Uncle Mac

This is " Uncle Mac"- my husband's great uncle. My husband, Rob went to Atlanta to spend his summers with Uncle Mac and Aunt Cindy. Rob and I started dating when I was 17, this wonderful couple was two of the first people that I met in his family. I was immediately considered part of their family and I fell in love with them. Most important- they love Jesus. This shows by the way they live their life. Aunt Cindy died over a year ago. Even though Uncle Mac was so sad, he remained true to fact that God is good and that he would never leave us nor forsake us. Every night he would go to the cemetery, where she was buried, walk and pray. He told us about one night in particular, one that he felt like he couldn't take the sadness anymore. He cried out to Jehovah-Shalom- the giver of peace( Judges 6:24) He needed peace and comfort. He had not even said Amen when a car pulled up to him and told him not to be afraid, but that as he, the man in the car, drove by the cemetery the Holy Spirit told him to pull into the cemetery and tell that man, Uncle Mac, that Jesus loves him. WOW... that was all Uncle Mac needed, to be reminded that God will never, has never, or ever will leave him. Uncle Mac is still sad, but now able to move on. To enjoy this life for what it is worth, and most importantly he is storing up treasures in heaven.
Who is a witness to you? Who are you witnessing to today? Our life is a testimony!!!!! Please do not waste time. You do not have to be a crazy person screaming Jesus Saves. But people do watch the way we live. Lets show someone today, the love of Jesus!!!!!!!
Amy

Five Essentials for a Thriving Marriage

If there is one thing that is hard in my life, it is my marriage. My husband travels 3-4 days a week. When he is home I usually work 1-2 days of that time. Every week it is the same thing over and over and over. We have to get use to one another again. Last week we were in Rome, Italy. We had an amazing time. Just the two of us. We even had a flat tire when we got home. But we were happy. When we arrived home, Rob begged me to remain calm no matter what the house looked like or what the kids were up too. I agreed. But of course as soon as I saw how messy my house was, my head started spinning and my mouth was screaming. Oh well... maybe next year. It is amazing how a few minutes can ruin a day or even the memories of a great trip. So here we are again, back in that rut of life. But you know what.... God has more for us that the rut. The Holy Spirit is our teacher, and he whispers all day to me what I should and shouldn't do, but I don't listen. Maybe he should scream it to me, cause how can I hear the Holy Spirit when I am screaming. Ha Ha. I'm not that bad.
Here are five "musts" of marriage. I am going to put them to use also. Even the best of marriages can learn something from these.
1. Be thankful for your spouse.
Pray that God will help you love your spouse the way that they need to be loved.
2.Practice communicating from the heart.
Pay attention to what works well when communicating with your spouse. Practice it
3.Be intimate.
Like it or not, it is a gift from God
You have to be attentive to all of your husband's needs. Be the example. Don't expect to get back what you give. Marriages should be 50-50%, but most are not.
4.Practice the power of forgiveness.
We are all broken, imperfect human beings, we fail our spouses as they do to us. Do not focus on flaws and then punish your spouse. Forgive and you will be forgiven.
5.Be teachable.
Marriage is always a work in progress. Be patient and pray that God will open your eyes to the needs of your spouse. Realize the gift he has given you and be thankful. I know that often I pray for God to change me, not praying for my spouse to change. We cannot change them, God can though. We can allow God to change us.
Pray daily for God to strengthen your marriage.
Amy

HALLOWEEN...................

It is a huge debate:

Christians and Halloween.........

Christians must decide for themselves

and follow their own convictions about regarding the observance of Halloween.

When my girls were little, I did dress them up and take them door to door for candy. But now that they are older it isn't an issue anymore.

I can truly see both sides of the issues. Something strange happened to me a week ago. I have this witch that I have had for at least 10 years. She is big and scary. She has a wart on her nose and she sits on a broom. You can clap your hands etc and she will laugh this horrible laugh and her eyes light up this bright red.

Last week my middle daughter and I were having an argument. It got out of control and I started yelling. Yes yelling... and the witch was in the next room and started laughing so loud on her own...and wouldn't stop. I was very concerned. I even asked a few friends what they thought and they told me to pray about it. I never felt like I had an answer from God or anything but the next day when I looked in her eyes, I had this fear come over me. This certainly could have been all in my head.. I know that fear is not from God. We are to stand on His word.

So.....the very next day I opened the front door and said Satan get out of my house in the name of Jesus and I threw her out as far as I could throw her....lol

My husband came home the next day from being out of town and he saw the witch upside down on the front porch. He could instantly tell that she must have had a quick exit from the house...lol

And yes... He thinks I am crazy..... I tried to explain to him what happened. But the more that I talked the crazier I sounded. He did pick her up and put her somewhere and told me she was gone. My hope is to find her a new home before next Halloween...(just a little side story)

I can't help but think that we have to get out of our comfort zone for God.

