God's Presence...................

I have met a new friend at church. She has seen the pain and the hurt I have held in my heart these last few weeks. Even though she doesn't know any details the pain is written all over my face.
Do you ever people watch? I do and I love doing so. Next time notice people's faces, see if you can tell anything about them from their face. Are they sad? Happy? Mad? Do you see Jesus in their face? What does your face say about you?

The interesting thing about my new friend is that I have never seen her before and I have attended church there for several years. I am a creature of habit. I sit in the same spot every Sunday. I know I am a little strange but I do feel like it is my spot. But I don't mind if it is down a few seats, I just really prefer to be on the same pew. Anyhow a couple of months ago this beautiful women with the prettiest smile was sitting on the pew I sit on. I introduced myself and continued to see her for the next few weeks. Now I know that this was divine intervention on my Father's part. She has become a very special person to me. Now when I run into church trying to get to my seat, I look for her to make sure she is there. I can't explain it although we don't get to talk a lot; there is something that calms me when she is near. So last Sunday she brought me a book she wanted me to look at. Now if you know me one of my biggest problems that I have is books. I find somethings so special about Christian Books that I have a christian bookstore in my house.lol My husband has put his foot down and said STOP!!!LOL He has reminded me that when you can't even get into our bed at night for stepping over the mountains of books that I have a problem. So when she wanted me to look at this book and wanted me to order one my first reaction was oh no I can't. But with my gracious smile I said I would look at it. Well divine intervention again. God knew I would not order the book so my new friend said take it and bring it back later. I thought I can't take her book it means so much to her. I know how I feel about my books and they are like treasures of gold. She kept on encouraging me to take it and finally I did. Then I thought to myself when? When Father am I going to have time to look at it? I already have so much on my plate with teaching bible studies; working as a critical care nurse; teenagers who have gone wild, and a house to run not to mention the millions of daily devotions that I have placed all over my house that I haven't even had the time to read. Well guess what I looked at it this morning and I couldn't put it down. It is the kind of devotional that speaks to my heart. It is DEEP!!! I was so impressed by this book that I wanted to share one of the devotion's with you. And yes this will be ordered and added to my beautiful collection. It has turned out to be a true treasure. So thank you Father for my new special friend and her gift that I will treasure.

This is taken from the book ; Jesus Calling....by Sarah Young

Let me anoint you with My Presence. I am King of Kings and Lord of lords, dwelling in unapproachable Light. When you draw near to Me, I respond by coming closer to you. As my Presence envelops you, you may feel overwhelmed by My Power and Glory. This is a form of worship: sensing your smallness in comparison to My Greatness.
Man has tended to make himself the measure of all things. But man's measure is too tiny to comprehend My majestic vastness. That is why most people do not see Me at all, even though they live and move and have their being in Me.
Enjoy the radiant beauty of My Presence. Declare My glorious Being to the world!

Look up these verses and meditate on them today:
1 Timothy 6: 15-16; which God will bring about in his own time - God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, 16; who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.

James 4: 8; Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
How can you come near to God? James gives us five ways: 1; submit to God, yield to His authority and will. Commit your life to Him and His control and be willing to follow him.
2; Resist the devil, (4:7). Don't allow Satan to entice and temp you. 3; wash your hands and purify your hearts. (that is lead a pure life) (4:8). Be cleansed from sin, replacing your desire to sin with your desire to experience God's purity. 4; Grieve and mourn and wail in sincere sorrow for your sins (4:9). Don't be afraid to express deep heartfelt sorrow for what you have done. 5; Humble yourself before the Lord, and he will lift you up. (4:10; 1 Peter 5:6).

Acts 17:28; "For in Him we live and move and have our being." As some of your own poets have said, "We are His offspring."
God is not trapped in His Creation. He is transcendent. God is the Creator, not the Creation. This means that God is Sovereign and in control, while at the same time he is close and personal. Let the Creator of the universe rule your life.

Psalm 145: 3-6; Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom. 4; One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts. 5; They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works. 6; They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds.

