Okay, so I have decided to take the plunge into John, also. I know there are people who have taken up the challenge to read through the book of John in 21 days...one chapter a day and share their thoughts. I decided to read but I wasn't going to blog my thoughts. Then I decided I was not going to stay in my comfort zone anymore. Here goes something...
Verse: (It's hard to pick one) John 1:14
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
Thoughts: The extraordinary embraced and became the ordinary to reveal God to us. Wow! He was Fully God and yet Fully Human. How awesome it would have been to be alive then and ask Him questions, to see God's love in the flesh, to seek more of God. The amazing thing is that He left His work to us to continue. Jesus in us reveals God to others. When others have questions for God and when they need to see God's love in action, the world will look to those of us who have Jesus to share.
Prayer: Lord, let me be a light to the world as You were the light. May everything I do reveal God in me. May my words and actions show the world God's love, and may I be bold enough to stretch from the ordinary to the extraordinary to reach the lost for God.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
A Double Portion of Blessing
Today I have been blessed by my children. On the way to school this morning my son said he did not want any toys for Christmas. I asked him what he wanted and he said...I want the fruits of the spirit. I asked him to say it again because I wasn't sure i heard him correctly. He said that he had a few fruits of the spirit already...love, joy, kindness, etc...but he was still working on a few (patience, self-control). His only Christmas wish was that by Christmas he had them all. Thank you, Lord, that I have a young man who wants to be more like you everyday.
This afternoon my daughter blessed me, also. We were on the way to dance class and we were listening to Christian Music. Praise You in This Storm was on the radio and I could see my daughters hands were raised in the back seat. She was singing...I'll praise you in this storm, and I will lift my hands, for You are who You are, no matter where I am...with her hands in worship to God. Two gifts from God to remind me just how awesome God is!
This afternoon my daughter blessed me, also. We were on the way to dance class and we were listening to Christian Music. Praise You in This Storm was on the radio and I could see my daughters hands were raised in the back seat. She was singing...I'll praise you in this storm, and I will lift my hands, for You are who You are, no matter where I am...with her hands in worship to God. Two gifts from God to remind me just how awesome God is!
Monday, November 12, 2007
BAM!
This past Sunday I heard a message titled, BAM! Bringing Back the Power of God in Your Life. (Pastor Bil Cornelius - Bay Area Fellowship) This was a very inspiring message. As much as I thought I was focused on God, I realized how far I have drifted away from the power of God.
Three major points that really hit home for me me were...
1) REPENTANCE is the key foundation to a life of power. Humility is a magnet to the power of God. God's already seen the sin. We are not hiding anything from Him. How long are we going to stay enslaved to the Enemy? Admit and ask for forgiveness, quickly. David was not perfect...He messed up in a big way, often. However, he was a very humble man and was quick to say, "I'm Sorry." Justification is the downfall of so many people. We don't need to justify sin, we need to repent.
2) You must have a season of PREPARATION before you will see the "big results" you desire. I have always served God and living each day for Him is not enough. Just like there is a lot of work that goes into farming each season, so we must put in A LOT of work into our lives and walk with God as each season of our life unfolds. What I did the past few years is not enough for the new season in my life. I need to take it up a notch. Give God more. This brought me back to a time when my husband had really wanted me to be in service with him and attending bible studies and so forth, but I was convinced I needed to continue serving in the capacities I had always served. I could do personal study for rejuvenation, right? WRONG!!! I see now how important that time was for us to be in preparation together, and I had to repent for that lost time. I wonder how well I would have made it through these past few months of ministry disappointments had we been better prepared as a couple. What growing did I lose during that time I was serving instead of preparing. If farmers don't prepare the fields and just keep planting the crops will eventually fail. Next time I will listen when I am being led into a time of preparation. After all, God sees the ENTIRE picture.