We are called to reach out in a world that is filled with danger and be the light that Christ calls us to be..

Halloween brings people of the world to our doorsteps and our neighbors out in the streets.. Maybe we should think of creative ways to use this time to seize this opportunity for developing new relationships and sharing our faith. God calls us to be in the world but not of it....After all these could be actual people that we need to seek and reach.......

I truly believe there is no right or wrong answer. One's convictions about Halloween must be individually sought, individually found and personally followed. We should not judge!!!

I would love to hear your thoughts on this matter....

Blessings,

Robbie

CONFUSION...........................

The first thing the enemy does in your soul:
CREATE CONFUSION.......
How many times has it gone through my head in the last few days?
1) Am I the person I should be?
2) I am not worthy to approach God!
My prayer on the way to work one Friday: Please God let me be like Abraham, take me out of my comfort zone. Give me the patient you want me to have today Lord. Let me be a blessing to them. Let me stand before you today Father and bear good fruit...
Right after my prayer...pure fear came over me..........I wished I hadn't prayed that prayer. Why? Maybe unbelief? Maybe lack of Trust? I have felt the enemy stepping it up with me last week. I have had confusion, which has brought fear, which then brings weakness and this is when the enemy strikes and hits you below the belt...
Before going into work I had a long hot shower. My hair was clean. My clothes were fresh and as I sat down to get report from the nurse I happened to glance in my patient's room that I was getting, and I knew instantly that this was not going to be good.
Where is my trust? Is my trust dependent on God taking me out of my comfort zone as long as it isn't dangerous???? Is it OK for God to take me out of my comfort zone as long as it is easy? The look on my face as I was getting report was painful.......
This was my report:
1st pt: 20 year old female, pregnant with her 4th child when she first came into the hospital, and unsure of a diagnosis at this point (lots of symptoms that didn't seem to fit any one diagnosis). She has been unable to be taken off of the breathing machine and now has a trach. She has had what we would call a "rough" start in life, with lots of areas and decisions that she has made up to this point that have not been the best ones (from the way we see it). She has several infections that cannot be touched with antibiotics because all of the different infections that she has are now resistant to these antibiotics (because of the multitude of antibiotics that she has already been on to try and fight these infections)..............Her kidneys are now also shutting down and this is requiring her to be on dialysis. She needed a blood transfusion because of some bleeding in her lungs which have caused her hemoglobin level to drop. She also has lupus, and her body looks like the body of an 80 year old because of all of the medical complications she has faced just over the past few months. There is a lot of blood coming out from her trach site, which is HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS!!! So I must be very careful......
2nd pt: 50 year old, heavy smoker who came in for shortness of breath, dying with lung cancer that has metastisized all over his body. At this point, there is nothing they can do for him but send him home with hospice. The wife remains at the bedside. They have just been told all of the news and they are devastated.
Hope you have a great day. See you tomorrow.
That was my report..... What am I supposed to do with this? Fear!!! Confusion..... Am I going to catch what this one girl has and take it home to my family? Am I going to get her infections that are resistant to all antibiotics.
Then the nurse says "forgot to tell you...she is on the bed pan every 15 minutes. And she is having LARGE bowel movements each and every time."
I just sat there and wanted to cry. I could feel my eyes starting to water. I thought WOW..... I CAN'T DO THIS... I DON'T WANT TO DO THIS... WHY CAN'T I BE A STAY HOME MOM!!! I want to be back in my comfort zone at this point, but I also want God to use me?????
Then the nurse (I never thought she was going to leave) preceded to tell me about her code status and how her family never come to see her. No friends, no family... she is all alone...
I looked at her through the glass window and saw this pale child-like figure. She had freckles and looked like a baby. I could not believe that this child had children of her own. I wondered if she would ever see them again. Then I thought how unfair life had been to her. No matter what she had done, she did not deserve this. Then I prayed for God to give me the strength to be a good nurse to her. Because with everything in me I wanted to run.......
Why do I want to run away from the very thing that I ask God to do in my life?
Fear and confusion are not from God..... Confusion comes when we are trying to figure something out instead of taking it to God and laying it at his feet. I just kept staring at her, thinking "I don't want to go in there". Confusion came...then fear....Fear took root and grew. This is where the enemy wants to take us. Sitting around, thinking about it, and talking about it only breeds fear... It basically drains our faith.. This is true with anything in our lives. Talking about your issues constantly only drains your faith.. Take it to the Lord and leave it at the foot of the cross. We need to start believing the Word of God. We need to memorize scripture!!! It IS the sword in this dark world. We must shut our mouths and stop our stinking thinking and stand on the word of God.
GREATER IS HE WHO IS IN YOU, THAN HE WHO IS IN THE WORLD...... Satan is roaring around like a prowling Lion waiting to devour us. If we don't know the word of God we will fall prey. The guilt that I felt for my thoughts on that Friday of not wanting to go into that room haunted me until church on the following Sunday. Pastor talked about how good we feel for God one minute and then the next we feel like we have failed him. Disappointed him again. But time and time again God is right there cheering for us, longing for us to come to him and through our weakness He is made strong. Not by my might but by His super-natural strength....
I did go in that room and for two days I was caring for this child. By the time my shift was over on that Saturday, I wasn't even wearing a mask and goggles. I was no longer letting fear grip me. I decided...I am going to trust the one who loves me. His word tells me everything I need to know. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I WILL FEAR NO EVIL.............God doesn't want us to try and fix it. He knows we are not capable... He remembers that we are dust.... He forgives us every time we repent and turn from our evil ways. Pastor said, He forgets what we remember and remembers what we forget...... We forget that we are weak, God doesn't. We remember when we fail God.... God doesn't... He forgets the sin that is playing havoc in our lives. We are giving Satan that foothold. Jesus died on that cross for us. It broke those chains that enslave us. That hold us captive to our own thoughts. Every time you have a thought that comes to your mind that is not of God, recite scripture and it will set you free every time...
Don't be afraid of the unknown, the scary situations, the uneasy circumstances that God may be placing you in. Don't FEAR the UNCOMFORTABLE. You may be the only light that those "patients" ever see, or the last one that they see...what a blessing to be able to be uncomfortable for God during these times. We don't have to know what to do. We just have to trust that He does...and be willing to walk through the doors. Stop looking through the glass window at the situation and dreading what the rest of the day holds...be humbled, grab hold of God's hand that is reaching out to you, and get in that room. You are placed and can be used for such a time as this. FEAR NOT!!! GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE!!!!
So, so tired of being a prisoner in my own mind and being stirred for the uncomfortableness that the Lord has for me,
Robbie