The next time you see someone and you notice pain or saddness their face; pray and ask God how you could be a blessing to that person if possible. You never know how you might brighten someone's day.

All verses and explanations taken from NIV Bible.

Happy Memorial Day,
Special Thank you to those who have lost their life and who are risking their lives to keep us safe... May God Bless you and keep you tucked under the wings of protection. May God Bless America!!!!!!
love,
Robbie

After the rain comes the sunshine..............

Jesus has warned us that "In the world we will have tribulation." Notice he didn't say (IF) He said (WILL HAVE). "But be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
God showed me yesterday that when I come to him lately my heart has been hardened.
LIFE is good about breaking us down and wrecking havoc in our lives. Praise God I have decided to give up control to Him. I have shared with you lately how I have been living my life with my own agenda and plan. Isn't it refreshing to know that God is working through all of our circumstances even when it involves pain and defeat. He filters every part of our lives.
The only thing that should matter to us is when we come face to face with despair and we are at the end of our rope, we have to hang on to what we know about God. A personal knowledge of God. "Be still and Know that He is God."
Today we are going to look in the bible at 1 Samuel 30.....
Faced with the death of losing all of their families, David's soldiers started turning against him and were talking about stoning him to death! Wow talk about feeling like God was not around. This is a lot more serious than a purse being stolen!! lol This was an anointed man of God. Look at 1 Samuel 30:4; So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. They allowed their feelings to lead them. Their grief was overwhelming so they were looking for someone to blame and hurt like they had been hurt. Look at verse 6; David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. BUT DAVID FOUND STRENGTH IN THE LORD HIS GOD........ Where did David find his strength??? Man or God?? GOD!!!! Basically they had come to the end of their rope, they were swallowed up in their own grief and despair. Instead of looking to God they looked for someone to blame.
But David was different, He learned to stand alone and depend on God. David stood there with his life hanging in the balance and he found his strength in the Lord his God!!
When we children of God go through discouragement and feel like we are failures who are we going to look to? God could be in the middle of our tragedy. God had incredible blessings ahead for David, but God wanted David to cast his trust completely to Him. Think about it. God also has incredible blessings for us. But first we have to put our trust in God's hands. We need to pray about every decision we make.
This was truly a situation that no human hands could fix. What a victory for David to rejoice in God's faithfulness even when he couldn't feel him or see him. It even seemed that God had abandoned him. But he didn't. Look at verse 8; and David inquired of the Lord, "Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?" "Pursue them, He answered. "You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue." David did not place his trust in man, he consulted the most high God. And David recovered all!!!
When discouragement sets in and you feel useless, like a failure, abandoned by God and rejected by those who you thought cared. Don't trust those feelings. Stand firm on what you know. Cast your problems to the hands of the Almighty. Find your strength in the Lord your God.
Thank you Father that victory is yours. Thank you for showing us today Father that we find our strength in you and not in human hands. When facing our own battles Father help us not to look to place blame but to look to you for our solution. Help us not to trust our feelings and emotions but to stand on what we know and that is the Word. Your word tells us Father that you will never leave us nor forsake us! Write that on the tablets of our hearts forever. We praise you , in Jesus' name. Amen.
Working on putting my trust in God,
Robbie

Waiting for God................

Father, I come to you today BROKEN. I am tired. I can't do this anymore. I accept all the turmoil I have been through this last month as an opportunity to sit at your feet and depend on you. I have asked you before to burn off the impurities until you see your reflection in me. I had no idea it would hurt this much. But Lord I beg you don't stop!! Just do it. Burn it off. I am so sorry for allowing my flesh to win. I pray with all my heart for your forgiveness. Change me Lord, show me your ways. Burn off everything in me that is not of you. I am going to accept what you have for me and stop fighting you. I am sorry. I have felt you pulling at me while the battle is taking place inside of me. (Inner man vs. Outer man.) The struggle has been between the flesh and the Holy Spirit. It has been a raging war these last few weeks.
Thank you for loving us enough to burn off the impurities. Father strengthen us. I pray a blessing for whoever is reading this. I pray that this post helps just one person not to make the same mistakes I have made. We praise your precious name. Amen.

