The Ocean.....................

We are so much like the disciples. We are ready to die for Jesus one day and then forsake him and run from him the next. It is so easy for us to loose our focus on Jesus!!!
It is like we are on a roller coaster ride. One day we are on fire for him and the next day we are lukewarm for him. Why? Why do we as Christians do this? Is it this thing called life that we allow to sweep us away and busy us with the things of this world? The sad truth is that we the "church" have adopted the valves and principles of this world. There are things of unholiness in our hearts......ex. self-control, eating, spending habits etc. Caring about the impressions that we make on others and caring so little about pleasing God. We all have idols in our lives that take the place of time we could be spending with God. So why? Why do we put him on the back burner of our lives? Is this our sacrifice we are offering to Jesus? Are we offering Him the first fruit of our labors? Can we give him our everything without keeping a portion for ourselves? What are our motives, and what is our attitude when we are giving to him? Is it only to make us feel good about ourselves and our walk with God? Only so others will notice? It's like I am waving a red flag; "Look at me; Look at me.....anybody? See what I have done? Have we taken our eyes off of the eternal and placed them on our own circumstances?
I know I have had my eyes on my own circumstances lately. I have felt sadness these last few weeks. I can't explain the changes that are taking place inside of me. I am wanting to go deeper with God. I want to stop standing at the ocean and only getting my feet wet. It is comforting to stand at the ocean with only your feet in watching the water rush over your toes. But God wants more than our toes in the water. He wants us to be able to dive into the deep part of the ocean where the unknown is. You might not be able to see your feet in the deeper parts of the ocean. It can be dark in some spots of the water and who knows what is swimming around waiting to devour you. This fear of the unknown has kept me from swimming in the ocean. I am happy sitting in a chair with my feet in the water where it is safe....
My relationship mimics this with God. I am sitting on the shore where it is safe, not willing to let go and trust Him..... We must step off the shores leaving the safety nets and dive deep where the unknown lies. This is where you will find the fruits of your labor. This is what God is looking for in his relationship with you. An amazing trust where you walk in Faith!!!! Not keeping any portion for yourself. This is where your true worship comes in. This is where you start to learn the character of God... God becomes your only comforter, your only source of survival. He becomes your everything. This is where God can sit back and watch you flex your spiritual muscle by choosing to believe Him!!!!! You trust Him...You walk in Faith wherever the Father takes you even if its in the deepest part of the Ocean. You are willing to go!
In these last few weeks I have realized how hard it is to go deeper with God and maintain the relationships that you had in your life before you found God. People don't understand why you are putting your trust in God. Some people place their trust in other people and things, stuff they can touch and see. To them I seem weird, strange or even crazy. They even look at most Christian's as hypocrites. It is a lonely place to be sometimes.
I think it would be so much easier just to move to a town where no-one knows the old me. Sometimes I dream of moving to a place where the people I meet instantly know that I love God. The different masks and costumes I have worn through the years are completely worn out. I have to admit that I have hung onto them longer than I ever thought I would. I want so badly to get rid of them forever, I just don't know how!!! Trying to figure that out. Life can be funny sometimes.. I will just continue to praise God and thank Him that He is long suffering and that His love never fails.
I am praying that I become totally satisfied with Christ! Wanting so badly for my identity to be wrapped completely in Him. Praying for a new heart one that God has completed, you know that thing where He purifies us....ouch, I know its going to hurt (a lot of cob webs in mine). Hoping to be released and freed to love, and free to live in God's fullness..........
Robbie

Prayers are needed for decisions that need to be made. We ask that if you follow our blog or know us, please keep us in your prayers for some important and exciting adventures that God has us going on or is in the works of stirring up right now.

Go after God today.
Allow Him to reveal Himself to you.
Ask God to shower you with righteousness. Hosea 10:12, "...for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you."
Seek His face and not His hands. Psalm 27:8, "My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face, Lord, I will seek."
Let Him move in you and around you.
Ask the Holy Spirit to inhabit your very being and stir your soul.
Pray for more of the move of God in your city.
Ask God to bring revival to your neighborhood.
Ask God to bring revival to your home.
Ask God to bring revival to you.
Matthew 6:33, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
Matthew 7:7, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."
Matthew 7:8, "For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."

Make today a new day in your walk and journey with the King of Kings, the Father of all Fathers, the Alpha and Omega, the Lord of Lords, Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah-Yahweh, Adonai, Elohim, Jehovah-Shalom, Abba Father, the Bread of Life, the Anointed One, the Ancient of Days, our Creator and our Delivery.