3) Celebrate the (present) New Day and be open to change. Being open to change...I can handle that. I realized the past couple of weeks how far I have come from doing church traditionally to be a little more contemporary in how I think people will be reached. Change I am good with that. Here is where my toes were stepped on a bit...here's a quote...The happiest people in life don't have the BEST of everything. They make the best of what they have. I am not a greedy, needy person, however, I have found myself saying if we can make it to a certain point or if I had that one thing it would catalyst us into some euphoric place. I realized as much as we think we make the best of what we have, we are really trying to get more out of everyday instead of utilizing everything in our life to its full potential. I want to celebrate each new day and everything in it without expecting more before I am ready. Show yourself faithful in the little things and blessings will come your way. This is the day that the Lord has made, I WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!
BAM!
Three major points that really hit home for me me were...
1) REPENTANCE is the key foundation to a life of power. Humility is a magnet to the power of God. God's already seen the sin. We are not hiding anything from Him. How long are we going to stay enslaved to the Enemy? Admit and ask for forgiveness, quickly. David was not perfect...He messed up in a big way, often. However, he was a very humble man and was quick to say, "I'm Sorry." Justification is the downfall of so many people. We don't need to justify sin, we need to repent.
2) You must have a season of PREPARATION before you will see the "big results" you desire. I have always served God and living each day for Him is not enough. Just like there is a lot of work that goes into farming each season, so we must put in A LOT of work into our lives and walk with God as each season of our life unfolds. What I did the past few years is not enough for the new season in my life. I need to take it up a notch. Give God more. This brought me back to a time when my husband had really wanted me to be in service with him and attending bible studies and so forth, but I was convinced I needed to continue serving in the capacities I had always served. I could do personal study for rejuvenation, right? WRONG!!! I see now how important that time was for us to be in preparation together, and I had to repent for that lost time. I wonder how well I would have made it through these past few months of ministry disappointments had we been better prepared as a couple. What growing did I lose during that time I was serving instead of preparing. If farmers don't prepare the fields and just keep planting the crops will eventually fail. Next time I will listen when I am being led into a time of preparation. After all, God sees the ENTIRE picture.
3) Celebrate the (present) New Day and be open to change. Being open to change...I can handle that. I realized the past couple of weeks how far I have come from doing church traditionally to be a little more contemporary in how I think people will be reached. Change I am good with that. Here is where my toes were stepped on a bit...here's a quote...The happiest people in life don't have the BEST of everything. They make the best of what they have. I am not a greedy, needy person, however, I have found myself saying if we can make it to a certain point or if I had that one thing it would catalyst us into some euphoric place. I realized as much as we think we make the best of what we have, we are really trying to get more out of everyday instead of utilizing everything in our life to its full potential. I want to celebrate each new day and everything in it without expecting more before I am ready. Show yourself faithful in the little things and blessings will come your way. This is the day that the Lord has made, I WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!
BAM!
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Sure That I Am Sure
Raise your hand if you're sure! Okay, that is a VERY OLD commercial and really has nothing to do with this post.
I was visited tonight by a FAITH team from a local church. It was nice to see people getting out in the neighborhoods and going to the people. So many churches these days seem to try and beg people to come to church through many avenues. The fact is Jesus didn't beg people to come into a building...HE didn't put on a show...He simply went to the people and spoke the truth.
This team asked me a few questions as part of a survey they are doing among Christians. It was very refreshing to know that I have my beliefs and convictions and that I am very sure of myself in Christ. By the end of the questions they would say...well, we know the answer but we'll ask you anyway. I realized my vision for ministry, what is truly important, and how important it is to me to tell the sinner the truth so they can be free in Christ.
I was visited tonight by a FAITH team from a local church. It was nice to see people getting out in the neighborhoods and going to the people. So many churches these days seem to try and beg people to come to church through many avenues. The fact is Jesus didn't beg people to come into a building...HE didn't put on a show...He simply went to the people and spoke the truth.
This team asked me a few questions as part of a survey they are doing among Christians. It was very refreshing to know that I have my beliefs and convictions and that I am very sure of myself in Christ. By the end of the questions they would say...well, we know the answer but we'll ask you anyway. I realized my vision for ministry, what is truly important, and how important it is to me to tell the sinner the truth so they can be free in Christ.
