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

The Verdict is In

My poor man has had a rough two weeks. He went in to the hospital on Tuesday night March 9th with chest pains. The doctors ran every test you can imagine, then finally they did a heart cath on Thursday morning and we were able to leave the hospital thinking all was going to be ok, by Tuesday of the following week his arm (where they did a new proceedure heart cath) was in serious pain and turning red and holding heat so that night he went back to the hospital and they kept him from Tuesday til Sunday afternoon with a serious infection in his arm.
We are home now but in the midst of the storm he finally got news that everything had been approved and what we have been fighting for, well over 19 months was now coming to an end. Praise the Lord.
God is so good and I have pondered what this year and a half has brought to me in my life. It has been hard and at times I felt I was going to fall apart, but the thing I have learned about the Lord is that he has begun a good work in me.

Philippians 1:6

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath BEGUN A GOOD WORK in you will perform [it] until the day of Jesus Christ:

God will never let his children be utterly cast down, he lovingly comforts you with his words and constantly draws you back to a right mind set. He has been so faithful to me even when I have not been so faithful to him.

God promised in his word that with that work that he began in me he will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. He never gives up on his children, the goodness of God leadeth a man to repentance.

During this year I have been stripped of all self righteousness, He has shown me that I had put a lot of stock in the things I was doing for him, almost a works mind set. I was trying to find favor in God's eyes and in the eyes of man by doing all of these (RIGHT) things. ......visitation, soul winning, teaching, bible reading, prayer life. Do not get me wrong these things are right to do, but if you are doing for the wrong reasons they are meriting you nothing in the eyes of God and the reward of man thinking you are spiritual is all the reward you will get.

These works do not make one spiritual, allowing God to work in you and through you makes one Spiritual.

In Galation 5 we see that Paul was telling the Galations that they had put themselves back under the law thinking it was going to merit them something, We tend to try to put on Spirituality ourselves. We think if we do all of these things then we will be spiritual, then you have a Christian that is frustrated, spinning their wheels, and feeling like they never measure up.

If you take an apple seed and lay it on a table, it will never grow. If you just put it in the ground, it may grow but be weak, if you put it in good soil chances of a good tree increase, But if you put it in good soil, water it, place fertilizer around it chances are soon your tree will be bearing fruit.

Not one thing you can do can make that tree bear fruit, it is natural process of a healthy tree.

We are trying to bear fruit ourselves on our tree, we are trying to produce something that is God's job. We cannot put on Spirituality, it is something that God does through us.

We must water the tree.

Ephesians 5:26

That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the WASHING of water by the word,

Through watering the tree and making sure it has the nutrients it needs it will be a natural process. By reading God's word we are watering our soul and the natural process will bear fruit.

Having been put in a situation where all of these things I was doing were taken from me I had to take a good look at who I was and where I stood with God. In my thinking with all of those things making me right with him and now none of those I have to offer, I felt defeated and totally at a loss. I have come to realize with the comfort of my Saviour and his loving working in my life that he loves me and excepts me without all of my righteousness being presented at his feet, all of my righteousness is as filthy rags in his sight.
Now having gone through this trial, I can now offer these things out of a love for him and not wanting a love from him. He loves me already, I do not have to earn his love.

Galatians 3:3

Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now MADE PERFECT by the flesh?

We are not made perfect by the things we do and that is not what merits us Spirtuality, it is Christ working in us.

Philippians 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

We are made perfect by the Spirit and yet we try to make ourselves perfect.
I have learned to stop and listen and try to be obedient to the Lord's leading.
He will never leave you nor forsake you.
I am so thankful for the Lord teaching me to follow him and to stop trying to establish my own righteousness. I am all for those things I mentioned earlier and I will continue to do those things in my walk with God but like I said earlier I can now do them out of a love for my Saviour and not trying to obtain a love from my Saviour.

I love the LORD because he first loved me.


Rebecca

Am I a Mary or a Martha?

