Resting With Jesus
Matthew 11: 28-30.
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
"TAKE MY YOKE UPON YOU..."
1. "In Jewish literature a 'yoke' represents the sum-total of
obligations which, according to the teaching of the rabbis,
a person must take upon himself." - William Hendriksen
(Matthew, New Testament Commentary) i.e., servitude.
2. Jesus is therefore expecting those who desire the rest He
offers to:
a. Accept His teachings.
b. Accept whatever obligations He would lay upon you.
c. Our yoke is the plan for our lives from God.
“seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33) We are called to do what God asks us to do regardless of the cost and trust that God will cover us.
The word yoke could easily be replaced with the plans that I have for you. Let’s read the scripture and replace the words. (Re read) Does that make sense?
Come. Be obedient to the plans that I have for you. Learn from Me. You will find rest.
WHAT IS JESUS OFFERING?
A. "I WILL GIVE YOU REST...YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS"
1. Jesus is offering rest for our souls!
2. Souls which have been burdened by:
a. The guilt of sin, which separates from God (i.e., legal
guilt)
b. The side effects of sin, such as anxiety, depression, fear
and doubt (i.e., emotional guilt)
c. To remove anxiety, Jesus offers peace to calm the
troubled heart.
HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO ACCEPT THIS INVITATION?
A. AS JESUS TAUGHT ELSEWHERE, IT DOES REQUIRE...
1. That we observe all that He commanded - Mt 28:19-20
2. That we abide in His doctrine (teaching) - Jn 8:31
B. BUT AS STATED HERE, "MY YOKE IS EASY AND MY BURDEN IS LIGHT"
1. John, who was a disciple for over fifty years, said: "His
commandments are not grievous" - 1Jn 5:3
2. What helps lighten our burden is the strength Jesus Himself
gives - Php 2:12-13; 4:13
-- Certainly the burden Jesus places upon us is lighter than the
burden sin lays upon us!
In The Quiet Place
Sometimes, no matter what is going on we just need to stop and get to a quiet place with Jesus. Doing things on our own does not bring us rest. Working about does not bring peace. Only Jesus can offer us the peace that passes all understanding.”The world’s offering of joy, hope and love is fleeting, temporary, and dangerously unstable…but it can put on a good show in the short term. It can offer peaceful settings and rituals to conjure up peaceful thoughts… but not true soul contentedness. The peace that flows despite circumstances can only be found through Jesus being with us.”- Lysa TerKeurst. Whatever you need….. it can only be filled by your sweet Savior. Does taking time to get quiet and alone sound unreasonable and/or undoable? If so then that rest will never be found. Remember Martha? Jesus said she made the wrong decision to continue to labor without first feeding her soul. It can be done but it is a conscious decision to take the time to COME TO JESUS. Will you let Him lead you instead of the world? Will you make time to spend with your Lord and Savior? Will you just say “even though” I have too much already “I will come” trusting that you will cover me. “I will come” knowing that you will give me the grace, help and ability to still do all of the things that I need to do because I put You first Jesus. Or will we say “I just don’t have any more time.” after all, Jesus will understand how busy I am and I do go to church a couple of times a week. Let us reference back to Martha again.
Scriptures we need to know deep within for this lesson in statement form.
. I am far from oppression, and fear does not come near me. (Isaiah 54:14)
. I am holy and without blame before Him in love (Ephesians 1:4 & 1Peter 1:16)
. I have the peace of God that passes all understanding (Philippians 2:5)
. I am a doer of the Word and blessed in my actions (James 1:22,25)
. I am forgiven of all my sins and washed in the blood (Ephesians 1:7)
. I am strengthened with all might according to His glorious power (Colossians 1:11)
. It is not I who live, but Christ lives in me (Galations 2:20)
. I am complete in Him. Who is the Head of all principality and power. (Colossians 2:10)
We all want peace and to rest in Jesus don’t we? Then we need to trust in what the scriptures tell us and let Him lead us and not us live and then make room for Jesus. We live for Jesus and He makes room for the rest. It is a prioritized order that will work in our lives if we trust it.
Who do you trust? Distrust manifests itself in 2 ways. 1. A persistent ailing heart. Meaning a heavy heart and a feeling of this isn't how life was supposed to be. Isn't there supposed to be some joy?
Distrust manifestation #2. A spewing mind. You mind spews with every kind of worry, fear, insecurity, anxieties, vain imagination. You trace where your mind spews and you will find the areas where you distrust God.- Beth Moore
This lesson is the final piece to the Abundant Life for Women study. If we put Jesus first all the needs will be met. We have to make the conscious decision to praise every day, to pray every day, to talk to the Lord every day. Also, we know by his word he does not want us to labor without being spirit fed. We know he does not want us heavy laden (anxious, worried, upset) therefore we have to make the conscious decision to take care of our spirit, mind and body. Nobody keeps us from taking care of ourselves except for our own personal choices to not do so. If Jesus is first in your life He will honor that and the time you take to care for you soul, mind and body will be blessed and he will cover you. Everything will still get done, I promise. Trust in God’s word. At the end of the year God dropped the Mary/Martha bomb on me from our last Bible Study that I posted on An Abundant Life for Women and God showed me that my husband was my Mary and I was angry and blaming him for my inability to exercise because I was always too busy taking care of kids and doing housework. God showed me that the lack in my life was my own fault and nobody else's. I chose to believe that I had to do all the work first and then if any time was left take care of my needs to exercise or read a good book. Take a bubble bath? Hah!! Looking at the Mary Martha study with the revelation God gave me showed me that so many of us ladies deny our needs spiritually, emotionally and physically because we are laboring about and then get angry with our husbands because they do not do enough around the house. And let's be realistic..... most of them don't. BUT, God showed me that it was I who made the choice to deny my needs. Since the study I have exercised every single day. I do an hour or more on the treadmill. I do my crunches and some other form of free weights/leg exercises. This takes up at least 2 hours a day. NEVER would I have taken the time to do that before! Too much to do. Well, I chose to believe God and I chose to believe Jesus when he told Martha she was making the wrong decision. Guess what? God honors his word, my husband without my asking has started doing things around the house. Not much but he works tons of hours but he never used to do anything before and now he does. He takes time to play with the kids more and make sure they do some chores too. He likes his happy wife and he wants to keep me that way. The kids like the happy mom and they want to keep me that way. You see, they are making up some of the work I did because they all like happy and healthy mom. I also believe God nudges them.... Jesus wants us to live an abundant joyful life and I believe after doing this that when we believe and just on blind faith do what we should God covers us. I take the time now that I need for me and my house is still in order. The kids are fine, everyone is fine and momma is FINE. I can NEVER blame my husband EVER again for any lack I experience and I am ashamed that I ever did so. I hope this was a blessing to you like it was me.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Long Time No Read
Hello blog world! Popping in for a quick hello. My mom has had critical health issues and I have been spending each and every day with her at the hospital. We thought for sure this was it for her. Truly there was not much hope and it was last Friday that I cried my eyes out so hard that the next morning they were so puffed up and swollen it looked like my husband had beat the poo out of me. If the cops had shown up at our home for any random reason surely they would have taken Mike away for spousal abuse ha ha. Anyhoo, the very next day their pastor came and prayed over mom. Now, I have had my pastor there too and I know that my church was praying during all services for mom and many friends and family were praying but it all came to a peak when their pastor showed up. Pastor Ryan prayed over mom and joked with her and he proclaimed many things loudly and boldly before he prayed. I remember sitting in my chair and thinking I have never seen someone who actually believed wholeheartedly what they were about to pray would happen. He displayed some major faith.
