THOUGHTS FOR THE ROAD....... LESS TRAVELED

Lessons learned for the Christian life.

All The Single Ladies

   Deuteronomy 7:3 You must not intermarry with them. Do not let your daughters and sons marry their sons and daughters, 4 for they will lead your children away from me to worship other gods.

   This one goes out to the single ladies that can't step away from those wrong boys. I know all about it, I was you... 20 years ago.... man that hurts to "say out loud"

   The truth of the matter is, (you are not going to want to hear this) you can't, won't, will never, are incapable of, may as well forget about, changing him. Listen to me, you can't save him, you can't fix him, you can't make him better, you can't want it for him and you can't wait it out. 

   Now, I know that he is going to tell you everything you want to hear. He will say the right things, act the right way, stop drinking, swearing, smoking __________ <insert his shortcoming here> but if he does not have an intimate relationship with God, if he has not come to the realization that he is a sinner in need of the Savior, if he isn't in The Word, if he doesn't respect your body, your morals, your family, if he does not go to church because he can find God at home in the lazy-boy.........sister, walk away.

   I am speaking from experience, this is a road that I want to spare as many girls from as I possibly can. The absolute only way you will ever find "THE ONE" is if you aren't dating mr. wrong. And before you even say it NO, God doesn't want you to marry a non believer so you can convert him. Yes, share your faith with him. No, don't share your bed with him.

 Could It Be Anthony Evans

It wasn’t worth it to give myself away
They didn’t deserve it but they had all of me
I tried to find myself in someone elses eyes
A broken heart is all they left behind
And now the question that was haunting me
Is somehow comforting

Could it be everything that I was looking for
Could it be everything that I was missing before
Could it be everything that I could want and more
Is only You Lord
Could it be the only one who really satisfies
Was always standing here right before my very eyes
Could it be You my Lord

It felt so perfect I thought I had it all
For a moment and then it all went wrong
Captivated by the all the lies
They used me and left this soul to die
And now the question that was haunting me
Is all I’m holding

Could it be everything that I was looking for
Could it be everything that I was missing before
Could it be everything that I could want and more
Is only You Lord
Could it be the only one who really satisfies
Was always standing here right before my very eyes
Could it be You my Lord

I wanted  so bad to be loved and to love
I wanted so bad that I gave myself up
Everything I had it could never be enough
Could it be, could it be you

   

   

  

Sunday Psalms 146


Psalm 146

 1 Praise the Lord!

   Let all that I am praise the Lord.
    2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live.
      I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath.

 3 Don’t put your confidence in powerful people;
      there is no help for you there.
 4 When they breathe their last, they return to the earth,
      and all their plans die with them.
 5 But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper,
      whose hope is in the Lord their God.
 6 He made heaven and earth,
      the sea, and everything in them.
      He keeps every promise forever.
 7 He gives justice to the oppressed
      and food to the hungry.
   The Lord frees the prisoners.
    8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
   The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down.
      The Lord loves the godly.
 9 The Lord protects the foreigners among us.
      He cares for the orphans and widows,
      but he frustrates the plans of the wicked.

 10 The Lord will reign forever.
      He will be your God, O Jerusalem, throughout the generations.

   Praise the Lord!

Weekend Worship III

Less talk/ More praise


The Stand- Anthony Evans

Your Name- Phillips, Craig and Dean

How Great Is Our God- Chris Tomlin

My First Guest Spot

   I am so excited to be able to guest post for The Lazy Christian today. Each Friday Rachel offers  a "Friendly Friday" post and I am just floored that someone would actually let me write on their blog, like for real....

   This is literally the first blog I get up and read in the morning. Hop on over there and check it out.




12 “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. 13 You have six days each week for your ordinary work, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God.

  There are plenty of people out there who  sit the bench (pew) for one hour a week then go on about life as usual believing that they are going to be OK in God's eyes because they went to church to listen to the preacher.  Look, I don't see anything in there that says sitting through a sermon is going to get you out of hell.

