tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1826246471238358022024-03-12T21:11:08.465-07:00Shell's Thought for the DayMichelle Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14641545956245990010noreply@blogger.comBlogger110125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182624647123835802.post-3361881247408315342012-02-06T16:01:00.000-08:002012-02-06T16:06:18.202-08:00I will praiseWith all my heart, I will praise you<br />With all my mind, I will praise you<br />With all my soul, I will praise you<br />I will should your praise at all times<br />with everything that I am<br />In all circumstances<br /><br />My heart cries out to you<br />My heart longs to glorify you alone<br />Your plans are not my plans<br />Your ways are not my ways<br />Though I cannot see your vision,<br />I trust Your will, Your sovereignty<br />Your ways are not my ways,<br />No, Your ways are perfect!<br /><br />Even in the midst of not understanding,<br />of not seeing the next step<br />I will follow Your way<br />I will follow Your plan<br />I will follow YOUMichelle Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14641545956245990010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182624647123835802.post-88823063541307328012012-01-31T18:34:00.000-08:002012-01-31T18:45:55.965-08:00Let it Shine!Matthew 5:14-16 "You are the light of the world - like a city on <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">ahilltop</span> that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Intead</span> a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father"<br /><br />I think this one is pretty self explanatory. Let it Shine! When you come to know the Lord, His light shines in you and you need to let it shine. If we live for Christ, we glow like lights, showing others what Christ is like. We hide our light by being quiet when we should speak up, going along with the crowd instead of doing what we know is right, letting sin dim our light, not telling others about Jesus, and by ignoring the needs of others.<br /><br />I went to church last night for Miracle Monday and as I was praying for our group, we were praying for specific people to come to know the Lord and someone near me began to pray and thank God for me. For me! I was stunned speechless as I listened to her pour out her heart, that she wouldn't be a believer today if it weren't for me. Now I know it was God but she just kept thanking God for me. And then she said something that brought tears to my eyes (as if this weren't enough to do it), she said that I had so much joy and such a light in me, that she wanted what I had and she studied and learned and grew! I was overwhelmed.<br /><br />What a wonderful sentiment! Now, I'm not tooting my own horn, I have a point here. The Word says that my reward will be in heaven. If I am brought to tears but such beautiful words how much more amazing will it be when I see people I hadn't even thought I had influenced in heaven. You see, it had never <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">occurred</span> to me that this person was in church because of something I had said or done. How much greater will it be in heaven? Who will you see you in heaven? And an even more important question, who will you <strong>NOT</strong> see because you have hidden the light inside of you?<br /><br />Don't hide your light. Jesus has filled you so that you can go out and seek out His lost and bring them back. Hide it under a bushel...NO! I'm gonna let it shine! Let it shine, shine, shine, let it shine!Michelle Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14641545956245990010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182624647123835802.post-46234992697832821382012-01-25T12:48:00.000-08:002012-01-25T13:08:01.953-08:00To err is humanHosea 14:9 Let those who are wise understand these thing. Let those with discernment listen carefully. The paths of the Lord are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them. But in those paths sinners stumble and fall.<br /><br />Wow! This was a great devotion today. Here's the thing, we have a just God. He will bring justice where it is due. He will not bless sin. In the verse above it says the paths of the Lord are true and right and righteous people live by walking in them. Are you walking in the path of righteousness? I see so many people that say they believe in the Lord but their lives don't change. They don't change the way they live. Now, I'm not saying that if you believe in Jesus you have to live perfectly all the time, but when you know the Lord, something about your life should change. Your heart should change. You should care about doing what is right in the Lord's sight. You should care about other people more than yourself.<br /><br />My question is, if you say you believe in Jesus and you know the Lord and your life doesn't change, you go to church on Sunday and you leave just the same as when you came, do you really know the Lord.<br /><br />I meet a lot of people who know the Lord and they make the mistake of forgetting God's love and feel that their sins are hopeless and they can never be free from the sins of the past. But I meet so many more people who make a much bigger mistake. They never forget about God's forgiveness. As a matter of fact, they depend on it because they don't try to walk the path of righteousness. They err by forgetting God's wrath against our sins and they think He will continue to accept us no matter how we act.<br /><br />Let's all decide today that we will surrender all of our lives to the Lord. Not just part of our lives, but all it. You won't walk perfectly but God will walk beside and help you through every storm, every temptation, every sorry, ever joy. When you stumble, He will offer you a hand up. Let God change the story of your life.Michelle Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14641545956245990010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182624647123835802.post-56948335726026392212012-01-18T11:59:00.000-08:002012-01-18T12:10:55.525-08:00Are you sharp?I read Proverbs 27:17 today. "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another".<br />Wow! I love this verse. This verse changed my life. Or rather, I should say, some very important women living this verse out with the love of Jesus, changed my life. I came to a point in my life, where I just wasn't dealing with life well. I had taken so many hits over the course of my life and suddenly I found myself floundering. That's when I started a small group at church and met a few women who were committed to sharpening other women. They came along side of me, spoke the truth in love to me when I needed it, and showed me the truth in God's Word and how I could apply it to my life. I grew so much during that season. I learned how to deal with some of the wounds from my past and how to truly give things up and lay my burdens at the feet of the One who can handle them.<br /><br />I have several people in my life who are committed to helping me be the best person I can be and helping me reflect Jesus in ever increasing glory. I am so thankful for those women both past and present who have come along side me in that way. I, in turn, am committed to doing the same for others. Why? Because the Lord commands it. That verse in proverbs isn't just something nice to say, it's a directive. The Bible also says to go out and make disciples. How do we do that? By sharing the gospel with others but also by coming along side of them and sharpening them.<br /><br />I think one great way to do this, is a small group. You will get to know some new people that are focused on a common goal of growth. If you aren't in a small group or have people in your life that are actively sharpening you and you them, let me encourage you to join one. Be an influence in someone's life and allow them to influence your growth as well.Michelle Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14641545956245990010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182624647123835802.post-24364919378828998442012-01-17T09:21:00.000-08:002012-01-17T09:40:16.105-08:00Diligent?I was reading this morning and I came to a verse in Proverbs that caused me to stop. Proverbs 27:23 "Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, and attend to your herds"<br /><br />Now I know what you are thinking...why in the world would that verse cause me to stop? Right? Well, I'm glad you asked. I stopped to think about this verse. First, I thought of my flocks and herds. Since, I work at a church I tend to automatically think of flock as those that are in my church, but I stopped this morning to think of the other flocks and herd that He has put in my life to tend. I thought of my kids. My son Ken may be old and nearly 21 now but I still consider him mine to tend. I want to be involved in his life and I want him to (even though he's 21) still know my voice as a voice of wisdom or guidance, because even though he's nearly 21, I have just a bit more years and experience for him to glean from and I want him to make wise choices. I thought of my youngest Christopher who definitely still needs guidance. I love we know each other so well. I know each look, each cry (yes there are different cries). I know him so well, that recently when he broke his jaw, he came up to me and wasn't crying or anything but simply said, I fell. And something inside me knew it was more than that. I think of the dog. Yes, the dog. The crazy and excitable Toby who when I come home runs to the door at top speed, jumps at and does somersaults because his "shepherd" is home. I could go on and on but I don't want to bore you so I'll move on.