John Piper - Why Memorize Scripture?

MAKE SURE YOU SCROLL DOWN AND TURN OFF OUR MUSIC FIRST!!! THIS IS ONLY A COUPLE OF MINUTES; PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO BE STILL AND LISTEN...

Grace....................................

Wow I can't believe that the week is almost over. My husband is out of town tonight and the girls are upstairs getting ready for bed. Amy flew to Rome this week; yes Rome.. And Jen well who knows where she is...lol just kidding. She is in graduate school. So it is me who gets to blog...

I wanted to tell you about my church pew.. It has always been a dream for me to have one. I know I am a strange.lol.. I found one in an antique store in Matthews, NC. It came from a church in Asheville, NC. It is over a 100 years old. ??? That's what the man said anyway..

My middle daughter Gracie made me laugh because she said; "mom you can't put pillows on a church pew, it is Holy!" Then she proceeded to tell me that I am weird.... lol

Life is crazy lately and I think I am the main one who is making it crazier... I thought I would share some of what I have been learning in my bible study. It is about Father Abraham... I feel like the last few weeks that I have become his friend or something. I feel like we hang out in the wee hours of the morning. I have to admit it hasn't been fun on my part, because God is burning a few of my layers off again....I feel like I am always in the fire? Anybody else?

God called Abraham and by Faith Abraham went. The bible teaches us that man has always been saved by faith.....Thinking about this today, I wondered where was Abraham when he was called and what was he doing? Was he cleaning the house constantly? Buying groceries? Working the farm? etc. We know that he didn't have any kids yet? So what was he doing?

Abraham was called to leave his people, his country and his father's household and go to a land that he did not know, one that God had chose for him. Clearly Abraham was being called to leave his old life behind and to enter in to a completely different life; one that God had planned for him. What stood out to me the most while studying was: out of God's amazing Grace He is still issuing that same call to us.

When Abraham was called into a new life, the world around him continued on its own path, living a life apart from God. People were disobeying God and trying to build towers up to heaven so they could make a name for themselves.

It is interesting to me how much the old testament mirrors our world today. People wanted what felt good at that moment and today we want what feels good all the time. Man continues to fail by not following God and obeying him. Today in 2010, we still turn to our own efforts, and want things on our own terms.

We think; " If I can achieve enough, acquire enough, accomplish enough I can make my name great! This is the heart of Idolatry!!!

Scripture tells us that Abraham lived in a city called UR. Abraham and his family were moon worshipers. WOW......

Abraham did not know God and he did nothing special to deserve God's call. But God graciously called him and chose him. Just as God does for each one of us. It is His Grace that calls us to himself....

Abraham was called. We are called. There is nothing that we can do to earn it. It is by HIS GRACE.... HIS GRACE CALLS.... He even seeks those who do not seek him...That is amazing to me that He seeks those who do not seek him...

Abraham and his family participated in idol worship. We participate in idol worship. God in His love and His Grace continues to offer us a new beginning over and over again. When God spoke to Abraham, His purpose was to offer him a new beginning and that is His purpose when He speaks to us. Abraham was the first Jew and through His blood line God ordained the Messiah!!! Isn't that amazing? Abraham was a moon worshipper and God called him to be the father of many nations.