   There was a pretty popular quote going around facebook several months ago. It said "Sitting in church doesn't make you a Christian anymore than sitting in a garage makes you a car" It actually upset met he first time I read it, because it was posted by someone who I had been inviting to church. Someone who claimed Christianity but didn't go to church, had no evidence of fruit in their life, and was perfectly happy living in sin and claiming that everyone went to heaven.
  
   Dude, if anyone needed some Biblical instruction....... It upset me because she was saying that I wasn't any better off than her just because I went to church, and she was right. That said if you aren't going to a Bible preaching church you are depriving yourself of corporate worship, Christian fellowship, discipleship, accountability, guidance..... I really could go on but it isn't about just walking into the doors of a church on Sunday mornings. It is about believing that there is one God that sent His son, Jesus, to die for you, acknowledging and confessing our sin and turning away from it, surrendering your life and will to follow God.

   I do not believe that there will be any part time followers in heaven, that is my opinion. I believe that God is an all or nothing God. If you can't give Him your all, He will give you nothing.

   So back to my original point if you can start out keeping one day a week set apart for God, do nothing but focus on Him, worship Him and live for Him, I think you will be pleasantly surprised how quickly one day turns into 7. So, challenge for today, let's set apart everyday this week and keep it holy for God.

   Like I said, all or nothing.

Remember the Sabbath Hour Part 1

Deuteronomy 5:12 “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. 13 You have six days each week for your ordinary work, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God.   

   I don't know if you noticed, but it says dedicate the day (not Worship Service hour) to the Lord and keep it holy.

   Can I ask you how you dedicate your Sabbath to the Lord? Are you able to keep it holy while watching that Sunday afternoon game while all the scantily clad women in beer commercials bombard your vision ever 13 minutes?

   Take a look at these definitions from Webster-Dictionary.com (emphasis mine)

Holy:
1. Set apart to the service or worship of God; hallowed; sacred; reserved from profane or common use; holy vessels; a holy priesthood.
2. Spiritually whole or sound; of unimpaired innocence and virtue; free from sinful affections; pure in heart; godly; pious; irreproachable; guiltless; acceptable to God.

   My challenge to you and myself this week is to not let anything unholy take part in God's Sabbath but, let's not stop there. We are called to be holy, like God is holy- everyday.

What Is Worship, Anyway? - Rev. Mark Mullins

 Special guest post by: Reverend Mark Mullins from Studies4Life.com

I've been thinking a lot about what worship consists of.  I mean, if we don't know what worship is... what its comprised of... how do you know when you are doing it?  Oh yeah, isn't that what church is for? We ride a pew once a week and feel justified in checking worship off our list. Sweet! You did it! Congratulations.  Now tell me what you did while you were "riding the pine" that dinged the worship bell.  You sang a little? (Don't get me started on meaningless-feel-good-praise-choruses that neither contain praise nor content) You listened attentively to a 40 minute monologue on morality?  oooOOoOoo.  Is that what worship means to you?


   No kidding, now: Worship is crucial to a right relationship with God.  Right? RIGHT??!!!  Worship involves every aspect of our being: Body, Soul, and Spirit.  In other words:
  • Worship expresses the heart (giving our praise to God)
  • Worship engages your intellect (hearing God's Word expounded and assimilating His instruction)
  • Worship employs you physically (acting on the instruction you've received from God's Word)
   Betcha don't think about that when you skip a Sunday morning service (OR Sunday night, OR <Fill in your church's service time here>), huh?  Woah, big fella! You mean God is actually paying attention to me NOT paying attention to the preacher? That's called giving God lip service, second best, left overs... the dregs.

   You say that you won't ("NO! I. WILL. NOT.") sing? Your praises are important to God. C'mon, show Jesus a little appreciation by enthusiastically lifting your praises. Read the words. Mean them. Do it LOUDLY, the old folks in the back are hard of hearing.

