A little trust goes a long way

Trust.
Assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something.

Trust.
This word has come to mean so much to me. It's the shortest and best summary of everything that God has been teaching me over the past couple of months, maybe over my entire life. The lesson has been a hard one in learning. Sure, I believe that God is sovereign. I believe that God's Word is truth. I know that He will give me strength when I'm weak. But He still asks me again, "Do you trust Me?"

When I take away your support and remove from you all that you hold dear, do you trust Me?
When I place you in a situation where all you can do is sit still and wait, do you trust Me?
When everything that you thought was to be your future crumbles down, do you trust Me?
When your heart aches and you cry out to me and hear nothing in response, do you trust Me?
When you reach the end of what you are able to bear and fall down under your burden, do you trust Me?

I haven't yet learned to answer all of these questions. I know what my answers should be. I can quote you scripture after scripture in support of what I "know" to be true. But can I answer these questions in deed? I don't know. Life has changed drastically for me. At times my heart longs so for life as it was that I feel I could burst. God asks me again, "Do you trust Me?"
Do I? Lord, help me! I must!
I surrender my rights.
I surrender my dreams.
Break my heart for what breaks Yours.
Teach me to see with Your eyes.
I trust You.
You, who loved me enough to die for me.
You, who loves me enough to live in me.
You, who promises that I will never walk this life alone.
I trust You.

"Do you trust Me?"

A Birthday Week

Happy Birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Andrew, happy birthday to you!!!!

Andrew is now officially 13 years old. My, how the time does fly! He has had a whole week of excitement; it's been the birthday that just keeps giving!

On Saturday we had some friends over after supper. The boys had spent all day setting up the yard for an airsoft war -- for those of you who don't know what airsoft is, just think shooting at each other with bee-bee guns only with plastic bullets and you'll get pretty close ;). I wish that I would have gotten some pictures of the forts they set up and the trenches they dug (yes, they went all-out), but I guess I was too busy playing to think about it.
Anyway, after supper we set up some flood lights and played for an hour or so. Once we were tired of playing airsoft we laid a rope across the yard and played capture the flag. I haven't had so much fun "playing" for a long time. It was a blast, and I think that Andrew enjoyed himself as well. The highlight of the night must have been the time when I dove through a gap between the trees trying to get away from my brother and land on top of one of those awful Choya Cacti (you know, the ones that people sometimes call the "jumping cactus")... let's not do that again ;). And adding insult to injury, can you believe that they still took me to jail? How rude is that?! ;P
I love having a big family!!! It's great that we only need another four people to make enough to play just about any game we want!

After we had tired ourselves out thoroughly and were quite covered with sand, we all headed inside to eat popcorn and watch a movie. The movie of choice was "How To Train Your Dragon". None of us had seen it yet, so we had a great time laughing together. My official opinion: "How to Train Your Dragon" is a great family movie. Perhaps one of the scenes might be a little scary for kids under 8, but it is very funny and not at all inappropriate. Two thumbs up!

On Sunday we went to church in Tamazula where a friend of ours taught on the Great Commission and what it means to "preach the Word". It was a great reminder of what our true purpose is here on this earth. It's so easy to get caught up in what the world thinks is important or even in thinking that just living a righteous life is enough. We need to be bold and willing to step up and speak when God calls us to speak. Go when God calls us to go. Stay when God calls us to stay. Do what God calls us to do. Let it not be that we should stand before God in the end and have nothing to say for ourselves. Quite a reminder, if you ask me!

After church we went with the Petits and the Graffs (friends visiting from Southern Mexico) to the mall in Guasave where we ate lunch and hung out for a few hours. Caleb and I were able to spend some time with some friends of ours from Guasave who happened to be stopping in for lunch as well. I think that both of us were pretty happy about that ;).
Andrew got the second part of his birthday that evening since my parents had bought ice cream to celebrate. Andrew even got to pick a movie to watch. Guess which one he picked? Give up? "How to Train Your Dragon". Hey! I did say it was a good movie!

Monday -- that being yesterday -- Andrew got his day off from chores (it's this tradition that we have in our family. On your birthday you don't have to do any of your housework. Pretty cool if you ask me) and then in the evening we had our home fellowship group -- plus a few others -- over for a Bible study, Posole (Po-so-lay the traditional Mexican birthday dish made with puffed corn, beef, red chili, and onion and served with shredded cabbage, cilantro, and tortilla chips) and cake. I am so proud of my little brother. He has such a way with people. There is something about him that makes people love him, and it's such a great gift from God! I can't wait to see what God does with Andrew's life!
But wait, his birthday isn't done yet! I still have my present to finish and give him and Grandma's birthday card hasn't arrived quite yet.

