Taking that Step by Faith

Some of you may not know but Mike has gone to Reformers Unanimous in Rockford, Ill and will be gone until December 2017, this program is a wonderful biblically sound program to help with overcoming addictions in your life. Mike has had so many surgeries that he has been on pain medicine for years (Physician prescribed) and it has become such a part of his life that it has had a profound effect on him and our whole family.   Last month some things transpired and brought Mike to a spot where he knew this was a decision he needed to make for all of us. 

I know not everyone would be willing to share this information with others if they had a loved one in this situation but Mike has been very forthwith in sharing his struggles with others since making this decision to go and gave me complete liberty to share this information here. 

Once Mike made the decision to go, God has proven over and over that it was his will for him to be in the mens home and has provided the money right at the time payments are due, or when he or I have had needs arise. 

Mike was able to call tonight but only because they are doing a fundraiser and he needs my help, otherwise his phone calls are limited to once a week for 10 mins.

On August 5th they will be doing a Car Wash to raise money for RU. The way the fundraiser works is they are asking people to pledge a certain amount of money per car they wash that day, so if you pledge a Penny and they wash 1000 cars (which is about what they average), that means you will donate $10.00. If Mike gets 100.00 mailed in, He will earn a $10.00 gift card to Walmart to help him pay for his needs while he is in the home. If he collects $1000.00 he will earn a $100.00 gift card to Walmart, which would be a huge help because I sent his first care package this week and it was very expensive to ship. 

The cost to enter the Men's home is not cheap by any means but if it were not for the donations the cost would be so much more.
If you feel this is something you are willing to help with, would you please contact me either in the comments below or you can PM me. If you would like to make a donation directly to the cause instead of making a pledge, you can call them directly and make a donation in Mike Estep's name or you can send it to my PayPal  and I will send it as a donation with your name on the donations. 

God has already began to use Mike in the home, with him being completely off of all medicine now he has his Pastors heart back and was weeping on the phone tonight as he told me of all the young men in the home that are not saved. He asked me to pray the Lord would allow him to have the opportunity to lead these souls to the Lord as God has already allowed him to bond with them in the short time he has been there.

My heart is rejoicing at what God is doing and I am thrilled to see what God will do in our lives over the next few months. 

Thank you for reading this far and please take a minute and watch the video I have posted and May God bless you as you listen to the Lord leading you in whatever direction he may lead you in this matter. I understand he will not lead everyone to help but if he leads you, I pray you will be sensitive and be willing to follow. 

Please feel free to share with your friends
Thank you so much in advance.

Mike is able to receive cards and or letters to the address below with attention Mike Estep but please no money or gift cards can be sent directly to him. 

The address to make donations on his behalf for the fundraiser would be:
Reformers Unanimous.
333 E State St
Unit 201
Rockford, IL 61104
United States

ruhomes.org

RUHOMES.ORG

What Are You Displaying?

As I was praying this morning I was spending time confessing my failures, which is right to do but I began to get so discouraged because I feel as if I fail him so much but something happened while I was praying and my thoughts shifted after I had a thought that came to me, Why not think about who I AM and dwell on ME instead of talking so much about yourself!

 I began to pray differently, I began to think about who God is and his characteristics:

His forgiveness, if we confess our sin, he says he will forgive us so  I began to thank him for his forgiveness.
His mercy he shows me when I do mess up, and I thanked him for that mercy.
His love toward me when I am unlovable, and I thanked him for his love.
His grace toward me when I cannot find it within me to show grace to others.

I began to ponder who HE  is and how I can be like him so that others will want Him, because
He is so sweet and such a comfort!

You know I may not always display all of his characteristics but I really realized how important it is to try to walk in those characteristics.  The more time we spend looking at ourselves, we will lose sight of who He is and get rather discouraged.

We need to study HIM and spend some time dwelling on Him and Praising him for who He is and get our eyes off of us and embrace who He is and learn to represent who He is by allowing him to change us into his image!

When we go to work for an employer, we go out everyday representing that company, they require different standards that we show the customers.   Whether we ourselves hold those standards we take them on in the work place because of who we are representing, how much more should  we as Christians strive to display who Christ is on a daily basis because of who we are representing.

The very essence of who God is, is written in his words to help us know who HE is.  The fruit of the Spirit is an evidence of his indwelling in our lives, but unfortunately who we are is so contrary to who He is.

Galatians 5:22-23 (KJV)22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,   23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.


The Bible says in Romans 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

 Who do people see when they watch our lives?  

The Evidence of His Spirit living in us or the Old Nature of who we are on our own?

Some things we must consider!