<br /><br />The other thing I thought about was work. Yes, your job is part of the "flock" the Lord has given you to tend. Now, I love my job, but I've heard people talk about how they hate their job and they are just doing enough to get by, or their heart isn't really in it. Are you being diligent tending your "flocks and herds"? The word diligent comes from a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">latin</span> word meaning to esteem, to love. Dictionary.com defines diligent as being constantly in effort, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">attendtive</span> and persistent. So I'll ask the question again, are you being diligent? Whether we're talking about your kids, or your friends, or your job, or your home, your spouse - whatever your flock, are you being diligent? Do you love your "flock" simply because the Lord has given it to you tend if for no other reason? If you are one of those who hate your job or just dream of a different job or think the grass is greener somewhere else (again whether it's your job or something else), let me encourage you to be diligent. The Lord has given you this flock to tend. Tend to it well. Take painstaking efforts to ensure a job well done. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">Clossians</span> tells us "whatever you do or say do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus".<br /><br />You may remember a passage in Matthew 25 when Jesus told a parable and verse 23 says "Well done, my good and faithful servant. you have been faithful with little and I will put in charge of many things. Come and share in your masters happiness". Be sure to have integrity and be diligent so that the Lord will be able to reward you with something more. Want a new job? Be diligent with the one you have.<br /><br />Now can you see why this verse would cause me to pause today? I think we all have something in our lives where we aren't as diligent as we should be. Today is the day to thank God for the flocks He has given you and commit to diligence.Michelle Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14641545956245990010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182624647123835802.post-69328453143783994932012-01-14T09:35:00.001-08:002012-01-14T09:46:24.416-08:00Before I knew you...Wow! I love spending time with God and my son. The Lord blessed me with an incredible experience with Christopher yesterday and it meant so much to me. We did our Bible reading for the day and then we did our little devotion that focuses on just one verse. Now, before I tell you the verse, let me preface this by saying that I am still in the process of embracing Christopher's diagnosis of Aspberger's along with a host of learning disabilities. And after much prayer, I don't believe that there will be a miracle of healing for him. I believe the miracle has already been done in the person that he is. I believe that the depth of feeling and the connecting that he has with God and the heart that he has for people and for missions is in fact a miracle. And I know that God has something wonderful in mind for him.<br /><br />So yesterday our verse was Jeremiah 1:5 "I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet for the nations." This wasn't my devotion for the day, this is the devotion that Chris and I do together. All I could say was YES!!! Absolutely! Then I got to have a wonderful conversation with my son. I had been struggling with how much to tell him about his diagnosis or what to tell him, how much he needs to know and I prayed and asked God to show me how to tell him and what he needed to know. So in this moment I was able to tell him that his brain works a little differently than some other people's and he learns in different ways. But no matter how his brain works, God planned it in advance. His brain is special just as he is special. He is special because God has set him apart. His brain isn't different because God made a mistake, his brain his different because God planned it that way before he was ever born. And his eyes lit up with the joy of the Lord and said "Really?"<br /><br />Yes Chris, God has set you apart for a special purpose. He made you special and unique and wonderful. God created you perfectly. Remember to always follow His leading for your special purpose and everything will be fine. He was so excited that day. Instead of feeling inadequate, he felt unique. Instead of feeling stupid, he felt special. Instead of feeling less than, he felt exalted. I can't wait to see his life unfold as he serves God and we see His purpose lived out in Chris.<br /><br />"I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet for the nations" Thank you God for creating us perfectly.Michelle Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14641545956245990010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182624647123835802.post-31821391769207730592012-01-11T16:00:00.000-08:002012-01-11T16:16:01.270-08:00Heavy liftingI was reading in one of my favorite books today and the discussion centered on Proverbs 10:29 "The way of the Lord is strength for the upright." <br />I love that verse! I always thought about how the Lord strengthens us for the tasks He brought to us. There's so much in life that we need strength for. Especially in this economy, we may need strength for to open the statement of our ever dwindling 401k or even just to find a job that will provide a steady paycheck let alone health care or 401k. We need strength to face the daily battles in life of health or strained relationships, our latest diet or our new year's resolutions, and we certainly need strength as followers of Christ to live in a way that honors God.<br /><br />But as I was reading this book, the author began to illustrate something she needs strength with. She told about how she's getting older and more forgetful and she travels a lot so she carries a gigantic bag with everything she may ever possibly need, she'll be set for the zombie <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">apocolypse</span>. And then she realizes she needs her cell phone so she goes in search of her cell phone. If you are a woman, you can already picture the scene unfolding as she finds everything from <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">chapstick</span> to her stun gun but no phone, dumps everything out on the floor in search of the elusive contraption and then suddenly realizes she's forgotten what she's looking for. Stop laughing, you've done the same thing yourself! Then moments later her phone rings and guess what...it was in her pocket all along. Frustrated and grumpy is how she now answers her phone and it's all the fault of this enormous purse that she has to lug around. It's larger than she is, it weighs down one side of her body, even makes her walk a little lopsided. <br /><br />Let's face it! We all have our <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">oversized</span> bags. We've got baggage. Stuff we carry around because we think we'll need to get back to it at some point or we just can't let it go. And boy don't we need strength to lug it around! But just remember, when we're carrying around such weighed down baggage, it's hard to remain upright. Now read the verse again, "the way of the Lord is strength for the upright".<br /><br />Lay down your baggage, give it to the Lord. Trust that He will help provide what you need in the moment, He will strengthen you for troubles that surround you today, He will guide you where you need to go and you don't need to carry around yesterdays baggage to get there.