More Like Jesus
It has been a long time since I have blogged. I guess life happens and time gets away from you. So I have been thinking a lot lately about my own kids and other kids that I come in contact with on a daily basis. Sometimes it seems I want more for them than they do. That is hard to deal with sometimes. I get so frustrated and worked up trying to get them to meet a mark. Make the standard. Sometimes I feel like I am fighting for them and they could care less.
I bet this is how God feels about us. He has a plan for us. He equips us to accomplish so much. He fights for us...all the way to the cross, and if we were honest with ourselves, at times we could care less.
I decided tonight to take a step back and think about what it is that makes me push so hard for kids to excel. Am I trying to avoid hurt in their lives that I experienced as a kid? Am I seeking to fulfill some great destiny through the life of a child? Do I sincerely want them to achieve everything they can in life? I may not have all the answers, but I did realize that I need to take a step back. If I have shown them the way and set the example in everything I do, say and live before them, then my battle needs to be taken to prayer. The Bible says to train up a child in the way they should go...Not hover over them every step of the way and blow a gasket and get worked up when they don't achieve everything in my timeline or do things my way. Jesus lived life before the people and gave them space and a free will to do with what they wanted. He continued to always point them in the right direction, gently, by his actions. I need to be sure that I am living every part of my life before those around me in a Christ-like manner. Actions speak louder than words!
I bet this is how God feels about us. He has a plan for us. He equips us to accomplish so much. He fights for us...all the way to the cross, and if we were honest with ourselves, at times we could care less.
I decided tonight to take a step back and think about what it is that makes me push so hard for kids to excel. Am I trying to avoid hurt in their lives that I experienced as a kid? Am I seeking to fulfill some great destiny through the life of a child? Do I sincerely want them to achieve everything they can in life? I may not have all the answers, but I did realize that I need to take a step back. If I have shown them the way and set the example in everything I do, say and live before them, then my battle needs to be taken to prayer. The Bible says to train up a child in the way they should go...Not hover over them every step of the way and blow a gasket and get worked up when they don't achieve everything in my timeline or do things my way. Jesus lived life before the people and gave them space and a free will to do with what they wanted. He continued to always point them in the right direction, gently, by his actions. I need to be sure that I am living every part of my life before those around me in a Christ-like manner. Actions speak louder than words!
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Kitten's First Full Moon
I was reading a bedtime story to my daughter tonight titled, Kitten's First Full Moon. The story is about a hungry Kitten who runs into Luck, Bad Luck, and back to Luck, again...
What a Night! A hungry baby kitten is on her front step and looks up into the night sky and sees her first full moon. When she sees it, it looks like a little bowl of milk in the sky and she wants it. She closes her eyes, sticks our her neck, licks and all she gets is a bug on the end of her tongue. Still she sees the bowl of milk, just waiting. She pulls herself together and takes a flying leap, only to fall down the steps...still the milk is waiting. She runs down the sidewalk, through the garden, across a field and to the pond and is no closer than when she started to the little bowl of milk. She climbs the tallest tree only to find she is now scared of her surroundings. She looks down into the pond and sees...and even BIGGER bowl of milk (the reflection of the moon in the water). So...she takes a flying leap into the pond and all she get is WET! She is still hungry, sad, and now tired. After all this luck, or should I say bad luck, she returns home back the way she came. As she climbs back onto her safe porch there is a great big bowl of milk waiting just for her. Lucky Kitten!
This past week at church we talked about plucking out our eye if it causes us to sin. That's a funny thing for God to say to us. It is an even harder message sometimes to teach children because they will either laugh themselves silly because they can't get past the image of someone plucking their eye out, or they think, "OH! What kind of a God are you teaching me about that would want us to pluck our eye out."
This book was a great way for me to teach my children that sometimes there are going to be things on this earth that look really good, and we may think we have to have it. We may do everything in our power to try to reach it only to discover we are afraid of our surroundings. At times we will find that we can't get it because we don't need it, or if we reach it, it may be a disappointment that distracted us from what God really has for us.
