God Rested and So Should You!

I stay busy. There's always laundry. My kids think they have to change clothes every day! (-: AND, there's always dishes and cooking to do. My kids like to eat at least 3 times a day. Isn't that crazy?!?!? (-: And then there's my business I have to attend to. And let's not forget my precious husband that needs my time, and the kid's homework and school project, and ministry stuff, and my friends, and my extended family, and...well...and now I'm tired. Just thinking about how many irons in the fire we women have wears me out! YIKES! We have a LOT going on. ~~~ Most women I talk to say they find it hard to rest on a regular basis. AND, they also tell me they feel guilty when they take time for themselves to rest. Why is that? Why is it that we would feel guilty? I don't think that feeling of guilt is coming from the Lord. As a matter of fact, I know it's not! ~~~ There are many references to Jesus going away to recharge in the Bible, and HE WAS DEITY here on earth!. Mark 1:35 and Luke 4:42 are examples of this. But we can go back to the beginning to time and find even better examples of rest. In Genesis 2:2 we see that God rested after creating the world we live in. And not only that, In Exodus 20: 8-11 we see that God COMMANDED us to take a day of rest each week. ~~~ Did you get that? He COMMANDED us to rest? Yep. It's right there in the Bible. It's actually part of the Big 10 commandments! You are to rest, and it's part of obeying God. ~~~ So, how do you feel about resting now? I don't know about you, but I'm a little bit ticked off that Satan has made me feel bad about resting for so many years! I'm going to have some Holy nap time this week my friends! ~~~ And you know, I've found there are different types of resting. My sweet husband likes to work in the yard or ride his bike. I have friends that would prefer to spend their rest time reading a good book. I have other friends that would say their rest time is watching a good movie. As for me, I like to spend my rest time on the couch in and out of consciousness, opening my eyes every now and then to make sure the kids are still alive. (-: There's nothing like having your feet elevated for a while if you ask me!! ~~~ You know what happens when we rest and recharge ourselves? Well, it's my opinion we become more effective for Christ. Our words become blessings to others when we are well rested. Our thoughts are better when we are well rested. Our actions are pleasant when we are well rested. And, we have more joy when we are well rest. Now I understand why Satan doesn't want me to rest! ~~~ Lord, help me to remember your commandment to have a day of rest! I commit to resting once a week just as you asked me to do! ~ Amen

There is Power, Power, Wonder Working Power!

How would you describe a Christian? Maybe polite, or selfless, or meek, or gentle, or loving or self controlled. There are many words we use to describe Christians, but one we don't use is POWERFUL. "Powerful" is not a word that makes me think of a Christian, but yet in God's Word it is clear that God fills His Children with the Holy Spirit. It was through the Power of God that Moses was able to lead the Israelites out of slavery. It was through the Power of God that helped David slay Goliath. It was the Power of God that helped the Virgin Mary conceive. It was the Power of God that healed people in the New Testament. It was the Power of God that called Jesus forth from the dead on Easter morning. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, "For God has NOT given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of POWER, love and self-discipline." If you are a child of the King of Kings, then you have a Power in you that is great than the powers of this world! Jesus promised to leave "A Counselor" when He left us. Acts tells us that the Holy Spirit would come upon us and we would be able to do great things! So, are you living as if Jesus was resurrected from the dead, or are you living as though He were still behind that stone? Are you walking in the Power of the Holy Spirit, or are you like the walking dead? In John 15 we are told we need to remain in Him, and He will remain in us. Being connected to the vine is the way we can access the power that God has for us. Jesus said He came to give us a more abundant life, and remaining in Him is the key to that. But, how do we remain in Him? We need to put God at the top of our priority list if we are to remain in Him. Do you think God is at the top of your list? Then prove it by writing down how much time you spent with Him today. OUCH! When I did that I realized that He wasn't getting enough of my 24 hours each day. YIKES! I was saying He was my priority, but I really wasn't living it. And there's no way I can truly stay connected with The Vine without spending time with Him! I'm finding that on days when I put Jesus first, then I see the Holy Spirit working through me. I see God's Hand displayed in my life. AND, He gets the glory for those good works He is doing through me! I certainly want my life to point to Him! Matthew 17:19-20 says we can move mountains through the Power of God living in us. We just need faith! So let me ask you again..... are you living as if Jesus were raised from the dead, or are you like the walking dead? Get up! Live as a child of the Living God! Live with Him at the center of your life! Show the world what God has done for you and is doing for you! Let the Power of your King flow through you so we can bring glory and honor to Him! Lord, help me to remember that you did not leave me a spirit of fear and timidity, but yet a spirit of POWER, love and self-discipline! I know I am not the daughter of some earthly king, but yet I am the daughter of the King of Kings. Thanks for adopting me! ~ Amen