I felt I had to start out with a prayer before I could even speak about how deep the pit is I have been in this last month. I can't remember a time when it has been this bad. I truly have not received a break from LIFE lately. And I blew it while allowing my feelings to lead me. I have depended on myself and others to get me through it instead of God. I have felt like such a failure as a mother and a wife. I have struggled with the guilt and self-condemnation of my own failures. God has shown me that He is more concerned with why I am doing what I am doing rather than what I am doing. So why am I staying in the pit??? I am free!! I don't have to stay in the pit!! And neither to you. When Jesus died on the cross He set us free. We are no longer slaves to sin.

I went tuesday with a good friend fabric shopping. The last placed we stopped I knew we were going to be dealing with large rolls of fabric and decided to leave my purse in the car. I stuffed my purse as far as I could under the seat. My friends car had tinted windows with an alarm. I also left my I-phone in my purse in the car.
We shopped for around thirty to forty mininutes. While walking out to the car I could see glass everywhere and when we arrived to the car, we realized that her window was completely shattered and yes my purse was gone including everything in it.
I think this was the icing on the cake. It pushed me over the edge into the biggest darkest pit I have ever been in. This last month of everything that I had been through came crashing down on top of me in that dark deep familiar pit. I felt buried alive.
For two days I have walked around numb. At times feeling nothing. What a scary place to be.

So why is it so hard for me or for you to climb out of a pit of self pity? Why are my eyes focused on me and my circumstances? We are living in a time when it is all about us. (ME ME ME...)
God is still God. God still loves me no matter how much I fall into that old familiar pit. His love for you and for me is not affected by how we act and what we do!!! If He was affected, I would have been a goner a long time ago..lol Doesn't that make you want to shout Praise God!!!!!

I have not trusted and I have not waited. Look at this beautiful verse: PSALMS 46;10, BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD....... Be still? Do we even know how to be still? Maybe God is stripping me of everything that distracks me from him. Not having a phone right now has allowed me some solutide time alone with God. In the car all I have is my thoughts in prayer with him. This could be a time when He is doing some of his best work in me or in you when we are in the pit of darkness.
LIFE can cause us to quickly lose our priorities. LIFE can cause us to disconnect from God himself and our purpose he has for us. The busier life gets the less time we have for our Father. I think I have simply become to busy being spiritual. I am so busy trying to be perfect. The perfect bible teacher. The perfect prayer warrior. The perfect student of God's word. But when all my stuff got stolen, I felt like I had lost my identity, I felt violated, because so much of me was in that purse. I know that may seem so trival to some but I was one of those women who carried everything in my purse. It was all about me. At times it was even a security blanket to me. I know I know WEIRD!! Sometimes we place such an importance on items. They become many idols to us. Ex. I-Phone!!!!!
God has shown me that the minute hard times come, I immediately start bargaining for God to rescue me. I even get angry at God for not making the person who violated me to evaporate when he touched my purse or explode or something. After all I work for the KING!!!! I wanted revenge!! Instant revenge. I felt like Jona!!!

I always thought I could handle being pounded by life. How wrong I was!! I came out of that pit on Tuesday swinging and scratching and clawing my way out like a rabid animal. I can't imagine what my friend thought who sees me preach and teach the word of God. She must of thought wow if that's one of God's spiritual leaders in the church, boy we are in trouble!!! I was ugly and wanted to just roll around in that ugly for a while. I felt I had earned it and I wasn't going to give it up easily. Trust me that flesh is strong>>>>>>
I have used up everything I had in me. It is gone. Maybe, just maybe for the first time in my life I am right where I am supposed to be. This could be part of the purification process by God himself. Remember that nothing is getting past Him when it deals with his children that He doesn't OK first. So the next time you find yourself in a deep dark pit. Don't fight it. Sometimes God will rescue us quickly other times He has something else for us to learn. He is at work in our lives. Don't make my mistake and depend on yourself and others. Don't use God as a last resort. You can't make demands on him. You have to come to him broken and DESPERATE. He is sufficient. Admit that you are helpless and in need of a savior. Praise him and let him be your strength when you are weak.