<br /><br />Matthew 11:28-30 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">burden</span> is light.<br /><br />2 Cor 12:9 My grace is sufficient for you, My strength is made perfect in weakness.<br /><br />As I prepare to start the 21 day Daniel fast with my church, I will choose to lay down my baggage, clean out my bags, allow Him to lighten my load so that I can be upright and allow Him to strengthen my soul.<br /><br />What are you carrying around with you? What weighs you down? I encourage you to take and leave it with the Lord.Michelle Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14641545956245990010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182624647123835802.post-24066342182554428342012-01-03T04:42:00.000-08:002012-01-03T05:19:38.948-08:00Holland?There is a poem written by Emily Perl Kingsley that talks about what it's like to raise a child with a disability and that's what I want to discuss today. Now, if you are thinking, oh this topic isn't for me today because I don't have a child with a disability, stop right there and continue to read, you may be surprise where I end with this and may find it's for you after all.<br /><br />First the poem, she writes that having a baby is like planning a trip to Italy. You get prepared, pack the right things, get the tour books and plan all the sites you are going to see, learn some new phrases. You're excited! All your friends are going to Italy and talking about the trip they're planning or the one they've already been on. You can't wait! You board the plane and the excitement mounts and finally you land and the flight attendant says "welcome to Holland". You start to freak out because you're supposed to be in Italy. The flight attendant says sorry but there's been a change. You aren't going to land in Italy, Italy has been canceled. You're in Holland, enjoy your stay. You are freaking out, your friends went to Italy. You know Italian phrases. You know what to visit in Italy. You have prepared all your life for Italy. You don't know anything about Holland and you don't want to be there. So what do you do? Well, you have to buy new guide books, maybe learn a few new phrases. There's pain involved here, because you wanted to go Italy and the pain of not going there won't ever go away. But if you stay in that place of grieving the loss of Italy, you will miss the beauty of Holland. You will miss the tulips and the windmills, you'll miss the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Rembrandts</span>, the people you would have never met, food you would have never tasted, and the beautiful experiences you would have never had if you hadn't gone the Holland. If you spend your life grieving the loss of Italy, you'll miss the extravagant beauty of Holland.<br /><br />Now, having said that...don't we all have our own detour to Holland? You may not have a child with a disability but we all have our own Holland. We all have a place we were supposed to go, a dream we dreamed of for years that for whatever reason, wasn't fulfilled. We all have a detour. Some of us have let our detour take us to a place where we spend our lives feeling sorry for ourselves and making those around us miserable because we didn't get to go to Italy and we miss out on the beauty of our Holland experience. We spend our time grieving our Italy and don't embrace the fact, that Italy was our dream, our plan, not God's and that God's dream is far greater than ours ever could be. Jeremiah 29:11 says "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future". If you continue to read in that chapter it goes on to say to seek the Lord with our whole heart and that he will bring us back from captivity and restore us. Now if I relate this to our Italy and Holland chat today, this is what I hear. We planned to go to Italy because the world said Italy was the place to go and the place to be but it was never God's plan. We held ourselves in captivity with that plan and judged Italy to be the beautiful place through the world's standards. But that's not where God wants us to be. We were actually on a detour and he is merely bringing us back to the plan that He laid out for our lives. Italy was the detour, Holland was the original destination.<br /><br />So whatever your Italy is, may I suggest learning to embrace Holland knowing that God's plan is greater. He will never harm us, He will never forsake us and He will show us the beauty of His plan...His Holland.Michelle Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14641545956245990010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182624647123835802.post-23067815252952122792011-12-22T08:19:00.001-08:002011-12-22T08:36:47.294-08:00Heart BlockerWell, hello again. I know it's been a while but I recently had a friend tell me I needed to get off my duff and start writing again. So here I am, once again, with a renewed commitment to embrace the writing I love so much. I'll start with my favorite story of late involving my youngest son.<br /><br />My Christopher and I pray together a lot. So on this one day not so long ago, we found ourselves in my car heading to the store and guess what, we were praying again. And I asked him who he wanted to pray for and his response was that he wanted to pray for his friends...even the ones who are mean to him. Now my first thought was, if they're mean to you why do you call them friends, but I didn't voice that thought because I was just so proud he had managed to master a concept I had not mastered. My next thought came out in the form of a question, why do you want to pray for them? (still very curious as to how he has managed to get this concept). His answer to me was so profound it is still ringing in my ears so listen carefully. "Because I love them, their hearts are just blocked".<br /><br />Wow! My son just blew me out of the water with that one. How, at his age, did he get that? For those of you who don't know, my son was recently diagnosed with Aspberger's which is part of the autism spectrum. With all of these labels that he's just been given I am chosing to focus on what I know to be true about my son. He is creative, he is caring, he is loving and he loves life and God. He has such an innocent and pure love for God that it amazes me and there are so many times that God grants him incredible wisdom that just shocks me. So when he gave that answer I had to ponder it. Why, because God says for us to come to him as little children and that made me think of Christopher. He is that little child. Not the already jaded elementary age kids we see too often today but the innocent child that still believes that at the very heart people are still good, that God's plans truly are better than our own, that God truly can do the impossible and prays until something miraculous happens knowing that no matter how long it takes-something miraculous will happen, that he is treasured and loved by all around him and by a God that thinks he's priceless, and a child who doesn't hesitate to run and jump into the arms of his Abba Father.<br /><br />This same child who knows that even though his friends may be mean to him, their hearts are just blocked. Unlike us, because we immediately seek to judge these people don't we? We judge them instead of considering their back story. Maybe their having a really bad day or lost their job or lost a loved one. Maybe they've had a bad life and have hurts and trauma that has hardened their heart. Whatever their story, we don't think about it, we just judge them and write them off. I once had walls around my heart (truth be known, there are still some standing but they're smaller now and have some holes, their crumbling slowly) but I used to have so many walls, no one could see around them and scaling them was near impossible and for years, no one even tried. Until some people came along and cared about my back story. They cared about why I had walls and they made the effort to be the visible expression of Jesus in my life. They loved me in spite of my walls, they cared for me, they prayed for me, they considered me a friend and they kept working at tearing down my walls until one day like the Berlin wall they crashed and they forever changed the trajectory of my life.