This scripture is requiring a great deal of attention from me! The importance of it is pressing into my spirit. Consider that the Jewish people were not allowed to enter the promised land because of unbelief. They didn't believe that they could take over the land, they didn't believe that they could conquer the giants. Do you believe that you can conquer the giants in your life? Don't let unbelief prevent you from entering the promised land that the Lord has given to you.
Don't let unbelief prevent you from entering God's promises~
Hebrews 3:16 For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? 17 And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19 So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Husband~(your Maker is your Husband)~
Wow! This morning when I was headed to my study corner for my morning coffee and time of reading scripture and prayer, the Spirit prompted me to read Isaiah 54(instead of what I had planned to read). I have a little history with Isaiah 54, it was given to me during a prophetic word while we were in Tulsa. In Tulsa I didn't absorb it or let it go to my heart quite as much as it did today. What beautiful words God has given us in this chapter!
What a beautiful and intimate promise He has given me this morning. I've wondered and questioned how much of an intimate level He wants to reach with us. I will question no more, how much more intimate of a level can be reached than Husband? I have had experiences before and wondered the meaning and spoken to Lane about it, but we both were on a level of not quite grasping it all and as Lane says "put it on a shelf until it comes back again". This morning through these scriptures I have gained an understanding and a new greater joy that He has gifted me with through this whole chapter.
Words are only words until they sink into our being. While I was receiving this message this morning I wondered how I would refrain from dancing through the rest of my days in joy?! Such promises of vindication, protection and future that I am to set my heart on. This chapter is to become part of who I am, it is His promise to me, my comfort and my future promise!
Isaiah 54~
1 “Shout for joy, O barren one, you who have borne no child;
Break forth into joyful shouting and cry aloud, you who have not travailed;
For the sons of the desolate one will be more numerous
Than the sons of the married woman,” says the LORD. (Lane and I have been prophesied to have many spiritual children, but as yet we do not have any.)
2 “Enlarge the place of your tent;
Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, spare not;
Lengthen your cords
And strengthen your pegs.
3 “For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left.
And your descendants will possess nations
And will resettle the desolate cities.
4 “Fear not, for you will not be put to shame;
And do not feel humiliated, for you will not be disgraced;
But you will forget the shame of your youth,
And the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.
5 “For your husband is your Maker,
Whose name is the LORD of hosts;
And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel,
Who is called the God of all the earth.
6 “For the LORD has called you,
Like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit,
Even like a wife of one’s youth when she is rejected,”
Says your God.
7 “For a brief moment I forsook you,
But with great compassion I will gather you.
8 “In an outburst of anger
I hid My face from you for a moment,
But with everlasting lovingkindness I will have compassion on you,”
Says the LORD your Redeemer.
9 “For this is like the days of Noah to Me,
When I swore that the waters of Noah
Would not flood the earth again;
So I have sworn that I will not be angry with you
Nor will I rebuke you.
10 “For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake,
But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you,
And My covenant of peace will not be shaken,”
Says the LORD who has compassion on you.
11 “O afflicted one, storm-tossed, and not comforted,
Behold, I will set your stones in antimony,
And your foundations I will lay in sapphires.
12 “Moreover, I will make your battlements of rubies,
And your gates of crystal,
And your entire wall of precious stones.
13 “All your sons will be taught of the LORD;
And the well-being of your sons will be great.
14 “In righteousness you will be established;
You will be far from oppression, for you will not fear;
And from terror, for it will not come near you.
15 “If anyone fiercely assails you it will not be from Me.
Whoever assails you will fall because of you.
16 “Behold, I Myself have created the smith who blows the fire of coals
And brings out a weapon for its work;
And I have created the destroyer to ruin.
17 “No weapon that is formed against you will prosper;
And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
And their vindication is from Me,” declares the LORD.
What a beautiful and intimate promise He has given me this morning. I've wondered and questioned how much of an intimate level He wants to reach with us. I will question no more, how much more intimate of a level can be reached than Husband? I have had experiences before and wondered the meaning and spoken to Lane about it, but we both were on a level of not quite grasping it all and as Lane says "put it on a shelf until it comes back again". This morning through these scriptures I have gained an understanding and a new greater joy that He has gifted me with through this whole chapter.
Words are only words until they sink into our being. While I was receiving this message this morning I wondered how I would refrain from dancing through the rest of my days in joy?! Such promises of vindication, protection and future that I am to set my heart on. This chapter is to become part of who I am, it is His promise to me, my comfort and my future promise!