Well, dad said he could feel the holy spirit when pastor prayed. I'll be honest..... I didn't feel a thing. I have had stinky attitude a little bit about all this. My mom is the greatest person in the world and I am sick of her having to suffer...... enough of that. So, we went about our day still hoping for the best but the prognosis was pretty much death for her. She was actually better when we left that evening and when I walked in the very next morning do you know what?
Mom was fully alert which hadn't happened for over a week, had the ability to speak clearly and normally which hadn't happened in over a week, was in her right mind which hadn't happened in over a week, had all normal vitals, had all her color back and looked like there wasn't a thing wrong with her, she wanted to eat and ate well which she hadn't been eating more than 3 teaspoons per meal before. Let's say shall we that a miracle was performed? Mom is coming home this week. I was sure she was never going to leave the hospital in any way other than the funeral car. Miracles are crazy cool people.
I do want to say that mom has major health issues. Dad and I go through this stuff all the time and this time was different. It was the worst and her heart had to be shocked back 3 times the previous Saturday. Lots of screaming...... it is painful for a defibrillator to go off. She was screaming, I was screaming, Dad was screaming for Jesus to come. The freaking nurse was crying. Do you ever see a nurse cry? UM, NO. It was that bad. God healed her. Amazing. Just amazing.
So, I haven't had time to blog and I have had a stinky attitude. I'll be honest, I have prayed for mom but hardly at all in 2 weeks. I honestly believe there is some spiritual warfare going on in the ole mind and if anyone has the inclination I would love some prayer. Still losing weight too. Got me some shin splints and boy do they hurt. I need new running shoes. I don't suppose God would just drop some great running shoes out of the sky? No, I didn't think so either. Well, Kat and Danielle, if you read this I have been meaning to email you both but I haven't been home in what feels like forever...... so can I just say "hey" to you both and I am thinking of you. Tasha, Lord have mercy I have been meaning to email you since the first of Jan. to see how your family Christmas went. I am a stinky friend sometimes.....but I think you know how absent minded I am lol. Love y'all.
Jenn
Well, dad said he could feel the holy spirit when pastor prayed. I'll be honest..... I didn't feel a thing. I have had stinky attitude a little bit about all this. My mom is the greatest person in the world and I am sick of her having to suffer...... enough of that. So, we went about our day still hoping for the best but the prognosis was pretty much death for her. She was actually better when we left that evening and when I walked in the very next morning do you know what?
Mom was fully alert which hadn't happened for over a week, had the ability to speak clearly and normally which hadn't happened in over a week, was in her right mind which hadn't happened in over a week, had all normal vitals, had all her color back and looked like there wasn't a thing wrong with her, she wanted to eat and ate well which she hadn't been eating more than 3 teaspoons per meal before. Let's say shall we that a miracle was performed? Mom is coming home this week. I was sure she was never going to leave the hospital in any way other than the funeral car. Miracles are crazy cool people.
I do want to say that mom has major health issues. Dad and I go through this stuff all the time and this time was different. It was the worst and her heart had to be shocked back 3 times the previous Saturday. Lots of screaming...... it is painful for a defibrillator to go off. She was screaming, I was screaming, Dad was screaming for Jesus to come. The freaking nurse was crying. Do you ever see a nurse cry? UM, NO. It was that bad. God healed her. Amazing. Just amazing.
So, I haven't had time to blog and I have had a stinky attitude. I'll be honest, I have prayed for mom but hardly at all in 2 weeks. I honestly believe there is some spiritual warfare going on in the ole mind and if anyone has the inclination I would love some prayer. Still losing weight too. Got me some shin splints and boy do they hurt. I need new running shoes. I don't suppose God would just drop some great running shoes out of the sky? No, I didn't think so either. Well, Kat and Danielle, if you read this I have been meaning to email you both but I haven't been home in what feels like forever...... so can I just say "hey" to you both and I am thinking of you. Tasha, Lord have mercy I have been meaning to email you since the first of Jan. to see how your family Christmas went. I am a stinky friend sometimes.....but I think you know how absent minded I am lol. Love y'all.
Jenn
Friday, January 15, 2010
Lost Some Weight
First, I am a pitiful friend since the first of Jan and I know that so please accept my apologies. I have begun to workout and study the word more and do things for me and it has sucked every little part of the rest of my day that wasn't already busy. I haven't emailed, responded to hardly anything..... SORRY.
Second, I LOST WEIGHT THIS WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I lost nothing the first week which I posted about on my other blog that you can check out if you want to by looking at my profile or not..... I stepped up the cardio immediately and I lost 4.5 lbs this week!!!!!!!!! I was shocked, mouth hanging open happy dance in the bathroom kind of shocked. YIPEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Can you tell I am excited? I have been praying lots for God to help me OVERCOME in my weight loss. Not do it for me, not to bless me with a speedy metabolism but to OVERCOME my issues with not being able to lose weight and OVERCOME the reasons why I am overweight to begin with. Has He responded or what? I have not suffered hardly at all and have been motivated and well, something is just different this time. Asking Him to help me OVERCOME is much different than just asking for help. It is a little more specific don't you think? It also keeps me focused on that fact that this is going to require lots of work from ME and not just me doing stuff and believing God is going to bless it and help me along. I got this way for a reason and undoing it is going to be work. He has really responded to my prayers in this direction, so happy about that! Filling myself with Him instead. I can't explain it but hey, it's different this time and it is working. Thank goodness!!!
I also have to say that my family is doing awesome with mom taking care of herself. So the dishes sat in the sink until morning...... I got a hot relaxing bath with a great book. So I didn't clean first thing......I worked out, studied the word and or watched a Beth Moore video. Guess what? The house still got cleaned and I got fit and my spirit got fed. What was my problem? Why didn't I just make time for me in the day before instead of suffering the Martha Syndrome? The kids tried barging in on me like they always did before which made it IMPOSSIBLE for me to exercise and before I could do it my husband marched up the stairs, ripped everyone a new one and put them in their rooms until I got done and then he closed and locked the bedroom door that I was in and told me not to come out until I was done. What a treasure to have him behind me!
I used to get mad at him because he would always tell me to just be happy or I would say I want to exercise or read and he would say just do it. I would get mad and think how in the world can he say that when there is all this stuff that has to be done? I got mad because he should help me do the stuff around the house so I had time to do what I needed to do for me. Four kids doesn't help matters either.... Yep, I recognize it all now. Sounds like I am Martha in the story and he is sounding like Jesus and saying just stop your labor and take care of yourself. It will all get done in time but you cannot neglect yourself Martha. Well, Jesus was right. Can you imagine?
I take the time for me now and the house has not fallen apart, we still eat between 6-7 and we all have clothes to wear and guess what? Mom is happy and taking care of herself too.
It is much more fun to be a Mary than a Martha!! Get your Mary on......ha ha.