We need to believe, "We are who God says we are."

Everything we are studying in the old testament shows the Israelites were chosen by God for a purpose. This is huge; everything the (Israelites) went through is a foreshadowing for us the "CHURCH." Wow.....

God called Abraham to leave a place and everything he new behind. Don't miss this; He didn't call him to just leave a place.... He called him to leave a life of idolatry...and go to a new land that He would show him. A place prepared by God, where he would receive a promise by God. Where he would fulfill his purpose ordained by God.

God is calling each one of us for the very same thing. Ask yourself this question.

By Faith are you willing to go?

Even if you do not know where you are going?

Are you willing trust the true and living God to take you to a place of blessings and eternal inheritance?

That is His promise. God called Abraham out of what was comfortable, familiar, away from everything that he had grown up with all his life. God called Abraham because he knew that He had to separate him from the idols. It was a road block for Abraham and it is a road block for you and me.

What are your idols that are keeping you from moving forward with God and receiving all that He has to give?

God saw the danger of idols in Abraham's life. He sees the same danger for you and me. We may not be moon worshippers but our idols are in our heart. And our idols keep us from what God has for us.

The idols in our hearts are no better than being a moon worshipper...

Would you be willing to ask God what are the idols in your heart? What would God see when He looks into your heart?

Asking God to help me get rid of the idols in my heart>>>>

Blessings,

Robbie

Why is God so angry in the old Testament?

Last night I had my first class at Gordon Theological Seminary School. I am taking graduate courses for certification in biblical teaching. I was so nervous, I really had no idea what to expect. I listened to this incredibly knowledgeable teacher who at times spoke way over my head. I am blown away at how little I really know. God has given me such a treasure today that I had to share it. Our first lesson was on Genesis 1-11.
He talked about when Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, how they were warned. Do not eat the fruit from the forbidden tree or you will die.....Genesis 2:16; "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."
We all know what happened! In Genesis chapter 3; this was the fall of man. Genesis 3: 6; When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave it to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
My professor didn't want us to miss this fact. They were told they would die, right? Well guess what they didn't die. In fact they lived very long lives outside the garden of Eden. Why do you think that is? Why didn't they die? Now they suffered greatly. But they were spared death? Why? Because of God's grace and His mercy!!!! Instead He chose this as an opportunity to show His love for the ones He created. He killed two animals instead and allowed them to cover themselves with the animal skins.
I received a phone call today from a friend who is studying the old testament. She was wondering why God was so angry in the old testament and loving in the new testament? It can seem that way until you look deeper. When you read the Bible it is clear: GOD IS THE SAME GOD TODAY THAT HE WAS YESTERDAY AND WILL BE TOMORROW!!! In other words even though the bible is 66 individual books written on two or possibly three continents, in three different languages, over a period of approximately 1500 years by more than 40 authors, it remains ONE UNIFIED BOOK from beginning to end without contradiction.
Clearly: God is NO different in the Old Testament than He is in the New Testament!!! God by his very nature is immutable (UNCHANGING)....
Because of God's righteousness and Holy character, all sin present, past and future much be judged. But because of His love for us He provided a way that would be payment for sin!! A way that we New Testament believers avoid His wrath!! He sent Jesus to die for our sins the ultimate sacrifice!!!! Doesn't that make you want to scream Hallelujah??
In the New Testament, God's loving-kindness and mercy are manifested by: For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life!!!!
In the old testament God dealt with Israel the same way a loving father deals with a child!!! When they would start worshipping idols etc. God would punish. But each and every time, God would deliver them once they had repented. This is the same way God deals with us today, New Testament believers. Hebrews 12:6; "the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes everyone He accepts as a son." Don't miss this nugget. Every time in the old testament when God's wrath would wipe out human-kind, He would recreate them and He would recreate them better than before. He could not help himself!! He would always recreate... This is one of God's characteristic's. His MERCY and GRACE!!! He loves us so much...
1 JOHN 4: 10; This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a atoning sacrifice for our sins......
Oh how I pray this has blessed someone like it has me. When I find these treasures in God's word I get so excited that I start walking and talking real fast. I want to share it so bad with others. It's like I want to have the world's biggest conference call.
Remembering that God does not change like shifting shadows...(James 1:17)...
God Bless you all,
Robbie