Learning to enjoy my solitude,
Robbie

"Love your neighbors as yourself"
"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"
We hear these commands and rules all of the time, usually because we are doing the opposite of that at the time.
How many of us are so inlove with ourselves that we overlook our neighbor?
Think about this: you are at the grocery store and you are in a hurry. You pull into the parking lot and see the perfect space right up close to the door, but as you round the corner this older woman jerks her car in and gets the space. What do we do? Do we say, "God bless her Lord. I'm glad she could get that space up close to the door since she is elderly and it is probably hard for her to walk a far distance."???? Or do we mumble under our breath or maybe even yell out at her in the car? How do we respond in situations like this?
Because how we respond to everyday situations just like this one are evidence of the characteristics of God that is alive within us.
We are to go out of our way to help others. We are to take food over to the family where the husband just lost his job. We are to pick up the kids that are walking to school all of the time because the mother just had surgery on her leg and can't get out to take them right now. We are to love them like we love our family, better yet...like we love ourselves.
Do we honestly hurt when we hear that a friend is having some medical problems? Do we truly care that our friend is upset about a family member going in the wrong direction? Does it effect us as if it were us? It should.
We are to be imitators of Christ and Christ does hurt when we hurt. He does cry when we cry. He does laugh when we laugh. If we are imitating Him, then we should care as He does.
No it is not easy. We live in a very busy world and have very busy lifestyles, but we need to show Christ' love to the world...and one way to do that is by "loving our neighbors as we do ourselves".
Get it in your head today to be "friendlier" to others, to be more considerate of the gentlemen at the grocery store or the woman at the mall with 5 children or the next door neighbor walking their dog.
Look around and find opportunities to share and put others before yourself.

Sometimes it sprinkles outside and we still are able to get out there and get our errands ran or mess around in the yard because it kinda feels good to have the raindrops hit our head every now and then. We are able to continue on with what we have planned when it's just sprinkling outside.
Then there are times when it is raining pretty hard and we look at it and decide to still run to the mall and take our biggest umbrella to shield us from the rain. There is no chance of running around without some type of shield from the rain that is coming down in these circumstances.
And then there is the full fledged storm where the rain is so bad that you can barely see in front of your own face, the trees are swaying in the back yard, and the thunder and lightning are constant. You decide to definitely stay inside, curl up on the couch, and watch your favorite show or read your favorite book until the storm is over. Everything is called off when it is storming. You can't even bake a cake when it is storming outside.
Well, sometimes we need to get off of the couch, turn off the TV, grab our best rain coat, put on our boots and walk out in the storm ready to see the rainbow that follows.
With every shower there is more growth in the ground. With every raindrop there is a flower that shouts "thank you".
We often run from the storms that sometimes we should get out and play in. Remember when we were kids and we begged our parents to go outside and play in the rain? Well, maybe as adults it is time to get out in the storm and play some. The storms will always come. Some are worse than others. Some have thunder and lightning and we have to be a little more cautious when we go out in them, but if it is just a bad rain storm, then mount up with your best rain suit (the armor of God) and get out there ready to get drinched in the rain but more ready to see the growth to follow after the storm.
The rainbow is here as a promise that God will never flood the earth again. There may come storms that knock us down as we continue to try and walk, but we will never be flooded to the point where we can't get back up and dredge through the water to dry land.
Growth comes from the rain. It may not be easy to walk through it. It may mean you have to look ridiculous as you "suit up" with the rain coat, umbrella, waterboots, etc. But if we are willing to stand through the rain, holding onto God's promise of no flood, and represent Him as we get a little rain on our hat, there will come sunshine and growth from it. A flower will come out of the soil that was just watered and maybe even some fruit will fall from the tree.
Don't be afraid of the storms even when they knock us down a bit. We may have to crawl through the storms sometimes because sometimes that is the only way to get through them.
Today it may be sunny, but we never know when the rain is going to come. Be strong in the storms that come in life. Put on your raingear and stand in the storm...the growth that comes from it will be beautiful.