Jenn
Second, I LOST WEIGHT THIS WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I lost nothing the first week which I posted about on my other blog that you can check out if you want to by looking at my profile or not..... I stepped up the cardio immediately and I lost 4.5 lbs this week!!!!!!!!! I was shocked, mouth hanging open happy dance in the bathroom kind of shocked. YIPEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Can you tell I am excited? I have been praying lots for God to help me OVERCOME in my weight loss. Not do it for me, not to bless me with a speedy metabolism but to OVERCOME my issues with not being able to lose weight and OVERCOME the reasons why I am overweight to begin with. Has He responded or what? I have not suffered hardly at all and have been motivated and well, something is just different this time. Asking Him to help me OVERCOME is much different than just asking for help. It is a little more specific don't you think? It also keeps me focused on that fact that this is going to require lots of work from ME and not just me doing stuff and believing God is going to bless it and help me along. I got this way for a reason and undoing it is going to be work. He has really responded to my prayers in this direction, so happy about that! Filling myself with Him instead. I can't explain it but hey, it's different this time and it is working. Thank goodness!!!
I also have to say that my family is doing awesome with mom taking care of herself. So the dishes sat in the sink until morning...... I got a hot relaxing bath with a great book. So I didn't clean first thing......I worked out, studied the word and or watched a Beth Moore video. Guess what? The house still got cleaned and I got fit and my spirit got fed. What was my problem? Why didn't I just make time for me in the day before instead of suffering the Martha Syndrome? The kids tried barging in on me like they always did before which made it IMPOSSIBLE for me to exercise and before I could do it my husband marched up the stairs, ripped everyone a new one and put them in their rooms until I got done and then he closed and locked the bedroom door that I was in and told me not to come out until I was done. What a treasure to have him behind me!
I used to get mad at him because he would always tell me to just be happy or I would say I want to exercise or read and he would say just do it. I would get mad and think how in the world can he say that when there is all this stuff that has to be done? I got mad because he should help me do the stuff around the house so I had time to do what I needed to do for me. Four kids doesn't help matters either.... Yep, I recognize it all now. Sounds like I am Martha in the story and he is sounding like Jesus and saying just stop your labor and take care of yourself. It will all get done in time but you cannot neglect yourself Martha. Well, Jesus was right. Can you imagine?
I take the time for me now and the house has not fallen apart, we still eat between 6-7 and we all have clothes to wear and guess what? Mom is happy and taking care of herself too.
It is much more fun to be a Mary than a Martha!! Get your Mary on......ha ha.
Jenn
Monday, January 11, 2010
Checking In
I just wanted to check in here and say I am alive ha ha. I did a post last week and then dropped off the radar again. Actually after I posted I was going to visit a bunch of y'all but hubby came home and he lived in the office for several days and I don't like to blog with him in the room. My laptop has a case of the blues so that was out. So....... I haven't visited anybody and I miss y'all but my last week has been a whirlwind. I have been busy fitting in exercising and finding balance in my life to take care of me too. Basically putting into practice what I posted below this here post. It doesn't do any good for God to show me something and I learn all about it and then do put it into application does it? So, I have been busy applying and such. It is working, yay. I have lost 3 pounds so far in the last 11 days or so.
I also started this blog. Weight Loss And Get Fit Blog is for me to stay accountable and record what I do and my weight loss. If I actually get motivated enough or find the extra time (ha!) I will try to spread the word about this blog and I would like it to have team members and Mr. Linky's so we can all meet up on Fridays and record or weight loss for the week and share our work out routines and healthy eating tips and such. You know, a place of encouragement. Time is a hard thing for this momma to find. You too, I know I know. It could actually be something really cool. But for now, it just has a couple of posts and I am quite happy about it. Right now I have to get up and get on the treadmill, do some crunches, finish the grocery list I don't want to finish, go grocery shopping (YUCK), put it all away, do some cleaning, separate & settle numerous disputes from 4 grouchy kids (we are having a snow day from school). Oh yeah, I have to file stuff for hubby, pay some bills and by then it is time to cook dinner. So, once again I won't have time to run around blogville and visit but I am thinking tonight perhaps? Oh pooh, I forgot I need another hour for the DVD. Fligglehouser. Well, my exercising comes first. The cleaning may get scrapped. Hubs can just deal with it. Okay, I am going to try to make time to run around here and visit y'all tonight after I give Amber the facial I promised her. Well, Lexie will probably want one too, dang. Okay, after that but if they say they are giving me one too, sha bang, I am all over that & I will see y'all tomorrow!!!
I also started this blog. Weight Loss And Get Fit Blog is for me to stay accountable and record what I do and my weight loss. If I actually get motivated enough or find the extra time (ha!) I will try to spread the word about this blog and I would like it to have team members and Mr. Linky's so we can all meet up on Fridays and record or weight loss for the week and share our work out routines and healthy eating tips and such. You know, a place of encouragement. Time is a hard thing for this momma to find. You too, I know I know. It could actually be something really cool. But for now, it just has a couple of posts and I am quite happy about it. Right now I have to get up and get on the treadmill, do some crunches, finish the grocery list I don't want to finish, go grocery shopping (YUCK), put it all away, do some cleaning, separate & settle numerous disputes from 4 grouchy kids (we are having a snow day from school). Oh yeah, I have to file stuff for hubby, pay some bills and by then it is time to cook dinner. So, once again I won't have time to run around blogville and visit but I am thinking tonight perhaps? Oh pooh, I forgot I need another hour for the DVD. Fligglehouser. Well, my exercising comes first. The cleaning may get scrapped. Hubs can just deal with it. Okay, I am going to try to make time to run around here and visit y'all tonight after I give Amber the facial I promised her. Well, Lexie will probably want one too, dang. Okay, after that but if they say they are giving me one too, sha bang, I am all over that & I will see y'all tomorrow!!!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
How Women Can Have A Balanced And Abundant Life
I was praying the other day about what direction I should take our next ladies Bible study class. We have been studying women. First we looked at what women were created for, we are Ezer Kenegdo's (please click to read that study if you missed it, it is INCREDIBLE.), then we studied the topic of submission and what all these things look like for a woman right here, right now. I asked the Lord to tell me what to do next.
At the same time I have decided to make some major life changes. It has nothing to do with the new year, it has everything to do with turning 40 & realizing that I just spent the last ten years of my life doing nothing for me and as much as I could for everyone else. My life is completely out of balance and I believe it has led to some anger and resentment issues. Totally my own fault, nobody makes me not take care of myself. During the prayer for my Ladies Bible Study I was also praying for God to show me how to overcome my issues with not caring for myself. How in the world am I going to fit in working out and taking time to read & do things I love when I am already stressed out and tired out. I am fully extended in my day already. Goodness, God is amazing! I prayed this prayer on the treadmill, got off and went down to the living room to clean up some. I turned TV on and usually I put it straight on Nickelodeon for Braxton but I didn't feel like it this time. I put it on the TV Channel & saw Joyce Meyer was coming on. Yeah, that show was totally the answer to the prayers I had just prayed. Can you sing AMAZING?
So this next little area is a mixture of Joyce's preaching & some extra studying on my part and let's say it is a mix of Joyce and Jennifer doing a little ditty about finding balance in your life specifically for WOMEN. It SANG TO ME. Hope you enjoy it 'cause I sure did.