Isaiah 54~
1 “Shout for joy, O barren one, you who have borne no child;
Break forth into joyful shouting and cry aloud, you who have not travailed;
For the sons of the desolate one will be more numerous
Than the sons of the married woman,” says the LORD. (Lane and I have been prophesied to have many spiritual children, but as yet we do not have any.)
2 “Enlarge the place of your tent;
Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, spare not;
Lengthen your cords
And strengthen your pegs.
3 “For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left.
And your descendants will possess nations
And will resettle the desolate cities.
4 “Fear not, for you will not be put to shame;
And do not feel humiliated, for you will not be disgraced;
But you will forget the shame of your youth,
And the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.
5 “For your husband is your Maker,
Whose name is the LORD of hosts;
And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel,
Who is called the God of all the earth.
6 “For the LORD has called you,
Like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit,
Even like a wife of one’s youth when she is rejected,”
Says your God.
7 “For a brief moment I forsook you,
But with great compassion I will gather you.
8 “In an outburst of anger
I hid My face from you for a moment,
But with everlasting lovingkindness I will have compassion on you,”
Says the LORD your Redeemer.
9 “For this is like the days of Noah to Me,
When I swore that the waters of Noah
Would not flood the earth again;
So I have sworn that I will not be angry with you
Nor will I rebuke you.
10 “For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake,
But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you,
And My covenant of peace will not be shaken,”
Says the LORD who has compassion on you.
11 “O afflicted one, storm-tossed, and not comforted,
Behold, I will set your stones in antimony,
And your foundations I will lay in sapphires.
12 “Moreover, I will make your battlements of rubies,
And your gates of crystal,
And your entire wall of precious stones.
13 “All your sons will be taught of the LORD;
And the well-being of your sons will be great.
14 “In righteousness you will be established;
You will be far from oppression, for you will not fear;
And from terror, for it will not come near you.
15 “If anyone fiercely assails you it will not be from Me.
Whoever assails you will fall because of you.
16 “Behold, I Myself have created the smith who blows the fire of coals
And brings out a weapon for its work;
And I have created the destroyer to ruin.
17 “No weapon that is formed against you will prosper;
And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
And their vindication is from Me,” declares the LORD.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Deeper with God
"I think that the level of things you let go of in worldly things creates the level you can go deeper with the Spirit into Godly things."
This was a comment I added to a conversation that was on Facebook, concerning a comment by the Author Randy Alcorn, "I’m deeply concerned at how careless and morally soft we’ve become as Christians. At times we are frighteningly weak in our exercise of sexual purity. We watch and are amused by what offends a holy God. Our tolerance for impurity keeps expanding. Sin sneaks in under our radar. We make ourselves defenseless. “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire” (Col. 3:5).
It soon had a comment about what we do or do not allow our children to see and made me think a little more deeply about it. This is what evolved~ this subject gets deep pretty fast so please bear with me!
In my opinion(safe beginning, right?) there are some things we have to protect our children from but they are not the same as things that we have to protect ourselves from. With that said I think even adults have different levels that they can tolerate, I know Lane can tolerate a lot more violence and bloodshed in shows than I can. My spirit is really sensitive and once I see something it's like it's indelibly imprinted on my mind, so I have to be really careful! I have to know my limits and Lane has learned them and tries to protect me as well. Having limits isn't about depriving ourselves, it's about living where it's healthiest and safest for us to be.
People tend to want a hard and fast rule to live by, but our walk with God is a living, growing thing. We have to trust the Spirit to lead us to recognise what is detrimental for our own spirits. If we are walking with the Spirit daily(even moment by moment) we will be alerted when we are entering a danger zone. Haven't you received a feeling that something is not right? It may be the slightest nudge and if you choose to not pay attention you can easily quiet it by your human understanding, but if you are desiring to have a deeper relationship with the Lord, you need to become sensitive to the nudges. The more you pay attention to the nudges and respond correctly the deeper your spiritual walk will go.
Lane and I have been praying to move when God moves, to say what He says. We don't want to be out of step with Him at all. We are prepared to do what that requires of us, if it requires that we limit our entertainment to grow closer to our Father and to better hear the Spirit, then so be it, we will gladly give up questionable entertainment that is only for a short moments pleasure and then quickly forgotten so we will be able to walk in unison with our Lord! And again I say "I think that the level of things you let go of in worldly things creates the level you can go deeper with the Spirit into Godly things."
