God's Gifts

Birthdays. I tell you, they sneak up on me! Before I realize it, the day is here and I'm scrambling. Thankfully, I'm one that shops for birthdays and Christmas year-round, and many times it's saved me. Anytime that I find a good gift, and can swing it, I pick it up and stash it away for later. By doing this I'm able to get good gifts, not just something that's available at the last minute. I try to shop smart by shopping ahead of time and shopping the sales--all so we can give the kids good gifts.

Today for Monday Manna, Joanne of An Open Book has us writing about gifts. Here's the verse she's selected for us...

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! ~Matthew 7:11

God gives gifts that are way better than any gift I could ever find! He knows what's best for us and gives us those gifts. But really jumps out at me in this verse is “to those who ask Him!” How many times have I simply not asked? At least a gazillion, I'm sure. I know that when I started asking, God started giving even more. He has overwhelmed me with His abundance. Am I asking for wealth or a cushy life? No. I'm asking that my will align with His more everyday. I'm asking that He use me for His glory. Then, as I see specific things I ask for those, if it's something He wants for me. Above all I want His best.

This is where I've found peace and blessings, even in the midst of uncertainty and fear. I know that I can rest in God's sovereignty and know that the gifts He gives me are for the best. He loves me far more than I can imagine, and as a parent I like to give good gifts, and work hard to so—how much more will our loving God give us good gifts.

Ask God!

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All Things

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
~Philippians 4:13

I have to tell you, right now this verse makes my knees knock together. It makes me wonder what things will come along that will be far beyond me—things that will make me rely on God's strength.

But it doesn't have to be this way. I don't have to stand there, trembling and biting my nails in fear of what's coming.

I can have an attitude of confidence instead of fear!

Because Christ is in me, because I follow Him, He strengthens me. With His strength, I can handle all that He has planned for me. If I'm bound up by fear, He's not as free to work through me. But if I'm confident of God's power and strength in me, He's able to shine through me more.

I've been thinking about this verse a lot recently, thanks to Joanne at An Open Book, and I'm so glad she chose it for today's Monday Manna. Join us there for links to more thoughts on Philippians 4:13.


As I did my daily Bible reading today, I came to 1 Samuel 12:16.
Even now, take your stand and see this great thing which the Lord will do before your eyes.

That led me to Exodus 14:13-14
Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you...The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.

I don't need to be strong, or able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. I need to rely fully on God. I need to cling to Him and let His strength work through me. I think too many times I make it more difficult then has to be and I work and worry myself into a tizzy like the little red head.

I need to take my stand and see what God will accomplish.
His work.
His strength.
For His glory.

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Are You Circumcised?

Today is Monday Manna at An Open Book and it's nice to be able to participate once again! Here's what she chose for us today:

The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.
~Deuteronomy 30:6

Wowzers! What a doozie for today! It made me do some studying and that's never a bad thing to do! :) Circumcision is a word many of us shy away from—especially explaining what it is...at least when it's referring to the physical act. LoL But this isn't talking about physical circumcision.

Circumcision is not something you can do for yourself—physically or spiritually. God is the only One who can circumcise our hearts. How? Through the blood of His Son, Jesus. He purifies us and sets us apart for Himself.

Taking the view that circumcision means to purify or set apart helps me understand this more...God will purify our hearts so that we can love Him with everything in us and live—really live. We're not to live for ourselves, but for God alone. In Him we have newness of life and through Him we have eternal life and out of love for Him we are to live lives that glorify God. That's when we're really living, when we're living full-out for Him.

What a promise this verse holds for us! It's not just talking about us, but about our children, too, and as women and moms, we're all concerned about our children. It's not that our faith can save our kids—each person is responsible for their own faith, but as we live for God, our children see our faith and it affects them and influences them, leading many of them to salvation. What greater gift can we give our kids than the gift of salvation and God's love?

It all starts with God circumcising...purifying...our hearts so we can love Him and live.

Are you loving God with all your heart?
Are you really living—living for God?

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Got Peace?

Today is Monday Manna at An Open Book and Joanne gave us a wonderful passage! It's also Joanne's birthday today so be sure to stop by and wish her a happy birthday!