   Yeah, yeah, I'm all good with all that... except the part about actually doing something, am-i-rite?  What vast eternal plan could possibly be derailed if I'm a spiritual couch potato?  Dude. Get yourself a copy of Francis Chan's book, "Crazy Love".  Don't put it off, you slacker! Get up, go get the book, stop at Taco Bell on the way home (because you won't be cooking today), read it now.  Hmmm. You aren't looking for your keys. You aren't going to read it, so let me synopsize for you:
  1. God is absolutely INSANELY in love with --- you.
  2. If your relationship with God could be characterized as "luke warm", then something is hideously wrong.  There is zero room in the Bible for room temperature Christians... Francis thinks you are probably NOT a Christian.
  3. Remember what its like to fall in love? You'll go to any lengths. Now apply that to loving God.
  4. Interest leads to attraction leads to relationship leads to love leads to obsession.
  5. There are a bazillion examples of heroic men and women who have made the leap, and you can too.
  6. As a consequence of all this, we ought to reciprocate God's Crazy Love
Worship. Think about it.

Mark Mullins
http://studies4life.com/

Is Your House Clean?

   Deuteronomy 7:26 Do not bring any detestable objects into your home, for then you will be destroyed, just like them. You must utterly detest such things, for they are set apart for destruction. 

   My friends and family know that my husband is the housekeeper in our home. I am not a slob or anything, it is just that he is a neat freak, and when I clean it never seems to be clean enough for him. In fact I have spent an entire day cleaning the house from top to bottom, and when he comes home he notices the one thing I didn't think about doing, the one thing I didn't think was all that important... wash the walls, are you serious?
   
   I have to believe that God runs a pretty tight ship, His house is no doubt impeccably clean. He doesn't allow detestable things into His house. Detestable is one of those words that even if you don't really know the definition, you can sort of tell it means "bad". Here are a few synonyms for detestable: contemptible, despicable, dirty, dishonorable, execrable, low, low-down, low-minded, mean, nasty, paltry, snide, sordid, vile, wretched

   Is there anything in your home that would be detestable to God? Have you sat down in front of your DVD collection and wondered if God would think what you watch is "clean enough"? Is the language you use in your home dishonorable? Do you have vile thoughts while reading your magazines, books, whatever is on your computer monitor when no one else is around?

   I know that I need to do some house cleaning, what about you?


   

Sunday Psalms 100

Psalm 100
 1 Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
    2 Worship the Lord with gladness.
      Come before him, singing with joy.
 3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
      He made us, and we are his.
      We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
      go into his courts with praise.
      Give thanks to him and praise his name.
 5 For the Lord is good.
      His unfailing love continues forever,
      and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

And The Bloggy Goes To.....

Wow, I never win anything. I have entered Publishers Clearinghouse faithfully for the last 2 years, but no balloon bearing television host has come knocking on my door. I entered the Dreamhome giveaway..... zilch. I never ever, like, EVER win anything.

Which makes this next part even more amazing! You ready? I won something!!

Thank you Kimberly at Mining For Diamonds


 for awarding me with the Versatile Blogger Award. This is a great award that is given to bloggers, by bloggers. So, now that I have won it, I actually get to give it out to others.

Here is what you have to do.

* Tell us 7 things about yourself.
 * Award 15 recently discovered new bloggers.   Contact these bloggers and let them know they've received the award(s)

7 things about me...... huh..... wow....let's go with the faves then.

Fave color: I have always told people it's blue, but I really think it is peachy pink.
Fave thing to do: curl up with a good book. I love Sci-Fi
Fave animal: Domestic-dog, Wild- elephant
Fave food: Mexican... no, Italian.....no Chinese..... I can't pick just one.
Fave sweet: I love Mike & Ike's
Fave tv Show: tough one..... Survivor, baby!
Fave music: I really love Kari Jobe
These are a few of my fav-o-rite things. 