This was a comment I added to a conversation that was on Facebook, concerning a comment by the Author Randy Alcorn, "I’m deeply concerned at how careless and morally soft we’ve become as Christians. At times we are frighteningly weak in our exercise of sexual purity. We watch and are amused by what offends a holy God. Our tolerance for impurity keeps expanding. Sin sneaks in under our radar. We make ourselves defenseless. “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire” (Col. 3:5).
It soon had a comment about what we do or do not allow our children to see and made me think a little more deeply about it. This is what evolved~ this subject gets deep pretty fast so please bear with me!
In my opinion(safe beginning, right?) there are some things we have to protect our children from but they are not the same as things that we have to protect ourselves from. With that said I think even adults have different levels that they can tolerate, I know Lane can tolerate a lot more violence and bloodshed in shows than I can. My spirit is really sensitive and once I see something it's like it's indelibly imprinted on my mind, so I have to be really careful! I have to know my limits and Lane has learned them and tries to protect me as well. Having limits isn't about depriving ourselves, it's about living where it's healthiest and safest for us to be.
People tend to want a hard and fast rule to live by, but our walk with God is a living, growing thing. We have to trust the Spirit to lead us to recognise what is detrimental for our own spirits. If we are walking with the Spirit daily(even moment by moment) we will be alerted when we are entering a danger zone. Haven't you received a feeling that something is not right? It may be the slightest nudge and if you choose to not pay attention you can easily quiet it by your human understanding, but if you are desiring to have a deeper relationship with the Lord, you need to become sensitive to the nudges. The more you pay attention to the nudges and respond correctly the deeper your spiritual walk will go.
Lane and I have been praying to move when God moves, to say what He says. We don't want to be out of step with Him at all. We are prepared to do what that requires of us, if it requires that we limit our entertainment to grow closer to our Father and to better hear the Spirit, then so be it, we will gladly give up questionable entertainment that is only for a short moments pleasure and then quickly forgotten so we will be able to walk in unison with our Lord! And again I say "I think that the level of things you let go of in worldly things creates the level you can go deeper with the Spirit into Godly things."
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
The All - Sufficient One
Today's entry, posted by Lane, comes from a devotion book that I try to read an entry from each day. I don't always succeed at this, but I am really glad I did today! What I read was something that really stood out and I wanted to share it here with you.
- Saint Francis of Assisi
Thank you Lord for all of these attributes and yet even so many more!
**This is from the book "Promises to keep: Daily devotions for men seeking integrity" by Nick Harrison. This book draws together the words of hundreds of prominent Christian authors and leaders.**
The All - Sufficient One
"'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God,
'who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.'" - Revelation 1:8
You are Holy Lord, the Only God,
and Your deeds are wonderful.
You are Strong.
You are Great.
You are the Most High,
You are Almighty.
You, Holy Father, are King of Heaven and Earth.
You are Three and One,
Lord God, all good.
You are Good, all Good, Supreme Good,
Lord God, living and true.
You are Love,
You are Wisdom.
You are Humility,
You are Endurance.
You are Rest,
You are Peace.
You are Joy and Gladness.
You are Justice and Moderation.
You are all our riches and You suffice for us.
You are Beauty.
You are Gentleness.
You are our Protector,
You are our Guardian and Defender.
You are Courage.
You are our Haven and our Hope.
You are our faith, our great consolation.
You are our Eternal Life,
Great and Wonderful Lord,
God Almighty,
Merciful Saviour.
- Saint Francis of Assisi
Thank you Lord for all of these attributes and yet even so many more!
**This is from the book "Promises to keep: Daily devotions for men seeking integrity" by Nick Harrison. This book draws together the words of hundreds of prominent Christian authors and leaders.**
Monday, April 23, 2012
Progress With Food Habits
OK, my food habits are holding pretty well! I've been having an orange for breakfast and coffee. I follow that up with some cottage cheese and pineapple chunks(in natural juice) at least an hour later. I've read somewhere that you should let fruit digest for at least a half hour before eating something else. I don't really follow that with the pineapple because it's mixed in with the cottage cheese, but it seems to be working for me. All of my eating is spaced around 2 hours apart. Sometimes at the next 2 hour mark I may have more cottage cheese or it may be a cheese omelet. My evening meal has been soup a lot of times. I fix 2 different types of soup, one is a tomato based soup and the other is cabbage soup, my husband enjoys the soups as well. So far(in 2 months) I have lost 17 pounds and looking forward to losing more.