Don't be weighed down by the things and ways of this world.
Set yourself apart from it.
You must SEEK Him and when you do, you WILL FIND Him.
He wants to know you.
He wants you to fall inlove with Him again.
He wants to shelter you with His wings.
He wants to be your EVERYTHING...
Let Him Be...

jennifer (speaking my heart today)

It's that time of year...kids go back to school, one day its hot and the next is cool, the roads are more crowded because of school, the stress of approaching holidays starts to kick in. With all of the busyness of the approaching season, how will we react or respond to it? Will we get caught up in the craziness and pressure of it all? Or will we choose to stand out in the chaos as the peaceful one, the one that remains calm through it all?
How do we want to be perceived? Remember that we are to be the voice of God, the eyes of God, the hand of God, and perform the works of God here on this earth through the working of the Holy Spirit through us. To be that is to be peaceful, full of joy, gentle, loving and kind, filled with patience, and faithful. If we are to be Christ-like, then we must possess the characteristics of Christ and allow the Spirit to move through us.
Just remember, as things start to get hectic, as schedules start to become more demanding, the roads begin to get more jammed, and the finances have to become more stretched that we can look at this season differently this year than what we may have in the past. We can be a light to a dark situation. There is always a solution in every situation...we just have to turn it over to God to find.
I tend to get caught up sometimes in the chaos of the demands of kids in school, a full time job, an approaching holiday and visiting family, BUT I don't want to. I want to remain calm and seek Him to provide the peace and gentleness that He wants to fill us with.
Let's be challenged this upcoming season and be there for one another, holding one another up in times of need.
There is an excitement to be found in seeking God for these gifts and in knowing that He wants us to be full of these things.

So, be filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.

Let others see Christ in You...starting today in the decisions that you make and the reactions that you have to situations.

Jennifer

God wants to know you...will you let Him?

Walk away...turn the other way...fall face down and surrender it all...

You have so much to gain.

Get to know God in a new and deeper way.

How far will we go for God? If He told us to go, would we go? If He asked us to move, would we move?
Let's think about how much we would truly do for God.
If we have a hard time answering that question, let's reevaluate our walk with Him.
What would God have to do for us to move when He said, to go when He said go? Is that what it would take? For God to do something? Or are we willing to sacrifice for the Father? The King of all Kings? The Alpha and Omega?
Why is it so hard to walk where the Father wants us to walk after He gave His only Son for us?
Let's think about God calling us today to an uncomfortable place and what our response to Him would be. If we have hesitation, then why? Do we not trust that He will provide? Do we not trust that He will protect?
Think about it....REEVALUATE...and let's change our ways to obey the Father when He speaks to us.
Let's ask God to put us in the uncomfortable places, to stretch us...so we can learn to lean on Him more and trust Him instead of our own ways.
There is so much more for our lives with the Father than what we are allowing to occur...
Allow it to occur
Be tested, tried, stretched beyond the uncomfortable
And allow it to ocur
Whatever it may be

A word for myself...
Jennifer

I am back home in Charlotte and I have reflected many times on what God has done and what He is doing in me over the past few months and especially days. I let the thought of "what am I doing?" go through my mind at least once during the day, and most of the time it's a lot more. Or I wonder, "am I on track?". I can get so caught up in what is happening around me that I worry that I'm not where I need to be with God at that time. I know that I will always have areas to grow in and be strengthened in, but I want to know if where I am at RIGHT now is where I am supposed to be RIGHT now.
Do you ever do that?
Then, just when I start to question things around me, I will hear a voice or experience a situation that shows me that I am where I need to be for now. I think my biggest problem is taking on too many things at the same time and I can get overloaded with the busyness of them all. Are you following me?
I will be doing one thing at work, another with my children, another with ministry, and another with school....and all at the same time...and then wonder, "what does God have for our family? for me and Don? What is it He has mapped out for our personal life?"
I think way too much about STUFF.
A woman at the luncheon this weekend spoke the most beautiful words to me. She was one of those women that had been on this earth for 80 something years, and you knew that she had seen a lot in her years. You knew that she was a woman of God when she walked up to you...you could sense His love and see His eyes as she looked at you. I knew at that moment that she knew what I felt, that she "got me" and that it made sense and that it was okay and it was right. She spoke and instead of hearing a voice from an 80 something year old woman...I heard the voice of God speaking to me....speaking life into my craziness and my wondering.
No, I cannot share what the lady said...mainly because I cannot remember word for word what it was and I do not want to mess it up...just trust me that He knew at that moment what I needed to hear and God used her as a vessel to pour those words through to me.
Let's stop worrying so much about what the day or weeks to come are going to be consumed with...because we can get overwhelmed with it all. Let's just take it moment by moment. God will direct your path. He will tell you when to turn and when to stay straight. We have to wait and look for those voices that He uses sometimes to direct us.
I had a wonderful time this past weekend in Amelia Island but the reality of it all is that I am called to be here in Charlotte for now doing all of the craziness that I am doing. I can't wait to see what and where God calls us to next. Until then, I will remain in prayer and openness to the days ahead.
God bless you as you encounter more of God as you seek more of Him.

Jennifer