Christianity has become a very natural and beautiful complement to receive. It feels good for someone to look at you and say, "wow, I can really tell you are a Christian". But is it enough? There are lot of people who play a good "Christian" to the eyes of those who are watching, but I've noticed in my own walk that it has become something so much deeper. Sure, I love to be complemented, especially for others to see Jesus in me. But what am I like when noone else is looking? What do I do when the doors behind me are shut and noone sees me anymore? Who am I then?
I shared a week or so ago about my walk and where I am going with the Father, and some things within me that need to change...Well, just as one thing starts to soften, another comes right behind it. It was a busy weekend, as Robbie mentioned in a previous post, at the hospital. I was in charge with one patient one night, and two the next...and for anyone who does not know...in a cardiac ICU in a level one trauma center, when you are in charge you shouldn't have patients. Well, that was not the case this weekend...all of the ICU charge nurses had patients. It can be very tiring and start to become so heavy to carry this load that I want to break...and sometimes I do. A few weeks back, I had to release myself from the chaos, go to the office, shut the door behind me, and cry. Sometimes I don't know how to react so I lose it and I either want to cry or yell.
What makes us get to this point? Where does the peace that Robbie mentioned earlier come from? Where does that trust and peace and patience and self righteousness and self control and goodness and love and joy and kindness go to in these times of chaos? Out the back door?
Because I believe that if these fruits were embedded within us, within me, that they couldn't leave me in these times of trouble. Sure others may be able to see God in me when I am bathing a patient and singing Amazing Grace in their room as I clean their back or when I hold the hand of a dying patient or a family member losing someone and ask them if I can pray with them. Sure my coworkers may see that I leave work after working a hard 12-13 hour night and drag myself into church because that is what "Christians" are supposed to do. Other units may see that I will go above and beyond to help them when the hospital is as busy as it was this past weekend and never swear or curse one time. Absolutely, they may see a glimpse of Him in the way that I respond to certain things and certain situations, but what do I look like when I'm pushed to the very edge?
I'm not a nice person...I want to throw my hands up, yell at the top of my lungs and then go hide in my room, with the door shut, and cry for hours until all of the "mess" is fixed.
I have to become more than just that "Christian" for the sake of a compliment. I want to be more than an outside Christian, wearing the Christian outfit of the day. I have to have the fruits of His spirit embedded so deep inside of tissues and organs that I vomit goodness and self control, that I cry tears of love and joy and peace, that I speak patience and kindness and self righteousness. I've said this many times, but I'm being faced with more and more that God needs to be inside of me, He has to be inside of me.
I feel like God gave me a revelation this past week. If you read a previous post of mine, I mentioned the comment about beauty and having God being seen from the outside because He was living so much within the inside of me that He flowed....well, I feel that He was showing me that once I begin to care about WHAT the outside looks like and I begin to take some "pride" (and I hate to use that word, but I pray that you see where I'm going with this) in what I look like from the outward appearance, then I will begin to have to change the inward to meet up. I will begin to want more of Him on the inside so that the outward will "look better". See, I'm one that could walk around all day in a t-shirt and sweat pants and no makeup and hair pulled back. But I need to freshen up a bit...put on some makeup, at least wash my hair and comb it, and be more "pleasant" to look at. But I begin to not care about the outward because I'm so focused right now on the inward, I'm working too hard on the inward. If I were looking in the mirror I would see that the outward isn't changing because I haven't started to care about that part.
Okay, I don't want to lose you...just know this. God wants to be more than a compliment that is payed to you. He wants you to be more than just in that "Christian" group of people. He wants to know you and spend time with you, and He wants to be with you when the door is shut and noone from the outside world can see within the walls of your house.
I want to leave you with this...talk to God this week. Spend some time evaluating your walk and your inward and outward appearance (and I'm not talking about beauty). Ask yourself where you are with the Father right now. Some of us need to bring God back into our lives and let Him encompass our life and our ways. It is about more than just being complimented, it is about really knowing God and finding His will and ways for your life.
In True Surrender to the One Who Can Break the Chains off and Change the Way I Look on the Outside and the Inside and Keep me out of the Wrong Group That I Want To be a Part of Just for the Sake of Being Complimented...It's So Much More Than That...There's So Much More To It....He's Worth So Much More...
Jennifer

Temptation

Today as I strolled through walmart grabbing powerade and snacks needed for a long day at the ball field I thought about 'Candy". Knowing that if I buy something like that for myself when I have my three boys with me, we all end up arguing about" why does he get that" or " It's not fair". So usually I buy treats on the DL. ( down low) Ha Ha- I end up looking like a chipmunk trying to hide whatever I'm eating. But today was different, I only had my 9 year old with me. He rarely asks for anything. He has always been like that, just likes to look. When you ask him if he wants something. He usually tells us that he doesn't need anything. Today my "needy" sons were at baseball practice. So Josh and I strolled around walmart. As we got near the "candy" area I felt nervous and wanted to run the other way, until I realized that just Josh was with me. Yeah I can go look at the candy. Well I felt the Holy Spirit teaching me as I walked through the tempting aisle. Every human being on this earth has a temptation, a weakness, a conviction. For Josh- candy or material things are not a temptation, but my other two boys would have a " sugar rush" from just smelling the candy. We know what tempts us may not tempt others. So the ideal thing to do would be to avoid that temptation, or temptation aisle. When Noah and Andrew are with me, I avoid the candy aisle. That way no one struggles, including me. So whatever your convictions are- stay away. If you cant afford material things, expensive clothes, etc.- then stay away from the mall. If you want to lose weight, or eat healthy- then stay away from fast food restaurants. In order to conquer our weakness, temptations, etc- we must pray every minute, at first, to get through the day. You will see that God will give you strength beyond all understanding and one day there will be no turning back. Once that test is passed, God will then chose another test. It all may seem like God is being hard on us, but he is getting us ready for his kingdom. Pray without ceasing and with everything give praise. Be strong and know that God will not give you anything more that you can handle. Pray, Pray, Read God's word. And be still. He is coming soon!!!!!
Amy