The great thing about being a child of God is that even if we get distracted, we get off track, we fall into the temptation of sin...God is waiting with arms open wide to give us that special thing that is waiting JUST FOR US!
What a Night! A hungry baby kitten is on her front step and looks up into the night sky and sees her first full moon. When she sees it, it looks like a little bowl of milk in the sky and she wants it. She closes her eyes, sticks our her neck, licks and all she gets is a bug on the end of her tongue. Still she sees the bowl of milk, just waiting. She pulls herself together and takes a flying leap, only to fall down the steps...still the milk is waiting. She runs down the sidewalk, through the garden, across a field and to the pond and is no closer than when she started to the little bowl of milk. She climbs the tallest tree only to find she is now scared of her surroundings. She looks down into the pond and sees...and even BIGGER bowl of milk (the reflection of the moon in the water). So...she takes a flying leap into the pond and all she get is WET! She is still hungry, sad, and now tired. After all this luck, or should I say bad luck, she returns home back the way she came. As she climbs back onto her safe porch there is a great big bowl of milk waiting just for her. Lucky Kitten!
This past week at church we talked about plucking out our eye if it causes us to sin. That's a funny thing for God to say to us. It is an even harder message sometimes to teach children because they will either laugh themselves silly because they can't get past the image of someone plucking their eye out, or they think, "OH! What kind of a God are you teaching me about that would want us to pluck our eye out."
This book was a great way for me to teach my children that sometimes there are going to be things on this earth that look really good, and we may think we have to have it. We may do everything in our power to try to reach it only to discover we are afraid of our surroundings. At times we will find that we can't get it because we don't need it, or if we reach it, it may be a disappointment that distracted us from what God really has for us.
The great thing about being a child of God is that even if we get distracted, we get off track, we fall into the temptation of sin...God is waiting with arms open wide to give us that special thing that is waiting JUST FOR US!
Monday, September 10, 2007
Straight from the Source
I was in Science class with some third graders today. Each one was given a bracelet with 5 beads. Each bead looked white, plain and boring...nothing special about them. They wore them in class for about an hour, wondering all the while, what they were wearing the bracelets for.
THEN...we took a walk outside. "Keep your eyes on your bracelets," they were told. As they went from the building to the outdoors, the beads began to change colors. When they got to the playground, in the sun, the colors became brighter...more vibrant. "Wow! That's cool!" they all said. Of course, scientifically speaking each bead reacted to the heat from being outside. When the beads came in contact with direct sunlight, they really reacted and changed.
While they were all in amazement of these magnificent beads I was thanking God for being our power source. Each one of us may look like plain, ordinary beads (I mean beings)...nothing special by ourselves. We come in contact with other Christians and a change begins to take place within us. We change colors, so to speak, and begin showing signs of being special. Thank God we have other Christians to encourage us along the journey of life that can begin bringing out the special qualities placed in us all. However, I really want to thank God today for being the direct power source that can completely change us and show our full potential...our brightest colors. When we come into direct contact with God we will change into His likeness.
Thanks God for being there...even in a 3rd grade Science lesson.
THEN...we took a walk outside. "Keep your eyes on your bracelets," they were told. As they went from the building to the outdoors, the beads began to change colors. When they got to the playground, in the sun, the colors became brighter...more vibrant. "Wow! That's cool!" they all said. Of course, scientifically speaking each bead reacted to the heat from being outside. When the beads came in contact with direct sunlight, they really reacted and changed.
While they were all in amazement of these magnificent beads I was thanking God for being our power source. Each one of us may look like plain, ordinary beads (I mean beings)...nothing special by ourselves. We come in contact with other Christians and a change begins to take place within us. We change colors, so to speak, and begin showing signs of being special. Thank God we have other Christians to encourage us along the journey of life that can begin bringing out the special qualities placed in us all. However, I really want to thank God today for being the direct power source that can completely change us and show our full potential...our brightest colors. When we come into direct contact with God we will change into His likeness.
Thanks God for being there...even in a 3rd grade Science lesson.
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