Who do you depend on?

I pay attention to detail. I'm not nosey, I'm just observant. I see women who turn to men all the time for dependence and attention.

Why is that?

Are they afraid of being alone? Are they afraid of taking care of themselves?

I question this, especially the ones who have children because those children are seeing mom with different men or moving in with a man and they've only been around a little while. Which means there is a greater chance that those children will grow up and do the same thing.

Wanna know who I depend on?  You got it GOD!

I do not need a man to provide anything for me. God provides for my needs. Financial and emotional.

He is trustworthy, always faithful, and will never stop loving me. God doesn't lie and He treats me like I'm the only daughter He has.

Living for God and then letting Him bring you the perfect person for your life is what I think is the best and wisest choice. I trust Him. He has my best interests at heart.

I fully depend on God. Why don't you try it? What have you got to lose?

How to take time to pray.

We need to share our lives with God and take time every day to pray. When I went to a traditional church, I lived a guilty life. I was told if I wasn't reading my Bible every day and I wasn't praying everyday, something was wrong. I was also told the story repeatedly of a man who had so much on his agenda for the day, that he had to add an extra hour of prayer, which put him praying for 4 hours every morning.

At the time, I was a stay at home mom to our children who were little, and I was struggling with any time alone for my sanity, much less taking hours to pray! How on earth did they expect me to function without enough sleep every night?

What I wish would have happened was this... I wish some of the elderly women would have approached me and told me, "Honey, you can pray while changing diapers." or "You can pray while washing dishes." No one came along side of me and told me that prayer is talking to God like you talk to a friend. Prayer is something that can be done anywhere, any time of the day. You don't have to sit down in a chair for 4 hours and do nothing but pray!

Jesus often left His disciples to go pray. I think it was His way of time alone by Himself, but also so He could talk to God. That is a great thing to do..but it's not the ONLY way to pray.

God is not a God of guilt. He does not try to guilt or shame us to into anything...but especially into praying to Him. If you've felt that, please know it's not Him. He loves you unconditionally. He wants you to pray and spend time with Him, just like an Father would.

How do you pray? From the heart and about anything. Nothing will bother Him. If you don't understand why or how He does things, ask Him. If you need healing or desire healing for someone else, ask Him for it. Just tell Him how you feel and what's going on in your life, just like any close friend. You can even be angry at God and yell at Him. That's ok. He designed your emotions, so He can handle it.

I hope you take time out of your day to spend with Him. He loves for us all to. Just remember, He's not a vending machine. We don't put in a prayer for something and God just spits it out. He just doesn't work that way.

Happy Happy Happy

Happiness is something everyone wishes they could "be". Well, I'm here to tell you that happiness isn't the key to living. Happiness comes and goes. But.. JOY... now that's another story!

True and honest joy comes from the Lord.

Psalm 19: 8 The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.

Psalm 71: 23  My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you—
I whom you have delivered.

John 16: 20  Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.

John 16: 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

Romans 15: 13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Psalm 30: 5 For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life;
Weeping may endure for a night,But joy comes in the morning.

Whatever you are walking through, find JOY. It's deep down inside of you.

How is your heart?

In my devotional Bible this morning, I read this:

"God created us to convey the distinctive imprint of His divine nature to a world often blinded to His existence. Even our differences reflect the One who delighted in creating a world of dazzling diversity: peculiar penguins and majestic eagles; towering woods & dwarf pines; blondes, brunettes and redheads... every person created with the individual imprint of the Creator's hand to bear His image."

So, if we were created to look like God, what does God look like?

1 John 4:⁸ Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Psalm 86: ¹⁵ But Lord, You are a God full of compassion, generous in grace,
slow to anger, and boundless in loyal love and truth.

Psalm 103:11 Measure how high heaven is above the earth; God’s wide, loving, kind heart is greater for those who revere Him.

Numbers 23: 19 God is not a man—He doesn’t lie. God isn’t the son of a man to want to take back what He’s said,Or say something and not follow through, or speak and not act on it.

Psalm 50: 6 And the heavens proclaim his righteousness,for he is a God of justice.

These are just a few examples of what God looks like. I'm sure you are thinking, "But in the Old Testament, He made them kill people, and He seemed mean." Well, He just did what He had to. He is a just God.