An Abundant Life for Women
Let's see what the Bible says about having an abundant life and filling our days with what is needed, specifically to a woman.
1 Peter 5:8 (Amplified Bible)
Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring (in fierce hunger), seeking someone to seize upon and devour.
Self-control: restraint exercised over one's own impulses, emotions, or desires
(Most translations use self control instead of well balanced. Well balanced is the closest true definition of the original Hebrew text. This makes WAY more sense also because self control means exercising restraint over the excess. Well balanced would imply that there is no excess but also no lack. Having lack in our lives creates jealousy, anger, bitterness & resentment. Satan loves to use these as a foothold as the Bible says. It makes much more sense to be well balanced.)
Luke 10:38-42 (NIV)
At the Home of Martha and Mary
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."
John 10:10 (KJV)
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
In these verses we have Jesus, Satan and a very stressed out woman. Sound familiar?
As women we struggle to find a balanced lifestyle. Home, work, kids, grocery shopping, meal planning, cooking, laundry, cleaning, Bible Study, prayer time, volunteer at Church, and all the other aspects of adult life that we think we should be doing keep us busy. Where in the world are we going to fit in self care? A balanced mind & life, staying watchful & being cautious will serve us greatly if we are to recognize & defeat Satan when he attacks. Let's not give him something to seize upon. Martha is not balanced in her life at this particular time & this causes her mind to then become unbalanced giving way to anger and resentment. Don't you just know that every time she passed by the room they were all sitting in Martha just got madder and madder at Mary & also for Jesus for allowing Mary to sit in there with him while knowing that left Martha to do all the work. Those two things are a foothold Satan loves to seize upon. She is also denying herself self care and the feeding of her spirit in order to do all the things that she thinks must be done. Jesus says the spirit comes first, the chores of life come second. Let's apply this to our every day lives. What are we busy doing that we cannot self care & feed our spirit? Do we get angry with anyone because of this? Jesus wants us to have an abundant life, the Proverbs 31 woman can laugh at the days ahead yet she works hard. We must take the time to self care if we are to live balanced lives. Women lean towards self denying & not self caring.
1. A balanced mind should lead us to a balanced life. What are our daily excesses or daily thirsts?
2. Satan is looking for opportunities to seize upon in your life that are unbalanced and causing distress, anxiety and anger.
3. Women, especially working women struggle with finding a balanced and joyful life. We are busy like Martha. We are so busy in fact that we make it a habit to deprive ourselves of "what is needed" for our own lives because there are so many preparations that must be made. Somebody has to get all the work done around the house and cook dinner. (Joyce speaks many times about how she spent her young life always working around the house and telling the kids she could not stop and play with them because there was work to be done at home. She would also get so angry with her hubby because he would take time to enjoy his life and relax and play.)
4. Jesus makes it clear through the study of the Hebrew text that Martha was doing too much in her preparations. She did more than what was needed for her house guests and in her desire to provide a wonderful meal, a tidy home and comfortable lodging for Jesus and the disciples she deprived herself of what she really needed. Is there a need in your life that goes unfulfilled because you are busy doing the things that you think are necessary & important that must be done?
After studying the Hebrew also I realized something that I just know God spoke into my heart. I always felt bad for Martha because clearly she was working hard to clean, get the meal ready and such and when she asks Jesus to tell Mary to help her he tells her no. Mary has chosen what was better. I just assumed that Jesus was saying "No Martha, you will have to keep doing all the work by yourself. Mary is doing the better thing by listening to my teaching." I NEVER realized before that Jesus was not telling Martha that she would have to keep doing the work alone. He was saying "Martha, you are going overboard with your preparations. Come, sit and talk with us. It is more important to feed your spirit than supply me with an excellent meal. I want you to care for yourself first, then you may work about and do all the extras you like." He was inviting her to join them. He was pointing out that fretting to and fro working, shopping, cooking, laundering is fine but if you haven't fed your spirit, if you are doing that and miss out on an opportunity to feed your soul, you are making the wrong decision. I then realized, YES, I am unbalanced. I suffer the "Martha Syndrome". I have spent years denying myself what I needed because somebody always needed something and I placed that above my own needs on a continual basis. What did it get me? Resentful and over weight. Jesus is telling us ladies, stop your labor & feed your spirit first. Take care of yourself because if you don't you will be stressed out like Martha.
5. Women tend to get upset with their husbands because they do not hesitate to play and relax. Do they not realize there is work to be done in the house? Lists to be made, shopping to do, meals to cook, cleaning, etc? Let's ask ourselves who has chosen what is better in life? Men tend to understand that they need to take care of their needs. Women tend to deny their needs in order to take care of the needs of others. We suffer the "Martha Syndrome". I absolutely believe that Martha wanted to be in that room with Jesus just as much as Mary but she thought well somebody is going to have to do all this work, I guess it will have to be me and she set about doing it and got mad at everybody else for not helping her. Jesus says she should have sat down with them. What do we usually do as women? Are we a Martha or a Mary in our own personal lives?
6. We made fun of men because they always go out and buy what they need. Who has chosen what is wiser, the men for taking care of themselves or us ladies who in general will not make the purchases we need to make for ourselves? Who is living the more abundant and balanced life?
7. Raise your hand if you need a new bra but will not go out and buy one because someone else in your family needs something. Hello Mr. Conviction how are you today?
8. The Proverbs 31 lady in verse 22 says she is clothed in fine linen and purple. So the wife of noble character takes care of her families needs, the servant girls needs, the poor and needy and also herself? Let's ask ourselves what do I do to ensure I have a balanced and abundant life while also taking care of my responsibilities to my husband, children and home? What do I do to take care of me so that I can have a balanced mind and life?
9. Martha is worried and upset over many things concerning her house. She is doing everything by herself and it is really upsetting her. No one is helping her, she feels her burdens are unfair, all of this stuff needs to get done and I am being forced to do it all by myself because of the selfishness of someone else. Sound familiar? Who is our Mary? They are taking care of their needs and I am busy taking care of everyone else's. Sound familiar? They need to get up and help me! And with that Satan has found a way to devour us.
At the same time I have decided to make some major life changes. It has nothing to do with the new year, it has everything to do with turning 40 & realizing that I just spent the last ten years of my life doing nothing for me and as much as I could for everyone else. My life is completely out of balance and I believe it has led to some anger and resentment issues. Totally my own fault, nobody makes me not take care of myself. During the prayer for my Ladies Bible Study I was also praying for God to show me how to overcome my issues with not caring for myself. How in the world am I going to fit in working out and taking time to read & do things I love when I am already stressed out and tired out. I am fully extended in my day already. Goodness, God is amazing! I prayed this prayer on the treadmill, got off and went down to the living room to clean up some. I turned TV on and usually I put it straight on Nickelodeon for Braxton but I didn't feel like it this time. I put it on the TV Channel & saw Joyce Meyer was coming on. Yeah, that show was totally the answer to the prayers I had just prayed. Can you sing AMAZING?
So this next little area is a mixture of Joyce's preaching & some extra studying on my part and let's say it is a mix of Joyce and Jennifer doing a little ditty about finding balance in your life specifically for WOMEN. It SANG TO ME. Hope you enjoy it 'cause I sure did.