This morning as I was reading my devotions in John Chapter 11, I really asked the Lord to speak to my heart as I read. I put myself into the story and began to think about the scene and how each of the people must have felt in the story, when I began to ponder how Mary and Martha must have felt when they called for Jesus to come and he didn't come and their brother died. I thought they must have felt like Jesus didn't care enough to come when they called.
I read in Vs 20 how that when Jesus finally did come that Mary sat still in the house. Vs 20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house.
I read how when he did come Martha ran to Jesus and even spoke those words. Vs. 21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
Each one responded differently when Jesus finally did come. Then I began to ponder my own actions when things do not go as I think they should. Do I run to the Lord and ask him why?, or do I just sit and ponder how things should have been?
Martha went to the Lord and spoke to him and told him that she knew if he hadst been there her brother would not have died, she also told him that whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. Even through all the adversity Martha was still claiming truth and in the next couple of verses Christ spoke more truth to her about him being her Savior. Oh when we get a good glimpse of who our Savior really is, it will help us to go on and also encourage others to go on.
I believe our lack of faith keeps us from running to the Lord. We get defeated and we think what is the use, the situtation is too big or to far gone. (Lazarus was dead for goodness sake!)
I thought as I read on when Martha ran back to the house, she told Mary that The Master is come and calleth for her. No where did I read that Jesus told Martha that he wanted to see Mary, but I believe Martha got some help by just hearing the Lord that she knew Mary needed to hear him too.
Maybe Mary felt like the Lord didn't care about her, maybe she felt angry that he didn't come when they called for him, maybe she had lost some of her faith in him since he didn't come when he called, I do not know why Mary stayed in the house and didn't run to Jesus like Martha did, but once Martha told Mary that Jesus calleth for her, Vs 29.. she arose quickly, and came unto him.
Sometimes we just need to be reminded that the Lord wants us to come to him.
In verse 32, as soon as Mary saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
Maybe one of the reasons Mary did not come to Jesus is that she was ashamed at what was truly in her heart, but we see here that as soon as she came to him, her heart was revealed. Do we not go to the Lord, because we are ashamed? I think I have been guilty.

You know as I read about how Jesus responded to Mary, He didn't rebuke her for her feelings, He didn't condemn her, He had compassion on her situation, then He fixed it.
How many times do we carry our burdens without taking them to the one that can fix them. He is moved with compassion, he understands our situations of not understanding, and he wants to help us with those burdens.

Are you a Martha, that runs to Jesus even when you do not understand the situation, and claim scripture?
Are you a Mary that sits and ponders what could have been, or what should have been?

In the next Chapter verse 3 Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.
I believe that through this whole trial that we read about in Chapter 11, Mary learned something about her Savior that she didn't know before and we find that she had a greater love for him and worshiped him with her whole heart. SHE SEEN JESUS RAISE LAZARUS FROM THE DEAD! Is anything to hard for God? I believe through that trial it made her love him more because she knew more about who he is through her time of suffering.
Philippians 3:10
THAT I MAY KNOW HIM, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

I can relate to this whole story and as I read this chapter this morning my heart broke and the tears began to flow as I saw myself being a Mary. I have allowed at times my heart to question what the Lord is doing in our lives, I have at times walked away from him not wanting to go to him for the shame that I felt in my heart about how I have allowed my heart to be upset with this situation that we are in.
It has been 14 months since we have had NO INCOME! My husband has filed for disability and cannot work, He has the medical card which is much needed for all his medical needs and if I work he looses that, we have literally been backed into a corner to trust the Lord. I will say that our bills are paid enough to get us through each month without loosing everything, he has suppplied our every (NEED).
I do not understand why we have gone through all of this, but I do know one thing, I have learned more about my savior's love for me than I have ever known before.
He has shown me that he loves me and will take care of me and even hug me when I need hugs. This has been a hard year for us, and at times I am rather ashamed at how I have acted, but I would never change anything that I have gone through.
I have a greater appreciation for who God is, I have stronger faith in him and his promises than I ever have, My favorite verse has been put to the fire.
1:2 In hope of eternal life which God that cannot lie, promised before the world began.
I know more today that My God Cannot lie than I have ever known before.