Well, I should wrap things up. I'll end my post with a thought from our Bible class assignment for this week.
We were assigned to find five different places in the Bible that talk about friendship and apply them to our lives. I was reading the passage in Daniel 1 where Daniel and his friends stand up for what they believe is right. I was struck by the thought that friends should be willing to stand beside each other and fight for what is right. Friends should spur one another on to righteousness. How often do the actions that I take cause someone else to stumble when I am not willing to stand up with them or speak out for them? Even in the small things, or maybe especially in the small things, I should be willing to make the sacrifice (sacrifice meaning to give up something good for something better) and encourage my friends in righteousness. That is, after all, what God has called us to do.

Proverbs 27:17(NKJV)
As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.

Perhaps on our own we aren't brave enough to be different, but with a friend beside us how much more willing are we to take a stand?

In Everything give thanks!

1 Thessalonians 5:18

In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Thanksgiving has come upon us again! I can't believe how quickly time has passed and how much my life has changed. I remember Thanksgiving in the States... and Thanksgiving here in Mexico... but this will be my first Thanksgiving away from home. It is kind of strange. I have been such a house-body all of my life and most of my memories are with my family. As I have been here at the school I have begun to form my own memories that are somehow apart from my family and I guess that this Thanksgiving will be one of them.

I have always loved Thanksgiving more than most other holidays because of the wonderful history behind it. I just love the idea of setting aside a day of the year to get together as a family and thank God for His grace and all the good things that He has done in our lives throughout the year. Because, honestly, how often do you sit down and really consider all of the things that God has blessed you with? If we all focused more on what we have and less on what we want, we would all realized just how fortunate we are.

That's why I want to dedicate this post to remembering God's goodness. As I was thinking about what to write I picked up my Bible and looked up the word "'thanksgiving". I was amazed at the amount of verses I saw. Here are a mere handful of what I found.

Psalm 95:1-5

1O come, let us sing for joy to the LORD,

Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.

2Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving,

Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.

3For the LORD is a great God

And a great King above all gods,

4In whose hand are the depths of the earth,

The peaks of the mountains are His also.

5The sea is His, for it was He who made it,

And His hands formed the dry land.

Psalm 92:1-2

1It is good to give thanks to the LORD

And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;

2To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning

And Your faithfulness by night.

Psalm 28:7

The LORD is my strength and my shield;

My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped

Therefore my heart exults,

And with my song I shall thank Him.

1 Chronicles 16:8-9

8Oh give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name;

Make known His deeds among the peoples.

9Sing to Him, sing praises to Him;

Speak of all His wonders.

Here's my list of things that I want to thank God for this year:

• My family. As always, my family has been such an enormous blessing in my life. They are such a great group!
• My friends. I couldn't individually mention any of them because they are all such wonderful people. I have truly been given above and beyond what I deserve in this respect!
• Food to eat and roof under which to sleep.
• Computers! It has been so awesome being able to keep in contact with all my friends near and far.
• Those little moments that make life so special. I feel so loved when God not only gives me what I need, but more than I could ever ask for in precious memories and beautiful moments!
• Being apart from my family. It's been hard, but it has taught me to value free time and family.
• For not having. It has taught me to appreciate little things more than I used to.
• God's provision of daily needs.
• For long walks on the beach during which I have learned to understand the worth of a "time in the desert".
• For trials. As God's Word says, tribulations produce perseverance and perseverance a proven character (Romans 5:3).
• For my Bible. I have come to see it as my best friend!
• For music. It's one of God's best gifts!
• For those who have gone before. It's such an encouragement to be able to see how others were able to go through the same things I am dealing with and, through God's grace, come through victorious!
• For hard situations in which I have felt under-qualified. They have taught me to rely more on God's grace and less on my own resources.
• For my Savior's willingness to die for my sins. That is the greatest gift and most precious blessing of all!!!

Before I finish this post I want to challenge you to stop what you are doing for a moment, grab a pen and paper and write down 10 things that God has blessed you with. Once you finish that, write down 5 things that have happened in your life in the past year (or more) and what God has taught you through them. When we give thanks to God we need to remember that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). That means that you can look at the bad things too and God WILL have them work together for good... it might be hard to see that now, but you can trust in His promises!

I pray that you take the time this Thanksgiving, amid all the hustle and bustle of festivities, to sit down and remind yourself of how awesome a God you serve!

God is in Control!

