Welcome

Welcome to my blog. Here I will share with you some treasures that God gives me during my morning prayer times. I hope it speaks to your heart and feeds your soul.

Friday, February 26, 2010

Surrender And Be Free

"Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship."
Romans 12:1 NIV Bible
Today, when I read this, I saw surrender in a new way. I always understood surrender as giving me away. This surrender that God is showing me is more like a freedom. I surrender trying to please man. I surrender trying to be good. I guess I also surrender living my life for myself. In return, God gives me an amazing freedom. I am like a dancer that is dancing beautifully to the music of God. I don't give up me. I become more me than ever. God sees my beauty. It is a holy beauty created by God. I don't really get this concept and neither do those around me. God wants me to live by faith. He wants me to know this reality of freedom. Sometimes this dance will be evident to me and sometimes it won't. That is why faith is required. I have surrendered my life to God's ability and to the knowledge that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I am not a puppet. I am free, and yet, in that freedom I am fully who God made me.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

He is Calling Your Name

"He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all of his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice." John 10:3b-4 NIV Bible
Where are you today? Are you sitting on God's lap? Are you running the race with Jesus? Are you in the middle of a storm? Wherever you are right now, Jesus is calling your name. Even if you can't hear, he is still calling your name. Know this. Respond in faith. His voice is very powerful. When he speaks, it isn't just words. His words go from his mouth to you and are a pathway straight to his heart. They are living. Step on to this pathway of life and let him pull you close to his heart. You are not alone. You are wanted. You are his beloved. You are understood. You are valued. He loves to speak your name because you mean so much to him. Your home is in his heart. Live there, where you are safe from the storm. All around you hard things are happening. Don't give up. Listen. I hear him calling your name.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

"Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be as wool."
Isaiah 1:18 NIV Bible
As I wrote this verse, I could feel the pleading in God's heart to his children. It's like he is saying, "Please, come and reason with me. Please hear from my heart how I really see you. You have been forgiven, because my son, Jesus, gave you his righteousness. You are not red with sin, you are white with purity."
I feel really blessed. God is aware of my weaknesses. He is setting me free and healing me. At the same time he is blessing me as if I am totally pure and holy. The cool thing is that I am this in Jesus. I am justified. It is just as if I'd never sinned.
A couple of days ago, our computer got a virus. In order to get rid of it the computer had to be wiped clean of the virus and all the programs that had been corrupted. This morning when I looked at the computer, my daughter had put a beautiful snow scene on the screen as wall paper. What a confirmation of God's message to us!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

God Will Guide You

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV Bible

In the wee hours of the morning I turned into a Martha, "troubled and bothered about many things."
Right in the middle of my fretting, God gave me a reassurance that he would guide me today. It filled me with peace and joy. One thing that is really cool is that even if I was fretting, he came. I didn't have to get my act together before he showed up. I have to admit that I don't think I even remembered to pray. He just came into my darkness and said, "Let there be light." I am so thankful for his mercy and grace.

Monday, February 22, 2010

"Love That Is Not Always Easy, But Continually Worth It"

"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." John 15:12-13 NIV Bible

This morning, God showed me a picture of him handing me a torch, and then he spoke these words.
"Go forth in dignity, My Little One. Know my love for you. Persistently love me. Care for the little ones that I have given you. Love them. This is one of the most powerful weapons I will ever hand you. In the face of love, the enemy must back off. There is no power on earth greater than love. Receive my love. You will go places in my love. It will be your vehicle for life. My love stops wars. My love heals broken hearts.You are subject to my love. We are a team. Let's go forth and conquer."

Below is a quote from an email sent right after Valentines Day by a young woman, Alyssa, that is fighting a life threatening disease. When I read it, I was so touched that I had to share it with you. In it she is referring to the love of her husband.
"I can't say I'm a big fan of the holiday (Valentines Day), but I am a big fan of love. The kind of love that is preempted by an understanding of God's love and Christ's passion for you. Love that tells you you're beautiful even when you have no hair. Love that wants to hold your hand so he can pray for you before you go to sleep. Love that is centered around the mercy and sacrifice of the Cross. Love that is not always easy, but continually worth it."