When I see the compassion that the Lord had on Mary and Martha and was moved to tears, it made me know that the Lord feels that same way about me when he sees me struggling and hurting. I am so thankful for a God that cares and weeps for me and is moved with compassion.
So after much consideration I realize that I am often a Mary, but I desire so strongly to be a Martha.

Who are you?

HUGE BLESSING!

I received a phone call tonight that turned out to be a HUGE blessing.
My son Zac called and said that the young people that were in our churches in Kansas have pulled their money together to pay our way to Goodland, KS. where all of them will be gathering for Thanksgiving.
All of these 8 young people are still in school. 2 in high school and 6 in college.

The biggest reason for them doing this was not only to see us, but that we would be able to spend time with our boys for Thanksgiving.

We had talked about wanting to go there, but there is no way for us to come up with the money. O ME OF LITTLE FAITH! Which in reality I do not have anyway, but MY GOD DOES!

I just felt it was not important enough for God to give that when we have other pressing issues right now.
We have $7.00 to our name and all of Novembers bills due except Rent.
I feel like this was a big hug from the Lord because once again I had fallen into fretting over our situtation. He showed me that if he will give me the deep down desire of my heart (willing to do without) things over and above than he will take care of the necessities.

It is truly a miracle that God would supply the money for us to go but the biggest blessing is that these young people and God love us enough to do this for us. I love these youngens so much.

My hubby is going to spend some time praying about whether God wants us to go or not.
I have prayed and asked God to supply, these young people have been praying for God to supply (two of the girls are going to give Plasma this week to raise money to give us, one of which is my future DIL.)
I think it is an answer to prayer, but I know it is wise to always pray about everything.

PLEASE PRAY For God's perfect will, I am willing to follow whatever the Lord leads.
But I sure hope he leads us to Goodland.......*sigh* and fingers crossed. ;0)

God is so good to me,,,,I keep saying it and he keeps pouring it on.

I won this printer on

I am so thankful for this win, We have been looking and looking at printers but knowing we could not afford it right now, I thank God that he choose to give this to me. This one is even better than one I would have even looked at.
My God shall supply all your need. Praise the Lord.

Beginning to Understand

As I sit here and ponder what has been going on in our lives over the past 10 months, I stand amazed at what the Lord has done for us. I am beginning to understand why the Lord has taken us to this spot in our life.
Mike has been so sick for the past year and a half and has not had the insurance to have these issues worked out. It is just so expensive to go to the doctor but when we moved here to Kentucky, I went to sign my children up for the medical card and because we had no income, Mike and I qualified for the medical card, the lady just automatically gave it to us, as I have said before even our doctor asked how we had the medical card, He said "they do not give that to adults very often."
We know that God seen fit to give us that card.
Since we have had the card the doctor has made sure he has run every test possible on Mike. He has also run test on me and some issues have been revealed that I am working on getting resolved also.
I said all that to say this, God knows what he is doing in your life. Sometimes we can get so caught up in worrying what others think that we fail to stop and realize that we are bought with a price and that we belong to God and that he can do whatever, whenever he wants to in our lives. My life belongs to the Lord. If he wants to take us out of the ministry and set us on the backside of a mountain for a time and grow us, that is his choice.

One thing the Lord has taught me through this trial is all of my righteousness is as filthy rags in his sight. He has put me in a place where I am able to do very little for him but yet in his grace he has showered me with his goodness.
I have put so much stock in my works for the Lord and that I felt the more I worked for him, the more I obeyed him, the more I won souls for him, the more I, I, I, I, I,
then he would be obligated to bless me, but I have learned that even though all of those things are good, our motives need to be right. We are not to do those things to gain his favor, or to gain the favor of man, he wants us to do them because we love him. My motives have been so wrong for so long.
He has loved me so much through this trial, even when my heart was not right, even when my faith wasn't strong, even when I haven't won a soul for him, even though I have nothing to offer him. I am humbled that such a King like him would love someone like me.
I loved him, because he first loved me.......Is more true today in my life than ever before. We are not under the law of bondage, we are under the law of Grace.
Oh, the Lord wants us to serve him with our heart, not to be seen of men. Don't serve the Lord because you might get a spanking, serve him because you love him.