An Abundant Life for Women
Let's see what the Bible says about having an abundant life and filling our days with what is needed, specifically to a woman.
1 Peter 5:8 (Amplified Bible)
Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring (in fierce hunger), seeking someone to seize upon and devour.
Self-control: restraint exercised over one's own impulses, emotions, or desires
(Most translations use self control instead of well balanced. Well balanced is the closest true definition of the original Hebrew text. This makes WAY more sense also because self control means exercising restraint over the excess. Well balanced would imply that there is no excess but also no lack. Having lack in our lives creates jealousy, anger, bitterness & resentment. Satan loves to use these as a foothold as the Bible says. It makes much more sense to be well balanced.)
Luke 10:38-42 (NIV)
At the Home of Martha and Mary
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."
John 10:10 (KJV)
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
In these verses we have Jesus, Satan and a very stressed out woman. Sound familiar?
As women we struggle to find a balanced lifestyle. Home, work, kids, grocery shopping, meal planning, cooking, laundry, cleaning, Bible Study, prayer time, volunteer at Church, and all the other aspects of adult life that we think we should be doing keep us busy. Where in the world are we going to fit in self care? A balanced mind & life, staying watchful & being cautious will serve us greatly if we are to recognize & defeat Satan when he attacks. Let's not give him something to seize upon. Martha is not balanced in her life at this particular time & this causes her mind to then become unbalanced giving way to anger and resentment. Don't you just know that every time she passed by the room they were all sitting in Martha just got madder and madder at Mary & also for Jesus for allowing Mary to sit in there with him while knowing that left Martha to do all the work. Those two things are a foothold Satan loves to seize upon. She is also denying herself self care and the feeding of her spirit in order to do all the things that she thinks must be done. Jesus says the spirit comes first, the chores of life come second. Let's apply this to our every day lives. What are we busy doing that we cannot self care & feed our spirit? Do we get angry with anyone because of this? Jesus wants us to have an abundant life, the Proverbs 31 woman can laugh at the days ahead yet she works hard. We must take the time to self care if we are to live balanced lives. Women lean towards self denying & not self caring.
1. A balanced mind should lead us to a balanced life. What are our daily excesses or daily thirsts?
2. Satan is looking for opportunities to seize upon in your life that are unbalanced and causing distress, anxiety and anger.
3. Women, especially working women struggle with finding a balanced and joyful life. We are busy like Martha. We are so busy in fact that we make it a habit to deprive ourselves of "what is needed" for our own lives because there are so many preparations that must be made. Somebody has to get all the work done around the house and cook dinner. (Joyce speaks many times about how she spent her young life always working around the house and telling the kids she could not stop and play with them because there was work to be done at home. She would also get so angry with her hubby because he would take time to enjoy his life and relax and play.)
4. Jesus makes it clear through the study of the Hebrew text that Martha was doing too much in her preparations. She did more than what was needed for her house guests and in her desire to provide a wonderful meal, a tidy home and comfortable lodging for Jesus and the disciples she deprived herself of what she really needed. Is there a need in your life that goes unfulfilled because you are busy doing the things that you think are necessary & important that must be done?
After studying the Hebrew also I realized something that I just know God spoke into my heart. I always felt bad for Martha because clearly she was working hard to clean, get the meal ready and such and when she asks Jesus to tell Mary to help her he tells her no. Mary has chosen what was better. I just assumed that Jesus was saying "No Martha, you will have to keep doing all the work by yourself. Mary is doing the better thing by listening to my teaching." I NEVER realized before that Jesus was not telling Martha that she would have to keep doing the work alone. He was saying "Martha, you are going overboard with your preparations. Come, sit and talk with us. It is more important to feed your spirit than supply me with an excellent meal. I want you to care for yourself first, then you may work about and do all the extras you like." He was inviting her to join them. He was pointing out that fretting to and fro working, shopping, cooking, laundering is fine but if you haven't fed your spirit, if you are doing that and miss out on an opportunity to feed your soul, you are making the wrong decision. I then realized, YES, I am unbalanced. I suffer the "Martha Syndrome". I have spent years denying myself what I needed because somebody always needed something and I placed that above my own needs on a continual basis. What did it get me? Resentful and over weight. Jesus is telling us ladies, stop your labor & feed your spirit first. Take care of yourself because if you don't you will be stressed out like Martha.
5. Women tend to get upset with their husbands because they do not hesitate to play and relax. Do they not realize there is work to be done in the house? Lists to be made, shopping to do, meals to cook, cleaning, etc? Let's ask ourselves who has chosen what is better in life? Men tend to understand that they need to take care of their needs. Women tend to deny their needs in order to take care of the needs of others. We suffer the "Martha Syndrome". I absolutely believe that Martha wanted to be in that room with Jesus just as much as Mary but she thought well somebody is going to have to do all this work, I guess it will have to be me and she set about doing it and got mad at everybody else for not helping her. Jesus says she should have sat down with them. What do we usually do as women? Are we a Martha or a Mary in our own personal lives?
6. We made fun of men because they always go out and buy what they need. Who has chosen what is wiser, the men for taking care of themselves or us ladies who in general will not make the purchases we need to make for ourselves? Who is living the more abundant and balanced life?
7. Raise your hand if you need a new bra but will not go out and buy one because someone else in your family needs something. Hello Mr. Conviction how are you today?
8. The Proverbs 31 lady in verse 22 says she is clothed in fine linen and purple. So the wife of noble character takes care of her families needs, the servant girls needs, the poor and needy and also herself? Let's ask ourselves what do I do to ensure I have a balanced and abundant life while also taking care of my responsibilities to my husband, children and home? What do I do to take care of me so that I can have a balanced mind and life?
9. Martha is worried and upset over many things concerning her house. She is doing everything by herself and it is really upsetting her. No one is helping her, she feels her burdens are unfair, all of this stuff needs to get done and I am being forced to do it all by myself because of the selfishness of someone else. Sound familiar? Who is our Mary? They are taking care of their needs and I am busy taking care of everyone else's. Sound familiar? They need to get up and help me! And with that Satan has found a way to devour us.
10. Jesus makes it clear that we should do what is needed but to go over what is needed and deprive ourselves of what truly is necessary is our own fault. So what is really needed?
1. To sit at the feet of Jesus. Relationship with the Lord is our first priority. To know Him, to study His word, to talk to (pray) to Him, our spirit life must be fed first and foremost.
2. To have joy. To have balance. A time to work and a time to play. To take care of our bodies. Do what is necessary but do not go further until our spiritual needs are met and any other needs necessary to maintaining our health and emotional well being. Then if we desire we can do all the other things we would like to accomplish.
3. Jesus makes it clear that doing all these things are fine but if they are interfering with feeding ourselves spiritually then we have made the wrong choice. If the things we are doing causes us to resent others and become off balance, we need to evaluate if what we are doing is really needed. Why am I feeling off balance? What is the root of my issue and how can I make things better?
4. Because I decide that something must be done (over and above) does that mean that I am entitled to help if nobody else in the house wants to participate in the work involved? Are they going to enjoy the fruits of my labor? Who am I doing this for? Is it really necessary? Have I met my needs first before extending myself to do more?