FRUIT OF HIS SPIRIT                           US IN OUR FLESH

Love                                                          Hate, Disdain

Joy                                                             Sadness, Depression, Misery

Peace                                                         War, Uproar, Disagreement

Longsuffering                                            Impatient

Gentleness                                                 Harshness, Hardness

Goodness                                                   Badness, Corruption

Faith                                                          Disbelief, Doubt, Uncertainty

Meekness                                                  Arrogance, Assertiveness

Temperance                                             Excessivness, Carelessness

Little Is Much When God Is In It!

I am so thankful to be in a church that holds to the standard of Godly music.
Weekly I record the music and then share it to my YouTube page and have
been blessed by the way God has chosen to use it.

Many of the people in our Church have moved here to attend  Bible college
and have, in turn,  left family back in their home town and many times their
family is sad that they miss out on hearing them use their talents for the Lord
so I have found it to be a blessing to them.

But the thing I have found to be the biggest blessing is hearing that a blessed
Saint of God, that can no longer attend church, will go to the playlist and sit
and watch the videos of their church family they have grown to love over the
years and get their blesser blessed.

It's the little things that matter most sometimes.  Don't think for a minute, the little
thing you may do for the Lord does not matter because honestly,
never in a million years would I have realized how huge a blessing these videos would
be to so many people.
Little is much when God is in it!   I just want to be used by him and if the phone
God gave me can be used for his Glory, than I want it to be used!

Go here to check out the Amazing Music we are blessed to hear each week! Take a
minute and share a song with someone that you know may need to be encouraged
today.   We just never know, how the Lord may use a song to change the direction
of someone's thinking!  

We Must Take a Stand and Protect the Generations Ahead!

If there has ever been a time when we as parents need to step up and renew the minds of our children and saturate their minds with God's word, it is now.....We are being bombarded with the conditioning of the world, and they do not stand a chance except we teach them the word of God.   We as adults need to be saturating our minds with God's word or we will begin to be conditioned too.  It is on every show, it is on FB, it is everywhere we look today.  We need to turn the TV's and computers off and get our nose in the BIBLE.  You can see it now, "Christians" being receptive to this and supporting it.  It is because we have walked away from the Word of God and not allowed it to be a part of our everyday lives.  The only way we can defeat this and keep from falling into the trap of acceptance is by knowing and being thoroughly convinced of what God says and be willing to stand in a day of what is totally not the norm!  Christianity is not about feelings it is about absolute truth.  Yes, we need to be sensitive and loving and caring and a witness with a heart of love but we also do not need to be waving the flag of the enemy!   If we were in a battle with another country, what do you think your fellow soldiers would do to you if you were in the trenches waving the flag of the enemy?  This is a battle and I guarantee there is not a soldier alive that would not agree that the soldier waving the enemies flag would  be brought up on charges of treason and rightfully so.......I am sounding the trumpet of Treason, WE AS A COUNTRY ARE BEING DEVOURED FROM THE INSIDE OUT!        1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:   It is time to take a stand for what is right and ask God to give us  much wisdom for the day we live in.

The Women at the Well, Do we see the World as Christ sees them?

BY NO MEANS DO I AGREE WITH THE LAW THAT HAS BEEN PASSED TODAY BUT............
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   As I scrolled through my facebook page all I saw was how upset people are  about this new law being passed about gay marriage and Christians ranting about this and that. 

Can we really expect righteousness out of unrighteous people?

Shall we take a moment and look at how Jesus dealt with sinners and consider our need to be Christlike?  People need the Lord!   Would you agree?  If we want to get mad,  should it not drive us to our knees before God and should we not be begging God to send us to the one that is seeking him? (they are out there, I was one of them).  If we really think this is the end, shouldn't we all be begging God to snatch them from Hell? Shouldn't we be the ones begging for their eternal soul to be saved?  Shouldn't we be weeping for them to come to Christ?  My heart is hurting for the very blindness of their eyes, people are so lost but have no clue they are, it is our duty to love them and show them hope not condemnation.  Ranting and raving never saved anyone.  