Friday, February 19, 2010

Sing A New Song To The Lord

Sing a new song to the Lord, who has done marvelous deeds, whose right hand and holy arm have won the victory. The Lord has made his victory known; has revealed his triumph for the nations to see, has remembered faithful love towards the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God. Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth; break into song; sing praise. Sing praise to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and melodious song. With trumpets and the sound of the horn shout with joy to the king, the Lord. Let the sea and what fills it resound, the world and those who dwell there. Let the rivers clap their hands, the mountains shout with them for joy, before the Lord who comes, who comes to govern the earth, to govern the world with justice and the peoples with fairness. Psalm 98 NAB Bible

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Don't Give Up

"Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. Psalm 34:5 NIV Bible.
When I was praying this morning I saw a vision of a little red airplane sitting on a runway. It was being told that it was no good and that it would never fly, so it may as well give up. I could feel the oppression of these lies like a huge weight holding it to the ground. The truth was that that plane was really good at flying. It was a nimble little plane that could do things that many larger, supposedly more capable planes could never manage.
"You are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10
We each have different reasons that we have believed the lies that say we can't fly. I will tell you the thing I discovered about me. When I started school, I was actually a little older than most kids in my class and I was a girl. Therefore I had an advantage over quite a few kids. I was treated special and given lessons to do separately from the rest of the class because I was supposedly smarter than them. I believed it and so did my teachers. The truth is that I was just given a better advantage. In many areas of my life I didn't have the same advantage so I assumed that I was bad at just about everything. I would try, and when I didn't instantly shine, I would give up and call myself a failure. This was the biggest lie that held me to the ground.
Here is what God says. "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9 NIV Bible
I was giving up. There are people in all walks of life that have had an advantage so they make it look so easy. What is really needed is to know that you are created for good works and that you need to persevere. I have been researching people that are successful. Generally speaking they put tons of hours into what they are doing. Look up to God. He is cheering you on. I can hear him tenderly and compassionately saying, "Don't give up. You can do it. I have already equipped you for success."

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

God Must Be True

"God must be true, though every human being is a liar." NAB Bible

This morning, discouragement wanted to come from every angle. Then my husband and I read the above scripture. It was a perfect example of how God's word is living. It jumped right in my heart and started beating the tar out of the discourager. God is true. God is faithful. God is good. God's goodness and holiness stood there like a beacon of hope that darkness had no power over. I found myself declaring things like, "I will not be bullied by weight gain. I will not be bullied by incomplete work." Everything that was trying to make me discouraged started losing it's grip.
As I went through my morning God continued to sing to me about how he is my hiding place. Nothing I desire compares to him. My help comes from God, the creator of the earth. God was being faithful to me. God was being my rescuer. The last verse he gave me before I started writing this is from the book of Job. " I know that my Redeemer lives and that in the end he will stand upon the earth." Job 19:25

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

The Foundation of Your Life

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house, and it fell with a great crash." Mathew 6:24-27 NIV Bible

There are many voices out there and even in our thoughts and emotions. They all give us conflicting messages. Some sound amazing and enticing. Some sound discouraging and depressing. The only one that always speaks the truth is God. On our box of rice milk it says, "Not for use as an infant formula." If you tried to use it for this the baby would die of malnutrition. God wants us to be nourished by his word. All else is an unhealthy substitute that will kill us if we depend on it instead of God's word.
Please spend time daily reading and meditating on his written word, the Bible. Please sit at his feet and let him teach you. Please worship him and declare that he is who he says he is. His word is not just a rule book to make you know how to be good. It is living. It has power to speak right to your heart exactly what you need to hear. His word is your nourishment. It gives you life. Many of us read his word and then get on with life. Jesus is asking us to make his word the foundation of our life.

Monday, February 15, 2010

You Are A Light

"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you." Isaiah 60:1-2 NIV Bible
You are the light of the world. Wherever you go you take the glory of God. I woke up in the night thinking about the people that have gone to Haiti to help and then have returned to a prosperous nation. Believe it or not, this is very difficult. You reconsider your whole existence. Here you are in a comfortable home with a full stomach. Out there people are suffering horribly. It isn't fair. How should you live in this world of contrasts? Walk in the truth. Your light has come. The glory of the Lord has risen upon you. This light is needed everywhere. God may send you somewhere foreign to serve temporarily or permanently. On the other hand, he may call you to be a typical citizen with a typical job. The light of God is needed in both places. Give where God leads you. Serve where God calls you. Be who God made you. Keep your eyes on God, the source of your light. You will shine. The lives of the people around you will be better because you are in their midst. Look up. God is smiling at you. Receive his smile and walk in dignity.

