thoughts and so I am. It may still be a gradual process and I most likely will not write as often as I was in the past, but know I am still looking for His inspiration.
I am praying for anyone that reads and is inspired by my words.
In His Grace...
Thursday, June 20, 2013
The Temple
"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
It was several months ago now, but again I was listening to KLOVE. I heard a woman call in that was talking about how big she had let herself become. She was going to drive to the next try outs for the TV show, the Biggest Loser. Everyone on KLOVE was encouraging and supporting her and I do also. But I also thought that it was sad. It was sad that instead of doing what she needed to do for herself, for her son, or for God, she felt she needed a TV show to help her. I heard later that she was not chosen for the show.
I wanted to encourage her and anyone like her, that regardless of whether you are chosen to be on TV, we all have a responsibility to work on our health and fitness in obedience to God. I am certainly not in the best shape I could be. I make poor food choices at times and I do not exercise as much as I should. It seems that in today's society, it is becoming harder and harder to make good choices. We are bombarded everywhere we go with fast food and easier meals. Quicker ways to cook, quicker ways to eat, more things to do, less time to spend with family.
But perhaps God's idea of food was not meant to be fast. Perhaps the whole idea behind the food we are meant to eat is to spend time preparing it, spend time fellow-shipping as we eat it and expend calories as we clean up. If we follow this idea, and we include healthy amounts of exercise in the form of riding bikes with our families, playing Frisbee in the back yard, gardening, taking an evening stroll - wouldn't we all be healthier?
I pray that when I make my next food and activity choices, I will remember to treat my body as a temple of the Holy Spirit.
In His Grace...
It was several months ago now, but again I was listening to KLOVE. I heard a woman call in that was talking about how big she had let herself become. She was going to drive to the next try outs for the TV show, the Biggest Loser. Everyone on KLOVE was encouraging and supporting her and I do also. But I also thought that it was sad. It was sad that instead of doing what she needed to do for herself, for her son, or for God, she felt she needed a TV show to help her. I heard later that she was not chosen for the show.
I wanted to encourage her and anyone like her, that regardless of whether you are chosen to be on TV, we all have a responsibility to work on our health and fitness in obedience to God. I am certainly not in the best shape I could be. I make poor food choices at times and I do not exercise as much as I should. It seems that in today's society, it is becoming harder and harder to make good choices. We are bombarded everywhere we go with fast food and easier meals. Quicker ways to cook, quicker ways to eat, more things to do, less time to spend with family.
But perhaps God's idea of food was not meant to be fast. Perhaps the whole idea behind the food we are meant to eat is to spend time preparing it, spend time fellow-shipping as we eat it and expend calories as we clean up. If we follow this idea, and we include healthy amounts of exercise in the form of riding bikes with our families, playing Frisbee in the back yard, gardening, taking an evening stroll - wouldn't we all be healthier?
I pray that when I make my next food and activity choices, I will remember to treat my body as a temple of the Holy Spirit.
In His Grace...
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Fear God Not Man
Last week, on my way home from work, I heard a blurb from Luis Palau on KLOVE. He was talking about Moses and he said something that struck a chord with me.
When the Lord wanted Moses to go speak to Pharoah, at first Moses didn't want to. But in the end, he did it anyway. Moses feared God more than man.
This idea really hit home with me that day. I let my fear of what others will think stop me from doing things that God tells me to do. I let it stop me from spreading the Good News. I let it stop me from obeying God in things in my marriage, in parenting, in my job. I have feared man more than God. But as God said to Moses, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who give him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord?" Exodus 4:11
The Lord made me, He loves me and He wants the best for me. It seems the least I can do is to obey and fear (respect) Him.
I pray that as opportunities arise, I will fear God more than man.
In His Grace...
When the Lord wanted Moses to go speak to Pharoah, at first Moses didn't want to. But in the end, he did it anyway. Moses feared God more than man.
This idea really hit home with me that day. I let my fear of what others will think stop me from doing things that God tells me to do. I let it stop me from spreading the Good News. I let it stop me from obeying God in things in my marriage, in parenting, in my job. I have feared man more than God. But as God said to Moses, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who give him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord?" Exodus 4:11
The Lord made me, He loves me and He wants the best for me. It seems the least I can do is to obey and fear (respect) Him.
I pray that as opportunities arise, I will fear God more than man.
In His Grace...
Thursday, March 21, 2013
When We Argue
If you are unfamiliar with The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, it is written as if it is letters from a senior demon giving instruction to a junior demon on how to keep a human from becoming a Christian. So far it is quite humorous and I find it to hit home in many areas. One being the subjects of arguments in domestic life:
"In civilised life domestic hatred usually expresses itself by saying things which would appear quite harmless on paper (the words are not offensive) but in such a voice or at such a moment, that they are not far short of a blow in the face....Your patient must demand that all his own utterances are to be taken at their face value and judged simply on the actual words, while at the same time judging all his [partners] utterances with the fullest and most over-sensitive interpretation of the tone and the content and the suspected intention. He must then be encouraged to do the same to him. Hence from every quarrel they can both go away convinced, or very nearly convinced, that they are quite innocent....Once this habit is well established you have the delightful situation of a human saying things with the express purpose of offending and yet having a grievance when offence is taken." The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
I don't know about you, but this hits home in our household. The actual words we might say seem fairly innocuous, but the tone in which the word are uttered can be nasty. This of course begets a nasty answer and voila! we are quarrelling as described by C.S. Lewis.
I pray that next time I will pause before responding and see where the devil is trying to get his foothold. Then I will "resist the devil and he will flee..." James 4:7
In His Grace...
"In civilised life domestic hatred usually expresses itself by saying things which would appear quite harmless on paper (the words are not offensive) but in such a voice or at such a moment, that they are not far short of a blow in the face....Your patient must demand that all his own utterances are to be taken at their face value and judged simply on the actual words, while at the same time judging all his [partners] utterances with the fullest and most over-sensitive interpretation of the tone and the content and the suspected intention. He must then be encouraged to do the same to him. Hence from every quarrel they can both go away convinced, or very nearly convinced, that they are quite innocent....Once this habit is well established you have the delightful situation of a human saying things with the express purpose of offending and yet having a grievance when offence is taken." The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
I don't know about you, but this hits home in our household. The actual words we might say seem fairly innocuous, but the tone in which the word are uttered can be nasty. This of course begets a nasty answer and voila! we are quarrelling as described by C.S. Lewis.
I pray that next time I will pause before responding and see where the devil is trying to get his foothold. Then I will "resist the devil and he will flee..." James 4:7
In His Grace...
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