Good Monday Morning!

How are you today? I hope you can read the picture beside this text; it's from Psalm 16, verses 5-6. God is GOOD, my dear friend. We've been singing a new song at church based on this Scripture - the boundaries of my life have fallen in pleasant places. My heart is FULL of that content feeling today - Praise God. :) He won the victory this weekend in our banking trial; my banking contact is going to close out the account today, and we move on. God is GOOD. What a relief!

So! What have you been hearing from God lately??? Did you get a chance to go to church yesterday??? Or perhaps listen to a sermon? What is God saying to YOU? (Blogger's not cooperating right now, so no cute little icon for sharing today! :D)

Our new sermon series at church is on servanthood. The pastor wasn't there - we're pretty sure this is his week to be in NYC, seeing some Broadway shows with his lovely wife :D - so one of the others, Bruce, spoke. Basically, his theme was that servanthood isn't about US. We do it because of the character of our Master. It's not a slave-owner relationship. And God WANTS us to get to the point where he no longer calls us servant - to the point where we KNOW what He wants done, and we do it without being told - and He calls us His friend. We're adopted into His family - our servanthood is our way of saying THANK YOU.

Pastor Bruce used the following Scripture to close out his sermon:

Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'? Would he not rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'? Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.' "

--Luke 17:7-10

Now, seriously. How often have you heard this passage mentioned ANY TIME in a sermon??? We like to feel ENTITLED - in fact, we've got a couple of generations coming along that feel entitled to anything they want, just because they want it, seems to me! But this passage certainly NEGATES that!!!! There's certainly a reward COMING, but our time here on Earth is to be spent SERVING. Not BEING SERVED.

Woah. Some serious re-thinking is going on in MY head, and I bet maybe yours, too. If you'd like to hear the whole sermon, please CLICK HERE - and keep checking until they post the sermon for JULY 27. :D

OK, dear ones. I'm going to fly now - I have a class to get ready for. :) I hope and pray you've been counting your blessings, and using them to encourage yourself in your walk. God LOVES you, SOOOOOOOOOOO much. He is just waiting for you to look out your window and see that butterfly, or savor your delicious lunch, or enjoy touching your loved ones. Each and every thing you enjoy has been put there by the Father for you to be able to enjoy. He just wants YOU.

LEAVE ME A COMMENT!! :D I'm lonely! :D

It's MONDAY! :D

Hello, dear friend! HOW ARE YOU??????????? Have you had a good LONG weekend??? What did you get to do?

Our Sunday was absolutely WONDERFUL again. :)

I had a hard time getting up, so it's a good thing that we go to the late service normally. :D But I'm looking forward to going to church every week! Believe it or not, I'm actually enjoying the long drives; it gives us a chance to catch up, and to be together. To hash things out, to laugh or to set things straight.

Church was WONDERFUL. We're on week 4 of the holiness series - I think servanthood is next, and that's a subject I really enjoy, so I can't wait! :D

ANYWAY. Pastor Ronnie spoke again this week. His text was Isaiah 6:1-8. "I saw the LORD...high and exalted." His reaction wasn't YIPPEE, aren't I special! :D It was "WOE UNTO ME!!!!!!!!! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips!!" In His presence, you don't look around and boast about how much better than someone else you are. You look at yourself - His perfectness and His light expose how DIRTY you are. I don't know about you - but I've felt that way during worship. I am SO unworthy to be in His presence - but HE MAKES ME CLEAN!!!!!!

All it took for Isaiah? An angel to touch his lips with a hot coal from the altar. It doesn't say it hurt, have you noticed? You know what I think (at this moment, anyway:D)? I think it DID, but NOTHING can overcome the overwhelming presence of the KING. There was so much more in the sermon, too - I can't even begin to fit it all in!!!!!! My heart overflows when I think of how much He loves me - so much that He sacrificed His Son so I could be in His presence!!!!

And you know what? The angel told him, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for." HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's what JESUS did!!!!!!!!

The next thing that happened?? God looks for someone who will go for "Us" to His people. Isaiah doesn't say, "I'm unworthy." Oh, NO. He's been ATONED! He says, "Here I am!!!! SEND ME!!!"