He has loved me like I was his only child.
When I say God has been good to me, I mean it with all my heart.
I love you Lord.

Going into our 8th month.

April will mark the eighth month since my husband has resigned from his position of associate pastor. That was a very difficult decision to follow our Lord in but it has been a very blessed decision. We have not drawn any kind of income since September but yet the Lord has met our every need. I just need to go on record to say once again the Lord has paid our rent for this next month. Can I explain it? Can I tell you where everything has come from? I just want to give all the Glory to the Lord.

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down FROM THE FATHER of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

Rebates have come in the mail from August 08, money just seems to stick around a lot longer and it seems to go further. I heard recently that the electric company has overcharged its
customers this winter and that every customer will be receiving a $500.00 check for over payment. That sounds like the Lord to me, he gave me a savings account over this winter and just when I need it the most, he is going to send it back to me. That has to be God, how many times do you hear an electric company admitting they have overcharged?
The Lord seems to be stretching our money out. I stand amazed at what the Lord has done for us over these past 8 months, it truly is a miracle. Not one ounce of income as far as a weekly pay for me or my husband but yet the Lord has met our every need. I say all of this just too once again say that God cannot lie, His word is true and he will take care of his children if you will just die to self and trust him. At times through the last eight months we have sit and tried to figure ways to make money, ways to figure things out ourselves, but each time the Lord just backed us into a corner and said let go and trust me and each time he has come through.

Please continue to pray as Mike has more testing going coming up and as we continue pursue the direction that God has set before us.
You know when you are living for the Lord, you may not always understand the trial you are going through, but I do know that you can trust the one who is leading you through that trial. It is a good thing to trust the Lord with your life. In the day and age we live in today, with all the unstableness in our economy people need to see us as Christians trusting Him and leaning on his promises. It is easy to say you trust the Lord in the good times, but when it gets tight and hard it then becomes easy preaching, hard living.
There are people out there ringing their hands not knowing what tomorrow holds for their lives trying to figure out what they are going to do to make it through these hard times and they have no hope, no peace, and no comfort. If I can be a light of hope in this old dark world, I want to shine as bright as I can for him. We as Christians have a perfect opportunity to be a huge witness for our Savior, as we enter into these hard times, stand strong and show forth your peace and your contentment and rest in the arms of the Lord so that others can see there is a resting place they can come to also. Without Faith it is impossible to please our Savior.

Hebrews 11:6 But WITHOUT FAITH [it is] impossible to please [him]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

We must have faith in him and his promises. REMEMBER, HE CANNOT LIE!!!

Titus 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that CANNOT LIE, promised before the world began;
Let go of the control you have on your life and just trust the leading hand of the Lord in your life. It is the best life to live.

God Bless and thanks for stopping by.
Rebecca

My poll

I have had my poll listed for over a month, everyone that has taken my poll has so far been a Christian, but today someone posted that they were searching. Oh Christians please pray that my page will have planted the seed that will grow and help this person come to know the Lord.
To that person that is searching, Please know I am praying that God will truly open your eyes to the Truths of His word. Ye must be born again.

I am honored and excited you have visited my blog,
Rebecca

Do you know Jesus?

I desire to tell the whole world about the Lord Jesus Christ. I was so lost and empty before He came into my life. I have recently joined Twitter and I have been able to direct many people to come visit my site. If just one person comes to know the Lord as their Saviour, It will be worth it all.
Do you know for sure where you will spend eternity?
Do you have something missing in your life?
Do you feel like you go from one thing to another trying to fill the emptiness in your life?
Do you feel that the things you are chasing in this world *riches* will bring you happiness?
Do you realize you are a sinner?
Do you have an interest in what truth really is?
Do you desire to be truly happy and no matter what you try to do to be happy, you always come up short?