Hello everyone! Interesting title, right? It doesn't have a lot to do with what I am going to write, but it's the thought that has been most prominant in my life over the past few days. I figured, why not make it into a post title? So, I did! :^D

As of right now it is 4:15 a.m. . Some of you might be wondering what in the world I am doing on the computer at such an insane hour... well, there is an easy answer for that too! We are being hit be a storm. Like most nights when we are hit by storms, the power is out, the roof is leaking in places -- there is one right over my head that is dripping constantly. I am already wet, though, so it doesn't really matter too much. I am wet mainly because I had to step outside to find the mop... took me a little bit because the only light I had was a cellphone and the occasional flashes of lightning.

Still, even though storms here do have their downsides, I can't help but love the wildness of them. There is something so magestic about the rolling of the thunder -- that is the perfect word; "rolling". It does sound like it is "rolling" across the sky... BEAUTIFUL!!

Anway, aside from the fact that it is 4 oclock in the morning and the power is out, lets just pretend that this is a normal update. Sound good?

My days have been pretty full this past week. If I am not doing one thing I am doing another. I have been trying to keep my hands busy. I find that when I have my hands busy I am less likely to fall into temptation.
The principal filler of my time has been the memorization of verses. I am trying to memorize the book of 1 John. Right now I am on chapter three. It is very fulfilling to be able to quote passages of scripture; it's nice to know that what I am putting so much time into is something that's going to be of lasting importance. I have also found that when you are memorizing passages of scripture it really helps in your understanding of it. Kind of like the "meditating on His word" that Psalm 1 talks about. I believe that when we take the time to really think about what a verse means, the Holy Spirit gives us understanding.

The best way I have yet found for "meditating on His word" is memorization. For those of you who feel up to it, I would like to challenge you to learn a book of the Bible. After 1 John I am thinking about beginning on the book of Romans. I know that it is a long book, but don't you think that it would be worth the struggle? I do! Take up the challenge, and don't put it off another day. It's a trap that we fall into, procrastinating. Live every day as though it were your last... such a hard motto to live by, but if we want to live lives that will leave a lasting mark on this world, we will have to do more than just plan. It's going to take action and sacrifice...

Luke 9:22-23
"If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me"

... are you going to take up that cross? Then take it up! And follow HIM to the end!! And this isn't just about memorizing verse -- thought that's a good thing -- it's about what you are going to do with the grace and mercy that you have been given through the blood of Jesus Christ.

God bless you guys! I hope and pray that you have a wonderful week! May te peace of God which surpasses all understanding be with you!

Just the average update to you all!

Hello faithful readers! I know that I was hoping to have that whole week free... well, I did have a whole week free, but it seemed that every time that I sat down to type on my computer the internet was busy, the power was out or I just plain got distracted by something else.

I have had a great and relaxing week. The heat here is making it hard to accomplish any really big projects or tackle any really big jobs, but I think that we are all making it alright. Today was especially hot though... oh well! I suppose if it was cold I would be complaining the opposite. I just have to take everything with a grain of salt -- or something like that ;^)! Through it all God is good!

In this past week I have, among other things, been taking the opportunity of practicing on my neglected and dusty clarinet. My Mom gave me the clarinet on my 10th birthday, but I haven't really applied myself to it until now. It's a hard instrument to learn because it sounds so horrible when you don't do it right that you can only practice when everyone who has to share the house with you is okay with your doing so! Still, I have a fairly gracious set of "house-mates"... they put up with a lot more than most! lol So far I can play a total of three songs on the clarinet -- all old hymns -- not too long and I will be playing on Sunday mornings on the worship team *winks*. :^D

Today my Dad went to town to buy materials to start construction on a new portion of our house. This time it's going to be our -- Evie's and Mine -- room! Right now we only have enough to build the walls, but soon we are hoping to be able to put a roof on as well. It's so exciting!! I am already busy planning how I am going to arrange to our room... hmmm... lol!