God will never leave us nor forsake us!!!!!!

My pastor is doing a series on the book of Hebrews. For three weeks now he has been on Hebrew 12:1-2. I started ANOTHER journal, I am the worlds worst at finishing what I start. I am using it especially to write down what I am learning during this "series". But three weeks on two verses, come on. I want to learn more. Ha Ha. How little I really know or remember when it comes down to it. One may read the same verse every day, but get something alittle different out of it every time. Today I was amazed at what I read in the scriptures, and heard from our pastor. Hebrews 11- is basically the chapter about Faith, and Hebrews 12:1 tells us that WE are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, let us run with perseverance and keep our eyes on Jesus. Sitting in church I began to imagine "keeping my eyes on Jesus". Think about it..... close your eyes and look hard... I can image Jesus sitting at the right hand of our Father. I began to tear up thinking of all the times Jesus has said to our heavenly father.. Father, Amy really needs to feel your presence today, she is struggling.... again...... It is then at that moment I feel the Holy Spirit moving in me- to give me "just what I need" no more and no less. Also with Hebrews 12, Jesus talks about a cloud of witnesses. These witnesses are those that have experienced trials and struggle with problems, just like us. Others before us have "ran the same race". What they have and what we need to pray for more of every day is "FAITH". Life is hard. We must never lose sight of the "Big Picture". My wonderful bible, a gift from a very dear friend, explains that, Suffering is the training ground for Christian maturity. It develops our patience and makes our final victory sweet. WOW- the final victory- the "BIG PICTURE". I cant wait- I feel it is closer than we think. So... Please keep your eyes on Jesus. Everything happens for the good of his kingdom.


Let others see Jesus in you!!!!!


Amy

Our Life's Greatest Mission...........................

Our life's greatest mission is to figure out what to do every day in our life that's ordained by God and then to follow through with it. We must remain single minded as we embrace God's purpose in our life. I told my bible study class the other day that I feel like I have one eye on God and one eye on me! If this continues to be the case then I will miss it. I will miss my purpose in Life!!
With all the distractions in my house right now satan is working over time. I have to tell you that sometimes the way to God is down first. I have not shared with you the hurt and the pain that I have endured in these last few weeks; it is called raising teenage girls. I have had a reality check as a christian parent. I have not done my part in impressing God's truth to my girls. I have been so busy impressing it to other's that they have been pushed to the side and in return they have taken advantage of certain situations. I have quickly realized these last few weeks that the average adolescents brain is "ACT NOW AND THINK LATER." My biggest mistake was somehow I had imagined that my daughter had the same picture in her mind that I did when I would caution her about things to stay away from. And I never stopped to take the time to walk her through different scenario's that she might be exposed to in high school. I have also realized that you have to role play and lay out all their consequences for them instead of assuming they have the cognitive ability to do so on their own. Their brains are not cognitively developed enough to walk down worst case scenario's from poor decision making.
I will tell you I have fallen prey to the flesh more times that I can count these last few weeks. I have allowed the battlefield of the mind to almost paralyze me. This is all part of satan's plan. He wants to distract me from my purpose. And he wants to distract you. He is stepping it up a notch because his time is short. Just listen to the news for five minutes and you quickly realize that the world as we know it is falling apart.
We have to become single minded and focused on God in these last days. It means saying NO to things in order to spend time alone with God.
We don't have the mind of God so we are not going to understand things that are wrecking havoc in our world. Look at this verse for today: Revelation 19:13, He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.....To know the Word is to know God. To believe the Word is to believe God; and to obey the Word is to obey God. Let's commit to God today to read more of his Word and spend time in prayer with Him. God has taken the time for us, he has not pushed us to the side. He has role-played with us and given us all the scenario's this world has offer. He has laid out all our consequences for the decisions we make; and he has given us "free will. " God has done his part. What are we going to do with it? Will we think before we act?
Hang on during these troubling times. Gabriel's lips are already puckered; he is just waiting on the KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS to tell him to blow that trumpet. Praise God!
trying to think before I act,
(what would Jesus do?)
Robbie

Friendly Captavity.......................