Monday, December 28, 2009
Bible Thumping & Seed Planting
"Is she some kind of Bible thumper?" I heard those words a couple of days ago and it just really took me by surprise when I heard them. I spend so much time around truly devoted Christians that have personal relationships with the Lord. I have a personal relationship with the Lord too and while I honestly realize many people find God talk boring and even worse, Christians who talk about God annoying and boring it always shocks me when I am in a group of people who can't stand any "God talk". It really does.
The label "Bible Thumper" is not something I am not even going to argue with someone nor were they refering to me when they asked the question thankfully. I have known a few Bible thumpers in my time unfortunately. They are the legalistic Christians who say they have Jesus but show little love. They are so proud of how "holy" they are and let everyone around them at all times know how "unholy" they are. They evangelise constantly and for that I give them much respect but they do it in a way that is annoying, judgemental and well, mean. Who wants to follow that ole crow?
I wondered what to do at that point, should I speak that a Christian way of life does not have to be a hypocritical and boring one? So I just asked God for a door of sorts. He gave me one. God, you are soooo cool. It was pretty neat, the subject just eased into a Biblical teaching that I just happened to have finished studying and I just couldn't let the opportunity to speak what the Bible says about this subject go. What happened next was awesome. As I gently eased into what God would say about this suddenly this very loud room packed with people went dead silent. Dead silent. I spoke about God's truth on this and everyone listened, quietly and intently. It was a beautiful moment for me personally. Then I cracked a joke of sorts to put the room back to a "normal" mood and everyone smiled and began talking again.
I learned something wonderful from that. People are curious about God's word. I think they were really interested in what I had to say and maybe they hadn't heard about God before without being in a boring church or by a condescending person telling them they are living a sinful life. For me, it was beautiful to be able to share knowledge about God and how we are created in different ways in His image with people who may have never heard that before. I would have LOVED to go "full sermon" but that would have been pretty rude of me, it wasn't the place or time. But, I would have LOVED it.
I have never heard the name of the Lord taken in vain with curse words so many times before. I think I visibly cringed each time I heard it. It was almost painful to hear it so y'all I had to get me some good stuff in too. Do you ever just wish you could tell people about God and Jesus and they just get it and want Him? UGH. It is so frustrating sometimes to try to insert God's truth and word into conversations with people who do not either believe in Him or actively worship the Lord in any way. They are so resistant to any mention of going to church at all aren't they? I wonder what has happened to them to make them not worship or believe? Probably lots of things.... but you know what I have learned this past year that I know that I must teach my children and as many people as I can?
I have learned that I need to teach my kids that worshiping God is something that you can't just stop doing. Worshiping God needs to be viewed as an actual personal relationship with another being. If we break a relationship off with another person we know we are no longer connected to them in any way so how can we break off a personal relationship with God and still say we are part of Him and His family? We need to stay connected, we need to talk to Him, we need to do all the things with God that we would desire someone in a relationship to do with us at the very least? I mean, how ridiculous would it be to get married to someone and then leave them a few years later & disappear but 20 years down the road have someone ask you about your spouse and you would say "I've been married over 20 years." No, you haven't. You quit being married the day you left your spouse. I am not even getting into a salvation discussion here but one of all the time I hear people say they believe in God or that they are Christians but it has been years since they entered a Church. They can't remember the last time they read anything in a Bible. They do not hardly or ever pray but since they prayed a salvation prayer when they were a little kid and went to Church as a youth and visit during the special holidays sometimes they think they are just fine and dandy with God and are a part of his family. It is just an awesome work that Satan has done to deceive people. He has done a great job of deceiving people in that way and how did we ever let him get away with it?
It frustrates me so..... I just want to see people happy and not let another soul over into Satan's camp. I heard a pastor the other day say people are dying constantly and then he began tapping rapidly on the podium. They are dying at this pace all around your city, as he is still tapping, while you are eating lunch.... again more tapping, while you are brushing your teeth..... again more tapping, while you sip your coffee...... more tapping. How can you sit there and eat your food and sip your coffee and know that you didn't share the love of Jesus with someone? Why aren't we evangelizing more? CAN YOU SAY CONVICTION?
People were dying in Canton, GA this morning as I sipped my coffee and harvested my crops in Farmville on Facebook. Did I miss an opportunity to share Jesus with one of them? Did I miss an opportunity to share the love of Christ with someone who may have known one of them and could have shared that love with them?
I don't want to be known as a "Bible Thumper" because that person is just a little too much for everyone around them. But boy, I sure do want to be the person planting seeds of love, seeds of knowledge about the true picture of what a Christian life is.... that it is wonderful and not boring and full of don'ts. I want to plant seeds of compassion, seeds of mercy and giving, seeds that will grow and when given the opportunity I want to share the story of God, who He really is and who His Son is and lead someone to our awesome God. I want them to know it is not just about saying a prayer and they are done and it might be nice if they did the obligatory visit to Church on Sunday too. That is NOT worshiping God, that is a lie of the devil. I almost wish we could stop using the word worship and use relationship instead because there is such a deception as to what it even means to worship Him anymore. Relationship is a very personal term and relationship implies that there are two parties giving and taking, talking and answering, loving and being loved.
Does anybody feel this?
Well, I just know that if I can find the time to plant seeds on my farm in Facebook I should be able to find the time to plant seeds of the gospel too. There are WAY too many opportunities in daily conversation with people to miss out on a little seeding along the way.
Love y'all,
Jenn
The label "Bible Thumper" is not something I am not even going to argue with someone nor were they refering to me when they asked the question thankfully. I have known a few Bible thumpers in my time unfortunately. They are the legalistic Christians who say they have Jesus but show little love. They are so proud of how "holy" they are and let everyone around them at all times know how "unholy" they are. They evangelise constantly and for that I give them much respect but they do it in a way that is annoying, judgemental and well, mean. Who wants to follow that ole crow?
I wondered what to do at that point, should I speak that a Christian way of life does not have to be a hypocritical and boring one? So I just asked God for a door of sorts. He gave me one. God, you are soooo cool. It was pretty neat, the subject just eased into a Biblical teaching that I just happened to have finished studying and I just couldn't let the opportunity to speak what the Bible says about this subject go. What happened next was awesome. As I gently eased into what God would say about this suddenly this very loud room packed with people went dead silent. Dead silent. I spoke about God's truth on this and everyone listened, quietly and intently. It was a beautiful moment for me personally. Then I cracked a joke of sorts to put the room back to a "normal" mood and everyone smiled and began talking again.
I learned something wonderful from that. People are curious about God's word. I think they were really interested in what I had to say and maybe they hadn't heard about God before without being in a boring church or by a condescending person telling them they are living a sinful life. For me, it was beautiful to be able to share knowledge about God and how we are created in different ways in His image with people who may have never heard that before. I would have LOVED to go "full sermon" but that would have been pretty rude of me, it wasn't the place or time. But, I would have LOVED it.
I have never heard the name of the Lord taken in vain with curse words so many times before. I think I visibly cringed each time I heard it. It was almost painful to hear it so y'all I had to get me some good stuff in too. Do you ever just wish you could tell people about God and Jesus and they just get it and want Him? UGH. It is so frustrating sometimes to try to insert God's truth and word into conversations with people who do not either believe in Him or actively worship the Lord in any way. They are so resistant to any mention of going to church at all aren't they? I wonder what has happened to them to make them not worship or believe? Probably lots of things.... but you know what I have learned this past year that I know that I must teach my children and as many people as I can?
