A Joyful Heart

When my husband and I purchased our first home we knew that someday we would want something bigger as our family grew. After our first child was born we decided to purchase land in hopes of building a new house one day. Four years after purchasing our land we put the only home our small children had ever known on the market and within three months were looking for a new place to live. Instead of buying another home we decided to move forward with our dreams of building and moved our family of four, with one on the way, into a rental house close to where we would be building. After living one year in the rental home and six months with family, our house was finished. Within a short two year span we moved three times and had a brand new baby in the middle of it all. I felt like a nomad for two years, never wanting to settle ourselves because I knew we would only be moving again. For a woman who enjoys to "nest" this was extremely difficult. I've heard that the three most stressful events in a person's life are death, birth of a new child and moving. To say that I was stressed might have been an understatement. Most days I felt weary and defeated wondering if our lives would ever be simple again. I wondered if we would ever be organized. I felt as though I was missing out on important childhood memories for my children because I was so fixated in the details of building a house. I cannot describe the feeling I had when we finally were able to move into our new home. This home had been a distant dream in the background of our minds for almost 6 years and we had such joyful hearts when it was completed! Looking back it seems like such a silly thing to be stressed over really. God had provided for all of our needs and more than that, He was blessing us immensely by growing our family and always providing a place to live. There were days I was ashamed of feeling anything less than grateful. God didn't want my joyful heart only after getting what I wanted, He wanted me to be joyful during it all, experiencing the life He had given me! God used the entire experience of those six years to draw me closer to Him. He taught me lessons in patience, self control and being joyful. Although my husband and I did not wander around a desert for 40 years, the past 6 years reminded me that some days I had the attitude of the Israelites. God loves the Israelites, they are His chosen people; however, you often find yourselves wondering why they are worthy of such a great love. How are any of us worthy? They were constantly complaining while they were in the desert. Not only that, but they continuely had to be reminded to love the Lord their God! God doesn't want us to complain any more than you like hearing your own child or others complain. What He DOES want is for you to trust and know He has whatever is going on in your life in the palm of His hands. Although you can't see the end result, you CAN be joyful in the things you can see! The Israelites were getting ready to enter into the land of milk and honey! They might not have been able to see that land yet but they could look back and see how God delivered them out of Egypt, fed them and gave them water when they were thirsty. Philippians 4:4 tells us "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice." This doesn't say to rejoice when you finally get the things you've been asking for, we are to rejoice always! Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, I shout for joy to You, I worship You with gladness and come before You with joyful songs! I know that you are Lord, the God who made me and I am yours! I will enter Your gates with thanksgiving and Your courts with praise! I give thanks to You Lord for You are good and Your love endures forever! Your faithfulness continues through all generations! No matter what the day might bring, I ask for your unending help to remain joyful. Fill me with Your joy through Your Holy Spirit, Lord, and renew in me a joyful heart! In Jesus name, Amen!

Fight to Follow

"Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have confessed so well before many witnesses." 1 Timothy 6:12 Do you ever become weary some days trying to do the right thing? There was a time in my life that I thought it was easy being a "Christian". Sadly that was the same time in my life that I didn't really know who Jesus was. It wasn't until I actually chose to fall in love with Christ and started trying to live for Him that I quickly realized THIS IS HARD WORK! It can sometimes be so difficult continuing to do the right thing when you seldom see positive effects from your efforts, and often times even with the best of intentions you can end up misunderstood. The comfort I glean when I start feeling defeated is that Christ had to endure the same feelings of being misunderstood and far worse feelings of persecution than I ever will. Christ knows firsthand how hard it is for us to walk as believers in this world. Recently my husband and I had the awesome privilege of attending a Hillsong United concert. They are a praise and worship band but the cool thing about them is they don't consider themselves singers but instead "worship leaders", how awesome is that! In one of Hillsong United's song titled "Love is War" the lyrics say: "And I know Your love has won it all You took the fall To embrace my sorrows I know You took the fight You came and died but the grave was borrowed I know You stood again So I can stand with a life to follow In the light of Your name" and in the chorus it sings "I will fight to follow I will fight for love". Sometimes it feels as if we are fighting to follow, fighting to love. The minute I stepped out of the concert arena and back into the world the overwhelming high from worshiping so closely with God started to subside. The minute the world crept back in the less I felt God's Holy Spirit. It wasn't because God had left me, only that I had turned my focus away from Him and turned it back to the daily grind of the world. Hillsong United reminded me that sometimes we get caught up in fighting the world that we lose sight of the fact God has already won! "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world." John 16:33. So keep fighting the good fight! Finish the race God has set before you! Why would we stop fighting a fight that we know we can win? Yes, keep fighting so that when that day comes you can say "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful." 2 Timothy 4:7

Fear or Faith?