God has allowed you to feel this emptiness, so that you would realize that you need something to fill that void. It is within a man to worship a higher power, why do you think that in the deepest jungles they have their rituals? They serve the moon gods, the sun gods, and whatever other gods that they might come up with.
Romans 1:23And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

God put it within a man to know that there is some higher power
Romans 1:19Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
We are all without excuse, because God has put all things into place to reveal himself. We just refuse to believe.

May 7th 1992 For the first time in my life, I realized according to the scriptures that I was eternally lost without Christ and that I needed a Saviour.
Romans 10:3
FOR THEY BEING ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

I was constantly trying to fulfil my own righteouness, trying to gain God's favour. I had to come to repentance and realize it was nothing I could do to gain his favour. He sent his son to die for me, because I was a sinner.
Romans 3:23
FOR ALL HAVE sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Exodus 20:4
THOU SHALT NOT make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness [of any thing] that [is] in heaven above, or that [is] in the earth beneath, or that [is] in the water under the earth:
Exodus 20:5
THOU SHALT NOT bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God [am] a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth [generation] of them that hate me;
Exodus 20:7
THOU SHALT NOT take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
Exodus 20:10
But the seventh day [is] the sabbath of the LORD thy God: [in it] THOU SHALT NOT do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that [is] within thy gates:
Exodus 20:13
THOU SHALT NOT kill.
Exodus 20:14
THOU SHALT NOT commit adultery.
Exodus 20:15
THOU SHALT NOT steal.
Exodus 20:16
THOU SHALT NOT bear false witness against thy neighbour.
Exodus 20:17
THOU SHALT NOT covet thy neighbour's house, THOU SHALT NOT covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that [is] thy neighbour's.

Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever stolen ANYTHING? Have you ever coveted your neighbors things? ALL of the above are God's laws, and their are over 600 more.
Have you ever Killed? Or do you hate anyone?
The Bible says
1 John 3:15
Whosoever HATEth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

We do not want to believe we are sinners, We have been taught that we are good people, we have been taught that if you are a good person, It will all work out in the end if your good works out weigh your bad

NOT TRUTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There are over 600 laws written in the Old Testiment, but if we try to be good enough to obey every law and yet break one law, we stand guilty before God of them all.
James 2:10
For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one [point], he is GUILTY of all.


The biggest argument I hear today is that the Bible is not real, just a book of fairy tales. If that is what I tell myself, than I don't feel the need to do anything that about it.

If the truth is that I have cancer, but I choose to tell myself that it is not real, I have killed myself.

Why don't we stop and examine our belief system? Have we taken someone else's belief system on? Have we really examined for ourselves? Have you really spent time reading the Bible *King James Bible* What if everything you have been taught is a lie, what if you really do have a cancer that in the end will be your destruction? A cancer of unbelief.

I have heard others say that religion is a crutch, YOU ARE RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!
I realized that within my own abilities, I was coming up short. I needed a Saviour. I could not keep the laws, I could not save myself. If I am in need of a crutch in order to walk, wouldnt it just make sense to admit I needed that crutch? There are a lot of crippled people walking around today needing that crutch, but refusing through Pride to admit their need.
Psalms 10:4
The wicked, through the PRIDE of his countenance, will not seek [after God]: God [is] not in all his thoughts.
1 John 2:16
For all that [is] in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the PRIDE of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
Proverbs 21:4
An high look, and a PROUD heart, [and] the plowing of the wicked, [is] sin.
James 4:6
But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the PROUD, but giveth grace unto the humble.

Please humble yourself and admit your need for a Saviour.
Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost.
Luke 19:10
For the Son of man is come to seek and to SAVE THAT WHICH was lost.

BEFORE YOU CAN EVER BE SAVED, YOU MUST SEE THAT YOU ARE LOST.
When you realize that you are lost, that is when the Lord can save you.