God has a formula to heal our land but it will take time and commitment on the part of Christians to do it God's way.
II Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             The women at the well.
NOT ONE TIME DID JESUS CONDEMN HER OR REJECT HER.    
John 4:
verse 4 Jesus had a burden and he needed to go through Sameria. 
WE NEED TO SEE THEIR NEED. 
Verse 7 Jesus interacted with the Samaritan women when in that day, custom was the Jews did not interact with the Samaitans. 
WE MUST SPEAK TO AND LOVE SINNERS.
Verse 9.  The women was even shocked that Jesus spoke to her because she knew the normal Jewish person would never speak to her.
WE NEED TO BE LIKE JESUS AND NOT FALL INTO THE TRAP OF BEING A CONDEMNING CHRISTIAN THAT CHOOSES NOT TO SPEAK TO SINNERS. Verse 10. He shared the truth of the living water with her. 
PEOPLE DO NOT CARE WHAT WE HAVE TO SAY UNTIL THEY KNOW WE CARE.
 Verse 11. She did  not understand what he was sharing with her but it provoked her to ask questions. 
WE MUST SHARE THE TRUTH SO THEY WANT WHAT WE HAVE ALLOW THE LORD TO CREATE WITHIN THEIR HEART A DESIRE. 
Verse 13 & 14 He gave her hope and showed her a cure for her incurable thirst. 
PEOPLE ARE THIRSTY FOR SOMETHING, THAT IS WHY THEY ARE SO DRIVEN TOWARD SIN, THEY ARE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO CURE THE EMPTINESS IN THEIR HEARTS. 
Verse 15.  The truth drew her in and created a  desire for this living water.  GOD TELLS US TO SHARE THE TRUTH AND THAT IT WILL NOT COME BACK VOID.  HE IS THE ONE THAT DEALS WITH THE HEART.
 Verse 16.  Jesus asked her about her life.
Verse 17..she acknowledged her sin and confessed her sin on her own.
ONCE SHE TRUSTED HIM WITH INFORMATION ABOUT HER LIFE  HE WAS THEN ABLE TO SHOW HER MORE TRUTH OF HOW HE SEES HER SIN.
Verse 18 He was then able to shed more light. 
Verse 25, She confessed the Lord Jesus Christ with her mouth and acknowledged him for who he really was. 
Verse 26. He confirmed what she acknowledged was truth.
Verse 29 she went back to her friends and family and many came to Jesus to find

I pray as we go out into the highways and hedges to compel them to come in that we will be Christ-like in all that we do and say and fulfill this scripture.

Matthew 10:16-20  (KJV)
¹⁶ Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
¹⁷ But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;
¹⁸ And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.
¹⁹ But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.
²⁰ For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.

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Libertated not Liberal!

My whole life I have been surrounded by standards, and convictions which are not wrong in and of themselves but the motive in which we apply them to our lives most certainly can be wrong.
I as a child felt very judged and felt as if I never fit in around the other teens within the teen groups so I hightailed it out of the church, once I was old enough to get married.

   I got back into the church and went straight into the mentality of putting on righteousness,  I have spent my whole Christian walk putting on standards and convictions and would gladly share them with anyone that would ask or not ask what my convictions were. Also I spent many hours trying to convert others to my standards and if they rejected it, I rejected them.  (EWWW, gross) I want to stop here and publically apologize to those of you that I did that to.  My thinking was by conforming my outward appearance, I was becoming spiritual and I wanted that for you too.

 (Before I go any further, let me say this,  these things I am about to write are not wrong and I believe it instilled a faithfulness in my children's lives today, but my motives have been all wrong.)  As a mother I would take my children to every thing at church, I had them on visitation, I would drag them out of bed at wee hours of the morning to have them at Camp meeting only to leave them in the nursery for hours upon hours so that I could serve in the dining room.  I was placing so much on my works to look spiritual, and feared what man would think if I did not show up, in so much that the day I truly was born again and came home and told my husband, he was confused because I had looked the part.

  Over the years I remained on this quest of putting on spirituality and felt as if I was doing a great job, when in reality I was a harsh mother, harsh friend (out of a heart of love, mind you) a very stubborn wife and even hateful and full of anger, bitterness and resentment towards a husband that has been disabled and asked me to leave my home and children and go into the work force (what would people think???)  I have left my children!!!  I have dropped a standard that I have harped on for years about the women being in the home.  What kind of mother am I now???? ( my spirituality was in jeopardy)  Over the last three years the Lord has allowed every external work to be striped from my life, my devotions have struggled, It was hard to make it to visitation,  I work full time, my house is a mess.      But God and his graciousness began to allow circumstances (hot water, if you will) to enter my life.    I have almost lost my husband twice in the past three years, between the two of us we have been in the hospital 12 times, and I have been angry at Mike for being ill (silly huh?)  and leaving so much of the burden of family, finances and home on my shoulders.  What God has been doing in my life came to full circle this weekend.  He showed me through some events that took place what true judgement on the life of a believer by another believer looked and felt like.
I have known for a while that I have lived my life and made decisions out of the fear of man for many years but as we see in the scriptures it does nothing but bring a snare.   Proverbs 29:25 says The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.  I have spent many years desiring the admiration of men but once again was left feeling inadequate and with the turn of events this weekend once again proved  that I do fall short of living up to their expectations, rather than God's.