I have learned that I need to teach my kids that worshiping God is something that you can't just stop doing. Worshiping God needs to be viewed as an actual personal relationship with another being. If we break a relationship off with another person we know we are no longer connected to them in any way so how can we break off a personal relationship with God and still say we are part of Him and His family? We need to stay connected, we need to talk to Him, we need to do all the things with God that we would desire someone in a relationship to do with us at the very least? I mean, how ridiculous would it be to get married to someone and then leave them a few years later & disappear but 20 years down the road have someone ask you about your spouse and you would say "I've been married over 20 years." No, you haven't. You quit being married the day you left your spouse. I am not even getting into a salvation discussion here but one of all the time I hear people say they believe in God or that they are Christians but it has been years since they entered a Church. They can't remember the last time they read anything in a Bible. They do not hardly or ever pray but since they prayed a salvation prayer when they were a little kid and went to Church as a youth and visit during the special holidays sometimes they think they are just fine and dandy with God and are a part of his family. It is just an awesome work that Satan has done to deceive people. He has done a great job of deceiving people in that way and how did we ever let him get away with it?
It frustrates me so..... I just want to see people happy and not let another soul over into Satan's camp. I heard a pastor the other day say people are dying constantly and then he began tapping rapidly on the podium. They are dying at this pace all around your city, as he is still tapping, while you are eating lunch.... again more tapping, while you are brushing your teeth..... again more tapping, while you sip your coffee...... more tapping. How can you sit there and eat your food and sip your coffee and know that you didn't share the love of Jesus with someone? Why aren't we evangelizing more? CAN YOU SAY CONVICTION?
People were dying in Canton, GA this morning as I sipped my coffee and harvested my crops in Farmville on Facebook. Did I miss an opportunity to share Jesus with one of them? Did I miss an opportunity to share the love of Christ with someone who may have known one of them and could have shared that love with them?
I don't want to be known as a "Bible Thumper" because that person is just a little too much for everyone around them. But boy, I sure do want to be the person planting seeds of love, seeds of knowledge about the true picture of what a Christian life is.... that it is wonderful and not boring and full of don'ts. I want to plant seeds of compassion, seeds of mercy and giving, seeds that will grow and when given the opportunity I want to share the story of God, who He really is and who His Son is and lead someone to our awesome God. I want them to know it is not just about saying a prayer and they are done and it might be nice if they did the obligatory visit to Church on Sunday too. That is NOT worshiping God, that is a lie of the devil. I almost wish we could stop using the word worship and use relationship instead because there is such a deception as to what it even means to worship Him anymore. Relationship is a very personal term and relationship implies that there are two parties giving and taking, talking and answering, loving and being loved.
Does anybody feel this?
Well, I just know that if I can find the time to plant seeds on my farm in Facebook I should be able to find the time to plant seeds of the gospel too. There are WAY too many opportunities in daily conversation with people to miss out on a little seeding along the way.
Love y'all,
Jenn
Oh God, you are so funny.
Oh my, I have been gone quite awhile. Quite unlike me as I am usually such a chatterbox. This has been such an eventful holiday season for me and I have just truly been too scattered about to blog or visit anybody else's blogs. I do want to say thank you to all of you for the Birthday well wishes. Thank you so much and thank you for the laughs. I am feeling much better although not skinnier lol.
We had such a blessed Christmas day, I hope all of you did too. It was just so much fun and relaxing. Mike did a deep fried turkey this year and boy was it fantastic! We cooked a 20lb bird in an hour and a half and it was moist and AWESOME!! I shall never bake a turkey again. The entire day was bliss.
I wanted to take a moment to pause and look at this year. I don't normally do that but 2008 was a major life changing year for me and when I look at 2008 which is mostly blogged about here it is incredible what God did in my life. I mean, it was AMAZING. I have spent my entire life slowly evolving into who I am but in 2008 God took me into warp speed and did a transformation in such a short time that it still blows my mind. He taught me so many things in that year that I would ask him over and over why so fast? As soon as he would teach me something He had me onto something else so quickly it was hard to keep it all straight sometimes. Maybe that was why God told me to blog? Having a written record is nice like that.
What was 2009 all about? Something beautiful...... 2009 was all about stepping into the will of God. Can I tell you what a relief it is to know what God's will is for a person? Decades of not knowing my calling or purpose and God so fantastically revealed it to me in 2009 and I so gladly stepped into it. 2008 was all about teaching me what it truly means to trust in the Lord with all my heart, learning that my character was of the utmost importance to God (walk before me and be blameless), most valueably learning to walk by faith and not by sight & knowing who I am in Christ, learning that being in the will of God is just as much about who we are on the inside as what we will "do" physically and that the closer I come to reflecting the character of Jesus the closer I come to knowing my true calling and purpose and that I need to seek the Lord with my whole heart each and every day and not ignore Him or put Him on the back burner and listen for His promptings.
2009 was about putting into practice what I had learned in 2008. It was time to put up or shut up and I liked that. I like tangible things that I can see or touch. 2009 was a year of living proof that God's word does not lie. I sought His will and His heart like never before and God laid out before me what I needed to do and together we did them. I don't do everything right, I never will but I do the best I can and I try that is for sure. Together, for the first time in my life I can say I didn't live my life as me, I lived it together with God & Jesus in me. I did what He showed me with His help and yes, everything His word said came to pass. His word did not lie. I sought out every single scripture that pointed the way to knowing God's will for our lives which I have laid out in a six part study on the sidebar and put them into practice in my life. I teach now, I NEVER thought I would teach Bible study but I do. That was all God & I love it so much. I get so much pleasure from our ladies Bible studies. I share what I have been given and it is so much fun!! I love it. I was terrified before our first lesson, does anybody remember that? I was so scared that I would not be able to even speak as I totally BOMBED as a speaker at Church that very first time to announce before the Church what our first lesson would be about and all the details such as what days and times we would meet. My voice quivered and shook and my hands were visibly shaking, it was soooooo embarrassing! But lots of you gave me wonderful advice, I really liked what Luther said too. It was a great help to me, thanks Luther!! But that is just it, on my own I was a flop. I was terrified and completely inadequate to speak simple words much less teach. It was staying in His word, praying to speak it boldly as though it were the very words of God coming out of my mouth and asking for His strength that allows me to teach that class. I knew the fact that I was even going to teach that class was His doing 'cause I sure don't ever seek out to be the center of attention of anything ha ha. I sought His will for me and He put me right into it. All I had to do was trust him and obey, sounds easy but whew, it sure can be hard to do something new and scary if I try to do it on my own.