<br /><br />You can have that impact on someone's life. When you make the commitment to come to the Lord as a little child, that's one of the things you're commiting to. Not judging others, simply loving them and being the expression of Jesus in their life. You are saying you will choose to believe the best about them even when it doesn't seem as if they deserved it. If you think back, someone came into your life and did that for you, even though you didn't deserve it. When you do that, you can forever change the trajectory of their life. Who in your life do you know that you've judged unfairly, not knowing or caring about their back story? Stop blocking your heart and seek to help them stop blocking theirs. I'm so glad someone did that for me.Michelle Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14641545956245990010noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182624647123835802.post-18942271743350558652011-05-14T14:33:00.000-07:002011-05-14T14:47:18.435-07:00He leftYou may be familiar with an old story about how Jesus is our shepherd. And a good shepherd, when one sheep is lost, will leave the other 99 and go in pursuit to find the lost sheep. As I read yesterday, a thought struck me. I have been that one.<br /><br />There was a time in my life and probably a time in yours when I felt certain that God has left me. My life was a mess, I couldn't feel His presence, I was alone. As I read the story about the one sheep that He went in search of I realized, He hadn't left me, I had left Him. Now, before you think further, I already knew I was the one that had walked away. That part wasn't new to me. But the thoughts that followed were. I had turned away from God. I had put my <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">earbuds</span> in my ears and cranked up the volume on the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">ipod</span>. I couldn't hear Him because I wasn't listening. I couldn't feel Him because I was dead inside.<br /><br />And as I look back, I can see His pursuit. He was pursuing me. I couldn't hear or see or feel Him and didn't want to and yet, He pursued me. I was the one lost sheep and He would do anything to bring me back. There were people that He put in my life that He used as His hands. I didn't recognize them as Jesus at the time, but that's who they were. Someone who, seeing I had a crying baby and a cart full of groceries, let me go in front of them in line. Someone who offered to buy me a cup of coffee and offered a shoulder to lean on. Someone who spoke words of comfort, encouragement and strength and yet didn't preach at me. Someone who called just to say "I've missed seeing you". These people were all Jesus. They showed me His love, His kindness, His forgiveness, His comfort. He pursued me.<br /><br />Today, I am far from where I was back then, but I'm sure you know there are always those days. I am starting to feel a little worn down and getting a little sick and it began to distract me. I started thinking things like, "really, I'm getting sick again!". I started to feel discouraged. And I tried to pull up my boot straps and get back on track. When suddenly, there was a knock at the door. When I answered I saw a bouquet of flowers sitting on my porch with a thank you card unsigned. The love of Jesus went straight to my soul. I don't know who they were from, or what I had done to deserve a thank you card, let alone flowers, but they came at a time when I needed some encouragement. He pursued me.<br /><br />Each week Pastor Chris tells us to go out and "Be the life of Jesus to our world". We are to do that because God is in pursuit of someone who has wandered away from the flock. Maybe they've wandered far, maybe they just got a little distracted, but He wants to use us to pursue them.<br />Thanks for listening.Michelle Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14641545956245990010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182624647123835802.post-4616630147047049712011-05-04T10:49:00.000-07:002011-05-04T11:10:18.975-07:00Do You Remember?Deut. 1: 29-32 "Then I said to you, "Do not be terrified or afraid of them. The Lord your God who goes before you, He will fight for you according to all He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness where you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place. yet, for all that, you did not believe the Lord your God..."<br /><br />I was reading that passage today and though about all the times the Lord has asked me to do something and I said no, I don't want to, or doubted that I was capable and that God would provide a way for it to happen. Have you ever been there? Have you ever let your fear and doubt stop you? I remember when I was first asked to speak at one of our women's meetings. I had known that God was sending me in that direction. And yet, when the time came, I was scared. All of these doubts flooded my mind. What right do I have to teach women about God? Have I prepared enough? Do I really have a word from God to share with these women or am I fooling myself? Has God really prepared me? I have to think that's what the Israelites went through. They knew God was moving them in the direction of the promised land, but when they got there and God told them to take the land, they got scared.<br /><br />They didn't look at God's track record and trust Him. They just let their fear stop them from doing what God had called them to do. And that angered God. It made Him so angry that He no longer allowed them to take the land as a consequence to their rebellion and disobedience. The next generation took the land.<br /><br />When you are facing something that is scary, do you look at God's track record? Trust me, He has an amazing track record. In spite of the bad that has happened in my life I can look back and and see how God was working in that situation. He never left me. He has always been there, He has saved, He has prepared me, and He has been faithful.<br /><br />So the next time you are afraid and consider letting your fear keep you from doing what God wants you to do; Look back at what He has done in your life. Then move forward and go into the promised land that He has prepared for you.Michelle Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14641545956245990010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182624647123835802.post-18684741988598035982011-04-06T16:35:00.000-07:002011-04-06T16:54:57.468-07:00This is the stuffI was driving down the road on Sunday and heard these familiar lyrics "I lost my keys in the great unknown and call me please, '<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">cuz</span> I can't find my phone" These lyrics rang oh so true to my heart that day. I am routinely losing my keys or my phone or something else I put down for just a moment that seemed to have grown legs and ran off just to tease me. But today, they all happened in the same day and this song touched me at my very core. Saturday night the family went out, my husband drove and so I put my keys in the dash rather than putting them in my purse like I should have. So Sunday morning when I'm leaving for church and my husband has long since gone to the race track, I reach for my keys and get that familiar sickness in my stomach. My keys are in my car. In my dash to be exact. My car is locked. My husband has the only spare. Inside for just a moment I feel the need to scream "<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">NOOOOOOOOOO</span>!!!!" but I maintained my composure and thought for a moment. My nearly 20 year old son (how is that even possible, that I have a child who is 20, surely I'm not that old), has gone to California so he can't help me. Oh yeah! He rode with someone and I do have a spare to his car, I'll take his car to church. Great! When I got to church, I shared about my minor problem with a friend because I was so thankful that God had already orchestrated the solution to the problem. This friend immediately told me anytime that happened, give them a call, they'd be glad to give me a ride. And I couldn't help but think how wonderful that God always has a back up plan for me. I came home and walked up to the door to find that I had locked the front door. Of course I locked the door. Why wouldn't I lock the door? Unfortunately, my keys are in my locked car still. So I stop and think, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">ok</span> God, what's your backup plan. Oh yeah, I have a keypad for the garage, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">i'll</span> just punch in the code and enter through that way. Which I did and it worked wonderfully. I went to the store and saw someone who's battery had died and thought, hey I have jumper cables in the trunk. So I stopped to see if I could help. In no time they were back on the road. I sat realizing, I was just God's backup plan for someone else. And that's when I heard the song. Things like these happen for a reason. These are the little things that drive us absolutely crazy. They aren't major issues in life, they're more like little irritating things that