When God's love and redemption illuminates your heart, you don't spend precious time feeling unworthy. Oh, NO, dear one. You are equipped, THROUGH HIM, to go. GO!!!

And that is an INCREDIBLE segue to something I wanted to tell you about - thanks, God! :D

My dear friend, Kellsi, is in South Africa. She's a nursing student at Bellmont, and is an INCREDIBLE young person. They have a blog going for their trip; I'd really appreciate it if you'd visit, read, and encourage them with a comment! Most importantly, PRAY FOR THEM. They're in the middle of a dangerous area. So, GO HERE to read and thank God for these willing young people!!!

OK, so I'm still not caught up with everything I wanted to talk about, but I'm praying HARD about a subject I really feel the need to talk about. So, I'll be working on that the next couple of days.

Thank you for not giving up on me! :D I AM here, but this summer's been MUCH busier than I thought it was going to be - this week is SLAMMED, and my sweet baby sister is going to be here for a few days, too! :) HI, KELLI!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, I'm going to run now - I have to go update my other blog, teach a class tonight, and have dinner with my wonderful husband. OH! So, anyway, after church, we went to a Japanese restaurant and had California rolls and some yakitori for me, veggie tempura for him. :) Then, we stopped at Providence Marketplace on our way home, and used a coupon at Marble Slab Creamery (buy one, get one 1/2 off!) and had ice cream together. It was a WONDERFUL day! :D

Anyway. LOL!!!! YOU ARE BLESSED, dear one!! Oh, gosh, I just thought of another topic to blog about. I type about 75 wpm, but I just don't have the time in my days to tell you everything I wanna!:D

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS!!!! They re all around you! Did your little one give you a kiss this morning? Did your husband say thank-you? Did you see a beautiful flower, or get a laugh from something you read? God is a God of the little things, too, dear one. Little things are the moments you'll remember tomorrow. LOOK.

It's MONDAY!

And it's time to share about what you learned in Sunday school, church, or watching/listening to your program yesterday!

Yesterday was Graduation Sunday at our church; we had three high school graduates, and three college - I THINK. :) There were some sweet photos of some of the grads when they were little. Oh, the memories. I'm feeling a bit OLD today!!! :)

Our youth minister preached, and it was a good sermon! He talked about operating from the platform God has us on - using as his reference Nehemiah 8:4-6. He also tied it in to the sermon his preacher preached two weeks ago - giving what little you have to God, and allowing Him to use it. It was an encouraging, exhorting sermon - and Jerry should preach more often!!! :)

We arrived at Sunday School late; I'm fighting a sinus infection, and Kenn's allergies are really acting up, too. But we got there, and the lesson was on Life Changes - specifically, Jacob's relocation to Egypt where Joseph was.

I can't wait to hear from you! What did you learn yesterday? What is God saying to you TODAY????

Happy Thursday!

Good morning, dear friends! How are you today? It's rainy here today, kind of gloomy - the BEST kind of day for snuggling down into your bed and sleeping all day. :D Is that what I'm doing?

NO!!!! :) I've already taught one class today, and have another this evening - so I'm having to be alert and oriented. ;D

Please go read this post from Lysa:
http://lysaterkeurst.blogspot.com/2008/05/still-holding-hands.html

Now, come back and tell me: are you as CONVICTED by her post as I am? It's SO hard for me, in my relationship with Kenn, NOT to keep a record of wrongs. There are days when it all piles up, and I just want to scream ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GO AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then something comes along, like Lysa's post, and I am so convicted I can't sleep. Do you struggle with this in your relationship, too? Has anyone found an EASY way, or even a way that works for YOU, to forget those wrongs????? It's not even BIG ones that I have trouble with. It's all the LITTLE ones. LOL! As women, I really think this is something that is difficult for us. So, I'm asking you to pray for me. Talk to me; am I the only one who's struggling with keeping no record of wrongs?