Yes, 2009 was a year of tangible results from doing everything in the six part study on How To Discover God's Will for Our Lives. Want to hear something funny? Okay thanks 'cause I wanted to tell you this funny thing or maybe I have already? I forget. In the study I talk about the F word, Forgiveness. I talked about how God asked me to pray for every single person I could think of that had ever hurt me and that I was to pray blessings over them and good only, no bad. I was not to pray to fix them 'cause I got some conviction when I tried that ha ha, no I was to pray for blessings in their lives and for good things for them only. Well, in 2008 I prayed for my ex husband to find happiness and for God to give him a wonderful godly wife that would be a joy and a blessing to him. That wasn't easy at first 'cause honestly, I don't like him at all. I find him repulsive and abusive but I did pray that for him and I meant it after awhile. Soon any bitter feelings I had for him were gone 'cause it is hard to dislike someone you are praying great things over right? Well, part of that whole thing with God telling me to do all that was Him also telling me that He was going to grant these blessings to these people. I kind of forgot about that part until a couple of months ago.
Guess who got married this summer? Yep, my ex husband married a lady who as far as I can see is wonderful and nice and he is completely undeserving of her ha ha. She is GREAT. I kept telling Lexie to tell her to run when Lexie went down for the wedding, I was kidding of course and Lexie knew it but I honestly did feel sorry for this poor woman. Every now and then before and after the wedding when Lexie would bring up this woman I would feel so sorry for her and know that my ex did not deserve someone this wonderful and I was thinking about it one day when I wrote her to tell her how happy I was that Lexie had her for a step mom and such. Suddenly God just convicted me BIG TIME. He let me know that I had prayed for this woman to come into his life and God had done just as I asked Him to do. Here was a tangible result from all those prayers and I never saw it and was blind to the fact that God had answered that prayer just like I asked Him to. He gave that man every single thing I prayed for him in a wife. It was a powerful moment when I was mentally thinking how great she was that he did not deserve her and that if she was smart she would run hard and fast ha ha and God was like "HELLO? remember what you prayed, I told you I would do it and now that I have you don't even see it and you have the nerve to complain about it and think it should be changed?" Well, I just laughed about it and thought that was the funniest thing EVER. Be careful what you pray for ha ha.
Jenn
We had such a blessed Christmas day, I hope all of you did too. It was just so much fun and relaxing. Mike did a deep fried turkey this year and boy was it fantastic! We cooked a 20lb bird in an hour and a half and it was moist and AWESOME!! I shall never bake a turkey again. The entire day was bliss.
I wanted to take a moment to pause and look at this year. I don't normally do that but 2008 was a major life changing year for me and when I look at 2008 which is mostly blogged about here it is incredible what God did in my life. I mean, it was AMAZING. I have spent my entire life slowly evolving into who I am but in 2008 God took me into warp speed and did a transformation in such a short time that it still blows my mind. He taught me so many things in that year that I would ask him over and over why so fast? As soon as he would teach me something He had me onto something else so quickly it was hard to keep it all straight sometimes. Maybe that was why God told me to blog? Having a written record is nice like that.
What was 2009 all about? Something beautiful...... 2009 was all about stepping into the will of God. Can I tell you what a relief it is to know what God's will is for a person? Decades of not knowing my calling or purpose and God so fantastically revealed it to me in 2009 and I so gladly stepped into it. 2008 was all about teaching me what it truly means to trust in the Lord with all my heart, learning that my character was of the utmost importance to God (walk before me and be blameless), most valueably learning to walk by faith and not by sight & knowing who I am in Christ, learning that being in the will of God is just as much about who we are on the inside as what we will "do" physically and that the closer I come to reflecting the character of Jesus the closer I come to knowing my true calling and purpose and that I need to seek the Lord with my whole heart each and every day and not ignore Him or put Him on the back burner and listen for His promptings.
2009 was about putting into practice what I had learned in 2008. It was time to put up or shut up and I liked that. I like tangible things that I can see or touch. 2009 was a year of living proof that God's word does not lie. I sought His will and His heart like never before and God laid out before me what I needed to do and together we did them. I don't do everything right, I never will but I do the best I can and I try that is for sure. Together, for the first time in my life I can say I didn't live my life as me, I lived it together with God & Jesus in me. I did what He showed me with His help and yes, everything His word said came to pass. His word did not lie. I sought out every single scripture that pointed the way to knowing God's will for our lives which I have laid out in a six part study on the sidebar and put them into practice in my life. I teach now, I NEVER thought I would teach Bible study but I do. That was all God & I love it so much. I get so much pleasure from our ladies Bible studies. I share what I have been given and it is so much fun!! I love it. I was terrified before our first lesson, does anybody remember that? I was so scared that I would not be able to even speak as I totally BOMBED as a speaker at Church that very first time to announce before the Church what our first lesson would be about and all the details such as what days and times we would meet. My voice quivered and shook and my hands were visibly shaking, it was soooooo embarrassing! But lots of you gave me wonderful advice, I really liked what Luther said too. It was a great help to me, thanks Luther!! But that is just it, on my own I was a flop. I was terrified and completely inadequate to speak simple words much less teach. It was staying in His word, praying to speak it boldly as though it were the very words of God coming out of my mouth and asking for His strength that allows me to teach that class. I knew the fact that I was even going to teach that class was His doing 'cause I sure don't ever seek out to be the center of attention of anything ha ha. I sought His will for me and He put me right into it. All I had to do was trust him and obey, sounds easy but whew, it sure can be hard to do something new and scary if I try to do it on my own.
Yes, 2009 was a year of tangible results from doing everything in the six part study on How To Discover God's Will for Our Lives. Want to hear something funny? Okay thanks 'cause I wanted to tell you this funny thing or maybe I have already? I forget. In the study I talk about the F word, Forgiveness. I talked about how God asked me to pray for every single person I could think of that had ever hurt me and that I was to pray blessings over them and good only, no bad. I was not to pray to fix them 'cause I got some conviction when I tried that ha ha, no I was to pray for blessings in their lives and for good things for them only. Well, in 2008 I prayed for my ex husband to find happiness and for God to give him a wonderful godly wife that would be a joy and a blessing to him. That wasn't easy at first 'cause honestly, I don't like him at all. I find him repulsive and abusive but I did pray that for him and I meant it after awhile. Soon any bitter feelings I had for him were gone 'cause it is hard to dislike someone you are praying great things over right? Well, part of that whole thing with God telling me to do all that was Him also telling me that He was going to grant these blessings to these people. I kind of forgot about that part until a couple of months ago.
Guess who got married this summer? Yep, my ex husband married a lady who as far as I can see is wonderful and nice and he is completely undeserving of her ha ha. She is GREAT. I kept telling Lexie to tell her to run when Lexie went down for the wedding, I was kidding of course and Lexie knew it but I honestly did feel sorry for this poor woman. Every now and then before and after the wedding when Lexie would bring up this woman I would feel so sorry for her and know that my ex did not deserve someone this wonderful and I was thinking about it one day when I wrote her to tell her how happy I was that Lexie had her for a step mom and such. Suddenly God just convicted me BIG TIME. He let me know that I had prayed for this woman to come into his life and God had done just as I asked Him to do. Here was a tangible result from all those prayers and I never saw it and was blind to the fact that God had answered that prayer just like I asked Him to. He gave that man every single thing I prayed for him in a wife. It was a powerful moment when I was mentally thinking how great she was that he did not deserve her and that if she was smart she would run hard and fast ha ha and God was like "HELLO? remember what you prayed, I told you I would do it and now that I have you don't even see it and you have the nerve to complain about it and think it should be changed?" Well, I just laughed about it and thought that was the funniest thing EVER. Be careful what you pray for ha ha.
Jenn
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