Worship...............

It is not enough just to go to church on Sunday's! Everyday should be worship for us.
It is sad to me to listen to any news these days. It is almost like the world has gone mad... I praise God that I don't have the fear that I used to have but I do feel the sadness.
It seems to be flashing across the TV screen to often that a Christian leader? A Pastor, has caused harm to a child!!! Is this what the church in AMERICA has become known for?
Revelation 18: 4-5;
Then I heard another voice from heaven say:
"Come out of her, my people,
so that you will not share in her sins,
so that you will not receive any of her plagues;
5; for her sins are piled up to heaven,
and God remembered her crimes....................
The people of Babylon had lived in luxury and pleasures. We as Americans have lived in luxury and pleasures. We as Americans have felt secure and in control so much that we have allowed God to be removed from our schools, from our court-houses from everything. Being a "Christian" has even become offensive to others so much that we have lost our boldness and have become light-hearted in our walks.
We are taught in the Bible to avoid Babylon's sins. We have been blessed as a nation for many years to the point we have taken things for granted and become self-sufficient and self-reliant. We as a nation no longer need a Savior! Money, greed and power have become our objectives. Our judgement is here and it is harsh......and it is only the beginning!
NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS; WE MUST REMEMBER THAT GOD IS IN CHARGE!!!!!
God over-rules all the plans and intrigues of the evil one.....and God's plan will happen just as he says. Doesn't that make you want to shout GLORY!!!! This earth is not our home. One day we will lay down all our burdens; there will be no more sickness, no more death, no more hunger etc....Although God does allow evil to permeate this present world, the new earth will never no sin!!!! Praise God...
What am I known for? What are you known for? The longer will live in this world the more COMFORTABLE we become and the more vulnerable we are to receiving her plagues....
As my pastor preached on this a couple of weeks ago, I sat in church weeping uncontrollably. Once or twice even Amy gave me a look like what is wrong with you...lol ( The pastor knows that Amy and I are nurses. I often wonder when he sees Amy and I having an ugly cry if he thinks maybe they killed someone at work...lol ) just kidding... But I sat there thinking as he said those words... COME OUT OF HER MY PEOPLE, SO THAT YOU DO NOT SHARE IN HER SINS.... God is saying this to us right now; Come out or else you will be destroyed.
I have asked myself and God, how? How do I need to live my life so that it is pleasing to you? How do I lay the masks down? How do I draw nearer to you with the craziness of my life? How do I tell old friends that I don't enjoy their company anymore? Or is that wrong?
They have never tasted the living waters. They have never felt the power of the Holy Spirit flow through them. And most of all they don't want to at this point. Do I stay a their friend? Do I try to be an influence in their lives that God wants us to be in this lost and dying world....??
When I listen closely enough I will hear the father say to me in gentle whisper; Robbie you are not strong enough, you put me on the back burner just like others. You are busy, busy with your life. You haven't turned from your idols to serve the one true, living God... You are not known by your old friends as making a radical change yet... Yes they can see you are not the same, but radical? NO; not yet.... You are holding back from me. And Fear you think that you don't have that anymore? Well guess what it is still there! You haven't let go.. You have yet to surrender fully to me. You have one foot on the side of the fence in the world and the other foot in the spiritual realm. You are straddling the fence!!!! You have tasted the living water but you have yet to drink from it!
So as I sit here writing this my heart is sad because once again God has confirmed it, I have changed! But radically? No... How about you? What have you turned from that makes people talk? Has your reputation radically changed at some point in your life? To the point that people are talking about you because they think you are weird? Strange? What is your identity wrapped up in? Your children? Your spouse? Your house? Your church? Friends? etc....
Our radical change has to be more than going to church on Sundays and doing good church activities. I am talking about something so much deeper. Deeper with God.. The kind of relationship where you will dive into the deepest part of the ocean with him, where the unknown is. Don't you want to know him? Don't you want to know his characteristics? Don't you want your character to be changed forever? Are you at a place in your relationships where you don't care what anybody thinks of you anymore? Because you have found the living true God? Living out the kind of radical change that SEPARATES you from this world......Paul preached many times on how important it was to TURN not just acknowledge your evil ways... You have to become invested in God...by picking up your cross and following him.. Not just Sunday worship but everyday worship!!!! This is the one true way we can thank God for reaching down and saving us from the power of darkness... No matter how bad it gets God is coming back...
working on keeping enduring hope of his return... Jesus is coming...
Robbie