 For the first time in my life I have been truly liberated of feeling like I have to put on an outward righteousness for others but rather a true digging deep into my heart and allow God to get my own ugly heart right with him. I can never help someone be right with God, if I have an ugly sinful heart and present myself as the judge and jury in another person's life.  The reason I feel judged by others is because I have judged others in my own heart quite often.   I want the Lord to help me to truly have a heart that bears the fruit of the spirit, not just to others around me but in my own home.   I want to love my husband, love my children as Christ loves them, and genuinely love others with a Christ like love and look beyond their faults and allow God to work in their lives but I truly want to be an example of the love of Christ in my walk with the Lord.   I can look the part all day long but if I am full of a very sinful judgemental spirit in my heart and yet straighten my skirt as I walk into the house of God,  I am putting on outward righteousness and not really genuinely allowing the Lord to make me a vessel of honor.

My son just posted this on FB and it is so very true.  If we really want to help people, fall in love with the Lord and allow him to shine through your life and they won't hang onto those things that could be dragging them down but rather they will desire what you have and take to it naturally.

“You win over people just like you win over a dog. You see a dog passing down the street with an old bone in his mouth. You don't grab the bone from him and tell him it's not good for him. He'll growl at you. It's the only thing he has. But you throw a big fat lamb chop in front of him, and he's going to drop that bone and pick up the lamb chop, his tail wagging to beat the band. And you've got a friend. Instead of going around grabbing bones from people... I'm going to throw them some lamb chops. Something with real meat and life in it. I'm going to tell them about New Beginnings.” -David Wilkerson

 I have been given one of the greatest gifts from the Lord over the last three years, has it been hard?   oh my, YES! The way of the transgressor is hard but he has allowed me to see Rebecca for who Rebecca really is and outside of the Lord Jesus Christ I still have that old sinful nature that I had prior to putting on Christ.  He is so sweet to me and has been so loving and kind and gracious to me all while exposing the nastiness of my true inner being.   I have always thought of Christ as one ready to beat me or punish me or zap me every time I did something wrong but he is so much more than that, I have seen a beautiful, more loving characteristic of Jesus Christ that I have never known before and for that I am not liberal but rather liberated!  I now desire to serve the Lord in these outward things not for anyone else but rather for the Lord because he loves me as a sinner but loves me way to much to leave me that way.   God truly has been good to this girl!

I AM Your Source of Joy!

The way I pray is probably different than most people, I write my prayers to the Lord, it seems to help me stay focused and I can just write my thoughts on paper better than I can keep my mind focused on talking to the Lord. I have a tendency to stray if I pray in my mind, or talk to the Lord.

This morning as I was writing to the Lord, I was ranting about this and that, I have spent a lot of my married life desiring my husband to be or do things that I think will make me happy but with his physical limitations he has not been able to fulfil those desires and I have spent a lot of time in our married life doing things by myself, only wishing he was with me. I have always prayed and asked the Lord to make him this or make him that but the Lord spoke so clearly to me as I was ranting and said, He will never make you happy but I began to argue in my thinking, Yes, Lord, he would if he only was able to do this, or only do that, or if I had this or if I had that, but the Lord said NO! I am! I am your source of real joy. I thought, yes, that is true, but still Lord if this or that, he said NO! you are looking outside of me! I am your source of joy, I am!

   I began mulling over the thought that had been spoken so profoundly to me, I know I have heard it taught all my Christian walk, I have heard preachers say, the Lord is our only true source of happiness but when the Lord speaks to you personally and says it is time for you to learn this truth about me, it has a way of really just sinking in and becomes very personal at that moment.
I have spent a lot of time in my life looking to outside sources to bring me happiness, I have taken the roller coaster ride of life viewing the circumstances in life and thinking, Lord, if only this was different than I would be happy, or if that was different, THEN, I would be happy!
If we look at anything to bring us real happiness outside of Jesus Christ, we are setting ourselves up for disappointment, People cannot bring us true happiness and contentment, we reach and grasp for things to bring us happiness, (if I only had this house, or that furniture, or that car) we spend money on things thinking it will bring us happiness, but in short order we are looking for the next thing to fill the void, but ultimately it just brings clutter into our lives and never fully satisfies. There is no real joy outside of relying solely on the Lord to bring us true contentment.
  He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.

This has been such a special thought the Lord brought to my mind this morning, it has been easy for me to take that ride of ups and downs because I have spent a lot of time dwelling on circumstances instead of the consistency of Christ and his promises. I pray that I will spend more time looking to him as my joy source rather than those things that are around me. Expectations ruin relations, but faith in the only true consistent source Jesus Christ, brings real peace.