We must ask ourselves living in these enticing times in the world; Do we have our integrity? What are our standards? Morals? We are growing more and more desensitized to the decaying morals and standards of our culture. The news is toxic, TV shows with sex scenes even some commercials are full of decaying morals and standards. What are you, what am I allowing in our minds?

If we drop our guard even for a minute and think "Oh I will just watch this one show." It want hurt me I know better. I will just play bonco with the neighborhood girls even if their language and jokes are inappropriate ( I want participate). I just want to be included.

Watch out because Satan has a play ground out there and it is called this world. Remember you and I have been assigned to this world but satan has also assigned it to us. He is the prince of this world. Believe me I have experienced it myself, I have even went out and swung on his swing set with him. If you open one tiny little hole, he is coming in. The more we play with Satan's world the more he will take from us. BE ON GUARD!!!! Look at our verse for today: John 10:10; The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. In contrast to the thief who takes life, Jesus gives eternal life! Praise God!!

Satan may bide his time until the perfect moment, but make no mistake he will take advantage of us at any opportunity. We have to spend time with God everyday and build our relationship with him. This in return will help us have a very sensitive spiritual antennae. We have to know our Father's voice. We do that by reading God's word and praying. We have to saturate ourselves in the truth.

It is almost like the average church member lacks deep convictions concerning who Jesus is, to the extent we cower under a raised eyebrow, or whispers that accuse us of being weird. I have told you before that I have had a costume closet in the past, a mask for different friends. Because I worry that they might think I am strange and in return they will not want to be around me. These times we are living in right now prove to me we are in a crisis. A crisis of courage and convictions. We can't become part of the crisis just so we blend in. We have to stand up for the truth that our faith is in Jesus Christ alone. We cannot blend in with the crowd. We have to be willing to live, and die for Him. This is going to take deep convictions and courage to live like this. Let's commit today together to not go by what feels good but on God's word.

Father, how I praise you today for showing us that you can give us the courage and the strength to stand out from the crowd. Help us Father to have priorities that are Christ-centered and not self-centered. We don't want the earthly treasures, they are only temporary happiness. We want joy that only comes from you Father. This world's pace is so fast Father, help us to make time for You. Help us take our eyes off of us and put them on you. We want to please you.

In Jesus' precious name. Amen.

Just remember that separation from the world requires courage, because the world is not going to like you for being different.



Throwing my costumes away,

Robbie

BABYLON................

What does Babylon represent to you? Babylon represents anything against God!

The reason I have not been writing lately is because Satan has tried to take me back to square one. He has done an excellent job these last two weeks. Do you and I understand that the enemy wants to take us to the one place that God himself has called us to leave?? He wants to back us up and take us to the place of our greatest despair. Don't think for one minute that he is going to come at you with horns and a mean look that is scary. He is not going to tell you that backing you up to start over is going to hurt; or cause turmoil in your life. He is going to come at you as a beautiful light. He is going to say this is going to FEEL good!!!
We are captivated in today's world with friendly captivity. It is even more dangerous than we realize because it is ACCOMMODATING to us. If you don't remember anything about this post remember this: (Captivity never remains friendly) It will turn on you every time.
Ask yourself these questions this week, Are we doing the influencing? Or we being influenced? Who is winning here? Us or the enemy? We can be carried away by the things of this world. Beth Moore teaches us in Daniel that we have been assigned to this world but the enemy has also assigned the world to us. What influence will win? Your self will (aka "the flesh") or the power of the Holy Spirit?