15 recently discovered blogs Of course I love Mining For Diamonds by Kimberly!
1. Rachel The Lazy Christian
2. Mary Kathryn Beauty For Ashes
3. Mike A Heart For God
4. Jenny Covered In His Dust
5. Christin Joyful Mothering
6. Kevin Wake Up My Faith
7. Richard Prodigal Returns
8. Ben Life And Theology
9. Lisa This Little Light Of Mine
10. Stephanie Uplifting Words
11. Becky This I Know
12. Cherie Heart And Soul
13. MaryBeth Let It Grow
14. John John Threesixteen
15.Ken Following Jesus




I finished the book of Numbers this morning. I am excited that I have gotten as far as I have, 50 days straight without missing one. That is quite an accomplishment for this reformed quitter. 2011 is shaping up to be a year where I finish a lot of things, completed a website, ate a whole heart of chocolate on Valentine's Day, and I have gotten through books of the Bible that used to bore me to tears. More than just having read the books, I have actually been able to understand them, take what I read and apply it to my life.

I have nearly an entire month of writing invested into this blog. A whole month, seriously, that is not like me at all. I am a starter, not a finisher, at least I used to be. I can sense God moving me into new directions lately, changing the desires of my heart, giving me new focus, new ministries and apparently the drive to see them through to completion.

2010 was a rough one, and it ended with me being ready to quit church and ministry altogether but I persevered even when it was tough, even when I didn't want to and I feel like everything is finally coming back together. Not like I had to wander the desert for 40 years. I just had a few shaky months and looking back on them, I grew from those experiences.

I am also thankful for that time in my life where I was frustrated, unsure, angry and hurt. I needed to feel those things, I needed to be reminded that life isn't going to be hunky-dory, the storms will still come, I just have to trust in Him, and praise Him no matter what.

Less Talk, More Praise

Awakening- Chris Tomlin


Revelation Song- Gateway Worship




Healing is in Your Hands- Christy Nockles






Jesus Saves- Jeremy Camp




My Savior My God- Aaron Shust






Freedom Song - Mandisa


Sidewalk Prophets- You Love Me Anyway


You Have A Splinter, Where?

   Numbers 33:55 But if you fail to drive out the people who live in the land, those who remain will be like splinters in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will harass you in the land where you live.

   God was clear about the rules of inhabiting the land He promised the Israelites. They were to completely drive out the people already inhabiting the land. I think that this is not just because God did not want His chosen people harassed in their promised land. I believe that this also has everything to do with the sins of the nations that were being driven out. Sins of idolatry, immorality, etc. I love the verse above where God tells Moses that failing to drive the people out will be a thorn in their sides or a splinter in their eye.

   I have never had a splinter in my eye, I can only imagine that it is pretty horrible. If you ignore the splinter, hope that maybe it won't be bad enough to hurt you or cause you pain it can cause some real damage maybe even begin to fester and require surgery to remove. Maybe you realize that the splinter is bad or it hurts and you want to remove it, so you grab a hold of it and tug, but you don't quite get it all. One small little sliver of wood can fester into a full blown life threatening infection.

   This makes me think a lot about sin. The small little minute things we let crawl under our skin, wiggle into our daily lives. Often we ignore them until they start to bother us by drawing us away from our intimate relationship with God. Sometimes we just pull out the big nasty pieces that everyone else sees as harmful, but leave behind tiny shards that no one else sees.

   Sin is a lot like a splinter, it might seem small and harmless, but if you do not cut it out completely, entirely and disinfect the whole area it was lodged in, it is not going to just go away. It is going to fester and seep into other parts of your life.  Sin is what distances us from God. If you are feeling like you are not as close to God as you once were, or want to be, I suggest taking a good hard look at your life, you may need to cut out some splinters.

   If you are joining me in my "Bible in a Year" challenge you spent today reading about (again) all of the sacrifices that were required of the Israelites in order to be in fellowship with God. It really is staggering. Daily offerings, Passover offerings, Monthly offerings, Sabbath offerings, Festival offerings. My mind can't seem to wrap around the amount of livestock that they sacrificed, not to mention grain, olive oil and wine. (Numbers 29)

   This wasn't just a few stray lambs or goats and a drop of oil. The offerings they brought before the Lord were costing the Israelites something. They weren't giving 'left-overs' (as my pastor puts it). God stated, more than a few times, that the offerings must be the best of the flock or crop, unblemished.


