She Reads Truth - Joshua 1:8-9

 

Today I'm linking up with She Reads Truth. We have finished Jonah and now are working on meditation and confession. Today's passage is Joshua 1:8-9.

"Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:8, 9 NIV)

A few commands here, not merely suggestions but actual words from God telling us what to do. 

1. Talk about this Book, always

2. Meditate on this Book, always

3. Be careful to do everything in it

4. Be prosperous and successful

5. Be strong

6. Be courageous

7. Don't be afraid

8. Don't be discouraged

9. God will be with you wherever you go

I'll take that to mean always as well!

Wow! Isn't God great. He has given us his word, it is living and active. We are to meditate on it (day and night) and He will take care of the rest. 

I really needed the reminder to be strong and courageous and to not be afraid or discouraged. This parenting business can be downright hard some days. I really need to keep His word on my lips, I find that my day goes so much better when I have Truth coming out instead of selfish words. And best of all The LORD, MY God will be with me wherever I go. 

He's Always with me, wherever I go!

She Reads Truth - Jonah 3 & 4

 

Today I'm linking up with She Reads Truth for She Shares Truth. We have been studying Jonah and I'm going to share my thoughts on Jonah 3 & 4.

So many people think that Jonah's story ends when he was spewed out of a whale but I think that is just a minor part of the story. After that, God gave Jonah a second chance. This time when God told Jonah to go to Nineveh he obeyed. I probably would too!

Jonah obeyed God immediately this second time and delivered his message. The Ninevites immediately believed God and responded immediately. It doesn't matter that it took Jonah two tries to obey God's command, the Ninevites still receive the message. It doesn't take them two tries to hear and obey though. They obey immediately.

When the king of Nineveh heard God's message he told everyone to turn from their ways and to fast and wear sackcloth-to mourn-to pray-to cry out to God. Why? Who knows?! Maybe God will save us from death! Why not obey God and leave our old life behind? You never know, He might save you from death! God's compassion never fails.

Jonah 3:8-9 (NIV) "But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish."

Sure enough, "When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened."(Jonah 3:10)

When we obey God and turn to him instead of ourselves He will save us. That is a promise!

Unfortunately Jonah still had some things he needed to learn. Just like me! Those Ninevites should not be saved! Why should, why would God save those people? Doesn't he know what they have done? Why would God bless that person and not me? 

But the Lord replied, "Have you any right to be angry?" Jonah 4:4

Do we have any right to be angry about God's grace? Especially if we have seen and received his grace firsthand, we should want everyone to experience His grace. His grace is for all who want it.

God reminds Jonah, these people mourned their sinful ways and set out to change immediately after hearing that they would die if they continued living their way. Without any questions or fighting or (gasp!) running away, they mourned their ways, and immediately begged God to save them. 
God saved Jonah too when he prayed inside the fish. God saved me when I prayed in my time of need. God longs to save each and every person he created. Even if we think we don't deserve to be saved, God does.

Psalm 103:8  
The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
    slow to anger, abounding in love.

Psalm 145:8-9
The Lord is gracious and compassionate,
    slow to anger and rich in love.
The Lord is good to all;
    he has compassion on all he has made.

Lamentations 3:21-23
Yet this I call to mind
    and therefore I have hope:
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.    

Love!

My Utmost for His Highest, February 11-
Remember Whose you are and Whom you serve. Encourage yourself to remember, and your affection for God will increase tenfold. Your mind will no longer be starved, but will be quick and enthusiastic, and your hope will be inexpressibly bright.
                                                                                                               
Deuteronomy 6:4-5
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

John 15:9-14 
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.

Matthew 22:37-39
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
                                                                                                               

On this day of love, may you remember Who it is that loves you so much He created you and gave His son to save you. May you find your joy in that love and share it with others.

Love is enough!

Currently...

On The Needles: A Birthday Party dress for Harper!

Cooking: Chili, Cornbread, Artisan Bread, Spaghetti, Creamy Salsa Chicken (recipe below), Homemade Peanut Butter Cups for my sweetie for Valentine's Day!

Reading: Driven by Eternity (small group), Crunch Time (Diane Mott Davidson is probably one of my favorite mystery writers), Killing Lincoln (just getting into this one, loaned to me by my Father-in-law).