BACK TO NORMAL!! :D

Hi, everyone! I'm so sorry I've been MIA for so long; last week was difficult, with the family here AND things going on in real life. I am here now, so let's share! :)

Sunday shcool yesterday was about being faithful through hardships, using Jacob as an example. We talked about lessons you learn, etc., when walking through hardships.

Church was AWESOME! We had a Messianic Jewish pastor speak about Passover - his church is in Israel, or I know we'd be attending there! :D It was truly insightful, and he was passionate about Christ. We're getting the CD to listen to, because there was so MUCH meat to chew on we didn't get each piece in the first listening! :) His passage was Luke 12:12-19. If you'd like to read the passage, here's a link. :)

First of all, he said that the label for that passage is incorrect, because some of it has been mistranslated. He talked a bit about the festivals in Leviticus, and about how Passover shows the need for death for redemption. He was VERY scornful of celebrating Easter, because it IS a fertility celebration to Ishtar, the goddess of fertility. It's interesting history of the church - read up on it sometime. (I already knew this. :D) I've always felt that way, too, but part of the thing I see in most contemporary churches is a lack of history of both the church itself and the Jewish heritage.

He also spoke about true worship, and why we are supposed to worship. He did some research: the top 10 churches in America aren't teaching about GOD, they're teaching what God can do for YOU, how to feel better about yourself, and be blessed. TRUE WORSHIP is about worshipping HIM because He's worthy. Not because we're grateful - which is also important - but because HE is worthy of ALL praise, honor, and glory. Period! How long has it been since you worshipped, in spirit and in truth? Sometimes worship is an act of obedience - but out of that act can come TRUE repentance, joy, and a true understanding of our UNworthiness - and even more gratitude for His grace and mercy!

ANYWAY. :D I'm going to have to wait until we get the CD to tell you the direct translation of some of the words - what a benefit to KNOW the languages of the Bible!!!! - but that the cries of the people in verse 12 were greeting Jesus as the person who would throw out the Romans. Here's what REALLY struck me: the rabbi said that if you ask ANY rabbi how many Messiahs there are, they will tell you TWO: the humble servant Messiah, and the triumphant, victorious Messiah - and that they believe that, with prayer and petition from His chosen nation, Israel, God will choose to SKIP sending the servant Messiah!!!!! WOW, talk about walking in blindness. How He must grieve!!!

Jesus's response to their not understanding who He is was to quote back the verse in Zech. 9:9, with ONE twist - and you'd never notice, if you didn't really study BOTH passages!!! JESUS said, "FEAR NOT"! Zechariah says REJOICE GREATLY!!!! Jesus was acknowledging that He came to fulfill Scripture, but at the same time telling them that He was not who THEY wanted him to be, and was NOT coming to defeat the Romans. But they didn't understand it, didn't want to - and the disciples didn't, either.

I'll share more when I get the CD and listen to it again. It's REALLY insightful!!! Such good, basic MEAT of the Word!!!! I don't know about you, but SO OFTEN I wonder what the ORIGINAL word really meant, and what the author REALLY meant. :)

SO. What did YOU learn yesterday?? What is God revealing to YOU???? Share!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE! :D

Have a blessed day, dear one. You are SO precious to Him!!!!! Worship Him! :)

It's MONDAY!!!

Good morning, dear friend! How are you? How was your weekend?? Did you enjoy your time with family and/or friends? I thought our sermon yesterday was fantastic, and have been looking forward to sharing it with you. :)

It was called "Love Secrets" - the pastor was wrapping up a month of love sermons - but I honestly felt like it should be called "LIFE Secrets"; the principles allpy to everyday relationships, not just to "significant others". :)

First, referencing I John 4:16 & John 15:12, HOW TO PUT LOVE FIRST TO MAKE LOVE LAST.

I John 4:16: And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

John 15:12: My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

Pretty clear, right? :)

Second. WHAT YOU BELIEVE TO BE SO BECOMES SO. Ref: Proverbs 23:7: for he is the kind of man who is always thinking about the cost. "Eat and drink," he says to you, but his heart is not with you. I think this was the most unclear point reference for me! :)

Third - emphasis mine!:D - YOUR ATTITUDE IS CONTAGIOUS! Ref: Matthew 17:20: He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Pastor was using this about your marriage: believe that your marriage is good. Don't be looking outside, comparing to other people. Believe YOUR MARRIAGE is everything you need, and it will become so.