Friday, February 12, 2010

You Really Are All That

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalm 139:14 NIV Bible

I know that you have heard this and quoted it over and over. God wants you to hear it again. He wants you to believe it. He is calling you forth to be you. Jesus is the most perfect being that ever walked the earth, and yet he was despised and rejected. He wasn't what man expected or wanted. He looked like a failure to many. My point is that you cannot depend on man's standards for you to prove your worth. God says that you are fearfully and wonderfully made. This is the truth. Of course you are weak. You are strong in God. Of course you are incapable, but with God all things are possible. He will not let you succeed at proving to man that you are good enough. You have nothing to prove. You think you are a failure. You think you will never measure up. Guess what? You are complete in God. You are fully equipped to soar like an eagle. God is asking you to step off the cliff and fly. He will catch you up on his wings if need be. He wants to take you to new heights and show you new things that you didn't even know existed. He likes who you are because you are you. He gets great joy just thinking about you. You were made to be you. No one else will do. You are cool. You are wonderful. You are awesome. Lay down man's standards and run this race with God. He is your team captain and he has chosen you for his team. He wants you to try out your ideas that you have been holding back. He wants you to make more choices based on your heart's desire. He is inspiring many good things in you. Go for it. You will fly and it will be glorious. You are called above the clouds and into the light. Go! I'll meet you in the sky. God is calling me to this too. Let's go. Yee Haa!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

The Desire Of Your Heart

May the Lord answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion. May he remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offerings. May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the Lord grant all your requests. Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed; he answers him from his holy heaven with the saving power of his right hand. Some trust in Chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm. Psalm 20:1-8 NIV Bible

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

God Cares

I am very impressed with how God cares about every aspect of my life. He knows all my idiosyncrasies. In fact he created me with most of them. He loves to give me the desire of my heart. He loves to see the joy on my face when I receive his good gifts.
I am remembering the story of a man named Paul Hawkins who was wishing for chocolate. The next thing he knew, someone knocked on his door and brought him chocolate.
On the other hand we all know that suffering is part of our walk here on earth. God cares about our suffering too, even when we bring it on ourselves. He is near to the broken hearted.
When Lazarus died, Jesus cried with Mary and Martha. He knew that he was going to raise Lazarus from the dead, but they didn't. He was sad that their family had to suffer.
One of my favorite scriptures is Psalm 18. The author's enemies were too great for him, so he cried out to God. Wow, you don't mess with God's kids! You should read it. God got really angry. He came down from heaven with thunder, lightning and hail and rescued him. Here is what it says, "He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. He brought me out in a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me." Psalm 18:16-19 NIV Bible
God truly cares about everything you care about. He is your most loyal friend. You can tell him everything on your heart, and I mean everything. He will understand. He will listen. He will never leave you. He will never give up on you. Remember, he delights in you.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

My Soul Finds Rest In God Alone

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." Surely he will save me from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. Psalm 91:1-4 NIV Bible

God, himself is our refuge and help in every area of our lives. Our hope is in God alone. We cannot depend on our righteousness because it is as filthy rags. We can never be good enough on our own. Only Jesus' righteousness will do. We must rest in it. We cannot depend on circumstances turning out how we want. We cannot depend on people doing or being what we want. We can't even depend on God being who we thought he should be. He is too big and complex for us to grasp. This we do know, he is love. He is kind. He is safe. He is faithful. He is our father. He is our friend. He has our best interest at heart. Nowhere else are we safe.
"My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken." Psalm 62:1-2 NIV Bible

Monday, February 8, 2010

Praise Silences The Enemy

"From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger." Psalm 8:2 NIV Bible