Oh where have I been? I ask myself that almost daily...in everything that I have my hand in. I ask myself that in my walk with the Father, in my role as a mother, in my blessing of being a wife, in my job as a nurse, and now as a Graduate student. I often wonder where I have been in my life and what do I have to show for it and in what direction am I going and what will I have to show for it when I get there...
Well, life seems to be keeping me very busy lately. My outside life, as I previously knew it, no longer exist. I am consumed with new activities and new roles as the closeness around me starts to change and be molded into something very new, exciting, and ever more scary to my own human eyes. You may be asking what is going on in my life...well, I can't really tell you all of the details because they are much like the details that many of you are panning out in your own life, and if I were to try to write it out or explain it, it wouldn't seem like much. However, the craziness of it all and the newness of it has consumed me and pulled me apart from a lot of the outside, fun world that I once knew.
The question is....am I disappointed? I would have to say, "No, not really". You see, I love my quiet times. I enjoy being consumed with the ones around me that mean the world to me and the ability to pour into another's life that I have been given responsibility for. Now I am not saying that I am a hermit and I've turned my back on the outside world (and for some it may seem that way at times). I just know that I have been called, and placed inside of me are certain duties to fulfill and certain things that I have been placed on this earth to do, and I must complete the tasks that have been layed before me now before I can ever go onto the others that God has in store for me in the future.
See, lately God has taken my focus off of "doing, doing, doing" and put it back on my inner self and my own inner beauty. This is an area that I have always struggled with. I have never seen inner, or really outer beauty, for that matter when I looked at myself in the mirror. I know that I can be cute, but we, as women, could always change something about ourselves. Well, I love who I am on the outside, and of course, I want to change things every now and again (especially around bathing suit season), but right now, I am not happy with some of the things that are on the inside of me. Things that I refused to admit were in me. Things that I swore were not in me....I mean, I've been a Christian for a long time, how could I be struggling with these things? Well, I am...I have some things inside of me that need to be cleaned out so that when I look in the mirror, I am pleased at the image looking back at me because what I am looking at in that mirror is the mirror image of God. Right now, when I look at the mirror, I can't say that is what I see. I may see a small piece of my earlobe that may resemble a small portion of Him, but I want to see His face....I want to see His eyes staring back into mine...I want to see His smile on my lips, and deeper still....I want to see His thoughts flow from my head. See, I don't struggle with the mask thing that Robbie has mentioned that she struggles with at times...I know who I am...and unfortunately, others often know who I am too...they know that what they see when they look at me is what they are going to get....I want them to see Him.
So, God has me at a place of pure cleansing, from the inside...because, my friend, once God cleans me up from the inside, you will be able to see it on the outside. It will be evident. I hope that one day when we meet that you will see Him not just in me, but ON me, around me, and flowing through me...I have a lot of stuff to get rid of...and just as we have posted many times before...it hurts to have someone that you want to impress, someone that you want to be proud of you...to look you in the eyes and say, "Jennifer, it's time to get rid of some of these things that you have held onto for so long now. It's time you let me clean you out."
See, before now, I've gotten by...read my word, prayed my prayers, listened to my praise music, spoke the name of Jesus to others, went to church, asked God to forgive me, thanked Him for every meal that touched my mouth...all of these things are good and we must not forget to do them, but I am at a place where cleansing has to take place in order for me to even live on this earth as the daughter that He has called me to be.
You see, I know that God has his hand on my life. I know that He has placed me where He wants me to be. I know that He has called me to something wonderful. But I am in a process of preparing for that day.
I don't want to get there, with all of the biblical and medical knowledge that I need to do the job, and have the ones that He places before me to look at me and still not be able to see God.
I must be prepared...and God pulls me into a quiet place where I can surrender without any advice from the outside (and I do enjoy the opinions from others), and He places me in a place where I can hear Him when He speaks, where I can see Him when He shows up, where I can depend on Him to guide me instead of others leading me or distracting me. I am a quiet, old sole that needs to be locked up in a silent room so that I can be taught. I love to look around, to be in the middle of the booth next to me's conversation, to know all of the who's and what's about things I'm involved with...I suffer from a distraction of the outside so much that I can't focus on the things right in front of my eyes sometimes. God knows that about me. He knows that in order to get my attention, He has to seclude me from the distractions (and I don't mean this in a bad way- I'm just NOSEY!!!!Okay, I said it). I love life. I love the things of God...His creation, food, friendships, music, football games, you name it...I can put myself in those places and find some type of enjoyment out of it, BUT I need to focus on Him right now. I am getting things in order...trying to get organized...I don't know what all is in store for me...But I do know that I have to start working towards it.
I want to always be able to look back and see goodness out of all that I've walked through in life. Even the hard times, the difficult struggles, and the times that I would just as soon forget about...God has allowed me to see some good in them. But right now, in my walk, I have some cleansing to be done. Yes, I do feel like I am in a desert, lonely, and quiet...But I am learning that in that desert there is only ONE who will provide water to drink, only one who will whisper into my ears, only one who can fill that place...and that is the one that has placed me here to learn...God is working on me.
I want to see you one day and have you see Him in me, through me, around me, and flowing from me...but I have some work to be done.
I love the Yahweh Sisters and this blog and I have missed blogging, and I hope that you can understand now where my time has been...Life is changing...Seasons come and go...Leaves fall off to prepare for the beauty that is to come...I want my Tree to have the Abundance of the Most Beautiful Leaves Blossoming in the next season to come in my life and in order for that to take place, some old leaves have to fall off...Some branches have to be cut...and it hurts, but I want others to enjoy looking at God's creation once He is done with it...I want them to be able to come sit underneath it and enjoy the shade of it, I want them to want to eat from the fruit that it supplies, and in due time...they will.
Thank you God, no matter how bad it may hurt and how hard it is to go through, for a cleansing and renewing of my spirit and inner man. There is so much about me that needs to be molded to be more like YOU.