The best way to see what God is really like, is by reading the New Testament and watch how Jesus treated people. He hung out with the people who had skin diseaes, the tax collectors who everyone hated, the prostitutes that were looked down on... here is an example:

Matthew 9: 10-13 says this:
¹⁰ While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples.¹¹ When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

¹² On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ¹³ But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

If you look in the mirror and don't like the body you are in, guess what... why not look at your heart like God does and see if you are being like Him?

1 Samuel 16: 7
⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

How is your heart?

 

Worry linked to pride? Say it ain't so!

Last night at church, a dear Godly woman whom I look up to gave us a surprising message on humility and pride. She referenced our Pastor's message about Jesus telling John to take care of His mom, Mary, after his death. Jesus was thinking about the welfare of His mom, while He was in horrible pain and dying.

(On a side note, my Pastor brought something to my attention I'd never thought of before... Joseph wasn't there. Only Mary. And the fact that Jesus did tell John to care for His mom, probably meant Joseph had passed away already. Here is the passage... it says "he took her into his home")

^{John 19:25} Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶ When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” ²⁷ and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.


Ok.. back the message at hand. Mrs. Laurel said, "Pride is the ground of all sin. Humility is the ground from which virtue comes.

Proverbs 29:23 from The Voice Bible says this: "A person’s pride brings him down,
but one of humble spirit has a firm hold on honor and respect."

Here are some things I never thought about being pride.

1. WORRY - this is prideful because it is saying you don't trust God and that you don't think He can handle your life situations.

2. COMPLAINING & WHINING -  this is prideful because it's saying you aren't happy with what God has given you.

3. THINKING ABOUT YOURSELF OR YOUR FAMILY TOO MUCH -  How can this be prideful, you ask? Because we are so wrapped up in ourselves, we aren't thinking of others.

We will never be perfect. God knows that. He made us and we are flawed. But we can let this process change us. There are ways to combat pride.

1. WORSHIP - When you worship God and see how big and great He is, then you aren't being prideful at all.

2. SERVE - When you serve others in Jesus name, to further His Kingdom, you can't be prideful.

Humility isn't wrong. Don't think you have to be beat down. Focus on Jesus and put Him first. Then, your problems tend to fade away.

Is God really there during the hard times?

In my devotional today from my New Women's Devotional Bible, it said this:

"Are you in the middle of a seemingly impossible assignment? Are you wondering if God really knows how much you can take? God knows your limits; He realizes that He calls the flawed poeple to enormous tasks. Yet His promise is forever the same: "I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:20)."

This is very comforting to me, because I have been going through what seems like an impossible assignment, but I still know God is there.

The cool thing about God is that He does not lie, and He keeps His promises. So, if you can count on whatever He says in the Bible.

In Deuteronomy 31 it says this: "⁶ Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

In this particular incident, Moses was about to tell the people of Israel that he wasn't going with them to the promised land, and I guess he was scared they'd kill him. So, God told him to not be afraid and that He would never leave him. But, that promise is true for us as well.

^{Hebrews 13:5} Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

⁶ So we say with confidence,

“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?”

 

 

Paul wrote the book for Hebrews. I'm not sure why he attached this living free from the love of money part..but he says again that God will never leave or forsake you.

Some people complain about the Old Testament God and how there were wars and killings, etc. But when Jesus came in the New Testament, He was God in the flesh, and that's how we need view God. See Him through the things Jesus said and did. It helps paint the picture of what a loving, merciful, righteous and just God He really is.

When life doesn't seem fair

I'm being divorcing by a husband who I love. I didn't want this. Has our marriage been picture perfect? NO! But we made a commitment to each other 19 years ago, and that's not something I take lightly. So, for me, it just doesn't seem fair that I'm a Godly woman who loves the Lord, I love my husband, take for & educate our three children...and what do I get? Divorced.

Well, I could sit and stew in that for a long time, get angry at God... be angry at my soon to be ex husband, just hate life in general. But I REFUSE to let it over take me. Has an injustice been done to me? Yes, but is God still good? YES!!

My post on facebook today was this: "While we may not understand God's ways, we know that He is all-wise, all-knowing, & just. He watches over us & will make everything right in its time. The key is for us to remain faithful to Him until then." ~ New Women's Devotional Bible

That's something to wrap your brain around. Do I think God caused my husband to leave? Absolutely not! God wants families together. However, God didn't stop it. Maybe He has a better plan for my life.

Scripture says, in Jeremiah 29:11, "¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

God has a plan for all of our lives. He doesn't want to harm us. It's not His will to hurt us.