The verse of today: PSALM 27:4; One thing I will ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. 5; For in days of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling, he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.....
Our greatest desire should be to live in God's presence every day. Sadly this is not the desire of many believers, we must strive each day to enjoy that relationship that God has so freely given us. Praise him that he is Sovereign!

Trying to live in his presence,
Robbie

comfort zone.....................

As I write this today; I am humbled to say the least. I have had tons of spiritual attacks lately. I feel at times that I can't breath. But God is showing me things and I wanted to share:

Do you feel like God's power is adequate in your life?
How do you know unless you have walked through some dark times? We can't comprehend God's power until we step out of our comfort zone. I know I have been out of my comfort zone this week and instead of relying on God's power, I have depended on myself. I have looked for all my needs to be met through someone or something other than God!
I have questioned his sufficiency! I am so sad that through these trails this past week I have chosen self sufficiency over Spirit-living. The self is weak the Spirit is strong. God's work is not done in my life. He is not done in your life. I long to be the woman God wants me to be. It makes me sad that I have let him down. I just wish that I was further a long in the purification process than I am. It is a hard road but one worth doing. I know God has allowed treasures in my life that are from him like when I hear someone in my bible class say: "I want what you have!" They are beautiful compliments to hear but I have to be honest and tell you I only see all the work God has left to do with me. I am not downplaying the beautiful things God has done in me but I am aware that I want be complete until I stand in the presence of the Almighty and neither will you. That is why sometimes Amy, Jen and I say "COME LORD JESUS COME" I surrender. I am hanging the white flag on my mailbox today, I am done. Don't tarry come!!!!

I have come to realize this week that beauty the kind that comes from God isn't about being perfect and never making a mistake. It is just not possible in this life. But we have a citizenship in another kingdom and that is when we will be made perfect in His site when we stand in the presence of God. Let me share with you a comforting piece of wisdom. You can't sin your way out of Jesus' hands!! Look at the verse Romans 8:38-39; For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present or the future, nor any powers, 39, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. This is such a comforting promise from God himself. We as believers are still going to have hardships in many forms; whether it is with our kids, job, diagnosis etc. We must remember this verse!! Christ will not abandon his children. His death is proof enough of the love he has for us. We must place our security in him and not in people or things.
He has a plan for my life and yours. Look at Philippians 1:6; he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.... God will continue working on us through our entire life. He will finish it when we meet him face to face. We have the power of the Holy Spirit to help us and pray for us when we can't even pray for ourselves. Don't trust your feelings, if you feel like you aren't making progress in your walk with God remember these verses and stop believing the lies of the enemy that he puts in our minds. Read these scriptures a loud and claim the promises God has given us. Remember that God is the same today, yesterday and tomorrow and his word promises he will not give up on us! Don't let satan rob you from growing closer to God.
So if you ever question God's power for your problems, pressures, suffering, stress; remember this verse: Ephesians 3:20; Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. He is all we need. Lean on him. Cry out Abba Father. Take your focus off of you and your present circumstances. Don't just look up GAZE up at Jesus and who knows you just might see Jesus STANDING at the right hand throne instead of seating.
Jesus thank you for loving us enough to refine us. It sometimes hurts Father, but you understand more than anyone. Help us to not lean on ourselves or the things of this world. Father you are true and righteous, show us how to reflect you in our lives even when we are walking through trials. We praise your name.
Trying to grasp that God is adequate!!!
Robbie

Spirit of Heaviness...................

Have you ever felt like your spirit is overwhelmed? The challenges to great? The burdens so heavy? The attacks so fierce?

That is how I have felt this week. I have cried so much this week that I feel like I have tear stains on my face. I am confused and discouraged! Life is simply just not fair!!! Sometimes life can be so hard on us. To be honest, I haven't even felt like praying. I FEEL like Satan has asked to sift me as wheat.