It's funny how God works and uses all these hard situations to cause you to grow -- kind of random of me, I know, but when I write I tend to write exactly what comes into my mind as I am writing.
My Dad and I were talking the other day and somehow we ended up talking about our comfort zones and how a lot of the time, as Americans, we are accostomed to more than most Mexicans and a lot of times tend to complain more when we are deprived of our comforts.
Talking about this lead us to talk about how everyone is at a different level in their comfort zone. For example, I might say "I went three days without food so that we could complete the outreach we were doing", whereas a Christian in a country such as Africa might think of that sacrifice as nothing. Sometimes we -- I should make this more trasparent and say "I"-- forget about all the other Christians around the world and get too involved in what is going on my life -- the things that I am dealing with or the sacrifices I am making -- to be able to remember that less than twenty out of every hundred people in the world have electricity; to remember that 1.1 billion people in this world don't have clean to drink; to remember that even in my hardship I am blessed.
It's so easy to aknowledge that when you are seated in the church pew... but when you are lying awake tossing and turning in the heat because the electricity has gone out... then it gets hard to remember.
Still, looking at the Bible I have to see that God never warns us to be careful in hardship (Romans 5:3-4); it's when we have plenty. When we are "well-off", that's when the Bible tells us the be careful. It's not that riches are bad in themselves, it's that, if one is not careful, riches can cause one to stumble and sin (Psalm 49; Mark 10 Rich Young Ruler). Just a challenge for anyone willing to give an ear. Sure is challenging me!

---TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN---
We are officially planning to be in the States August 20th thru September 10th -- I am not 100 percent sure about that second date, but the first is right. We will be traveling up to the LA area but probably not any farther. If any of you want to plan a roadtrip down to see us... well, you have an opportunity!! ;^D
Blessings to you all!

Why Fast?

Hello everyone! I am glad that you decided to take some time out of your day to stop by and read my thoughts! I have meant to post this for several days, but good intentions don't get very far when you don't have any time.

For the past few weeks the subject of fasting has turned up in several of the most interesting places, from the forum that I frequent to my personal Bible studies, I have not been able to escape it! So, I guess that this is God's way of telling me that it's time to write!

When a person decides to fast they need to make sure that they are doing it for the right reasons. In the Bible we see several different reasons. This brings us to the question that I would like to answer with my post; WHY FAST?

1. Intercession

Intercession is another way of saying "prayer", but it usually entails praying for others or for specific needs. In some senses of the word it also specifies repeated and constant prayer to God (in other words, more than just a prayer shot heavenward).

2 Samuel 12:16-17

David therefore inquired of God for the child; and David fasted and went and lay all night on the ground. The elders of his household stood beside him in order to raise him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat food with them.

Daniel 9:2-3

In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.

2. For deliverance

We are surrounded by bondage and suffering, both spiritual and physical. God calls us as His people to pray and fast against these chains.

2 Chronicles 20:2-4

Then some came and reported to Jehoshaphat, saying, "A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, out of Aram and behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar (that is Engedi)." Jehoshaphat was afraid and turned his attention to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. So Judah gathered together to seek help from the LORD; they even came from all the cities of Judah to seek the LORD.

Matthew 17:18-21

And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not drive it out?"
And He said to them, "Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from
here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. ["But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."] ["This kind" refers to the demon that possessed the boy]

3. For the covering of the blood of Christ (protection)

With all of the schemes that the enemy throws at us and the temptations that our flesh constantly presents, we are in desperate need of the protection and covering of our Lord, both physically and spirtually.

Ezra 8:21

Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions.

4. In Lamentation

This world is full of sin and despair. We (as a people) have forsaken the laws that God set forth in the beginning and we (as a people) are reaping the results. There are many things for which to lament. In the Old Testament, the prophets would fast in lamentation, but now that God has sent down His Holy Spirit among His people. We need to be sensitive if God calls us to fast in sorrow. I believe that this is a "gift" or fruit of the Holy Spirit. When God touches your life and tells you to "grieve" or lament, God puts the sorrow in your heart, and He actually mourns through you. It is kind of hard to fully grasp unless you have felt it, but it is real.

1 Samuel 15:35

Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death; for Samuel grieved over Saul. And the LORD regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.

2 Samuel 1:12

They mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan and for the people of the LORD and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. Then all the sons of Israel and all the people went up and came to Bethel and wept; thus they remained there before the LORD and fasted that day until evening. And they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.

5. For Strength
Sometimes (a lot of times) we can get run down and tired and we need to get back into God's presence in order to receive restoration. For example, when Jesus went into the desert (Matt. 4) to be tempted, He fasted for 40 days before being tempted. I believe that this was to receive strength from God to be able to stand in the face of what He knew was to come. Satan always tries to get us when we are down. The only way to make sure that he can never make us fall is to always walk in the presence of our Lord. I know that no one is perfect and we will stumble, but through fasting and prayer we can learn to keep our eyes focused on God.

6. Seeking direction
This is one of the aspects of fasting that is emphasised the most in the Body of Christ. All of us need direction and need to be shown what to do next. Fasting is the best way we have to help us get our eyes off ourselves and onto God. To stop listening to all of the voices that our flesh hears and start listening to that still small voice that is Christ.