at times can seem to make life unbearable. But these really are the things God uses. These are things God uses to break us of our impatience, our <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">tendancy</span> to get frustrated over the little things, our self <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">centeredness</span> perhaps. These are things God uses to grow us and mold us and also to show us that He always has a solution. He is always there. He is faithful in the little things and He is faithful in the big things. And if we can really get that and understand it, when the big things come, we can rest easy knowing that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords has our best interest at heart and is there with us. He already has a plan in place and He is in complete control. It may not seem like it when we look at it with out human eyes, it may not be what we would chose, but He really does have everything under control. So if you are trusting Him in the little things today, thank God for His faithful presence. And if you are trusting Him in the big things, thank God for his faithful presence. He is there with you and He will see you through and on the other side, you will be a better person, more like His image. And know, this is the stuff he uses. "in the middle of my little mess, I forget how big I'm blessed, this is the stuff that gets under my skin, and I've gotta trust, you know exactly what you're doing, it may not be what I would chose but this is the stuff you use!"Michelle Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14641545956245990010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182624647123835802.post-75266089031561423792011-01-19T10:28:00.000-08:002011-01-19T10:40:33.650-08:00Impossible?I was reading in Exodus today and one of my devotions was talking about all the miracles Jesus performed while He was here and earth. And I just began to think about it. In today's society we spend so much time on worry. We worry about the mortgage payment, the car payment, health insurance, who to vote for, our children, our spouses. We spend so much time doubting whether or not God will take care of us.<br />And you may think, well sure it was easy to believe in the days of the Bible. Jesus was performing miracles all the time. In Exodus, God did miraculous things. He spoke, He burned bushes, He delivered the Israelites. He was present in all those circumstances, but not now.<br /><br />Well I would submit to you, that He is every bit as present today as He was then. We may not be able to see His face and touch His scars, but Jesus walks among us every day. We still see miracles every day. I was talking with a friend about how we ask God to provide for us and how we always think we know what that will look like. The car dies and he provides the money for the repair. Well, sometimes he provides an inexpensive repair and that is every bit as much of a miracle as miraculously getting a check in the mail that was unexpected.<br /><br />We see miracles every day, but sometimes, we don't recognize them for what they are. My son has a brain injury from birth. It affects him still today but not severely. As I was doing research on it I realized just how badly it could have gone for him. There was basically a perfect storm happening when I gave birth to him and he could have been born severely brain damaged or even died. So the fact that he is alive and has minimal damage is nothing short of a miracle.<br /><br />I look around my life and see these subtle miracles every single day. If you were to stop and examine your life, what miracles would you find? I encourage you to do that today. And then thank God for those miracles. He loves you so much that He is mindful of you every moment. He is alive and He is present and with God, all things truly possible.Michelle Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14641545956245990010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182624647123835802.post-3448905612557438282011-01-16T19:49:00.000-08:002011-01-16T20:00:41.173-08:00Thank You DanielOur church is doing a 21 day Daniel Fast. Now, I'm a girl who likes meat. Steak is your friend, chicken, free range or not, is just plain yummy, seafood has it's place on my table as well. But truly, as much as I enjoy food, I could almost live on a Daniel Fast were it not for the lack of yeast in the diet. My 10 year old even said tonight after dinner, "thanks mom, we should have more of that. It was delicious!" Those are beautiful words to a mother's ears, especially when he's talking about food that good for him!<br /><br />But, what I am finding difficult is the fast from Facebook once a week. I know right! You would think that a one day away from Facebook shouldn't be difficult. Now, I wouldn't say I'm addicted to Facebook, but I would say, it has definitely become a habit. The kids say something funny, I tweet it. Fun and exciting news, OH! status update! I wonder what everyone is up to today? Let's check the News Feed.<br /><br />I have found it rather disturbing how many times today I have gone to my computer to update my status, send someone a message or just "check in". I'm not in withdraw not being able to do it, but it truly has become a way of life. So my question to you is this? What is in your life that has become a habit or a "way of life", that you do even without thinking? And then, is it necessary? I think I will turn this Facebook Fast into a way of life. I may schedule some time each week to unplug and show my flesh that my spirit is in charge. So guess what I did tonight? Instead of getting on Facebook or tweeting, I played and read with my son. Got some reading done and had a nice relaxing evening.<br />Thank you DanielMichelle Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14641545956245990010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182624647123835802.post-56188258414981044112010-12-26T21:35:00.001-08:002010-12-26T21:49:44.057-08:00Year in ReviewToday in church our pastor announced that in January we would once again, as a church, participate in a 21 day fast. We would start our year be dedicating the first part of it yielding to Him. My family participated in the fast for 2010 as well and I paused to think of how my life went this past year and how it differed from years past.<br /><br />As I reflected, I realized how very blessed my year has been. My marriage has grown stronger, my kids have grown closer to God, there have been financial blessings, blessings in so many relationships, and a general feeling of joy and peace.<br /><br />As I continued to reflect on the year, I realized that my year was not without it's problems. I experienced financial issues, betrayals, health issues, relational problems and surprising emotional crisis at different turns. I did indeed have more blessings this year, but I had my fair share of problems as well. What was different was me. I felt more joy and peace through all of these situations.<br /><br />I was different. As I faced each problem, I faced it with God at the center of my life. I faced it in confidence that God "works all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose". I walked through these situations with my Lord leading the way and with the peace that passes all understanding filling my soul. That's not to say I handled everything perfectly and that there weren't times when I waivered. But overall, I look back on this year and see joy and peace. And the problems of this world have been forgotten and put aside. Because they are just problems of this world. And because of the way I started my year and stayed focused on the One who provides, I have an eternal perspective.<br /><br />So, I encourage you to join with us January 10th as we begin our 21 day fast and focus on God, center on God. "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you". James 4:8Michelle Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14641545956245990010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182624647123835802.post-57838949645819060382010-12-25T11:56:00.000-08:002010-12-25T12:09:24.772-08:00Sarcastic SantaThis week has not been without it's challenges. Each day presented a new opportunity to look for the bright side and yet, I still waited with anticipation for the day my kids would open their gifts and we would celebrate the birth of our Savior.