   How would God view your offerings? I am not talking about the money you put into the offering plate. I mean what are you giving to God of yourself? Are you using your gifts in ministry to the best of your ability? What about the amount of time you offer to God, is it just your left over time, a few minutes here or there, 60 minutes on Sundays? What about your thought life, does God get the best of that, or are your private thoughts off limits? (FYI- He does know what you are thinking about) Prayer and Bible study....  when you need something? Have you given to God the very best of your life?


   God hasn't changed, He never will. (Malachi 3:6) What makes us think that He would accept anything less than our very all, and the best we have to give. He didn't accept seconds from the Israelites and I don't believe He would be pleased with anything less from us.


  

Numbers- Not Just For Counting

  I am finding out that Numbers is not just a book of numbers. There is a lot more to it that taking the census of the tribes of Israel. It is full of rich stories of God's provision for His people. It seems to be that Israel may have had a learning disability of some kind. They complained, God provided, they went too far, people got swallowed up by the earth... or worse. The people of Israel were even provided for and protected when they had no idea it was going on.

   King Balak summoned Balaam to curse the people of Israel before they could conquer Moab. I haven't done a lot of studying on this, but I am eager to do so. After reading these chapters ( Numbers 22, 23, 24 ) It does not sounds like Balaam is one of God's prophets, I didn't even read anything that led me to think that Balaam even believed in God. He was a diviner. which I am pretty sure is some kind of hocus pocus stuff. But God spoke to Balaam and instead of cursing Israel, he blessed them 3 times!

   God's hand was on Israel, He provided for them. God still provides, my husband was laid off before Christmas, and has since found another job, but at  20,000 dollars less a year. That is a lot of money, and a lot of extra stuff has been cut out of our budget. But our needs are still met, and even some of our wants. It is easy to complain about the the loss of income, or because we can no longer afford whatever we want on a whim. It is easy to overlook God's provision of another job and complain that the salary isn't as much as we are used to. The hard part is trusting, and we are doing it in faith because we can look back over the last couple of years and see many times that God had His hand on us, protecting and providing. And I am certain there are times that we are not even aware of, just like with Balak, Balaam and the Isaelites.

The Greatest Valentine

    John 3:16 For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

   Valentine's Day, it reminded me that we already have the greatest gift of love ever conceived. 


   1 Corinthians 13:4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

   One thing I am very certain that I am NOT,  and that is Love. There is not a single one of these "good things" that I  posses at all times, and not a single one of these  "bad things" that I am not at one point or another. 

   Here it is Valentine's Day, and I am currently not speaking to my husband. (let's here it for how mature the silent treatment is) I know that as a wife I am supposed to be submissive, it's Biblical (Ephesians 5:24). But there is  something inside me screaming "it's just not fair!!!"  when I do not get my way, or I have to ask permission to do something "I am a grown woman" (worldly thinking), or "his" rules are not the same rules he expects me to live by. 

   I didn't read anything in there about love being fair, believe me, I checked several translations it isn't in there. I believe that is because love is one of those things that should be unconditional. As I taught my Sunday School class of k-2nd graders yesterday, unconditional means "NO MATTER WHAT!!" (we like to say things loud in my class)  That means that no matter how unfair I feel certain things are in my relationship with my husband (who by the way is an amazing, Christian man) I need to exhibit these qualities of love <sigh> because I do love him. 

   So, I have a phone call to make, perhaps you do too. After I have asked for forgiveness I am going to print this verse and tape it to my desk so that I can focus on the things I should and shouldn't do to the person I love.

