HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Today is Mother's Day and I want to wish all the moms and moms-to-be a happy day. Being a mom and now a grandmother is the best thing that ever happened to me. However very sad and horrible, my first child, my first daughter, Ashley was still born. The pain can still be as strong as I allow it. But God has brought healing and restoration. And I know without a doubt I will see her again someday. I never really got to say a hello. It was several years before we had our second child, another daughter! And how thankful and happy the whole family was! But those awkward Mother's Days when the pastor asked all the moms to stand was a horrible time for me. The pain was so great, should I stand or keep sitting? I didn't feel like a mom, even though I knew God looked at me that way. I was just hurting. 

The church we now attend always prays for the women who want to be a mom, whether its a healing of the womb or an adoption. The coolest thing this year was when the pastor had all of the women stand that had been prayed for and experienced answered prayer on a previous Mother's Day. What a testimony! God heals! If you are hurting this Mother's Day, I am praying for you. Hang in there. I didn't think I would ever have a another daughter, but God gave our family two more daughters after Ashley and now a granddaughter! This year my mom is not here for Mothers Day, (she left last June), and it hurts. But, God...

The sermon I heard this weekend was so good! It was a Mothers Day message. God made mothers! The qualities of mothers, our intuition, our caring, came from God. If you have time just look up the following scriptures on God's motherly character: Luke 7:12, Matt 9:36, I Thess 2:7, Isaiah 66:13.

God knows our thoughts and still loves us: Matt 23:37, Matt 9:4, Luke 5:22. God created us in His image. He created male and female. God is really not 'male'. He is so much greater than us and we cannot humanize Him or put Him in a box. He is much bigger and more powerful than we can imagine. And He loves us! The creator of the world wants a relationship with you! Keep Praying!

Genesis 1:26-27New International Version (NIV)

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

²⁷ So God created mankind in his own image,
    in the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.

Happy Good Friday!

     Today is Good Friday and I would like to share some thoughts from a teaching from a long time ago. I wish I could remember who spoke these words to give them credit, but I cannot. Good Friday is the day we remember that Jesus was tortured to death for us so that we may live, an unbelievable act of Love! I cannot imagine such a bad day as that. And yet, as humans we think we have bad days, and we do, but hopefully not to the extent that Jesus suffered on that historic day. Jesus gives us many great examples on how to live in scriptures. I like this acronym for the Bible:

• Basic 
• Instructions 
• Before 
• Leaving 
• Earth

The day Jesus died He showed us how to handle a bad day. Do what Jesus did.

1. Forgive those who you think are causing your bad day. They probably don't even know it or realize the extent. On the cross Jesus said, "Father forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing." Luke 23:34.
2. Encourage others. Jesus encouraged one on a cross next to Him. "I assure you: Today you will be with Me in paradise." Luke 23:43.
3. Take care of your family, (don't take your bad day out on them). Jesus took care of His family. "When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple He loved standing there,  He said to His mother, 'Woman, here is your son.' Then He said to the disciple, 'Here is your mother.' And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. John 19:26-27.
4. Give God your hard questions. "About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out with a loud voice, 'Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?' that is, 'My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?'" Matthew 27:46

It may be Friday, but Sunday's coming! 

HE IS RISEN!!!

Prayer: Yielding to God's Will

This is a tough subject. I do not want you to think that we can get anything we want from the LORD, or that life is easy. Jesus said in this world we will have trouble, (John 16:33). However, asking the Lord for something with a right attitude can be very powerful. We are not God or even a god and cannot even think the way He does. He knows all things and knows what is best for us. We were created by Him and for Him. He desires the fellowship of our relationship. 

Matthew 6:33(NIV)  33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Years ago I wanted a particular job with a large company where my husband worked. I thought it would be perfect to work there because they paid very well with great benefits. It was a great place for my husband and the work went a long with my college major. Perfect right? So, I began praying, asking the Lord for a job there. I prayed two years! I never changed my prayer in that two years. I also never asked the Lord if He thought it was perfect or even what He thought about it. Then shortly after the two year mark it dawned on me maybe I was acting like a young child when a child just really wants something. I changed the way I prayed. I gave up. I told the Lord, "wait...I am wrong Lord. I have been praying all this time thinking about me. Lord I want Your will not mine. If it is Your will that I have this job, then wonderful, otherwise I don't want it." I received a call that week and was interviewed and offered a job--at a salary higher than my husbands! I knew this was from the LORD and He taught me a lot through the process. Now looking back on my job/careers I can see how the Lord has orchestrated many events and many blessings. 

Keep talking to the Lord!

Job 22:21(NIV) 21  “Submit to God and be at peace with him;  in this way prosperity will come to you.

God wants to talk to You!

John 10:27New International Version (NIV)

27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 

God taught me this lesson about 15 years ago. My church had asked us to pray each day for a specific request for Upward Basketball. This was the first time in my life that I began having a daily quiet prayer time with the Lord. It changed my life and I believe saved my life!

At this same time I was going through a time with melanoma on my leg. (I didn't know it was melanoma. God had just told me to get the mole off.) Then, first three, then two more bumps came up on my hand. They were very strange wart-like moles. God used these to get me a referral to the doctor so I could get the melanoma removed before it spread. During this time one morning I woke up to God asking me a question. He said, "Why haven't you asked Me to remove the things on your hand?" I began to pray and answer Him. I began by asking for forgiveness for not talking to Him about my hand. I explained that they weren't bothering me at all and I was not really concerned about them. They didn't hurt or bother me. I just thought they were probably something minor that needed to be removed at some point. But, I did ask God to remove them. He said He would. 

I explained to my girls that God wants conversation with us. It's like for me as their mom, I want them to talk to me. I want them to talk to me about everything and anything, whether something bothers them or not. Our relationship with the Lord is like that too. Talk to Him about everything. Give Him time to talk back too.