God also promises in Romans 8 this: "²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

I love God! So, I know that He will turn things around for my good! I can trust Him. He doesn't lie, He doesn't make mistakes, and He is always here pulling me through. Whatever you are walking through... are you letting Him be there for you? You should.

When God Doesn't Make Sense

I love my Pastor and our church. And, I love God because He knows just what I need, when I need it. My Pastor is preaching on "So, you had a bad day." He is relating Jesus' worst day, the day He was killed, to our human bad days. He is also talking about other Bible people who had bad days and what happened in their lives.

I want to share some of his points from yesterday because it really helped me. I just know someone out here in the Internet world needs to read this.

Trust & faith is about opening up to God- even in the dark times. Jesus felt all of the weight of humanity & He asked why. So He understands us asking why when things happen. God's silence doesn't mean He has left us- but that He is so close to us we should know He is there. He doesn't have to speak.

When Jesus walked the earth, He went to the miserable people, to heal them.

For 34 chapters, Job asked God why this was happening to him. If you don't know his story, read the first few chapters of Job. God spoke to Job and brought things into perspective for him. Job 40: 3&4 God as bigger than what you are walking through.

1.Change your perspective- God is going to redeem it, it's not the end. Job 42:2
2.Relinquish control- Job 42:3
3. Be aware of His presence- Job 42:4 & Hebrews 10: 22 & 23

Here are four things to know when life gets chaotic:
1. God is there! Psalm 139: 7 & 8
2. God's timing is perfect! Acts 16: 25 & 26
3. God knows best! God is love! Nothing is wasted, He works all things for our good.
4. God cares! Cast all of your cares on Him because He cares for you. James 5:1MSG and Romans 8:28

My husband leaving me doesn't make sense to me. But I can hold on to these truth's and KNOW that I KNOW that I KNOW God is with me! I hope you know that too!

Friends

I just have a feeling to talk about friends this week. I'm an only child. So I don't have any birth or adopted siblings to be close to. Which means my friends are special and important to me.

I'm reading the book "Facing Your Giants" by Max Lucado. The chapter I'm on now is talking about facing the fear that comes from people who hurt us.

Israel asked for a king, so God told Samuel, the prophet, to anoint Saul the king. Later, because Saul disobeyed God, God told Samuel, the prophet, to go anoint a new king. God said "Go to the house of Jessie" (David's Dad) and He would tell him which son was to be king. David was the youngest of 7 sons. He was just a little shepherd teenager. But God saw his heart and that's who God wanted. Samuel anointed him like he was told to.

After this, David killed the giant Goliath. I think not long after that is when Saul started being jealous of David and his abilities. Saul's son was Jonathan. And for some reason, God made David and Jonathan best friends. Like brothers even!

1 Samuel 18:1 in the Message translation says this, "By the time David had finished reporting to Saul, Jonathan was deeply impressed with David—an immediate bond was forged between them. He became totally committed to David. From that point on he would be David’s number-one advocate and friend."

Remember, Jonathan is Saul's son. The king's son. He should be taking over the throne when his dad dies. They know that David has been anointed... which is why Saul wigged out and tried to kill David many times for a long period of time. But Jonathan was like a brother to David. He didn't care.

That's what friends are for. To do life with each other. They rejoice when times are good and cry with you when times are bad. One of the best things a friend can do is pray for you! I can tell you right now, I'm very thankful for my friends.

Snoopy & Woodstock have been friends forever. They are always with each other through things. If you are able, hug a friend today and tell them thanks for being in your life!

Friends

I seriously wouldn't be able to get through what I'm handling if it weren't for my friends. They listen, give advice, and pray for me. I'm a thankful woman today for my friends!

I've turned a corner and I seriously know I'm going to be ok. I do deserve better. God has a plan, and I'm not scared.

I'm sure I'll still have bad days, but I just feel better about everything. God is good!! ALL THE TIME!!!

Steal My Show

This is my last post with a Toby Mac video/ reference! We went to the Winter Jam concert a few months ago in Greenville, SC.

Toby Mac was the headliner. We really enjoy his music. He just knows how to mix hip hop with rock and pop in a way no one else has.

He told the story of this song before he sang it. When he is home, they play music as the whole family helps clean the kitchen after supper. He usually puts in a new song so he can see what they think of it. One night, as he was putting his then 7 year old son to bed, his son asked about his "Steal my show" song. He wanted to know what it meant.