A friend of mine recently wrote a post that touched my heart so much but I did not realize that the Lord was using her post to prime me for the truth he was going to teach me today. I AM ENOUGH!
http://andersoninsightout.blogspot.com/2014/01/i-am-enough.html?spref=fb

5a2a9dc1a1f2143a6bde402616d024b8ba90d86af0efca05cf

~ Straight to the Heart~

As I am growing older in my life I have come to realize that I am the aged women that the Bible teaches about. So many times I convince myself that others know as much as I do about living the Christian life so I need not share, but on occasion the Lord will allow me to share something the Lord taught me as a young mother and it is received with open arms and with awe, and I am quickly reminded that God intended for us as aged women to share with younger women.

  I have at times grown quiet in a group feeling like I do not have much to contribute to the conversation and I chose to keep silent, but I am realizing that is not what God intended. I look back in my life to my early walk with the Lord and how I was so hungry to learn what was right and what was wrong and I had such a desire to raise a Godly seed. I used to glean from older women every chance I had, I used to read books on raising children, I would say I tackled raising my children for the Lord with a vengeance!
   I remember my Pastor's wife approaching me, while I was reading a book on raising children and she asked me what I was reading, I told her the title of the book and she was very familiar with it. She asked me if I knew how his children turned out? I had to say "No". It was left at that but you can be sure that I later did my research and found that this gentlemen lost his children to the world and never regained them. Needless to say I did not complete the book.

Do our mentors need to be perfect, absolutely not! If you wait on perfection, you will be waiting a long time, but one thing we do need to tap into is people that have raised children that have turned out serving the Lord.
I will share one lesson that I learned early in my life that I will give all Glory and Honor to the Lord for teaching me this lesson. As a young mother I used to fret about the mistakes I made in the past, (Will those mistakes effect my children?) The mistakes I will make in the future, (Will my children serve the Lord when they are older?) I would spend so much time focusing on the past and the future that I was forgetting about the here and now. My heart would be so burdened for my children, I would weep and pray and fret! I wanted them to serve the Lord and not have the scars I have as an adult.
  One day it dawned on me that I was trying to achieve something in my own power that only God could achieve in the heart of my children, my focus was so much on my abilities to do everything right that I was forgetting about who really builds the house. What a huge burden that was lifted when I came across Psalms 127:1 Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. I realized that except the Lord put it within the heart of my children, my labour was in vain, I realized that I needed the Lord to deal with the heart (inside out) instead of me trying to push from the outside in. I began to pray different, I began to deal with issues of the heart (stubborness, selfishness, rebellion) rather than just how they should behave (the outward man, or the surface issues.) I began to confess my inability to raise a Godly seed and began to ask the Lord to put it within their heart to serve him and that is when I began to see a real desire cultivated in the lives of my children. (To GOD be the GLORY!)
We as parents teach our children from infancy how to be good, so when they are presented salvation they really do not quit understand their need for salvation and may go through the motions because they are a good little boy or a good little girl. I have watched each of my children travail about their salvation because of professions they made when they were young but later realized that they truly had not repented of their sin. I love my children and I did my best to show them that I loved them but I also was quick to point out their wicked nature.
  As young parents raising a Godly seed, learn early to pray and ask the Lord to go where no man can go and that is straight to the heart and rest in the Lord because he doeth all things well.
Praise HIS Holy name!

Mary Kay

For all of my "GO-Getters" out there, this is for you!!! I am currently building my MK team and I am super excited at what is in the works right now. You may think, "Oh, I'm just so busy" or " I don't know that many people" or you may even say to yourself "Eh, I'm not that good with makeup" Well get all of those thoughts OUT of your head!!! Here is why, 1. the most successful women in Mary Kay are busy women BEFORE they start their business. 2. You do not have to know a lot of people, & you will be amazed at how well our products sell themselves, people already LOVE our products! 3. If your not confident with make up and others, that is NO PROBLEM at all. As Mary Kay Beauty Consultants, our training is tremendous and unlimited! All you need is DRIVE & a Good Heart! With that being said, if any of you feel like your who I'm talking about, we at least need to talk, this IS the opportunity of a life time! For those who are interested, shoot me a msg or txt and Ill set you up with our interview line! Listen to Executive Senior Sales Director Krista Warner share her "I" story, etc. Dial 641-715-3900, access code 108028#. This is NOT an actual person, it is a recorded MSG from my director, so u will not be put on the spot, afterwards just let me know 2 things! 1. what shocked you the most?! 2. On a scale of 1-10 how interested are you in starting your own Mary Kay business?! Leave me a message and I will get with you right away. Thank you, Rebecca

Results of Temperance! Praise the Lord!