Fourth - again, emphasis mine! :D - Happiness is a CHOICE. He used Matthew 5:5-6 as a reference - the Beatitudes - but I don't think that HAPPINESS, per se, if a fruit of the Spirit, and I think it's a secular belief that we have to be HAPPY. I don't see that Scripturally ANYWHERE - and I have a hard time believing some of the Biblical characters we esteem were happy in their circumstances. But we can be BLESSED in any circumstance - because we are BLESSED AND HIGHLY-FAVORED BY GOD! :)

Fifth, THE LOVE YOU REFUSE TO GIVE, YOU LOSE. Ref: Acts 20:35: In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'

So. There are days when I don't make the choice to BE blessed and highly favored. This is something God's been speaking to me a lot lately; dear friend, YOU are blessed and highly favored! Dont' accept the LIE that Satan is trying to sell you, that you're not worthy and that no one cares.

We are, indeed, blessed. We ARE highly favored. We are daughters of the everlasting God, Who is all-powerful. God is LOVE.

We are loved.

Have a wonderful day! :) I can't wait to hear from you!

It's MONDAY! :)

Hi, everyone! SO sorry it's so late for me to be posting; I had doctor appointments this morning, and internet problems this afternoon - and a HUGE class tonight that I have to finish prepping for. So, I'm here on a hit-and-run mission. :)

Today is Monday; it's the day that we share what we learned at church yetserday. If you didn't go to church, what did you do?

Yesterday, our sermon was - once again - on "What Women Want In a Husband". Godly man, good sense of humore, communication, honesty, and a good provider. What do you think? Does that cover it for you?

I'm not sure how I feel. Kenn and I have not had an easy month. I think I need to praise him more when he does things I appreciate; I'm afraid that I get into the "Well, I've done so much for HIM, he SHOULD do whatever". Not good. So the sermon, for ME, was about making sure he knew what I appreciated about him.

Your turn!!! :) I spilled, now it's your turn!!!

Gotta run - I've got to get this class ready for tonight. I'll be back later, if I can find the time to squeeze in a little more blogging. :) I DO love you!!!!!!!!!!! You are VERY important to me, dear one. Please don't take my overactive schedule for anything but what it is! :D

YOU ARE LOVED!

It's ALMOST Monday.... :)

Two of my very best friends are coming over to stamp and have fun tomorrow, so I wanted to get my blogging in so you could share, too. :)

Today's Sunday school lesson was about interceeding in prayer for each other - and the difference between interceeding and being called to be an intercessor. It was quite an interesting discussion, I thought - I'm glad God hasn't called me to be an intercessor, to be honest with you. The called intercessor has the heart of God for a specific person/entity - the pain and grief one can feel overwhelms me at the thought of it!

Church was about friendship - and, of course, most of the examples the pastor used were about Jonathan and David. What a friendship they had! To be a friend, one must show: loyalty, love, accountability, and I THINK it was forgiveness. (Lori, can you correct me if I'm wrong, please? My bulletin is in the car, and it's late. LOL!!!) I feel that I'm a pretty good friend, and am blessed to have some REALLY good friends, too. I need to be more of a friend to my husband. Sometimes, it's hard! That forgiveness one is the hardest one in our relationship sometimes.

We're also memorizing Scripture in Sunday school; I'm proud to say that I memorized all of Psalm 1. :D It's a good Psalm.

I can't wait to hear what you learned, what's on your mind. :) It's easy to share - just leave a comment! :D Have a WONDERFUL, blessed day!!!!!! YOU ARE LOVED!!!

Monday is SHARE WHAT YOU HEARD AT CHURCH DAY! :)

Good morning! How are you doing today??? Did you have a good weekend? What's going on in your world?

I'm still trying to get better! This cough is hanging on, and I had a super-long day on Saturday, so backslid a little bit yesterday as far as health goes. Oh, well. :) God is GOOD! He's on His throne, and He's in control!