Toby said, "Do you know how it is if there are a bunch of bands doing a concert together, but one of them was the best and everyone like them the best?" His son said, "Yea." Then Toby said, "That means that band stole the show."

His son said, "But Daddy, why would you want someone to steal your show then?" Toby said, "This song is about God. I want God to steal my show every time so it's only about Him."

This moved me to tears! The fact that he was talking to his son about God, and just how he wants God to be everything in his life and shows amazed me.

So, we should all want God to "steal our show". We need to give Him every day of our lives and let Him take over and run with it! I'm ready, are you?

http://youtu.be/KA_HoEC9ixc

Me without YOU

Becoming a Christian doesn't mean that you follow man made laws and rules. It means that you follow God and keep His commandments.

Religion says, "Be at church every time the doors are open." Religion says, "If you aren't reading your Bible every day, you are a bad Christian." Religion says, "Tithe 10% or else!"

Should we do these things, certainly, but not because we HAVE to, or not because we'll be "BAD" if we don't.

Living for God is simply praying, reading the Bible, listening to teachings and doing what GOD says do... not men.

In Galatians 2:20 Paul says this to the church," I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

Without God, men leave their families. Without God, people chase their own dreams instead of doing what God gifted and talented them for. Without God, we try to build our own kingdom here on earth, instead of building a heavenly Kingdom with Him.

I just want to encourage you, and let you know that living for God doesn't mean you have to be perfect. He already knows you aren't. You don't have to jump through hoops and do everything "just right" for Him to love you. He already does! NO MATTER WHAT!

Romans 5:8 says this: "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

So He KNEW we were sinners, but Christ died for us anyway. I don't know about you, but I'm so glad God isn't performance based and He doesn't need me to be perfect.

Here is Toby Mac's song, Me without You....
http://youtu.be/8qGa5rIOB28

Eye On It!

"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." ~ Philippians 3:14

In this passage Paul was talking to the Christians in Philippi. Things weren't going the way they wanted, but Paul wanted to encourage them.

The "prize" is our salvation and God's love. He is there, ALWAYS, and will never leave us.

So when things get bad... keep your eye on the prize!

I love how Toby Mac takes Scripture and makes it into an awesome hip hop song. This song "Eye on it" is based on the passage above. You will hear him say, "I have a new passenger to help me navigate the way"... that is the Holy Spirit.

Once we give our life to Christ, He gives us the Holy Spirit to help out... always keep your eyes on the prize and your heart open to hear.

http://youtu.be/jAdxaXSnMq4

SPEAK LIFE

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. What we say or don't say CAN hurt others. The Bible talks about this a good bit. I found just a few Scriptures to share with you on the topic.


Proverbs 15:
⁴ The soothing tongue is a tree of life,
but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.

Proverbs 18:²¹ Words kill, words give life;
they’re either poison or fruit—you choose. (MSG)

^{James 1:26} Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.

James 3:⁹ With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. ¹⁰ Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.
**************************************************************************************************
We have the opportunity to speak life or death to people. We can bless them or curse them with our words. It's true. The spoken word is VERY powerful.

Just ask the person who's parent called them "dummy" growing up, so that caused them feel dumb their whole life. Or, the girl who's Daddy always told her how pretty and smart she was.... because that girl always felt pretty and smart.

Watch what you say to people... you might be just the person to brighten their day!

As promised, here is another Toby Mac video... his song, Speak Life!

http://youtu.be/7rK6O0YtBRY

I'm declaring this week is Toby Mac week!

God has really been speaking to me about forgiveness. I know who I need to forgive, I guess I just need to do it.

I have decided that my blog will contain Toby Mac music all week to teach some lessons I'm learning. I love his music and hope you enjoy it too.

This week is "Forgiveness" featuring Lecrea. (I love his music too.)

Take a few minutes to listen to his song:

http://youtu.be/xfkhqpl81NA

Wisdom

In the Bible, in the book of James, (who also happened to be Jesus' brother), it says this:

^{James 1:5} If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

So, if you ask God for wisdom, He gives GENEROUSLY to ALL! Wow! This isn't something He will pick and chose and decide who gets it. Ask, and you get it.

Did you know that? Looks like something He has said, "ask & you will receive" type deals.

What do we need wisdom for?