<br /><br />One of my challenges this week was that my van took a turn for the worse and died. So I borrowed my husband's truck. I ran my errands and purchased some large items and put them in the back of the truck. What I didn't know is that is where my husband had cleverly hidden my unwrapped gifts. And of course, I thought it was hysterical. Every year he surprises me, and every year he guesses what he is getting. So this year the tables were turned and I thought it was hysterical. In spite of the fact that he told me he was going to return the gifts. You see, I know my husband has a strange sense of humor, but he's not a cruel man so certainly he wouldn't actually return the items.<br /><br />Christmas morning came and everyone was unwrapping their gifts and enjoying the morning and sure enough my dishes that I wanted (and he had purchased) were no where to be found. Until I come to a rather large gift. I open it and lift the lid on the box and what do my wondering eyes see? Nope, not dishes. Coal. I had to wonder...the question just begged to be answered...<br /><br />How did I end up with coal? I'm not a perfect person but coal? really? ok where are my dishes? Much later he did end up pulling out the dishes I had wanted and he managed a surprise or two. Such as the extraordinary large gift in the corner. inside of it, a box. And still another box. And another, yes another. Inside of that, another box. After a series of boxes, a gift card for a pedicure.<br /><br />Yes, my husband has a strange sense of humor. He's such a sarcastic santa!<br /><br />The kids, well they all enjoyed their gifts. They are sitting together now playing the new Wii and trying to figure out the games, putting together puzzles, and enjoying each other's company. <br /><br />Merry Christmas to you all! I pray your day brings you many blessings and surprises. I pray it brings you closer to your family. And I pray that we would all remember that it's not about the gift we received today, but the gift we received so very many years ago. God bless you and your family on this very special day!Michelle Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14641545956245990010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182624647123835802.post-49185238230851191472010-12-08T09:19:00.000-08:002010-12-08T09:46:36.577-08:00It's a matter of circumstance2 Cor 6:4-10 Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as imposters; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing and yet possessing everything.<br /><br />Paul really had the right perspective. Couldn't we all use some of his perspective. Paul was beaten, persecuted and thrown in jail. When he was in jail he used it as an opportunity. He had a captive audience so to speak. Please pardon my pun. But he figured he was right where God wanted him to be and he could share the gospel with his fellow inmates and also with the guards. When he was beaten, he would look on the brighter side. He wasn't killed and he could still serve the Lord. When he was sorrowful he was still rejoicing because at every turn God was providing for him and never left his side. Paul looked at life from a heavenly perspectful.<br /><br />He viewed his circumstances, no matter what they were, good or bad, as an opportunity. We could learn a lot from Paul. What can we learn about our current circumstances? How can we be a light in someone else's circumstance. I've had many circumstances in my life that the enemy would love to use for my downfall and discouragement. But God has a heavenly perspective and that's the perspective I want. God can take those same circumstances and use them for His glory. And He is doing just that. You simply need to ask some of the women I met with last night. We sat and talked about our circumstances and encouraged one another in sisterly love.<br /><br />No matter what your circumstance, it can be an opportunity to be used to glorify God!Michelle Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14641545956245990010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182624647123835802.post-68979404233477289312010-12-02T09:27:00.000-08:002010-12-02T09:46:11.361-08:00Stand FirmThis morning my reading included 1 Corinthians 16: 13-14 "Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, be men of courage, be strong. Do everything in love."<br /><br />I have always loved this verse but today it caught my attention and caused me to pause and just ponder the full meaning of it. So I thought I'd share my thoughts. There are many things in this verse that Paul is telling us to do.<br /><br />First, he tells us to be on guard. Why would we need to be on guard. A guard is someone who watches for approaching evil or trouble and protects something of value. So if I am to be on guard, what I find of most value is my faith. So I would take this to mean that I would need to be watching for for spiritual enemies. Whether it is false teaching or or things that creep in to produce pride or sin in my life, I need to be watchful so that I can see it coming and protect my heart and faith before it can cause any problems.<br /><br />The next thing he tells us is to stand firm in our faith. There is but one truth and that truth is Jesus Christ. He died and he rose again and he offers salvation to all who will believe. I stand firm on that and that truth transforms my life so that I might look more like Him who saved me.<br /><br />He tells us to have courage. Why would I need courage? I would need courage not only to withstand the enemy and stand firm in my faith but we are called to go out and make disciples. Friends, to go out, share your faith and disciple people to grow and be transformed takes courage. To be in a body of believers and do life with one another openly and honestly takes courage.<br /><br />He tells us to be strong. Notice he tells us to have courage and then tells us to be strong. They're not the same instruction, they're actually separate. Ephesians 6:10 says "be strong in the Lord and His mighty power". We are to invite Holy Spirit to fill us. Holy Spirit encourages us, convicts us and strengthens us with power. We are to be strong with the strength given to us by Holy Spirit.<br /><br />And finally Paul tells us to do everything in love. And why would he end with that? Because it's all about our motivation. Without love, we are clanging cymbals. Without love, our motivation is wrong and pride has entered our heart. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Without</span> love, we have nothing. God is love. And if we live wonderful and good lives and have not done them in the love of Christ, it's meaningless. Our motivation means everything.<br /><br />As I go through my life, I make mistakes and sometimes get off track. We all do. But we can quickly make a course correction and go back to what we know. And what we know is the love of Christ. The Way, The Truth, And The Life. He will always be faithful to strengthen us, love us, and transform us.<br /><br />So today, remember to be on guard, stand firm in the faith, be a person of courage, be strong and do EVERYTHING in love.Michelle Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14641545956245990010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182624647123835802.post-12025744169870682272010-11-23T16:47:00.001-08:002010-11-23T16:56:36.204-08:00Thankful, Oh so thankfulThis week, as Thanksgiving is upon us, I am choosing to focus on being thankful for my framily. Yes you read it correctly, my framily. A dear friend used that term with me yesterday and I chose to steal it. <br /><br />You see, as a child I remember huge family Thanksgivings. Meals with my grandma and pap, aunts, uncles, cousins, mom, dad and my brother. But this year, Dad has been gone for seven years, mom has been gone for 3 years. My family of 5 has dwindled and I have but one child left at home with me on Thanksgiving. And all those aunts, uncles and cousins are on the other side of the country. And I began to feel sad. It's a typical thing around this time of year, the holiday blues. But I didn't want to stay in holiday blue land. It didn't seem like a fun place for a visit and I certainly didn't want to live there.<br /><br />So my dear friend said that we don't get to chose our family but God chooses our framily. These are the friends that have chosen to be in your life and love you no matter what. These are the friends that God has placed in your life to do life together and to build one another up.<br /><br />I have family that has chosen to apart from me, I have family that is geographically apart, and I have family that is dancing with the Lord but still apart from me. But instead, I will focus on the many people in my life that I now call framily. I love them and they love me. We are doing life together and building one another up and they have chosen me and I have chosen them. Now I'm not naming names, because I don't want to leave anyone out, but come on guys, you know who you are. You are important to me and I hope you know it because love has feet and you should know it because i've shown it. So today I think about you and I am thankful for you.