Happy Birthday, JoDear!! You're an inspiration to me and a super special sister-of-the-soul. :)

4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:4-9)

This is one of those all-time great passages of the Bible that so many of us turn to quite often. When I read through it this time I notice “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Probably because in the zoo-iness of life peace is hard to come by.

I don't know about you, but if I feel God's peace inside me I can handle so much more chaos in my life than without it. His peace truly guards my heart and mind, keeping me anchored and secure. Peaceful in the midst of the storm. That peace surely “surpasses all comprehension.”

So how can I find that peace? How can I consistently have God's peace in my life? I think the rest of the passage tells us how.
**rejoice
**REJOICE!! :)
**don't be anxious or worry
**pray instead
**focus your mind on the things of God

In every area and every circumstance and situation we're to talk with God—that personal communication with Him that's known as prayer. Not a rote prayer that we simply repeat over and over, but deep, intimate conversation like we have with a sister, close friend or spouse. When we're in close and constant contact with God, His peace is much closer than when we're not.

Another thing I think is key to having God's peace is our focus. Is my mind focused on God, and things of God, or is it distracted with the million and one things crowding around me, yapping at me. I've found that, even when I talk with God a lot, I can still have the wrong focus. I can cry and whine and complain constantly to God...and never know peace. Or I can set those things behind me, focus on the good--on God and know His peace, even when the situation is exactly the same.

That's the peace of God that guards my heart and mind. It can keep me calm in the midst of chaos just as surely as it keeps me anchored and secure in His Sovereignty.

So tell me, have you got peace?

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Free to Be...

Today is Monday Manna at An Open Book and Joanne gave us another short verse that packs a whallop.

Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. ~1 Peter 2:16

This verse seems to be the culmination of several verses just above it...

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; ...Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. ~1 Peter 2:9, 12

We are God's people.
Our lives are to proclaim Christ.
We are to live above reproach.
Our lives are to glorify God.

Yes, it's true, we no longer live under the law, but rather under grace, but that doesn't mean we can use it as a blanket excuse for doing things we shouldn't. Just because the Bible doesn't say 'thou shalt not' do a certain thing, doesn't mean that it's okay for us to do all things. We have to look and see what the Bible tells us to do and how we're to live our lives. We are not free to do anything we want.

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? ~Romans 6:1-2

In our freedom (provided through Christ's death, burial and resurrection) we are to give our lives totally to God. We are to willingly and joyfully become His bondslaves. Jesus did not die so we could go on our merry way claiming His grace and mercy as an excuse for our selfishness and self-centeredness. He freed us from our sin so that we could live our lives in such a way that God is greatly glorified. Always.

A life lived out of love for God will glorify God.

If a behavior or action will not glorify God, we shouldn't do it.
How do we know what will glorify God? By being in His Word on a regular basis and by living in a state of constant communication with Him.

Use your freedom to live for God and to be a willing and joyful bondslave of God.

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In Black and White

Today is Monday Manna at An Open Book and Joanne gave us a verse with few words, but it packs a punch!

And having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
~Romans 6:18

Two phrases:
freed from sin
slaves of righteousness

Two colors:
Black
White

There is no straddling this fence.
There is no middle ground.
There is no gray area.
It's black or white.
One or the other.

When we lived in sin, we lived in blackness—complete darkness. But those of us redeemed by Christ, having been washed by His blood, are clothed in white robes—the righteousness of Jesus.

Because we are freed from sin (past tense) we no longer have to live (present tense) as slaves to sin. We do not have to follow the dictates of sin. Sure, sin will try to entangle us, entrap us, sweet talk us and command us. But Jesus freed us from having to listen to, and obey, sin. We can cling to Jesus and through HIS righteousness we can live.

Two phrases:
freed from sin
slaves of righteousness

Two colors:
Black
White

Two masters:
Death.
Life.

Which is your master?

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Rendering to Caesar

Be sure to join us at An Open Book for links to more thoughts on today's verse! And feel free to jump in and join us!

Render to Caesar the thing that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's. ~Mark 12:17

Every quarter I pull out my tax files and cozy up to my adding machine where my fingers do the walking (and adding) for me. Because we are self-employed and I'm the office girl and the treasurer/secretary of our company, it's my job to do this. (It's also one of the ways that I am a helpmate for my husband. By doing the books and taxes for him, he's free to do other things. Oh, and I do not make the financial decisions, he does, I just do the bookwork and weekly finger work.) Doing the books is a fact of my life—and definitely not a favorite part! But I don't get hung up about paying taxes either. They're a fact of life.