  

  
  

Sunday Psalms 95


 1 Come, let us sing to the Lord!
      Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
 2 Let us come to him with thanksgiving.
      Let us sing psalms of praise to him.
 3 For the Lord is a great God,
      a great King above all gods.
 4 He holds in his hands the depths of the earth
      and the mightiest mountains.
 5 The sea belongs to him, for he made it.
      His hands formed the dry land, too.
 6 Come, let us worship and bow down.
      Let us kneel before the Lord our maker,
    7 for he is our God.
   We are the people he watches over,
      the flock under his care.

Week-End Worship II

Less talk, More praise.

Intro to Yahweh- Don't skip it



Yahweh- Hiilsong




The Wonder of Your Love- Hillong


I will Search Israel Houghton and New Breed

Stronger- Mandisa

Just Call Me ARK

   Numbers 7:89 Whenever Moses went into the Tabernacle to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—that rests on the Ark of the Covenant. The Lord spoke to him from there.

   I do not know how theologically sound or denominationally friendly this will be today. I just wanted to share with you some thoughts that  I had today while reading Numbers.

   First of all I found it so interesting that when Moses heard God speak in the tabernacle, he heard the voice coming from the Ark's cover, the place of atonement. Now, I don't know about you but, I have never heard God speaking to me in an audible voice (not that I don't want to- although it might freak me out just a little bit), however I do hear God's voice coming from the modern day place of atonement within His modern day tabernacle, oh this is so good. Do you see where I am going with this?

   1 Corinthians 6:19 describes our bodies as the temple of the Holy Spirit. Websters Dictionary lists 'temple' as a synonym for 'tabernacle'. The Holy Spirit IS God (If that hasn't occurred to you, read Forgotten God by Francis Chan). Our hearts are where we are reconciled (atone for our sins) with God.  Long story short, God speaks to me in my heart (place of atonement) within His tabernacle (my body).

   Another thing I found interesting was that only the Levites (the priests of Israel) were allowed to minister before God. Hold on to your hats. The Levites were set apart, meaning that they belonged to God, he claimed them for Himself. The Levites were required to be clean (holy) before God. Jesus died on the cross, making it possible for gentiles (non-jews, like me) to come to God by repentance, confession and belief, thus becoming His chosen people. 1 Peter 2:9 states that "you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation'. Now, there is some debate on whether Peter was writing to gentile Christians or Jewish Christians (just being up front)  but if it was intended for gentiles, that makes us a royal priesthood, as the Levites were. None-the-less, we are instructed to be holy (Hebrews 12:14, Ephesians 1:4, 1 Peter 1:13, 1 Peter 1:14, 1 Peter 1:15, 1 Peter 1:16, 2 Timothy 1:9, Romans 12:1) We are children (heirs) of God (Romans 8:16, Romans 8:17) And, chosen by God since the creation of the world through Jesus' sacrifice  (Ephesians 1:4, Ephesians 1:5, Ephesians1:6, Ephesians1:7, Ephesians1:8)

   What I learned, God still speaks from the place of atonement, within His tabernacle. We are holy, if not a royal priesthood like the Levites. 

   And thus concludes this session of the Old Testament still applies today :)

Right Smack In The Middle

   Matthew 6:33
33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

   This verse has really come to life for me the last 3 months. My husband was laid off right before Christmas, cutting our income in half. This isn't the first time we have faced this in our 7 year marriage, but this is the first time that our needs were met without us having to borrow money. We were able to keep the bills current and food on the table, our tithes paid and enough gas in the car to get to our church <which is about an hour's drive from our house> There wasn't anything extra, we weren't able to get anything on our "want" list, but our needs were met.

   I am finding out that the Bible is not just a big book of old stories, the Word is living and it applies to you and it applies to me. If we take God's promises to heart and obey His instruction He will absolutely do as He has promised, even though those promises are not always what we think they should be they are always in line with His will for our lives and I am reminded that He only has plans for our good Jeremiah 29:11

   I am reading through the Bible this year, <day 42- this is the year for finishing things> I read today the first few chapters of the book of Numbers, which in previous pursuits to read the Bible had proved boring. It is all about the attitude, I realized that God has instruction and applications planned for me every single time I pick up the scriptures and today was no exception. I read in Numbers 1-4 It is all about how the priests are to break down and move the Tabernacle. I had read it before but never caught what could be the most important application to my life. God, in His wisdom, instructed the Israelites to make camp around the tabernacle, where God dwelt. God was made the center of their entire lives, from the time they woke up and exited their tents until they went to bed each night, God was in the middle of their lives. 