Believe the Gospel, Jesus was born of a virgin, came and lived on this earth for 33 1/2 years, was crucified, was buried and rose again the third day and is in heaven seated at the right hand of the Father.

9That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
12For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

If you believe the Gospel and will repent of your sins, call upon Jesus Christ. He will save you and give you an eternal home in Heaven.

Please feel free to leave your comments.
If you have prayed and asked the Lord to save you Please leave me a message and we will rejoice together.
God Bless.
Rebecca

Once again the Lord is true to his word!

Taken from the Baptist Bread Feb 1st 2009:
"My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever." Psalms 145:21

On a cold January in 1736, two clergymen were with some passengers aboard a ship off the Georgia coast. A violent storm overtook them and broke the mainsail and mast. Most of the passengers fled screaming below deck. The two ministers noticed the Moravian Christians stayed above deck and sang hymns. The ministers asked, "Were you not afraid?" a Moravian answered, "Thank God, no." Two years later in a Moravian mission in England, one of those same two clergymen was converted. Three days later the other brother was converted. On the eleventh anniversary of that conversion, the words of the Moravian preacher, Peter Bohler, kept coming to the mind of Charles Wesley: "Had I a thousand tongues, I would praise God with them all." Charles Wesley soon wrote:
O For a thousand tongues to sing
My Great Redeemer's praise,
The glories of my God and King,
The triumphs of His grace!*
I wonder if God is pleased with the praise of my tongue? I wonder what percentage of my words are praise and thanksgiving to God? Let us use our one tongue to fulfill our purpose to praise God.
*Taken from A HYMN IS BORN, Clint Bonner, Broadman Press, 1959. C.S

As i sit here this morning thinking over the last couple of months, I realize how weak I really am, I realize how much I really do need my blessed Saviour. It is easy to praise him when things are going good, but I want to be found faithful in the good and the bad and through this trial I am sad to say I have gotten weary but inspite of my weariness the Lord has been faithful to me.
The Lord has recently provided enough money for us to pay all of our bills for Jan, Feb, some of March and April. I stand amazed at what the Lord has done for us. I can sit here and honestly say, My God shall supply all my need and I want to praise the Lord with the one tongue he has given me, Oh that we could learn to stand strong and praise him even when we are in the midst of the storm, others are watching how we will sustain the winds of our trials, people are looking for something they can grasp onto that is real. Let us always stand strong in the good times and bad and let his praise be continually in my mouth.

Just an update on what is going on in our lives.

Today is Wednesday, January 21st, 2009, Yesterday was a day of historical proportions. I am so glad I do not have to trust in the things of this world. I will pray for our Leader and trust that the heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord.

As for me and my family, we are taking one day at a time and trusting the Lord for all of our provisions. It amazes me how far God can stretch a dollar and how a 20.00 bill handed to you when you least expect it can carry you over until the next time the Lord sees the need of more.
We have not needed for anything. Last Sunday night the Lord seen fit to give us $800.00 he used other Christians to provide this and that was just enough to pay the pressing bills.
It has never felt so good to pay our bills.
I have been so encouraged by so many Christians that have been down this road before. I had one elderly lady tell me...." Becky, My family and I went 8 months one time without one penny of income and the Lord met every need." It helped me to know that others have trod this ground and came out stronger on the other side and are still faithfully serving the Lord today.

I have wavered, I have doubted, I have cried out to God and questioned What are you doing Lord? BUT,
I have been encouraged at how the Lord has held true to his word inspite of my weak faith, which has taught me that inspite of my weak faith, my weak faith is better than no faith because he honours faith just like he said he would.
Not my will be done, but thine be done. Lord I believe, Help thou mine unbelief.
I hope that my trial can some how encourage someone to keep hanging onto God's promises, because he is faithful and once again.......My favorite verse, God cannot lie...Titus 1:2

MY GOD SHALL SUPPLY ALL YOUR NEED

Philippians 4:19
But MY GOD SHAll supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Matthew 7:7
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
Titus 1:2
In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