Politics is not something I tackle here, but I do have a few opinions. One of them is our responsibility to pray for our president—regardless of whether I agree with him or not. The other opinion I feel strongly about is paying taxes. We need to pay them. We need to pay to Caesar what is due him. The government is placed over us for many reasons (no, I don't agree with big government) and they do have a place in the big scheme of things. Anarchy has no appeal to me, so I pay my taxes and pray for our government.

But the government only gets my taxes. My life and my soul belong to God. Money is temporary. My soul is eternal. God has given me so much and I have the privilege of giving back to Him myself. Even with giving Him my life, there is no way I could ever repay what God has done for me. Michael W. Smith's song sums it up for me:
“I Give You My Heart”
This is my desire, to Honor You
Lord with all my heart I worship You
All I have within me
I give You praise
All that I adore is in You

Lord I give You my heart
I give You my soul
I live for You alone
Every breath that I take
Every moment I'm awake
Lord have Your way in me

Lord I give You my heart
I give You my soul
I live for You alone
Every breath that I take
Every moment I'm awake
Lord have Your way in me

This is my desire, to Honor You
Lord with all my heart I worship You
All I have within me
I give You praise
All that I adore is in You

Lord I give You my heart
I give You my soul
I live for You alone
Every breath that I take
Every moment I'm awake
Lord have Your way in me

Lord I give You my heart
I give You my soul
I live for You alone
Every breath that I take
Every moment I'm awake
Lord have Your way in me

Lord I give You my heart
I give You my soul
I live for You alone
Every breath that I take
Every moment I'm awake
Lord have Your way in me

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Testify!

Today is Monday Manna and Joanne has chosen a wonderful verse for us to blog about! For more thoughts and links be sure to join us at An Open Book. We'd love to have you join us in posting your thoughts, too!

For you will be a witness for Him to all men of what you have seen and heard. ~Acts 22:15

God has given us work to do! We are to be a witness for Him. It's something that every single person can do—tell others what Jesus has done for us personally. It does not take any special training or special anything. Simply telling others what Jesus is doing in our lives—in my life.

In Matthew 11:4 says something similar. “Jesus answered and said to them, 'Go and report to John what you hear and see...'”

How about when the Gerasene demoniac asks to accompany Jesus? What does Jesus say to him? “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.” (Mark 5:19)

This is something that we can do even as we balance babies on our hips, or run a taxi service, or care for aging parents. Whatever time of life we're in, we can testify. God has done so much for us! Let's follow the Samaritan woman's example and run and tell those we know. As a result of her testimony, many people in the city came to Jesus and believed in Him. And all she did was tell them what Jesus had done for her. Nothing fancy. Simply testifying.

We can do that! Let's take every opportunity that's presented to us and let's diligently watch for every opportunity so that those around us may know God, for there is none like Him.

Be sure to join us at An Open Book for more Monday Manna.
Don't forget that tomorrow is an interview with Cheryl Wyatt and she's giving away a copy of her new release, Ready-made Family.

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Serving Reverently

Welcome to Monday Manna! This week Joanne chose Psalm 2:11

Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. (NIV)
Worship the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling. (NAS)

This has been on my mind since Joanne posted it last Thursday, and I'm just now getting to sit down with it. I had to laugh because my thoughts focused on the first half of the verse, and hers were on the second half.

Serving God is one of our reasons for being here—something I'd often like to forget because I'm so self-centered and me-focused. What jumped out to me is that yes, we're to serve God, but even more, we're to serve reverently.

I think this is something God is really trying to get through to me because it keeps coming up.
Reverence for God.
Entering His presence reverently and now serving reverently. Often I'll go about the things I do and although I'm not flippant (although, sometimes I am), I'm not reverent either.

But as for me, by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house, at Your holy temple I will bow in reverence for You. ~Psalm 5:7

Serving God is an act of worship. If-- no, since God can use my service, even when I'm not necessarily reverent, just imagine what He might be able to do if I were serving reverently. Wow. That's what I want.

Thanks, Joanne. Be sure to join us at An Open Book for more Monday Manna links.

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Those Pronouns!