My last post was in May about Temperance. I wanted to share with you what the Lord has given me grace to accomplish since my last post. I started really watching my calorie intake and I began walking lots of miles. I have lost 18.9 pounds since May. I want to give God all the Glory for helping me with temperance and giving me some Victory in my life over the past couple of months. http://thelifeofachristianfamily.blogspot.com/2013/05/temperance.html

Temperance

I have been thinking and pondering and chewing on the word temperance. Temperance- moderation or self restraint in action, statement, etc. self control, restraint or moderation, esp in yielding to ones appetites or desires. We as children of God are told in Romans 6 that we have victory in Christ but yet in my own life the only victory at times seems to be going to my flesh. I will start to eat right and before long I give into the temptation of Sonic, Starbucks or anything else that appeals to the fleshly desires of food at the moment that the temptation arises. In the today's society our minds are constantly being programmed to fulfil our fleshly desires, but if you will look at Romans 12: 1 & 2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. The Lord tells us not to be conformed to this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. We need to constantly be filling our minds with the Word of God so that when we are confronted with a situation of temptation we have the word of God in our hearts to be able to combat that temptation and then we can overcome sin in our flesh. It is easy to fall into temptation even with the word of God in our hearts but we must realize that the moment of instant gratification is just that, instant gratification that brings guilt and shame if we are truly trying to have Victory in Christ. God is always willing to help us but we have to have the faith and desire to overcome the things that are dragging us down. Our flesh hates to be told no! You don't believe me, spend some time in the line at Walmart behind the mother that has just told her two year old that he/she cannot have candy, you say, well that is a two year old, Ok, tell me how your flesh acts the next time you fall into temptation of something you are trying to get under control in your life. Christ tells us to crucify our flesh in Galatians 5:24, He wants us to have self control over the affections and lusts of our flesh. We have raised a generation that does not know how to tell its flesh no. Matter of fact, I am not even sure it even crosses the minds of some people today that they should have boundaries in their lives. We as parents need to set the example of temperance and enforce boundaries in the lives of our children today so that when they are adults they have been taught to have victory over thier flesh. A lot of times we tackle the surface problem rather than attacking the root of the problem, which is self control, which a lack thereof is sin. We are not dealing with the sin issue we are putting a band aid on the problem by trying to change ourselves and not tapping into the Lord's power to overcome sin. It is in Him and through HIM that we can obtain Victory in our lives. We must hide his word in our heart, yield to his word when we are confronted, and die to our fleshly desires, whatever they may be. Real joy comes when we die to ourselves not endulge ourselves. Look at our ultimate example, he died to himself and endured the Cross so that we might have life and have life more abundantly.

Aged women? Are you?

It has been forever since I have posted anything to my blog but for the last couple of days I have been pondering these verses and felt the need to share my heart. 1 Timothy 2: 3-5 3 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; 4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. Early on in my walk with the Lord I had several aged women (in the Lord) that I looked to for guidance in raising my children, loving my husband, keeping my home etc. I thank the Lord that he set such Godly examples in my life to teach me what the Lord expected from a Christian wife and mother and I am so thankful they ministered to me with such grace and mercy (not all but most did) As I grew in the Lord and as my family grew, God also allowed me the opportunity to become an aged women to some younger women. Now before you think I am bragging on oneself, that is not it at all. What I want to convey is the joy that came in my life was like non-other. Those younger women were so hungry for truth, they had so many questions that made me keep my nose in the book, it made me walk more circumspectantly and it made me very aware of how others were watching my walk with the Lord, it made me want to strive to newer heights with the Lord, it created within me a zeal to show those women how rewarding it is to be a Christian women that is doing what God intended us to do. Not by choice but by necessity, over the last couple of years I have had to leave the home and go into the work force and I feel this area of my life has taken a beating or maybe the Lord has put me on the backside of the desert to drudge out some ugly that no one should ever see. :) Non the less, God has once again brought some amazing aged women into my life to once again set the example of what the aged women are to look like and I am so thankful that the Lord is still working in my life. We are all an older women to someone, remember someone is watching you and you may be the only Bible they ever see. I will tell you a story to back this truth up. I was going to get my hair cut and I just did not know where to go so I prayed about it and I looked up a Salon and I called, they were normally closed on Mondays but there happen to be one lady in that day that had one opening and they placed me in that spot. As I arrived I was greeted by a very sweet young lady and she was very comfortable to talk with, she explained that her husband was having surgery that week and that she was doing all of her appointments this day so she could be off for his surgery. During our conversation she asked me if I lived in a certain neighborhood and I said, yes I do, she said yeah, I know you, I was shocked because I did not know her, she said you are known as the church lady in our neighbourhood, it floored me, I said really, why? she said because we see you out with your children walking with them and passing out tracts and inviting others to church and we see you in your skirts all the time, that cracked me up, but made me very grateful that others knew me as the church lady and not something else. Mike and I told her we would pray for her husband and I asked for her number so that I could call and check on him to see if everything went ok. Long story short, this young lady became one of the young ladies I was talking about earlier. God allow me to lead her to him and she was that newborn that desired the sensere milk of the word, she fanned my fire for a couple of years and still to this day she is serving the Lord and raising her family to serve him. Having experienced both sides of the spectrum aged/younger, I encourage each of you to ask God to send you what he feels you need in your life at this time, or send both, an aged women that you can gleen from and listen to and not buck up against when she tells you what God's word says (with grace, hopefully) and the younger that you can nurture (with Grace). I think we get so caught up in busy that we forget our roles as women. God intended us to pour ourselves into others and if we are not doing that we are robbing ourselves of some huge blessings. Thank you to all the aged women that have made an impact on my Christian walk.