Jennifer

Prayer........................

Psalm 143:8; Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul....
King David prayed in the morning and then watched and waited for God to speak to his heart.
Although King David was loosing hope and he was caught with paralyzing fear he still came to the Lord in prayer. He expressed his true feelings. His prayer was not self-centered. He prayed for God's will in his life. This showed God's mercy and grace in his life.
This weekend at work I took care of a patient who came out of the OR after having brain surgery.
I have an amazing privilege of seeing some of God's miracles every week when I work. This particular case was interesting to me because I had never seen such amazing faith from the patient herself. How this lady touched my life is hard for me to put into words. She said she knew something was not right deep inside of her soul because of the symptoms she was having. Being a nurse helped her know that something was terribly wrong. She had been very healthy and active all her life with no problems. After several Dr. visits they found the problem.
She said she did the only thing she knew to do and that was to reach out to God himself in prayer. She said she did not pray for God to deliver her from this but for God to pull her through it if it was His will!! Wow!!!! Did you get that? Not to take this thing away, but to give her the power and the strentgh to endure this and to glorify HIM through this. The minute I walked into her room His prescence was over-whelming to me. The Holy Spirit in me recognized the Holy Spirit in her. At times it was hard for me to stand close to her bed and do the things I needed to do to her as her nurse because the minute she would speak it was all about God and all I could do was weep. It wasn't because I was sad or because she was not going to be ok; it was simply that I could sense God's presence all over her. It was the first time that I truly saw His Mercy and His Grace radiating off of someone. It seemed to be from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet. I can't explain it. I am in awe that I got to witness this. It was truly amazing. A miracle!
It was beautiful to hear this woman who had major brain surgery with her head being cut from one end to the next, and all she could talk about was how amazing her God is! She is an amazing example of what God is looking for. His eyes are looking to and fro for someone, anyone that is going to trust him. Wow... He certainly found it that day!
She explained that she never prayed a self-centered prayer through this ordeal. She knew her God and trusted him. She said He would either deliver her through this storm or He would bring her home to him. (And yes she has kids and a husband like most of us.) She looked beyond what she wanted. Don't miss this, let me say that again. SHE LOOKED BEYOND WHAT SHE WANTED!!!!! She wanted the will of God to be followed through. Isn't that amazing. God was Glorified through this entire thing. She stood the test. Her Faith was amazing. She knows her God. She knows that not even death could separate her from her Father. She surrendered to Him.
Living in a fallen world most of us will at some point in our lives have to deal with paralyzing fear, losing hope and even sometimes some form of depression. It is in those times when we feel that we can't pull ourselves out, that we must surrender our lives to him by prayer and BELIEVE that God is who He says He is....... Let us all strive to glorify the Father no matter what curve ball this thing called LIFE throws our way. This precious lady was such a blessing to me. She took her eyes off of her own circumstance and kept her gaze on the things above. She helped me grow my FAITH to a deeper level with God. That's what it is all about. We must live our lives so that no matter what our own circumstances are we keep our eyes focused on the things above and in return we become examples to others.
When it looks like our world is falling down around us and their seems to be no hope left, let people see that we are not falling with it. That there is a God in heaven who holds us in the palm of his hands. It is then that God is glorified and people will notice that their is something different about us and who knows they may even want to know what is it that gives us that kind ofPEACE that surpasses all understanding................even when our world is falling apart....
Building my Faith one day at a time,
Robbie