<br /><br />You have made a difference in my life and I am blessed to call you my framily and I thank God that you are a part of my life and that He has allowed me to be a part of yours.<br /><br />Happy ThanksgivingMichelle Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14641545956245990010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182624647123835802.post-2681371728787212592010-11-14T18:51:00.000-08:002010-11-14T19:04:29.286-08:00Beautiful ThingsI heard a new song in church today that touched and inspired me and I thought I would share. It's called Beautiful Things. The chorus repeats "you make beautiful things, you make beautiful things out of dust. You make beautiful things, you make beautiful things out of US."<br /><br />Here's why I love this song. I am anything but beautiful. I'm getting better, but Jesus is really what is beautiful. But i listen to this song and I think back on my life. I remember with guilt and pain all the times I was far less than beautiful. All the times I was downright ugly and dirty. I was deceptive or hateful, seemingly without character, and full of sin. I mean, I seriously can look back at my life through the years, especially my younger years and see dirt and grime. The Lord hates sin and if sin makes us ugly, at times, I was horrifying. And then I look at where I am now. And I am brought to my knees in tears, and gratefulness. Because, if God had just looked at me and seen someone who was ugly and couldn't be used, that's where I would have stayed. But he looked at me and saw a beautiful diamond and decided I was worth the effort.<br /><br />He began His great work in me. And today, I have a life I never thought was possible. And, although I am far from perfect, I can see where God is making me beautiful. He makes me new! He has been washing off the dirt, chipping away the things that needed to come off, tearing down walls and burning away <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">chaffe</span>. He has a lot of work still to do but I am so very grateful that when He looked at me so many years ago, He saw me as He intended...beautiful. I am so thankful that He makes me new and in spite of myself, can still make me beautiful.<br /><br />If Christ can take someone like me and make me new and beautiful, He can do the same with you!Michelle Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14641545956245990010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182624647123835802.post-16361531437792813842010-09-07T18:15:00.000-07:002010-09-07T18:56:34.640-07:00MexicoMy heart was changed in Mexico! The Lord sent me on a mission trip to Mexico, although I thought I was going so that my son could go. I thought it would be fun to play with some kids and love on them a bit, but I really just wanted my son to have this opportunity. I was wrong, God sent me on mission. I was nice and comfortable here, working at my church, leading groups, homeschooling. Now, I see how important it is to get out of your comfort zone and view things from another perspective, an eternal one. From the moment I arrived in Mexico my heart was in the process of breaking and it's a break that was definitely for the better.<br /><br />I looked around at the city and the orphanage and couldn't help but think about how good we have it and how much we complain. And it made me feel a bit ashamed. We took a moment to settle in and then we went to meet the children. Oh the children were amazing! They embraced us with so much love and acceptance! And their love for God and the understanding of the Scripture really amazed me! I tell you, there are some adults who could take lessons from some of these kids. There were two women who sacrifice their lives daily to care for these 36 children. They are their mothers, and they love them dearly. They were truly amazing and I will pray for them always. <br /><br />There were so many kids that touched my heart, a few in particular I would have loved to have brought home with me. They were innocent and sweet, loving and accepting. They impressed me. I spent the weekend with these kids and when it was time to leave, I left a piece of my heart with them. I know that I cannot come back from a weekend like this and just leave it in the past. God loves these kids and so do I.<br /><br />I learned that sometimes God will take you out your comfort zone so He can show you His heart. His heart breaks for these children and so did mine. His heart loves these kids, and so do I. His heart sees these kids and so many more. But one group can't impact all the people God cares about. How many people call yourselves Christian? They will know we are Christ followers by how we live. Are you representing Christ well? There is a world of people out there. Some don't know Christ yet and need to know Him. Others, like these children, know Christ but need to see His love for them in action. Are you really being active in your walk for Christ. At the end of every message on Sunday, Pastor Chris says, "Go out there and be the life of Jesus to your world". Are you really being the life of Jesus. If people looked at you would they see Jesus in action?<br /><br />I saw on Max Lucado's twitter page this morning statistics about how many orphans there are worldwide. "159 million Americans call themselves a Christian and there are 132 million orphans worldwide. US Christians alone could house every orphan in the world". Are we really doing enough for the cause of Christ or are far too many of us caught up in our own life and our own to do lists and stuck in complacency?<br /><br />James 1:27 says "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." To keep ourselves from being polluted by the world we have to live by Christ's value system. He isn't distracted by money, power, pleasure or stuff. He cares about people, and as this verse mentions, he cares very much for the widows and orphans, people who are at a disadvantage. We need to stop focusing on the world and focus on being Christ in action, serving others without hope of receiving something in return but merely because you are a follower of Jesus.<br /><br />God's heart breaks for these kids, and in Mexico, my heart was broken and I was forever changed.Michelle Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14641545956245990010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182624647123835802.post-41387212747187028662010-08-29T20:38:00.000-07:002010-08-29T20:53:14.298-07:00Life is a Dream in the MakingI'm reading a book entitled Soul Cravings. I'm enjoying the book and just read something that struck me.<br /><br />"Life is a dream in the making". I love that statement.<br /><br />I remember watching my kids grow. As babies, they began to crawl. Once they tackled crawling, they began to walk. The obvious next steps were running and climbing. They weren't afraid of anything! The world was out there just waiting for them and they were ready to take it on and nothing was going to stop them. My boys saw a tree and they dreamed of climbing it and that's exactly what they did. As they grow older, they begin to dream of a career and a family and they start a course to complete that. Their life is a dream in the making.<br /><br />But too often, we give up on our dreams or we end up sleeping through them. Life gets in the way, we settle into a routine, and we give up on our dream. Bad things happen and instead of continuing on our charted course, we give up on our dream. We meet with resistance to our dream, and we give up. We sought God about the dream, we made a plan, and then life happened and we just gave up.<br /><br />And why is that exactly? Because we grew out of our childlike faith and no longer believe in the impossible. God loves to give us dreams that seem outrageous so we have to give Him the glory when we achieve it. Start believing again in the impossible. Turn on the Rocky theme music and practice having fierce faith. So you've taken a few punches, who cares! In Christ you are more than a conqueror! If you haven't achieved your God given dream, then God's not done yet!<br /><br />Keep fighting for your dream! Keep seeking God about your dream. He will direct you and if you submit to God, you WILL be victorious!