Obedient, Are You?

Have your children ever done something you told them not to do? Of course,right? What are the reactions of that child around you when it has knowingly disobeyed you? It seems to get quiet, it seems to become distant, it seems to find pleasure in other things besides your relationship. I have recently experienced this very thing in my walk with my heavenly father. I have felt very distant, my Bible reading had become dull, my prayers seem to hit the ceiling and come straight down and hit me on top the head. Every time I would hear preaching, no matter the subject it would seem that the Holy Spirit would put his finger on this thing I was choosing to hold on to, knowing the Lord said DO NOT DO THAT! Just like we as parents do not put out vague requests for obedience to our children (at least we shouldn't) Our father in Heaven does not put out vague requests to us either. When we have the Holy Spirit living within our hearts He makes it very clear what he expects from his children. When we chose to ignore what the Lord has put his finger on in our lives is the very moment we break that fellowship with the Lord and we begin loosing battles in our lives. This week I finally surrendered the white flag and have taken a step toward obedience. What a breath of fresh air. I have felt the Lord closer to me this week and his presence is so sweet, I have even seen answers to prayers. Why do we hold so tightly to things we know the Lord is asking us to give up? I have tried to justify this thing from every angle as to continue on in disobedience. Like I know better than God? I think not! The minute we chose to stop obeying the voice of the Lord is the minute we stop growing in him. I am so thankful for the long-suffering of my Savior and his ever sweet voice asking me to obey him. Are you walking in obedience today? Has the Lord put his finger on something in your life that you know he wants you to purge from your life? Do we really think we know more than God? What is the motive behind the Lord asking us to purge things from our life? It is to make us look more like him. Have you looked into the mirror of the Word of God lately? Who do you desire to look more like today? My prayer today is that we all would desire to look more like HIM each and everyday. Let me encourage you to step back into obedience. Whatever you are hanging onto is by far not near as good as the sweet fellowship of our loving father.

Prayer

Lately I have heard a lot of preaching on prayer and it has challenged me to walk more closely in prayer with my Lord I have always desired a strong prayer life, a close relationship with my Lord but so many things draw me from this special privilege. I have had prayers answered that I knew that only God could have heard my request and fulfilled the desire or need, you would think that alone would encourage me to stay on my knees and take every burden to him. My heart is heavy today and I desire an answer and a burden lifted this morning and as I approached the throne of heaven I felt the closeness of his presence there to comfort me. I am so thankful that I have a heavenly father that is there to help me through times of hardship. I believe that one of the things that is very needful in our prayer time is a time of true soul searching and admitting where we really are. Confession is good for the soul is such a true statement. I know I have been quilty of approaching the Lord and saying things like, I love you Lord, I want to serve you with all my heart, I want to do your perfect will but in all actuality if I were honest and get down to the knitty gritty of my heart, my confession should be as follows: I do not love you the way I should, give me a heart that wants to love you. I do not really want to serve you with all my heart because I let other things come before my service to you. I do not really want your will for my life because I throw fits and want my way far to much in my life. God really knows our heart and who are we really trying to fool? I know we would never openly stand and say I DO NOT WANT God's will for my life, GASP! What would people think of us? But our actions already show where our heart is and we are not fooling God. I am thankful that a man and his wife taught me early in my walk with the Lord that telling God where you really are in your life will grow you quicker than trying to convince yourself, God and others around you that you are something that you really are not! We are all sinners saved by grace and we ought not think more highly of ourselves than what we really are. Roman 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. I desire to serve the Lord but in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. Romans 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. If not for the grace of God to help me do his will, I will not do it, but I need to acknowledge who I truly am and see my true need for his help in my life. I pray that this will encourage you to humble yourself and seek God's help as you walk with him today.