I just want to brag upon My Lord,God is so good to me.Some of you know the trial we are going through right now, sometimes it gets overwhelming, when you get to the spot where you think you can handle it no more, the Lord steps up and confirms he is still there and is still going to take care of you.Between yesterday and today, We have had 2 truckloads and 3 trailor loads of wood brought out to our house. You are probably wondering why is it such a blessing to have wood delivered, well, it is this, Mike is not working and we have no income.
He cannot work, He tried to work for two days at a sawmill and he has again hurt his back.The Lord had 3 different families bring us wood so that we can heat our house.
It is one thing to say we believe God's word, but when you are put in a trial and you are put in a situation where you can do not one thing to supply for yourself and you have nothing else except God's promises, I tend to be like Peter * When he walked on the water and his faith wavered* I thank God that he is right there to reach out his hand and lift you up and put you back in the boat.I am humbled at a Saviour that loves me enough to pick me up, dust me off and give me a big hug and reassure me that He is the one in control of my life. NOT ME!
I serve an awesome God!!!!!

More Changes.

November 13
More changes that have come into my life.

Back in August, My husband had to make a decision and it was one of the hardest things I have ever seen him do. As he loves our former Pastor so much, and did not want to hurt him.He resigned from being the Associate Pastor in Kansas.For the next couple of months, we spent much time in prayer seeking God's face on what he wanted us to do.We went back to Ohio and spent the month of September with my parents, We would walk everyday on the bike trail and pray and seek God. We would walk about 5+ miles per day, we would walk out and pray to ourselves and then walk back and talk to one another about life. It was such a refreshing time for both of us, Not only spiritually, but physically.We went back to Kansas and visited our boys at college in Ok.City.
We were in turmoil to where the Lord wanted us, Doors seem to be opening in Ohio, but we had no peace.Let me go back for a minute. While we were in Ohio, Mike mentioned that he would love to get back to his Rock to spend sometime in prayer, * back in 2004 before we went to Kansas, Mike spent days with a friend in Pineville Kentucky on Pine mountain, praying for direction for our lives. He felt the need to get back to his special place*We took a couple of days and went to Pineville and prayed up on the mountain.While we were in Kentucky we visited Mikes uncles chuch. We fell in love with the church (we have known the Pastor and family for years)Like I said earlier, doors were opening in Ohio, but we had no peace.So back to Kansas.......As we were packing Mike spent hours praying about OHIO or KENTUCKY, We were leaning more towards KY and we called the Pastors wife and told her to start looking for a house, that was on Sat. On Tuesday morning the 7th Mike said lets go rent a moving truck.(no house, not a for sure destination) By faith we rented it to go to Kentucky.
Within a couple hours of having rented the truck the Pastors wife called and said I found you a house.She sent me pics and we fell in love, That night I talked to the landlord, They were a little (a lot) hesitant to rent to us,,,,,,,since my husband did not have a job. But she said, If you are moving here by faith, we will rent to you by faith. (wonderful Christian landlord) The following Tues. Oct 15 we had the moving truck and left Kansas Oct 16th.We drove for 17 hours and finally arrived at about 3 a.m. The house is more than I could have ever imagined. I stand amazed at what the Lord has given us.
My husband still has no job.He did try to start a job, but He was unable to do the work, It was hard labor at a sawmill. ( with having had 5 back surgeries, need i say more?)Please pray for us as he is seeking what the Lord has for us. We just want what the Lord wants for our lives. We are currently helping in the church here in East Bernstadt. They were praying for 5 new families to come to help here in the ministry. We were the first family.ANY OTHERS?
I am so thankful that I have a Lord that I can trust and that I can lean on when there is no other place to go.
Trust me, there were some hard times in there where my faith wavered and I am so thankful that the Lord doesn't hold back his blessings when we waver. In spite of my failures, he still blesses and blesses.
My two oldest boys are still in Oklahoma City in college (Heartland Bible Baptist College) and they are loving it there, we are praying for a way to get them home for Christmas. Corey just got a position with a singing group there at the college and will be traveling as their soundman. This was a blessing, because He received a full ride scholarship while traveling with the group.Zac is the clown of the dorm, but he is a freshman so I am hoping that he will grow out of that as an upper classman next year.
I am currently homeschooling my 3 youngest children with the Abeka DVDs and we are really enjoying the program.Sarah is a sophmore this year, Seth is in the 8th grade and Jordan is a 6th grader.
I am as happy and content as can be.God is so good to me.Life is good.