There is an example of this in Mathew 21:12-16. The children are praising Jesus. I just love this concept of God ordaining praise from children. They are created to praise and it easily comes from their lips. I am reminded of churches that I have visited or been a part of where children are given the freedom to express themselves in praise to God. It is truly beautiful to behold.
The next part is what really jumped out at me. Praise silences the foe and the avenger. That means when we are trying to hear God and can't, we can praise, and the enemy will have to shut up so we can hear more clearly. This also helps when we are around others that are not hearing God. We praise and then God can more easily get through to them. God has shown me more than once how powerful this praise is. I have praised in the midst of darkness and opposition and seen miracles happen. In each situation praise didn't necessarily come easily. I had to choose to look at God and to praise him in the midst of very difficult situations. Each time miracles have occurred. God wants us to know how powerful praise is. It is a mighty weapon that scatters the enemy, heals, raises from the dead, and makes anything we are doing for God more effective. I encourage you to make praise a greater part of your life. It will silence the foe and avenger in your life and that of people you love. That is what God promises.

Friday, February 5, 2010

The Best Teacher Ever

I sat in my favorite chair drinking my morning coffee while a worship CD played in the background. I truly tried to worship, but my mind kept running back to a business meeting that I had attended and to possibilities for my own business.
I cried out to God and told him that I wanted to be still and know that he is God.
Next thing I knew, my mind was off and running again.
I cried out again, "Lord, I love it when I can just worship you and forget everything but you for awhile.
Off went my mind on another tangent.
Then a revelation hit me. God wanted to talk to me about business. So I turned off the CD and just journaled what came to mind.God gave me business strategies right from his heart to mine. I felt so valued and loved. I am his beloved and he is interested in every aspect of my life. Here I was, trying to be my version of holy, when God was actually trying to talk to me about business.It makes me chuckle just thinking about it.God is the best teacher ever!
"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you." Psalm 32:8 NIV Bible

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Fix Your Eyes On Jesus

"O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." Daniel 3:16b-18 NIV Bible

Three Jews that were in captivity in Babylon refused to bow down to a statue that the king had built. This is how they responded when brought before the king by their accusers.

This passage says to me that we don't have to prove anything to anyone. We don't have to waste our energy on this. We must not turn and look at them. We are to ignore our accusers and instead worship God. There will always be skeptics, critics, and tattletales. We are to pay them no more mind than we would an ant on the path. We are to fix our eyes on Jesus and keep going.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Follow The Leader

This morning I saw had a vision of the game, Follow the Leader. Jesus was the leader. I just had to do what he was doing. It was fun and it made me laugh. It was really powerful. Mountains toppled and people were healed. I even saw a puppy get healed and made happy. We put rivers in the desert. We made leaves grow on trees. We spoke and things happened. The world changed and became a better place because we spoke. I had not a clue that our words are so powerful.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Hide in God's Love

"You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance." Psalm 32:7 NIV Bible

Yesterday, every time I turned around, I heard about a tragedy or difficulty in the lives of people that I know. I was awake last night with these things on my mind. I was grieving and praying for the people involved. It became one of those faith deepening times, when a surface faith just doesn't get it.
Then I heard God say, "Come and hide in my love and you will have peace."
So I prayed, "Lord, I hide these people in your love. Yes, I will come and hide also."
I meditated on his love and became more and more grateful. Every time a negative emotion or thought came up I kept hiding it in God's love. Trouble had no more power over me. There is no power on earth greater than God's love. I am safe in him. I gained peace and courage to face the next day with a smile on my face and hope in my heart.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Success

"Blessed is the man who trusts the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; it's leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." Jeremiah 17:7-8 NIV Bible

In my prayer time this morning, I saw a picture of that game where people stand in a circle. In the middle is a person with their eyes shut that lets themselves fall into the arms of the circled people. They pass him back and forth and all around the circle. The people are shouting to him things like, "Take my path. My way will bring success, a beautiful home, and popularity. Let go of your will. Let go of your identity."
Then I hear Jesus off to the side, outside the circle. He says, "Man's ways are not my ways. You must follow me if you want true happiness. You must trust in me if you want true joy and success"
Then I saw that the people in the circle had dropped him. He is lying there wounded and discouraged. He feels like an unlovable failure. The voices shout, "You should have listened to me!"
God will never drop you. God will never ridicule you and call you a failure. God will never reject you. You may be the ugly duckling. Of course you are failing at being a duck. You are a beautiful swan.You are not a failure. You are a swan that keeps listening to the voices of ducks. Jesus is encouraging you to trust in him. Success is not defined by wealth and popularity. It is trust in God and being all God made you to be.