 



Today is Monday Manna over at An Open Book. Be sure to join us there for links to more thoughts on Isaiah 53:5.

But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. ~Isaiah 53:5 NAS

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. ~Isaiah 53:5 KJV

Isaiah 53 is one of my most favorite chapters in the Bible, so I was thrilled to see that Joanne chose a verse for us from there—not to mention that I happen to know this is an extra special passage for her! (Happy rebirth-day, JoDear!!) I'm a New America Standard girl, but I have to admit to loving this passage best in the King James.

Being not only a homeschool mom, but someone who spends much of my time writing, what jumps out to me is the pronouns and prepositions in this verse.

...He...for our...
...our...upon Him...
...with His...we...

If we didn't know anything else, that alone tells us so much about what Christ did for us. He died for us, in our place. He suffered through a horrible death out of LOVE for us. My mind completely boggles at that much love. Yes, I love my husband, and I love my children, but the kind of love Christ has for us is so far beyond that. Infinitely beyond that.

Because of my sin Jesus was rejected, beaten, chastised and scourged. My sin did this to Him. My sin made it necessary for Him to go through such things. And yes, necessary. The penalty and debt incurred by my sin needed to be paid, and HE paid that price. In full. Out of love. Wowzers!

Now look at those verbs!
Wounded, bruised, stripes (KJV)
pierced, crushed, scourging (NAS)

Those are strong words, especially those in the New American Standard version. I wouldn't like to experience those! (and it doesn't appear that Jesus wanted to either—look at His prayer in the Garden to see just how much He didn't want to) Yet He did. For MY sins. Out of love for me.

Lord, thank You for loving me so much that You endured all that so I could be forgiven. Your love amazes me and I hate to think where I would be without it. Thank You. Father, help me to give all I have to You! My life, my all. I love You, Lord.

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Jesus Wept

For Monday Manna this week, Joanne chose the shortest verse in the Bible. Don't forget to join us at Joanne's for links to more thoughts on this great verse!

Jesus wept.
~John 11:35

This is a verse that has grabbed me each time I've read it for the last several years. I always see the compassion of Jesus in this verse—whether it's compassion for the heartache Mary and Martha were going through, compassion on Lazarus for calling him away from the better place he'd gone to, or compassion on the lost people all around Him. Jesus was a compassionate man.
He is a compassionate God.
He sees our heartaches and understands our sorrows.

But Your are a God of forgiveness,
Gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness;
And You did not forsake them.
~Nehemiah 9:17

The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
for His compssions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great it Your faithfulness.
~Lamentaions 3:22-23

Not only can we depend oh His faithfulness, but we can depend on His compassion—remembering that He is a just and righteous God.

The fact that the Bible records that Jesus wept is a vivid reminder to me that He is compassionate and that He does understand what we're going through and just how frail humanity is. There's tremendous comfort for me in Jesus' tears. When we're going through a hard time and we come in contact with a compassionate person, we really appreciate and feel their concern. How much greater when we encounter Christ's compassion and tears for us?!

Heavenly Father, thank You for understanding me, and loving me. Being the just and righteousness God that You are, You could have passed over being compassionate, but Lord, I'm so thankful You didn't. Please help me to always run to You for compassion, but also to never take it for granted. You paid a high price for compassion. I love You, Lord Jesus. Thank You.

He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrow He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
~Isaiah 53:3-4


Be sure to join me Tuesday At the Well for Smelly Cans!

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Answering the Call

Monday Manna is hosted this week at An Open Book.

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" Isaiah 6:8

I was so excited to see that Joanne had chosen this verse for Monday Manna this week! This is one of my favorites because it's tied in with missions so often, and as you know, missions is near and dear to my heart. But as I thought about this verse, my mind went back to something directly related to church—our local church.

You see, although I have five kids, I'm not a kid-loving person. I don't go out of my way to be with children. That being said, I had been praying and asking God to use me in some way in our local church. So, when my phone rang and I was asked to help teach the grade school girls on Wednesday nights, I said yes, with no dithering about it. And I started praying! I'm not only not a kid-loving person, but I'm not a teacher. I'm very capable of working with the kids, and teaching them, but it's not one of those things that turns my crank and that I get excited about.

But you know what? That doesn't matter.

