Wednesday, January 30, 2013

The Power of Forgiveness


this is from my devotion: very powerful!!

When deep injury is done to us, We never recover until we forgive. Forgiveness does not change the past, But it does enlarge the future.” - Mary Karen Read

Our Lord Jesus told us , " For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

We forgive out of obedience to the Lord. It is an option, a choice we make. But please realize this dear friends, as we do this act of "forgiving", we discover the command is in place for our own good, and forgiving is powerful enough to give us " Freedom " in all the aspects of our lives.




Monday, January 28, 2013

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

ordinary

Justin and Trisha Davis have a beautiful story of redemption in their marriage and they recently released a book called Beyond Ordinary: When a Good Marriage Just Isn’t Good Enough
From their site:
How safe is your marriage? The answer may surprise you. The biggest threat to any marriage isn’t infidelity or miscommunication. The greatest enemy is ordinary. Ordinary marriages lose hope. Ordinary marriages lack vision. Ordinary marriages give in to compromise. Ordinary is the belief that this is as good as it will ever get. And when we begin to settle for ordinary, it’s easy to move from “I do” to “I’m done.”
Justin and Trisha Davis know just how dangerous ordinary can be. In this beautifully written book, Justin and Trisha take us inside the slow fade that occurred in their own marriage—each telling the story from their own perspective. Together, they reveal the mistakes they made, the work they avoided, the thoughts and feelings that led to an affair and near divorce, and finally, the heart-change that had to occur in both of them before they could experience the hope, healing, and restoration of a truly extraordinary marriage.



Monday, January 21, 2013

broken


I don't understand why we have to go through cruddy stuff.

We live in a broken world full of broken people. But isn't it comforting to know God isn't ever broken?

He isn't ever caught off guard, taken by surprise, or shocked by what happens next.

He can take our worst and add His best.

We just have to make the choice to stay with Him and keep following Him through it all.

"He replied, 'You of little faith, why are you so afraid?' Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm." Matthew 8:26 

Friday, January 18, 2013

quote...


“Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.”
- Francis Chan, Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

a prayer


A God-sized Dreamers’ Prayer
God, your thoughts are not my thoughts {Is. 55:8}.
What you have planned for me is beyond all I can ask or imagine {Eph. 3:19-20}.
Yet you have also promised to reveal it to me through your Spirit {1 Cor. 2:8-10}.
So I open my heart, mind, and life to more of you–to whatever you have for me. Where there is ongoing fear in my life, please replace it with faith. Where there is a desire to hold back, give me the strength to move forward. Where there is a desert, lead me into the Promised Land you have prepared for me.
I embrace that my part is to pray, plan, and most of all seek you. And yours is to get me where you want me to go {Prov. 16:9Prov. 19:21}. Wherever that is, that’s where I want to be too. Because there’s no better place in this world or the next than with you {Ps. 84:10}.
Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth {especially my little corner of it} as it is in heaven {Matt. 6:10}.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

In many ways, God-sized dreaming is more about an attitude than an action. It’s living with an ongoing “yes” to whatever God asks of you.
It means choosing faith over fear.
It means moving forward instead of holding back.
It means believing God can accomplish His purposes for your life–no matter how hard things are right now.
Jesus said the two most important things in life are this: Love God, love people.
Simply say, “My dream is to grow in my love for God and people in 2013.”


waiting

How many times in our life are we "waiting".  "Waiting" for the spouse God has for us, waiting for children to bless our family, waiting for a job opportunity, waiting for health test results, waiting for a marriage to be repaired, etc.  I am currently "waiting" in my life and some days I need to feel that God is there with me (even though I know He is).  If I were to create a 'worship while waiting' playlist, it might include some of these songs (some are oldies, and some are new favorites):

Waiting Here For You - Christy Nockels

Carry Me to the Cross - Kutless

Endless Hallelujah - Matt Redman
"No more tears or broken dreams..."

The Stand - Hillsong United

God I Look to You - Bethel Live - Be Lifted High

Faithful God - Laura Story


Hallelujah - Heather Williams 

What Joy (Psalm 146)

Everlasting God - Lincoln Brewster

If you say Go - Rachel Milstead

Jesus, Draw Me Ever Nearer

While I'm Waiting - John Waller

The Love of the Lord Endures - Joy Williams

Silence - Joy Williams

Mighty to Save - Hillsong

Come and Listen - David Crowder Band

Listen to one or more of these while you are "waiting" and hear what God has to say to you :)

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Trust


"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:2  

I've found a new way to think of goals in my life that will hopefully  keep me properly focused. Instead of making my long list of ways I plan to improve, I prayerfully choose just one word to be my focus. Just one word that represents what I most hope Christ will do in or through me at that time. One word to give me direction.
It's not a regret-based word but a vision-driven word centering on the kind of person I want to become. It keeps me looking forward and upward.
You have to focus on where you want to go.  Your focus determines your direction.  Keep your eyes on Christ.
I pray that word, meditate on it, memorize verses with it, and use it to remind me to keep my eyes on Christ, trusting Him for transformation in that area of my life.

That word for me at this time is Trust.  Several areas of my life at this time could use some trust.  I must look to Christ and trust Him and turn over all areas of my life where trust needs to happen.

Psalm 105:4, "Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always." 

Monday, January 14, 2013

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Passion 2013 Conferene

A favorite thing at the first of January each year is to watch the Passion Conference on line. I would LOVE to go and maybe one day I'll make that a reality.  Passion is a conference for high school and college students and young adults.  It's in the Georgia dome.  There are 60,000 people there for four days worshiping God together!
David Crowder, Chris Tomlin, Christy Nockels.  Can you imagine how awesome that is? And they have amazing speakers. (Louie Giglio, Beth Moore, Francis Chan, John Piper) I always experience revival in my heart just by watching on-line with them.  If you need encouragement or maybe some growth or are just curious about God at all.........

Get on-line and watch.  You won't regret it. You can watch the sessions for 24 hours afterwards. 

http://live.268generation.com/

None But Jesus

Yesterday I mentioned this song as one of my favorites.  I am not sure I had shared it on the blog before so I thought you might enjoy it.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

answers...

If you read my post yesterday, then you know I was going to answer some questions.  Here are some of the questions I have pondered for January 1st...

1. What are you most thankful for?  my family, my health, my friends, my church and Jesus.  

2. What were the highlights of 2012 for you? every single moment with Taylor and Aubrey, having Piper in my life for 6 1/2 months, having Gracie for 4 weeks, family Disney trips, trip to beach with Jody

3. What are you hoping for in 2013? I am hoping to be a better person.  I am hoping to not lose anyone I love.  I am hoping to be a light for Jesus in all that I do.  I am hoping to say yes more to the things that bring my joy.  I am hoping to treasure every moment in life.  

4. What were some of your favorites of 2012? (Clothes, movies, songs, TV shows, ) knit dresses, boots, "10,000 Reasons" by Matt Redmond and "None But Jesus" by Hillsong.  I found I love taking care of newborn babies.  I love the tv show Parenthood.  

5. Who was God to you in 2012? God was comforter, refuge and encourager to me.