My Vegetable Soup(Tomato Based)~Low Carb
~this is approximate, because I mostly just chop and add without measuring~
2 cans Cajun style stewed tomatoes
1 package frozen green beans
1 head broccoli(chopped to bite size)
1 head cauliflower(chopped to bite size)
2 stalks celery(sliced)
2 cloves garlic(diced)
1 onion(chopped)
2 slices dehydrated jalapenos(fresh should work also), or more if you want it hotter!
Filtered water(enough to cover vegetables), or tap water if yours is good~
1-2 Tablespoons Beef Bouillon
3(or more) Tablespoons Worcester Sauce
1 T black pepper
I normally cook until the vegetables are mostly tender, then I add some frozen okra just because we like it in the mixture. You can leave it out if you don't care for okra!
This is a very satisfying soup for us~ and low carb! I have considered preparing some macaroni seperate and mixing it in at the last minute for Lane since he's not watching carbs, but he said he loves the soup just the way it is~
My Vegetable Soup(Tomato Based)~Low Carb
~this is approximate, because I mostly just chop and add without measuring~
2 cans Cajun style stewed tomatoes
1 package frozen green beans
1 head broccoli(chopped to bite size)
1 head cauliflower(chopped to bite size)
2 stalks celery(sliced)
2 cloves garlic(diced)
1 onion(chopped)
2 slices dehydrated jalapenos(fresh should work also), or more if you want it hotter!
Filtered water(enough to cover vegetables), or tap water if yours is good~
1-2 Tablespoons Beef Bouillon
3(or more) Tablespoons Worcester Sauce
1 T black pepper
I normally cook until the vegetables are mostly tender, then I add some frozen okra just because we like it in the mixture. You can leave it out if you don't care for okra!
This is a very satisfying soup for us~ and low carb! I have considered preparing some macaroni seperate and mixing it in at the last minute for Lane since he's not watching carbs, but he said he loves the soup just the way it is~
Psalm 23~Be Restored!
We had a great message Saturday that is still rippling through my meditations. The scripture reference is Psalm 23.
The parts that are still seeping into my being are the words that "I shall not want", that means that God provides everything I need! There is nothing I should worry for or be anxious about. God's word promises that I shall not want!
The next part is that He "restores my soul". My soul is the part of me that makes me who I am, it's my "being", it's not physical and not spiritual...just me! And He restores it! After going through emotional trials and life's disappointments many of us hide behind walls that keep us from living our lives freely, myself included. I'm looking forward to complete restoration, I know I will be free to dance in praise of Abba and not care what anyone thinks, I will be restored to the joy and innocence I had as a child!
I used to think this Psalm was to comfort those going through hardships at the time they were reading it, but after hearing the message given Saturday by Pastor Steve Gray I can apply it to my life and use it to be more freely me. I have nothing to worry or be concerned about except staying close to my Shepherd, He will handle everything else!
1 The LORD is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
The parts that are still seeping into my being are the words that "I shall not want", that means that God provides everything I need! There is nothing I should worry for or be anxious about. God's word promises that I shall not want!
The next part is that He "restores my soul". My soul is the part of me that makes me who I am, it's my "being", it's not physical and not spiritual...just me! And He restores it! After going through emotional trials and life's disappointments many of us hide behind walls that keep us from living our lives freely, myself included. I'm looking forward to complete restoration, I know I will be free to dance in praise of Abba and not care what anyone thinks, I will be restored to the joy and innocence I had as a child!
I used to think this Psalm was to comfort those going through hardships at the time they were reading it, but after hearing the message given Saturday by Pastor Steve Gray I can apply it to my life and use it to be more freely me. I have nothing to worry or be concerned about except staying close to my Shepherd, He will handle everything else!
Psalm 23
The LORD, the Psalmist’s Shepherd.
A Psalm of David.1 The LORD is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Beach Trip A Couple Of Years Ago
A few years ago our family took a trip to a state park on the Texas coast called Mustang Island. It was just a quick 3 day run, but we all needed the time away to regroup and have some time to clear our collective mind. These are a few pictures from the trip that are put together in a video format that I found available online. I'm not sure anyone else will appreciate the efforts but I loved the result! My Animoto Video
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