So. What did YOU learn yesterday? In Sunday school, we talked about God's promises - first to Abram/Abraham, then the promises in the Bible that are aimed toward us. About His covenant with Himself to fulfill those promises, and about which one(s) meant most to us. I still think one of the best promises in the Bible is from Psalm 37:

3 Trust in the LORD and do good;

dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Delight yourself in the LORD

and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD;

trust in him and he will do this:

You know what He's taught me about that passage over the years? That He will change the desires of my heart to fit His will for my life! If I'm committing my way to Him, delighting in Him, my desires will ALWAYS line up with His will! Pretty awesome. :)

Anyway. The sermon was about vision, and giving, and blessing. Do YOU have a hard time writing that tithe check when finances are SO difficult, you can't figure out where your insurance payment, or rent, or car payment are coming from? I will admit it: I do. God's working on me, and He's convicting me more every week. It's one area we really have trouble TRUSTING.

So. What did you learn? What are YOU thinking about? What's on your heart today?

Monday is SHARE WHAT YOU LEARNED AT CHURCH!

Hi, dear ones. I'm so sorry; this virus has REALLY been vicious this time. I didn't even get to go to church yesterday - so I'm REALLY looking forward to what you have to share. PLEASE, share! :)

Monday - Share What You Learned At Church!!!

On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. ~John 7:37-39

Hello, dear reader!!! I know it's been a couple of days since you've "heard" from me. I do apologize, but life has a way of doing that to me sometimes. :)

Monday is SHARE WHAT YOU LEARNED AT CHURCH day. I can't WAIT to hear what God spoke to your heart!!!!!! If you want to share the sermon's points and Scripture, that's awesome - but please make sure that you share what God placed in your heart from the sermon, too! :)

Yesterday's sermon was on marriage and mates. On waiting on God's best, on His wanting to give you the desires of your heart. Pastor Lane talked about the differences in the ways men and women think, and their emotions and needs being different. He summed up his sermon with these four questions we should ask ourselves:

1. What do you like about your marriage?
2. What do you DISLIKE about your marriage?
3. What would you change about your mate?
4. What would you be willing to change about yourself?

Aha! GOOD, thought-provoking questions, don't you think? And am I the ONLY woman whose answers would depend on what day you asked me them????? Seriously. There are some days when I KNOW I'm the most blessed woman on the planet, and other days when, well...!

I'm PLANNING on being able to really share with you tomorrow, barring unforseen circumstances. We were gone for twelve solid hours yesterday, and I've been gone most of the day today - and have to leave for auditions again in just over an hour - so I need to get a couple more things accomplished before I go. PHEW. :)

Please share with me! What did YOU get touched by yesterday? How are YOU doing??????

Don't forget! Tomorrow is HOW I AM DOING WITH MY GOALS day! :)

God BLESS you, dear reader. May His living water bathe your heart, and come bubbling forth from you!

It's MONDAY! Share what you learned at church!

Hello, dear friend. How are you doing today? Did you have a good weekend? I did, but BOY, was it BUSY!! I was SO tired last night, I was in bed asleep by 10. HIGHLY unusual for me, but it sure felt good. :D

So, what was YOUR sermon about yesterday - or, if you'd prefer, what did you learn in Sunday school? Sometimes, God touches us more strongly about a topic in one lesson than He does the other. :)

Ours was about VISION yesterday. It was about God writing down what He says He's going to do, and about our writing down what He tells us He's going to do, or wants us to do. Sounds a LOT like goal-setting, doesn't it? :D Our pastor also said this: "Write down what you'd like to have happen in your life as if NOTHING COULD STOP YOU. Then, see what God does."

Wow. What a challenge - to actually BELIEVE God would do that for me, fulfill my DREAMS? That, actually, is a scary thought to me. I'll talk more about that later on, in another post. I want to get this one out, so you can start sharing, too!!! :)

Thank you for all your prayers, ladies. Please continue to pray for my blood glucose control, and my eyesight. :)

Have a WONDERFUL day - I can't WAIT to hear what God had to say to YOU yesterday!