<br /><br />Don't sleep through your life! God has great things planned for you and you can step into that today.Michelle Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14641545956245990010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182624647123835802.post-33350958386349693672010-08-25T18:44:00.000-07:002010-08-25T18:56:32.344-07:00Lounging by the poolToday, I learned the following lesson. Lounging by the pool is good medicine and can help you gain perspective. I highly recommend it.<br /><br />This week I've had a bit of a frustrating week. I've been running a lot and since I came back from vacation, I had committed to not making a habit of that anymore. So today, I took the day off and went to visit a dear friend. We lounged by the pool and talked. We swam and played with the kids and talked some more.<br /><br />I left feeling relaxed and refreshed. Too often we keep up such a fast pace that we never have a chance to relax. I used to be that person. I was so busy all the time and then I went on vacation. Oh, I won't go back to that busyness again. When we build margin and relaxation into our lives, we have time for refreshing. We have time to hear from God because we've taken a moment to shut up and sit down for a minute.<br /><br />I used to fill so much of my time that I never had a moment to really rest and when I layed my head down to rest at night, I still didn't rest. My head was already onto the next thing, busily making lists and thinking about the schedule for the next day. When do you have time to sit and listen to God? Not talk to God and pray and ask for things, but just sit and truly LISTEN for Him.<br /><br />My advice, get up a few minutes early and have your time with God. That piece of advice is obvious but often not followed. My other advice, build margin into your life, lounge by the pool, spend time with a good friend. And don't forget to thank God for the time of refreshing.Michelle Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14641545956245990010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182624647123835802.post-73037630476187829642010-08-24T17:23:00.000-07:002010-08-25T11:42:45.341-07:00attitude of gratitudeThis past weeken at church, the message was all about gratitude. Too often in today's society we feel entitled and therefore have ungrateful hearts. Too often, instead of being thankful for what we have been blessed with, we complain about what we don't have. So I'm trying to practice being thankful this week.<br /><br />Yesterday, while at work, my computer was acting up. It's rather old and incredibly slow. I seriously have to click on something, go work on something else and then come back to see if it responded. And yesterday it seemed to be worse. So in keeping with the message this weekend, I thanked God for the computer. It may be slow, but at least I had one. And then I proceded to ask God to give me patience since I was growing more impatient by the moment.<br /><br />As you can imagine, that was a BIG MISTAKE. It seems everything since then has taken two to three times longer than it should. The trip to the bank yesterday took longer. It took longer to get home, which put dinner behind, which put everything else behind. This morning on the way to pick up Kanani and then go to the bank and run the many errands I had before staff meeting, the light took forever and I think it even skipped a cycle! I was undone at that. I threw my hands up in the air and said "Really" knowing that God was somehow mocking me for asking for patience. Then my darling 9 year old son said, "what mom". And feeling completely justified by my attitude I said proudly, "this light is taking forever and I have places to be!" to which he replied, "so does everyone else but they're not complaining". Now I would like to say that I immediately saw how I was wrong and repented on the spot, prayed and had a wonderful teaching time with my son. I'd be lying.<br /><br />I zipped my mouth closed and just said with my lips tightly shut together, "you're right, sorry". but in my mind all I can think is, how does he know they aren't complaining and i'll be sure to remember this the next time he's complaining about something.<br /><br />I mean sure, we did have that wonderful teaching moment about five minutes later when i was ready to receive it, but at that moment, every piece of my flesh wanted to stomp my feet because it just wasn't fair, this is what i get for praying for patience. The rest of the day went much the same. I went to the bank where I learned that they had lost my cash deposit from the day before and had to take time to find it before I could send the western union payment for the purse order. Traffic was insane, i was constantly stuck behind someone doing (not even joking or exaggerating) 25 in a 45 mph zone.<br /><br />Except through the rest of the day, I kept a better attitude. Sure, my nerves were a little on edge thinking about what would be delayed next, but when the delay came, I breathed through and tried to maintain patience and positive attitude. Instead of complaining, I tried to exercise my faith and do thank ups.<br /><br />It's so easy to just complain and let it be, because it's unfair or its taking too long, or who really needs patience anyway right, things should just be in my timing. Our sinful nature, makes it all too easy to go to that place. But in the words of Casting Crowns "somewhere between who i was and who you're making me, somewhere in the middle you'll find me"<br /><br />You see, I'm not happy with who I used to be and i'm not happy with somewhere in the middle. A couple of years ago I realized who God wanted me to be and all the work that had to be done in order to get there. Now I know that I won't be complete until His return, but I also know that He doesn't want me to just be happy with who I am right now and sit around waiting for Him. He wants me to be constantly working and growing. And sometimes that means, praying for patience, when your flesh screams, "NO DON'T DO IT! YOU'LL ONLY BE GIVEN SITUATIONS IN WHICH YOU NEED TO BE PATIENT!"<br /><br />I believe that God will give me the patience I asked for. I believe I'll be tested. I also believe, that whether I ask for patience or not, I'll still be tested, so I might as well ask Him to equip me for it. So today, after my day of problems and impatience. I pray once again for God to equip me with patience. That I would learn, in the middle of circumstances that would cause me to grumble, I would stop and quickly have an attitude of gratitude.<br /><br />Today I am thankful for my son, who represented God very well today in multiple circumstances that could have caused him to react poorly. I am thankful for my husband, who is a wonderful example of a man and father to our kids. I am thankful for my friends, for my church and leadership staff, I am thankful for my vehicle with air conditioning. It may not be beautiful but its functional. I am thankful for my computer at work. I am thankful for the home we have, God's continued provision. And I'm so very thankful for God's patience with me.Michelle Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14641545956245990010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182624647123835802.post-36188432846752327272010-08-20T14:57:00.001-07:002010-08-20T14:57:45.772-07:00purity on tvThe focus at church this week is purity. I've tried to be careful about what I've watched on tv. I've had my eyes opened to a new level on what is impure. Well, today I had some free time and I saw there was a movie on the civil rights movement. It was an old movie so I felt secure it wouldn't have any impurity in it. The movie wasn't bad but after the movie was over I let the credits roll because I liked the music and started to straighten up the house. All of a sudden this commercial comes on and flashes pictures of male actors and asks "who do you fantasize about?" <br /><br />I promptly replied, "my husband!" and turned off the tv before anymore could pass by my eyes.<br /><br />No wonder the divorce rate is so high today. If we fantasize about actors, we are holding our spouses to an unrealistic expectation. Believe me when I say that not even the actors are that way in real life. <br /><br />Let's get our heads out of the books and turn away from the tv screen and turn toward our husbands. Tell your husband today how grateful you are for him. How wonderfully made by God he is. And remember when he is imperfect, so are you. I mean really, I am no more of a picnic to live with than my husband is. I thank God for my husband. He is an amazing, thoughtful, loving man. <br /><br />Who do I fantasize about? My husband! And he is so much better than a fantasy!Michelle Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14641545956245990010noreply@blogger.com0