Think about how much we love our kids with all our hearts and when they hurt, their pain becomes our pain. As a mother of three girls, ages 15, 13, and 10. There is always drama; their tears are my tears!
God is our heavenly father, and he so identifies with us his children (he became human and experienced everything that we do) our tears are his tears! God not only LOVES us; He identifies with us!
When we hit a bump in the road in this life with things that make us question God with the; If only God would;---- if only He had---------; If only He had answered my prayers the way I asked him to.---
Sometimes when God is silent in your life is when He is doing His best work. Maybe the adversity in our life is being used to make us strong! We have to learn to endure!!! We have to endure in this life to the point that we choose to praise Him, regardless of the storms within us or around us. If you look in your bibles David understood the secret to victory over adversity by choosing to PRAISE God! Jeremiah knew as did Paul and many others. We must CHOOSE to praise Him! If you don't remember anything about this post remember this: "Learn to walk by faith, not by what your FEELING!!! We have to make a choice! A conscious choice, no matter how bad your world comes crashing down to PRAISE Him!!! Rejoice!! Happiness is circumstantial. Joy cometh from the Lord!!! This is your gold nugget for today. PRAISE HIM!! This is the secret of victory that Paul, King David, and Jeremiah knew: PRAISE Him! Praise is the switch that turns on your light of joy in our lives even when our world is falling apart. Praise keeps Satan from having a foot hole in your life. Here is the meat of this message: When your world is falling apart and you Praise Him even in your darkest moments, the results of Praising Him will cause others to see the Glory of God in our lives!! Amen!

Look at the verse in John 11: 35; Jesus wept.. Jesus often expressed deep emotion, which shows me to never be afraid to reveal my true feelings to him. He understands! Praise God!
Jesus the Creator of the universe, the I AM, had real tears running down his face over Lazarus's death. Even though he knew he was going to raise him from the dead He still wept! Why? Because He loved them (Mary, Martha, and Lazarus) and their tears of grief were on his face! And he loves us and our tears of grief are on his face. If you ever had to bury a loved one; or hear the diagnosis of cancer from a doctor; or lost your job; experienced the pain of spouse betrayal, discovered your daughter has lost her innocence. Our TEARS are on His face!!!!
If you ever think that Jesus just doesn't care what your going through, and He doesn't love you because if He did He wouldn't have let you go through this. Those thoughts are from Satan himself. Those are the thoughts the enemy puts in your head and if your not careful those thoughts will take root in your head and those thoughts will choke out the truth; which the truth is God Loves you, your grief is His, your shock is His, your pain is His.

I cry out to you Abba Father! Thank you so much for being a father with emotions. You have so much compassion on your people. Our sorrows are your sorrows. You have experienced them. Our tears are on your face. Thank you , Jesus.

Tears of relief,
Robbie

"Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart and lean not on your own understanding....In ALL of your ways, acknowledge Him and He WILL direct your paths."

Whatever it is you need to trust Him with, Trust Him with it. He WILL direct you...Do not rely on your own answers to the situation around you. God wants to direct your paths. Let Him.

I read Robbie's post and it reminded me of the fragrance that comes from myrrh. I think I have shared this in a previous post but I wanted to remind us what I had read about it. Myrrh is not pretty to look at. It is not even a good smelling bush when you walk by it...BUT if you take it and crush it, it lets off the most beautiful smell. If you take it and grind it up, crush it down to nothing, then the fragrance that comes off of it is breathtaking.
Let's be crushed down today and let our beautiful fragrance flow from us. Let's allow God to come and grind us down, tear us apart, rub us between His fingers and then see what we can smell like.
Ladies, we need to get to a place of worship with the Father. Read the previous post. Really study what it says. Let's get back to the Heart of Worship with the Father in the next few weeks. Let's reunite that closeness that may have died off, that we may have lost over the past year or the past months. Let's fall inlove with the Father and truly experience His greatness and closeness and His love and His mercy. If you don't feel like it, do it anyway. Turn on praise music and see what happens as you clean the house today. Get into a routine of worship as you work, as you drive. Spend some time with God.
He will let off a fragrance in you that makes others draw close to you and wonder what it is that smells so good. Isn't that what we are here for? To shine for Him?
Let's do that.
I love you girls.

Jennifer