Prayer: Our Words to God

How precious it is that the Creator of the universe wants to have a personal relationship with me! And the key to any relationship, particularly our relationship with our Heavenly Father, is communication. We need to be in constant communication with God in order to grow our relationship with Him. And so, we pray. Some might say that reading our Bibles is how we get to know God. While that is partially true, it's hard for a relationship to really develop with God without prayer. Prayer is communicating with God. It's official defined as "devout petitions to God" or "an act of worship" or "spiritual communion with God". We can read the Bible every day of our lives, but until we call out to God and ask Him to be Lord of our lives then we don't have a relationship with Him. You know, I can read all kinds of books on Brad Pitt. I can find out all I want to know about him on the Internet. I can find out when and where he was born. I can find out about his career, and even about his family. But if I went to his house with all this knowledge, they still wouldn't let me in. Why? Because I don't know have a relationship with him!! We've never talked! It's the same with our Heavenly Father. In order to get into His eternal house that He has prepared for us, we must have a relationship with Him. Studying the Bible isn't enough. It's good, but it's just not enough. Romans 10:9 says it's with our mouths that we are saved. It's by confessing to our Father our need for Him that starts our relationship moving in the right direction. If you still don't think prayer is important, well, consider Jesus. He prayed. He prayed a lot. Most people that have ever attended church could probably even quote one of His prayers to you, The Lord's Prayer. That's out of Matthew 6, and it's a great prayer to say! However, I think prayer is a lot more than just reciting something to God. We need to express ourselves to Him. We need to tell Him our hopes, our dreams, our fears, our disbelieves, and our struggles. And we need to listen to what He has to say to us. That's real communication. That's when our relationship really starts to grow. How's your prayer life? Need a good reminder to pray. Well, why not pray every time you are at at stop sign or a traffic light. Or, why not set a reminder on your smart phone. There's a lot of way we can develop our prayer lives. Let's start today!

Encourage Your Sister!

We are so blessed to be able to go to church in the United States. We have the freedom to worship God whenever and where ever we want. I love that about our country. Yet, so many Christians don't attend church.

God like communities of Believers joining together. God wants us to meet together regularly. His Word talks about community. His Word refers to Christians meeting together to worship, pray and celebrate together. If God is pro-church, then we should be too!

I love having a Bible study I meet with each week. I learn so much for these ladies. Sometimes I learn parenting skills and not a specific Bible lesson, but it's still great information! Sometimes I get the opportunity to encourage a sister that is down, and sometimes I get to be encouraged. Honestly, I'm not sure how life would be unless I had a great community of Believers around me!!

God has blessed us all with gifts, and not one gift is better than the other. All the gifts work together and all play an important role in supporting each other and bringing glory to God. But sometimes we as Christians compete with each other. We either try to be something that we are not, or we try to show that our gift is better than someone else's gift. And sometimes, we even judge other Christians that aren't as spiritually mature as us or have the same gifts as we have. And while we are focusing on that silliness, we lose sight of the non-Christians watching us. I think Satan loves to have us devouring each other instead of encouraging each other.

I'm going to make it a point to use my words for encouraging my brothers and sisters in Christ. I'm going to make it a point to pray for my brothers and sisters in Christ. Will you join in with me?

Lord, help me to be a good sister. Please show me ways to encourage the others Believers around me. Help me to show grace and mercy as you have shown me grace and mercy. ~ Amen

Check out Romans 14, Galatians 5:13-15 and Luke 9:46-48 if you have time to see some of the scriptures I've been reading.

Be One, Have One

Job 2: 11-13 "When three of Job's friends heard of the tragedy he had suffered, they got together and traveled from their homes to comfort and console him. Their names were Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. When they saw Job from a distance, they scarcely recognized him. Wailing loudly, they tore their robes and threw dust into the air over their heads to show their grief. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and nights. No one said a word to Job, for they saw that his suffering was too great for words."

I love, love, love this picture of friendship. I think this is the one of the best if not the best picture of friendship in the Bible. Job's friends had heard of the terrible tragedies that had struck., and what did they do? Well, they went to him! We should do the same thing. If we have a friend that is going through a hard time, then we need to SHOW UP! This is a key ingredient in the friendship recipe. Be there for them!! I mean, you wouldn't want to go through a hard time by yourself, would you?!?!? And it should be easy for us to show up today. A face to face meeting is the best, but if you can't do that then call or email or text or Facebook or Tweet your friend! There's no reason we can't be there with today's technology!

Once Job's friend's showed up, they mourned with him. In Ecclesiastes 3 it says "There is a time for everything....a time to weep and a time to laugh...a time to mourn and a time to dance." We see Job's friends supporting him by mourning with him. It was certainly time for that. When we have friends that are sad, it should make us sad too. And when we have friends that are celebrating, we should celebrate too.