   When you place something dead center, it touches everything on the outside edges because everything else revolves around the center. When we seek God first He becomes the very center of our focus our lives revolve around Him.  He touches every part of our lives.

   AHA!!! I get it Lord!

   Father thank you for revealing Yourself to me through Your word. Forgive me for ever thinking that the Bible was just a stuffy book of rules. I am putting You first God, front and center, touch every part of my life for Your glory.
In Jesus name, amen.
   

God Uses Imperfect People


2 Corinthians 4:7  We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

   I am shocked by the way that God has chosen to use me. Starting with the obvious, I am painfully shy, and cannot bare to speak in front of a crowd, yet He called me to lead worship for 2 years. I have 5 children ages 5-14 and I am by no stretch of the imagination a great mother, and yet now He has called me to lead a children's ministry. I am counting on and expecting God to "show up" because the life He is leading me towards I simply cannot live in my own strength. 

   Even more amazing to me is that He sees me fit to serve in these capacities at all. If there is a mistake out there that I haven't made knowingly and willingly, it must not have been invented yet. My life changed drastically in 2008 when I gave my life to Christ, and in ways that I could not possibly have orchestrated. I guess that is the point isn't it? God wants us to be someone that we cannot be without Him. If I could do the things He wanted me to then I could take the praise for it, this way everyone knows that God is at work.

   One thing that used to seriously annoy me when I was a non Christian attending church was hearing people who had lived their perfect churchy lives since they were 7 talk about how God had miraculously provided for them, or saved them... when their 3rd house wouldn't sell, or someone stole their boat. My problems were  bigger than that. 

   When I was barely 18 I boarded a greyhound bus in Greenville, South Carolina and rode it for 3 days to Seattle Washington, to marry a boy that I met at the age of 15, and that I had spent a grand total of maybe 48 hours with before that time. (wasn't I a smart one) My first husband literally.... listen, he literally tried to kill me. He had a drug issue that I knew nothing about..... cause I knew him for like 5 minutes. Drugs can make people do pretty bad things. He held me hostage in our home, pointed guns at me, hit me, choked me with a belt... look, I could go on, let's just say it was a bad situation. I coped with alcohol and lots of it. I divorced him in 1999, when I found out I was expecting our 3rd child. I had to sneak away, my parents flew me and the kids back to SC. I met the man I later moved in with at a bar when I was 5 months pregnant, yes, I am ashamed of it. We lived together for a few years before we were married and we fought a lot, cursed a lot, yelled a lot, lied a lot. I was once again on the fast track for divorce when we decided to go to church one Sunday because My husbands Brother In Law was a new preacher.

   That day changed my life. It doesn't matter where you are or what your past looks like, Christ can change your life too. I am not saying that I am perfect now or that life is all peaches and cream, it isn't. But I live my life now on this earth in anticipation for my next life in Heaven. The Bible says that without Christ sacrifice to cover our sins- we go to hell. It is a literal, horrible, torturous place and people go there, I was going there in a hand basket because I had broken God's laws, I stole a pack of lifesavers from the mall when I was a kid, and many things after that, which made me a thief, I had a pretty big honestly problem, that made me a liar, I made a lot of things more important than God, that is idolatry, I took the Lord's name in vain, a lot..I didn't honor my father and mother.... I hated people which made me guilty of murder... I could go on,  but If you have done any of these things and  if you have not repented of your sins and made Jesus the Lord of your life the Bible says that you will go to hell but, you don't have to. If you would like to hear more, or want to know more, email me CLICK HERE or leave a comment, it will remain private. I will show you what to do in order to be made right with God, so that your eternity can be in heaven.

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