1. Money: I wouldn't go financing anything or buying something  (even going out to eat)without asking for wisdom first. 

2. Life situations: When you aren't sure of what to do, ask for wisdom. Which college to attend, what clothes to wear, which cell phone plan is best for you... anything that you are unsure of, is ok to ask for wisdom for. 

3. Relationships: Ask for wisdom when handling people... especially difficult people. But, even if it's something small like how to handle a conversation with a friend, it helps to be wise. Of course, if it's something big in relationships, like whether to get married or divorced, ask for wisdom.

The cool thing is, usually with wisdom comes knowledge. And knowledge is always a good thing to have. Be sure to make wise choices in everything you do. Think things through first, pray, and seek God, asking Him what He would have you do. He knows our future, so He knows what's best for us.

Here is what happens when you don't have wisdom:
Proverbs 1:7The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools  despise wisdom and instruction.


Don't be a fool and ask for wisdom!

Writing a Book

Well, I've felt led to write a book for YEARS! I mean it's been forever...and I've never done it. I'm just not sure what to write about.

I'm in a different place in life right now. One that possibly could help someone else. I love helping people.

But, I'm just not sure what direction God wants me to go in. And then, I have no idea how to get published. Self publishing is an option, but with no money, that's not going to happen.

I like to write. Always have. I even started college right after high school to be a journalist. Writing comes naturally for me. I don't have to make an outline or think too much. It just flows.

I like to read too. And I like libraries. I used to work in the library in middle school..back when there was an actual card catalog. (No computers! Yes, I'm old.)

Anyway, some time in the year 2000, I had a man message me on Yahoo out of the blue. He is a Godly man, and we became friends. It's nothing weird. He's married, I was married. He has the gift of prophecy. That year, he said, "I see words coming off pages that you've written ministering to people." I've done nothing since then.

About a month ago, this same friend said, "THIS IS YOUR YEAR TO PUBLISH". I was like, "For real?" I kinda thought my blog was what God wanted me to do. After all, when I get ready to post, it says, "Publish". 

So, I'm praying about what to write. Because it can't be "ME" doing it. It's got to be God's and then it will all work out.

God sees our hearts

Today, I posted this Scripture on Facebook, "God does not see the same way people see. People look at the outside of a person, but the Lord looks at the heart." ~ 1 Samuel 16:7

And, it got me thinking....
If God looks at our hearts and not our faces, our bodies, our successes or failures, our bank accounts, how clean our house is, how organic we eat, and our past.... then why do we?

Why are we quick to judge? Why do we look at the outside instead of the inside?

We also tend to judge people sometimes by how they act... like if the person is in a bad mood, we think they are just grumpy. The thing is, you never know what someone is going through.

Let's be people of grace & mercy. Let's not judge and look at someone's outside before we ever get to know their inside.

Several people know I have a tattoo that says, "Jesus Loves You". I'm so thankful I have it now. It is helping me get through, and I've used it as a way to let people read the truth that Jesus loves them. I found this tattoo that is "Grace" one way, and "Mercy" the other. That's how we should live... with them interchangable!

The space in between

I'm not in a very good place, emotionally. I am trying to be strong and get through this divorce that I didn't ask for. I'm cooking, cleaning, and educating my kids. I'm trying not to sit around and cry. I do find that I'm distracting myself with things... like facebook.

I must say, he (the soon to be ex) hasn't left me high and dry. I am getting money every week, but it's JUST enough to pay the bills. NO EXTRAS. We were used to extras. A LARGE income walked out my front door.

I'm praying, asking for wisdom and discernment. I'm trying to press into God and trust Him knowing that He will provide for our needs. (Needs, not extras, Jill. Needs.)

I picked up my "Facing Your Giants" book by Max Lucado...I've had it but never read it. I feel like I'm facing several huge giants right now.

I'm also about to trust God fully and start tithing 10%. This is THE SCARIEST thing I've ever done. I'm afraid of taking food out of my children's mouths.(Thank GOD I have a stock pile of food. We just don't have many meats...but we will be fine.) I know God won't let that happen, but that's my first thought. I have a great church family, and I've been told there is money available for needs, like my light bill, if it comes to that. So, I'm trying not to worry. But, still... ya know?

The few things that I know, that I know, that I know. God will NEVER leave me or forsake me. His love never fails. And He will never stop loving me.

I can hear my Pastor saying, "Can I get an amen or a thanks be to God for that?" LOL

My family and friends have been amazing. I'm going to be ok. I'm just not in an ok spot yet.