What does matter is a willing spirit. When I received that call, I felt God was asking, 'Who shall I send? Who will go for us?' And although my knees were knocking and my brain was squawking, I said 'Here I am. Send me!' There is no exception clause to that verse—there's no 'only if it's doing what I want to do'. In fact, in that verse God doesn't say where or what. He just said 'who'.

I've come to see that there are times in our lives when we need to step up and fill the gap, even if we're not a perfect fit for the gap that's there. Please understand that I am not endorsing filling our plate with things that shouldn't be there. Things that are good but take up the space that the best is supposed to be taking. I'm not endorsing jumping in and saying yes to everything. What I'm saying is that there are times when there's a real need that needs to be filled, that we're capable of filling. Those are the times that we need to step forward and say yes to, even though we'd rather not. When that happens, we need to keep praying that the Lord of the harvest will send forth the laborer to take over for us.

I know that some people have way too much on their plate—those are not the people I'm talking about. I'm talking to people like me. People who do have some room on their plate. We can fill a hole without over-burdening ourselves, or our families. It doesn't have to be a perfect a fit for us if we're filling a hole we're capable of filling. Our willing spirit and love for God will fill the cracks enough until a person who is a perfect fit comes along.

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Pick me!

Monday Manna is hosted this week at An Open Book.

One of my favorite scenes in Shrek (the first one) is actually the menu. If you don't choose fast enough, Donkey will start bounding up and down, hollering “Pick me!” Ever since I first saw that, there have been times when my soul has cried out with him, “Pick me, Lord, pick me!” But I'm finding that, at times, I'm just like a little kid sitting in the classroom. No, not the one bouncing up and down, waving, and saying “Oh, oh!”, but the one studiously rubbing the scratch in the desk, hoping the teacher doesn't notice her and call on her.

I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. ~Romans 12:1

Slithering down in your chair when the teacher is looking for volunteers, or even slipping out the door, is not “presenting your body a living and holy sacrifice”. It's trying to get out of service. When we do that to God (and we do!), we're trying to get out of service, which is not acceptable to God, just like it's not acceptable to the teacher.

How many times have you shown up somewhere to help or work with a smile and a willing spirit? How many times have you gotten up in the morning wearing a smile, eager to do even do the dirty jobs for your family--simply because you want to serve them, and so serve God? I'll answer that one (for myself). Not many times at all. Sure, there are times I'm like Donkey jumping up and down hollering “Pick me, pick me!”, eager to serve God as He's wanting me to. Other times I have my heels dug in the ground like a donkey, doing all I can to get out of doing the thing God is asking me to.

Presenting my body--myself--as a living sacrifice is something that I usually have to do on a moment-by-moment basis, and one that I struggle with greatly. Selfishness is like a fence that keeps me caged up, far away from willingness to serve, and far away from peace, joy and freedom.

This is one time that I want to be like Donkey—always. I want to be willing and eager to do what my Lord and Savior asks of me, and to do it joyfully. I want God to be able to use me.

Pick me, Lord, pick me!


Don't forget to stop by An Open Book
for links to more thoughts on Romans 12:1.

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That I may know Him

This week Joanne at An Open Book is hosting Manna Monday, join us there for links to more thoughts on these wonderful verses.

That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. ~Philippians 3:10-11

That I may know Him. For me that one phrase encompasses and explains so much to me.

“Lord, why did I have Guillain Barre?” ...That I may know Him. I grew spiritually when my legs were almost useless to me. That event, when I was 16, changed the course of my life and set the tone for when many others things came into my life.

“Lord, why did we lose those two babies?” ...That I may know Him. It was while reeling and then healing that I drew close to God and found in Him a constant source of comfort and light in the midst of my grief. I also have every confidence that when the next time of grieving enters my life, that God will be there, shining His light into the darkness that will try to drown me in its depths.

“Lord, why is my dad and my good friend in such constant, debilitating pain?” ...That I may know Him. Witnessing their faith while in such pain encourages and reminds me that He is always there—even when life does its best to squelch our faith.

Whenever I get to wondering about the why's of life, I always come back to this verse. ...That I may know Him. What greater thing in life is there than to know Him? And just think, it doesn't just end with knowing Him, that's just the beginning of eternity. We'll get to be with Him for all eternity.

Join us at An Open Book for more links to Monday Manna.


Missions Matter! ~Blog Giveaway coming November 12th!

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