Listening: Adele station on Pandora.

Enjoying: This post about a replacement for picnik since it is closing down! :(
Encouraging post about marriage.

I really need to get planning Harper's first birthday party! It is only 10 days away and I haven't done a thing other than make a pin board on Pinterest!

And battling a cold, no fun! There was a day when I was the person who never got sick...now that I have kids I feel like I am always coming down with something!

Creamy Salsa Chicken in the Crockpot
6 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 jar of salsa, whatever temperature you prefer
1 8oz container of cream cheese, cubed

Spray the inside of the crock pot bowl with cooking spray and place chicken breasts in bottom. Top with cream cheese cubes and pour the jar of salsa on top of that. Cook on low for 6ish hours. Shred the chicken and cook another 30 minutes to let all the sauce soak into the chicken. Serve in tacos, over rice and beans, or in homemade taquitos! Yum!

Just had to share...

I am reading this book and it is amazing. I wanted to share with you something I just read that pretty much had me jumping out of my seat. This is exactly what our pastor has been preaching about at church lately and my small group has been having some great discussions on this same topic.

Excerpt from Driven by Eternity written by John Bevere

From page 82

"It's an exchange; we must give our entire life, and in place of it we get His life (nature). Jesus repeatedly communicates this:

If anyone intends to come after Me, let him deny himself [forget, ignore, disown, and lose sight of himself and his own interests] and take up his cross, and [joining Me as a disciple and siding with My party] follow with Me [continually, cleaving steadfastly to Me].  Mark 8:34, AMP

We are to continually cleave steadfastly to Him. It's not just a one-time prayer and then life as usaul except that you are now in the "born-again" club and are heaven bound...It's a definitive exchange; we give up our rights as owners of our lives in order to follow His desires, and in return we receive His eternal life. With the gospel that is preached today, we've not emphasized this extremely important aspect of following Jesus; we've only told the benefits. In essence, we've preached the resurrection promises without preaching the impact and decision of the Cross. "

From page 91-92

"Grace empowers us to serve God acceptably. Why have we not proclaimed the entire Gospel, just half the story? Yes, salvation is a gift--it cannot be purchased, and it cannot be earned. This is all true. However, we forgot to tell people that the only way to obtain it is to forsake all, lay down our lives confessing His lordship, and in doing this we will be empowered to live in accordance to His nature."



Just wanted to share with you what I have been learning lately about God and what it truly means to serve and follow Him. Hope you have a blessed day today and think about what you can do to serve God with your whole life.

God is good!

Lots of prayer going on around here for so many different people and situations. Sometimes it is hard when we feel like there is nothing we can do but really, prayer is all that we can do and it is the best thing to do in those situations.

I have really been enjoying our sunrises lately! God is reminding me so much of his infinite greatness and his great love for us. I pray that nothing will keep me from loving and living for Him each day.

Taken this morning from our back door!

2 Corinthians 4:1-9 (NIV)

 Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 

Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. 

On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. 

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

Lamentations 3:21-23 (NIV)

Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:
Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 

Still Thankful

Ever have one of those days? Or week? Yes? Well, we're having one here. Here's to pushing through with bright hope for tomorrow!
Posting will be slim until we get our computer back from the apple genius people. I can only handle typing short posts on my iPod! Very thankful that we had a few weeks left on our AppleCare plan when our computer decided to stop working. Thankful that my husband was kept safe when his car broke down in the middle of a busy intersection! Thankful that we decided to go with a 4-foot Christmas tree and that no children were harmed when a certain 2-year old was showing a certain 9-month old how to pull the bulbs off the tree and they knocked the tree over! Ha!

But seriously I am so thankful, these things are just a drop in the bucket in light of eternity! None of these things really matter when I consider Christ and the joy of his arrival.

"See, I will create
new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered,
nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever
in what I will create,
for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight
and its people a joy. (Isaiah 65:17, 18 NIV)

"O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There's light for a look at the Savior, And life more abundant and free!
Turn your eyes upon Jesus;
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace."
-Helen Lemmel, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

Have a good day!

Giving Thanks #15

Today I am thankful for this reminder from Oswald Chambers', My Utmost for His Highest.