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline." 2 Timothy 1:7 Have you ever stopped and given some thought as to what your "Achilles Heel" might be? The actual definition of an Achilles Heel is "a deadly weakness in spite of overall strength, that can actually or potentially lead to downfall". The keys words I think in that definition are "deadly", "potentially" and "downfall". I can tell you with assurance what my Achilles Heel used to be. It is probably the same for any parent. My biggest fear in life after having our first child was losing her. God knows firsthand what losing a child feels like. Not only did he have to endure the separation and loss when He sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sins, he also feels loss each and every time one of His children stray away from Him. So what do you think might be causing you to be lead astray? Could it be fear? I can tell you that fear is exactly what was standing in between God and me a few years ago. I had let the fears in my life consume me to the point of "potentially" being "deadly" to my personal relationship with God. Fear can keep us from experiencing all sorts of things in life. The fear of flying can keep us from traveling and seeing God's beautiful creation. The fear of public speaking could very well be keeping those God has called into ministry from answering. The fear of losing the thing you hold most dear in this world can stand in the way of you trusting in the One who loves you most! Can you grasp this? My friends if you continue to hold onto your fear and it leads you astray from your Heavenly Father it might very well be your eternal downfall. Your fear can actually be standing in the way of putting your entire trust in your Heavenly Father. If there is anything standing in between you and your Lord, Jesus Christ, I ask you to please pray for God to help you lay it down at His feet. For God has not given you the spirit of fear and timidity, but of LOVE! Let go of anything keeping you from trusting in the Almighty Savior and you will then be able to experience all the blessings God has to offer you, the blessings of power, love and self-discipline. What will you choose, fear or faith and trust in the Almighty God? "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10 Dear Heavenly Father, I praise you for your ability to take away my fears, and I thank you for wanting to. I pray Lord that I surrender my ALL to you which includes any fears I might be clinging to. I surrender my fears to you Lord. PLEASE take them from me and replace in me a spirit of power, love and self-discipline. In Jesus' precious name, Amen!

My Cup of Comfort

Have you ever stopped and thought about what comforts you in this world? Maybe not directly but we all have our little "go to" places and vices that bring us comfort in times of distress, anxiety or sadness. What are yours? My number one item of tangible comfort is a nice, aromatic cup of hot coffee. There are so many details that go into the perfect cup of coffee. For starters there is the mug in which to put the coffee. I personally love a large oversized mug that you can wrap almost both hands around. There is also the blend or type of coffee, the perfect amount of cream that brings it to that rich caramel color with just a touch of sugar. And then there is the comfy arm chair that is needed for me to curl up in to fully enjoy that cup of coffee. For some of you, you may prefer your coffee black while others may not even like coffee! Your item of comfort may be a warm blanket, a hug from a loved one or some sort of food like mac-n-cheese or chicken noodle soup. Whatever your comfort item may be I think we can all agree that we enjoy things that make us feel good, and what comforts you is highly unlikely to be the same thing that brings comfort to your neighbor. Although your item and my item may be different, ALL items of comfort in this world have one thing in common...they are fleeting. Yes, these items may soothe our souls temporarily but will that comfort last? Will it bring you the kind of comfort that will pick you up and carry you down the hall of a hospital when you have just found out your child has cancer? Will it hold you in the dead of night when you wake up scared and alone? Will it be there when you have discovered your spouse has been unfaithful or when you've lost your job and the bank forecloses on your home? No, my dear friends, there is no cup of coffee in this entire world that has the capability to bring you THAT kind of comfort. There is only one ultimate source of comfort, and that can only be found by a belief and a love for our almighty savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. HE is the ultimate cup of comfort, a kind of comfort that will last through all of eternity. "He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection." Psalm 91:4 Not only will God cover us, provide us shelter and keep His faithful promises, but He is the ultimate source of comfort to YOU as he is for ME! Forget about all the details that go into making my perfect cup of coffee, and forget about how my coffee won't comfort you as much as your heated blanket will. God will meet us where we are! He knows the exact amount of cream and sugar that I need! "And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19 Dearest Heavenly Father, THANK YOU for being my ultimate cup of comfort! I praise you for your majestic ability to supply all of my needs! I also thank you for the little pleasures you have given us for temporary relief. Thank you for warm sunny days, hot cups of coffee and loved ones to give us hugs, but Father please help us to remember that YOU are our ultimate source of comfort. Only in YOU shall we find a peace that surpasses all understanding. Help us to remember to run to you in times of distress so that you can cover us with your feathers and provide shelter under your wings. In Jesus' name, Amen!