Life and the changes that come.

September 08
Life and the changes that come
As I sit here and ponder the changes that have come into my life. I have to Praise the LORD for his goodness and his direction.
One thing for sure is that God never changes. Our lives may change, our families may change, our house may change but with perfect peace
in my heart God never changes. His promises are sure.
My life recently has taken on several changes, My two oldest boys have left for college, I am now left with 3 at home that my mind reflects upon
the still awesome responsiblity I have to train them. Time passes so quickly, I was just speaking to a young mother the other day and I felt a huge
responsibility to press the issue to take full advantage of every opportunity you have to train your children. As I look back and recall everytime
I heard an older mother say........."Time passes so quickly, train them while they are young, they will be gone before you know it." Continually thinking
I have time. My time is gone for two out of the five.
The other change:
We are moving to another state. Once again moving across the country, unsure of what the Lord is going to teach me. I am so willing and actually
very excited to see what the Lord has in store for us as a family. Our ministry in Kansas over the last four years have most certainly taught me many
things. One that sticks out very clearly in my mind is that the longer I am in the ministry the more I realize I don't have all the answers, but I do
know one that does.
Oh! How my heart realizes that I am just a sinner saved by His grace and that All we really need is to be pointing to
our Blessed Saviour. The Lord Jesus is who changes lives, not me, not my knowledge, not my personality, But Jesus Christ my Saviour can
help anyone that will wholly follow the Lord.
I can say with all my heart, I am loving what the Lord is doing in our lives right now, there are other changes but God knows what he is doing and
I am excited to be serving the Lord.
Change is a good thing, If you think about it, God really wants us to be constantly changing, Searching the scriptures to see if our life lines up
with His word and if it doesn't he wants us to repent and allow him to change us.
God is good all the time.

I am forever HIS,
Becky

When we were in Ark City Kansas

March 19 2007
What we are doing now for the Lord.
We are currently in Arkansas City Kansas. My husband is the Associate Pastor of Hillcrest Bible Baptist Church, We both work in the Christian School.I currently teach 3rd and 4th grade, My husband teaches High School and is the Principle of the School.God has been good to me. I spent so many years worrying about my children whether they would serve God. Worrying about what I have done wrong, what I will do wrong. I wasted so much time looking back and looking forward. Not looking at where they were right then. One day it dawned on me, I better live each day like it is my last day to teach them what I can about my blessed Saviour. I began praying that God would put it within the hearts of my children to serve him....Except the Lord build the house they labor in vain that build it. It has to be the Lord that puts that desire in their heart.My oldest son just recently left for college, What a blessing it is to see your children walk in truth. He is in Heartland Bible Baptist College, He is studing to be a youth Pastor. I am here to tell you, I Praise the Lord for his goodness. God is so faithful. Corey is serving the Lord today because God saved him and put the desire in his heart to serve Him. I don't ever want to take any Glory away from my blessed Saviour. Each one of my children are currently saved and serving the Lord, I thank God for that. They each seem to have a walk of their own with the Lord. I see God working in each of theirs lives.....I am saying all of this to say this one thing. We have to do our best to serve God,,,,but you cannot make your children serve the Lord. You have to teach them to let the Lord be their Lord. We struggle and push and pull trying to shove it into them. You cannot make them have a pure heart. Only God can do that. When you come to that spot and realize that, You can rest in the Lord. Because his promises are true and he cannot lie....