One of the hardest lessons to learn comes from our stubborn refusal to refrain from interfering in other people’s lives. It takes a long time to realize the danger of being an amateur providence, that is, interfering with God’s plan for others. You see someone suffering and say, “He will not suffer, and I will make sure that he doesn’t.” You put your hand right in front of God’s permissive will to stop it, and then God says, “What is that to you?” Is there stagnation in your spiritual life? Don’t allow it to continue, but get into God’s presence and find out the reason for it. You will possibly find it is because you have been interfering in the life of another— proposing things you had no right to propose, or advising when you had no right to advise. When you do have to give advice to another person, God will advise through you with the direct understanding of His Spirit. Your part is to maintain the right relationship with God so that His discernment can come through you continually for the purpose of blessing someone else.
...
A saint is never consciously a saint— a saint is consciously dependent on God. 

Are you looking for a jumping off point to get closer to and be consciously dependent on God? I highly recommend reading your Bible, even if it is just a verse a day and a daily reading such as My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers. The daily entries in My Utmost also have a verse reference that you could study more in depth if you need help.
I find it is great for me to have something to 'chew' on throughout the day and these little reminders tend to come right when I need them.

Happy Tuesday!

Giving Thanks #9

Thankful today for the changing seasons. Of the reminder that God is in all things. Making all things new. That He is there when change begins, and sees us through every change to come.

I had a fun time last week showing Avalyn the joy of throwing snowballs to a dog...have you ever tried that? You should. I don't know what was more fun, watching the snowball explode in Charlie's face every time she caught one or listening to Avalyn laugh and snort so hard she almost fell over. The snow was such a new experience for her to hear the crunch under her feet and to touch and feel how cold it was. To see how she could pick it up and form it into something with her hands.
I think part of the blessing of having kids is experiencing the newness of each situation with them and being humbled in light of God's creation. Thankful!

Giving Thanks #8

Thankful today for a sweet group of girls who I have been meeting with for a few months. We have been getting deeper with God and each other and our lives are being changed.

"Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." (Matthew 18:19, 20 NIV)

Giving Thanks #6

Thankful for communion today and the reminder of what God has done and is doing and will do forever!

Mark 14:22-25
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.”
Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 
“This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

What would you pay?

I have been making these little baby/kid hats pretty quick and I know I could sell them. I have an etsy shop started, I have had it ready and waiting to be filled with products for months...hmmm...actually closer to a year now!
Anyway, I have a couple different styles I can make and I just love to give them to friends and family as gifts but I know people would buy them. I can do whatever color/weight people would want. I was thinking of selling them for $8-10.  Here's what they typically go for on Etsy...What do you think? What would you pay? Thanks!

Ear Flap Beanie with Flower

 

Plain Beanie with Snowflake clip on

 

Plain beanie with flowers, brimmed beanies with or without flowers and contrasting trim

Crazy Love by Francis Chan

I've been reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan with my small group. Originally we set out to read 2 or 3 chapters per week but we had to slow it way down because we were being so challenged we have only been reading 1 chapter. I thought I would share a few excerpts with you and encourage you to read the book yourself if you haven't already.

"Following Christ isn't something that can be done halfheartedly or on the side. It is not a label we can display when it is useful. It must be central to everything we do and are.
If life is a river, then pursuing Christ requires swimming upstream. When we stop swimming, or actively following Him, we automatically begin to be swept downstream." -page 94-95

"Lukewarm living and claiming Christ's name simultaneously is utterly disgusting to God. And when we are honest, we have to admit that it isn't very fulfilling or joyful to us, either." -page 103

"If we allow ourselves to live recklessly for Him, then we too, will see His glory. We will see Him do the impossible...We have to do things that cost us during our life on earth but will be more than worth it in eternity...When you pray, your prayers are heard by the same God who answered Moses' prayer for water in the desert, the God who gave Abraham and his barren wife a son, and the God who made the slave Joseph second in power only to Pharoah." -page 116

"True love requires sacrifice." -page 119

"Giving that is not motivated by love is worth nothing." -page 120

1 John 3:16-20

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

Glory of it All

Can't get this song by The DC*B out of my head lately.

Everything will change, things will never be the same, we will never be the same.

Am I allowed to link to youtube on here? Here is a video of the song if you would like to hear it.



I am thankful.