I really love what it says in the last verse. I think I can relate to this verse the best. Sometimes, we just don't know what to say when someone is going through a tragedy. But you know what, we should follow Job's friend's actions and say nothing. Simply show up and say nothing. A lot can be said without us speaking. We can put our arms around our brother or sister that is suffering and just be there for them. We don't have to have all the right words.

If you continue reading in Job you will see that in Chapter 3 he says he wishes he was never born. You can see how upset he is, and rightly so. He had just suffered so much loss. But then in Chapter 4 when one of his friends finally said something, He pointed Job back to God. He reminded Job that God was faithful and would see him through this. We too should point our friends back to God in their times of trouble. We all need reminders from time to time that God loves us and has great plans for us!

I want to have good friends. But in order to have a good friend, I've got to be a good friend. I can't expect others to be there for me if I'm not there for them. Job 4 indicates that Job had "encouraged many people". I imagine that is why he had so many good friends.

What about you? Do you show up when your friends are in need? Do you mourn when necessary and celebrate with them when necessary? Are a friend to others like what you want others to be to you?

Lord, help me to be a better friend to those you have put in my life. Help me to encourage my friends, both in times of trouble and in times of celebration. Help me always to point my friends to You. You are the answer to all our problems and the reason we should all celebrate. ~ Amen

What Words Are You Teaching Your Kids?

Proverbs 31: "Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her."

In my class this week we've been talking about the words we use with our family....specifically the words we use with our children and our spouses. I posed a question to the ladies in my class, and it was one that made me think. "If we were to ask your children and your husband what they thought about the words you use, would they say you use your words to encourage them or would they say you use your words to discourage them?"

Yikes! That is something to think about. I would hope my family would say my words are encouraging to them, but then God reminded me that sometimes I've said things like, "What is wrong with you!?!??", or "What were you thinking?!?!?" Those aren't very encouraging words.

The words we use with our families are so important. Sometimes we get too comfortable in our homes with our words and we hurt the people that we love the most. Studies show that kids need 10 times more praise spoken into their lives than the discipline they receive. I realized this week that I'm a lot better at telling my kids what they need to correct than I am at telling them what they do well. Boy, does that need to change.

And my sweet husband...oh my! Some of the words I've used with him are less than encouraging. He's the man that provides for my family, takes wonderful care of me, loves his children and is committed to his Lord and Savior. And yet, I'm not always encouraging to him. Sigh. What is wrong with me!

I'm so thankful to God for pointing out these things that I need to change. I want to be a blessing to my children and my husband. I want my words to be uplifting and life giving. And above all, I want them to see Jesus in me.

Lord, help me to say the right things to my children and my husband. Help me to be a blessing to them. Help me to discipline in a loving way, and praise much more than I discipline. Thanks for Your grace and mercy and Your love for me. I'm nothing without You. ~ Amen

Mixed Messages

What message are you sending out with the words you speak? Do the words you speak tell others you are a Christian, and that you extend grace and mercy because you have received grace and mercy? Or, do the words you speak make others think you are filled with an evil spirit...one that is quick to anger and uses her words to hurt others?

Sometimes we send mixed messages with the words we speak. Proverbs 11:22 says "A beautiful woman who lacks discretion is like a gold ring in a pig's snout." Now, that's a picture for you. There's nothing about a gold ring in a pig's snout that is appealing to me, and I will guess that you will agree to that. But as women, that's what we look like when we don't act with discretion. We should have discretion not only with our actions but with our words.

James 3 in the Bible talks about how hard it is to control our tongues, and how evil our tongues can be when they are not under control. But it's not our control that we need to place our tongues under. It's the control of the Holy Spirit that our tongues should be placed under. God has given us the gift of His Spirit living inside of us if we have accepted Christ as our Savior. We just need to listen to that Spirit before we speak. Romans 8:8 says "..those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God." In Galatians 5, it says those living by the Spirit will show "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self control".

The last thing I want people to see when they look at me is a pig with a gold ring in it's nose. As a matter of fact, when others look at me I want them to see Jesus. I think I'm going to start thinking more about the words I use.

If you want to hear more on what the Bible says about words, check out James 3:2-9, Proverbs 12:5-8, Proverbs 12: 13-22, and 1 Peter 3:10-11. Ask God to point out how you can improve your words.

Thank you Lord for the gift of YOUR WORD. I love reading the Bible. I know you give me the rules to live by to help me. I know speaking kind words will bring more blessings to me than speaking evil words. Help me to reflect You in my speech. Forgive me when I've failed you and help me to listen to your Holy Spirit. ~ Amen