When I went to the dermatologist to get the mole on my leg removed, the things on my hand were gone! I had done nothing special to them. They just gradually disappeared over a 6 week period. God is so powerful and true to His Word. 

If you do not already have a quiet time with the Lord I want to encourage you to start talking to God right now, everyday. It can change your life too!

1 Peter 5:7New International Version (NIV)

7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Matthew 10:30-31New International Version (NIV)

30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Mathematics is the language with which God wrote the Universe. 

– Galileo Galilei

I love that quote! I believe God uses numbers in the Bible to speak to us too. Some examples with a quick insight are listed below:

• 1 - Unity and greatness of God the Father.
• 2 - Union: man and wife, Christ and the Church.
• 3 - Completeness, The Trinity: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Also, 27 books in the New Testament = 3 raised to the 3rd power.
• 4 - Creation. On the fourth day God created the sun, moon, and stars to mark times, (seasons).
• 5 - God's Grace towards humans. The first five of the ten commandments, (two sets of five),  deal with our relationship with God. 
• 6 - Human weakness: man created on the 6th day.
• 7 - Foundation of God's Word. There are 7 days in a week.
• 8 - New Beginnings. Baby boys were to be circumcised on the eighth day.
• 9 - Divine Completeness or finality. Christ died at the ninth hour. Also, there are 9 fruits of the Spirit: peace, love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
• 10 - Testimony, law, responsibility, and completeness of order. Ten is made up of 4 and 6, physical creation and the number of man.

The tithe is a tenth. The tithe is a test ultimately for our hearts. Pharaoh's heart was tested with ten plagues. There are ten commandments. Israel was tested ten times in the wilderness. Jacob was tested by his wages changing ten times while working for Laban. Daniel was tested ten days. Jesus speaks about ten virgins in one example and then ten lepers in another. Revelation 2:10 tells about ten days of testing. I want to encourage you in our testing. God wants us to be cheerful givers in everything He has given us. We can do this, with God's help. Be encouraged, He is there for you. Just call out to Jesus.

2 Corinthians 9:6-7English Standard Version (ESV)

The Cheerful Giver

6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully[a] will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

A Tithe

I want to share what God has been teaching me lately about tithing. Boy, do I need this too! It's a new year and a great time to learn more about God. Thanks to the church I've been attending I am learning a lot! 

I believe God is showing me that giving is truly a blessing. It begins with a tithe, (a tenth). For us to tithe it is in essence giving back to Him in order to take care of His bride, (the church).

But it's more than a tenth. It's the first! For example in Joshua the first city conquered in the promised land was Jericho. God instructed everything from that city was to be given to Him. He did not say conquer ten cities and give Him a tenth of each one. So, then we should give first instead of paying everyone else and then give to God. Giving when there's left overs is not a testimony of faith. 

Also in Exodus we are taught the principle of the first born to be God's. If it was an unclean animal, it had to be redeemed. If you think about it Jesus was/is God's first son. John the baptist introduced him to be The Lamb of God. Jesus was sacrificed in order for us to be redeemed because we are born unclean sinners. 

John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God,who takes away the sin of the world!

Let's put Jesus first!

Happy New Year!

     I just opened my 'Blessing Jar'! it was a gift from a good friend last New Year's Eve. As I read the papers I had placed in the jar from 2014 I was reminded how good God is.

     Now, all of last year was not good and perfect. We live in a fallen world. We rejoiced that my mom had come home in late 2013, only to have her leave us again in June. It is still such a struggle with my family to know that we have a mom, grandmother, great-grandmother that chooses not to be a part of her family. But, as my grandmother on my dad's side always said, "Every tub has to sit on its own bottom." How true that is, and every tub must take responsibility too, right?

     Back to the Blessing Jar - I am definitely doing it again this year! I took out each note I had written and gave thanks to the Lord for everything! This year I hope to write more, more detail, more about who was with me each moment. I seem to forget too easy and that is part of the reason I am blogging. To remember and document what the Lord has done.

     I encourage you to do a 'Blessing Jar'. Have fun. Decorate it. Write often, and praise Him.

Psalm 145:9New International Version (NIV)

9 The Lord is good to all;
    he has compassion on all he has made.

My First Blog!

I am writing this mainly because I want to document the things God has taught me and done for me. I also hope it might help or inspire at least one person. Thanks for reading!

"Listen and Obey the Holy Spirit"

We have the Holy Spirit within us if we have accepted Jesus Christ to be Lord of our lives.

Acts 5:32New International Version (NIV)

32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

Just as Philip obeyed the Holy Spirit in preaching to the Ethiopian in Acts 8, so should we always obey. Sadly there have been many times I ignored the voice or promptings of the Holy Spirit. I want to encourage you today to be ready to hear from the Lord. 

Several years ago my mother-in-law was dying of breast cancer. I knew her time was short. We planned a family trip to go see her and spend Spring Break with her. Inside I heard the Holy Spirt saying, "Do this sooner." I thought Spring Break was soon enough. It was not. We ended up planning her funeral during Spring Break.

Just a little over eight years ago my dad was in the hospital recovering from open heart surgery. I had been visiting the hospital daily and we were hopeful. I was at home about to leave for the hospital, (knowing I needed to go--feeling the prompting by the Holy Spirit), but I lingered, playing on the computer, shopping a little --nothing important. I arrived at the hospital just a minute before they had to put him back on the breathing machine. That was my last opportunity to have a conversation with my dad here on this earth. 

You would think I would have learned. Sadly I'm pretty stubborn. Don't wait if the Holy Spirit is speaking, be ready to obey and rejoice in the blessings from the LORD!

John 14:26New International Version (NIV)

26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.