My Family On Easter Sunday 2012

Easter 2012

Nail Ideas

Trust In the Lord with all Thine Heart

This morning as I was doing my devotions I began to ponder a thought that has been on my heart for the last several days. How much do we really trust the Lord?


When we cease from trying to figure out how the chair is going to hold us up and begin to rest in the provision of that chair is when we truly begin to understand the meaning of trust! We spend so much time trying to figure out how the Lord is going to hold us up that we forget to rest in him. How do we let go and rest?
I think this next verse really speaks volumes of how we let go and rest.

Matthew 11:29
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

The Lord wants us to learn of him and through the trials in our lives we do learn of him and we do learn how to trust him as time passes in our lives.

Go back to the analogy of the chair. Now if you gave me a chair to sit in and you told me that a 10 year old made the chair I would be a little apprehensive to sit in the chair because of the knowledge I have of its maker. Would you?
If I went ahead and had a seat and it did not collapse to the floor I would learn to trust the ability of the 10 year old. As days pass and I realize the sturdiness of the chair I realize that this chair was made to sustain me, I would over time become so comfortable and fully trusting that the chair is going to hold that it would just become my nature to sit in that chair daily without hesitation.

Now to compare my maker to a 10 year old craftsman is so very inadequate but how many times do we by our actions treat him as such?
Have you checked out his handywork lately?
Psalms 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
I think he is perfectly capible of handling our circumstances all on his own without our interference and our prayers of telling him how to be God!
What? You have never told him how to take care of your situation? I need you to fix this, or I need you to fix that, God, I need the money by such and such date! God, I need you to change my circumstances, I need a bigger house, I need a nicer car, I need you to_______________ (fill in the blank!) Then when he does not come through on our demands we feel like he failed us. Are we planning our life or are we resting in the will of God for our lives?

Does the model prayer go like this? Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Should we let go and let God? Should we bear our burdens to him, tell him how we are feeling in the situation? YES! but putting demands on God, I think not!
I think I spend a lot of time telling God what I want and not spending much time asking him to do what he wants to do with my life and resting in the fact that my Father knows best.
Are you learning of HIM? Are you resting?
Over my life as a Christian I have learned of HIM, He is sweet, loving, kind, and knows so much more what I need in my life than I do. I have found a resting place that is like none other!
Psalms 34:8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusts in him.

Some Shelves My hubby has made for me!

Funny but Thought Provoking!

I came across this on the internet today and thought it would be interesting to share with you all…

The following is a confidential report on several candidates being considered for our church leader.

Noah: Former pastorate of 120 years with not even one convert. Prone to unrealistic building projects.

Joseph: A big thinker, but a braggart; believes in dream-interpreting and has a prison record.

Moses: A modest and meek man, but poor communicator - even stuttering at times. Sometimes blows his stack and acts rashly. Some say he left an earlier church over a murder charge.

David: The most promising leader of all until we discovered the affair he had with his neighbor’s wife.

Solomon: Great preacher, but our parsonage would never hold all those wives.

Elijah: Prone to depression. Collapses under pressure.

Elisha: Reported to have lived with a single widow while at his former church.

Jeremiah: Emotionally unstable, alarmist, negative, always lamenting things; reported to have taken a long trip to bury his underwear on the bank of a foreign river.

Isaiah: On the fringe? Claims to have seen angels in church. Has trouble with his language.

Jonah: Refused God’s call into ministry until he was forced to obey by getting swallowed up by a great fish. He told us the fish later spit him out on the shore near here. We hung up.

Melchizedek: Great credentials at current work place, but where does this guy come from? No information on his resume about former work records. Every line about parents was left blank and he refused to supply a birth date.

John: Says he is a Baptist, but definitely doesn’t dress like one. Has slept in the outdoors for months on end, has a weird diet, and provokes denominational leaders.

Peter: Arrogant, brash, and lacking self control. Often speaks without thinking and claims to have walked on water.

Paul: Has a long record of torchering and murdering people. Physically impaired, and claims to have actually heard THE actual, audible voice of God.

Jesus: Befriends prostitutes, hangs out with publicans, and bashes religious leaders. Often wanders off into the mountains or quiet gardens. Claims to be three people all at once – seems a bit schizophrenic.

I wonder which of the people on this list we would have turned away from our churches? Who would we have deemed worthy or unworthy to serve Christ? Who would we have denied time to preach in our church’s pulpit?

I’m glad God can see through all the rubble and mistakes and use a person regardless of his past.
Thank you to Blooger: Grow up