Acts 13:2-3

While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."
Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

Acts 14:23

When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

HOW SHOULD WE FAST?

Now that we have seen many of the different reasons for fasting, it is time to look to the Bible and see how it should be gone about. If you'll notice in the preceeding verses, every time that fasting is mentioned, it is shown as an additon to prayer or even a form of prayer. Fasting without prayer is like faith without works or fire without flame. Dead.
But how, exactly, should you fast? Is fasting only depriving oneself of food? Well, if we go to the Bible we see that fasting should be much more that just that.

Isaiah 58

4"Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist
You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high.
5"Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble
himself? Is it for bowing one's head like a reed
And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed?
Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the LORD?
6"Is this not the fast which I choose,
To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the bands of the yoke,
And to let the oppressed go free
And break every yoke?
7"Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry
And bring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the naked, to cover him;
And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
8"Then your light will break out like the dawn,
And your recovery will speedily spring forth;
And your righteousness will go before you;
The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
9"Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am '
If you remove the yoke from your midst,
The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness,
10And if you give yourself to the hungry
And satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
Then your light will rise in darkness
And your gloom will become like midday.
11"And the LORD will continually guide you,
And satisfy your desire in scorched places,
And give strength to your bones;
And you will be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.

And again we see in the New Testament that Jesus shows us the way to fast.

Matthew 6:16-18

"Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for
they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are
fasting Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
"But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that your fasting
will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father
who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

Fasting is, in its purest form, a way to honor God and to get your mind off the things of this earth.
It doesn't have to be food. You can fast from books, television, video games and that's just to name a few! God wants only for your heart to be in the right place.
Once you start a fast, stick to it. I know from experience that if you don't truly set your mind to it, when the first temptation comes you'll fall. It can get very discouraging. Take heart! God gives second chances, and He is a God who loves and is patient with our inconsistencies. Set a goal and fight with all that you have to reach it! Rely on God and on His promises; He never fails!

Thank you for your time. I hope you are able to take a little something home with you! Blessings!

Children will listen

I found these lyrics over at Felecia's Blog. It just really hit home for me. It reminded me of how we are called to be an example to those around us, especially children. God sends us into the world to be lights, and as you can tell from the title of my blog, I believe that it means literally. We need to go into the world and show others the way to salvation. Children are very easily impressed and any actions we take or things that we say are going to leave a mark. Whether it is good or bad is your choice and responsibility.
Jesus says in Matthew 18 verse 6 that whoever causes one of these little ones to stumble it would be better for him to have a millstone hung about his neck and be flung into the sea. I don't know about you, but this makes me think that God is really serious about how we act.
So, now I will leave you to peruse this. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did!

CHILDREN WILL LISTEN

How do you say to your child in the night?
Nothing's all black, but then nothing's all white
How do you say it will all be all right
When you know that it might not be true?
What do you do?

Careful the things you say
Children will listen
Careful the things you do
Children will see and learn
Children may not obey, but children will listen
Children will look to you for which way to turn
To learn what to be
Careful before you say "Listen to me"
Children will listen

Careful the wish you make
Wishes are children
Careful the path they take
Wishes come true, not free
Careful the spell you cast
Not just on children
Sometimes the spell may last
Past what you can see
And turn against you
Careful the tale you tell
That is the spell
Children will listen

How can you say to a child who's in flight
"Don't slip away and I won't hold so tight"
What can you say that no matter how slight Won't be misunderstood
What do you leave to your child when you're dead?
Only whatever you put in it's head
Things that you're mother and father had said
Which were left to them too
Careful what you say
Children will listen
Careful you do it too
Children will see
And learn, oh guide them that step away
Children will glisten
Tample with what is true
And children will turn
If just to be free
Careful before you say
"Listen to me"

Children will listen .... children will listen .... children will listen!

So, what about prayer?

Hey everyone! I have felt led to post about prayer.
Prayer is one of the hardest and most necessary things in the Christian life. Setting up a daily and hourly prayer schedule is difficult and takes a lot of work. It is my belief that it is so hard because we have an enemy whose object in life is to see us fall and fail in all that we do for God. Prayer is what makes the Christian tick. If the Devil succeeds in causing us to fail at it, then he has succeeded in making us live a stunted life. We can't grow if we don't pray and receive from God.

I've found that something that helps me immensely when I pray is to pray aloud. I know, it sounds weird to say that you should talk aloud when there is "no one" in the room. I, however, find that this makes it much easier to concentrate. When I try and pray in my mind I find myself wandering off in my thoughts and I have to constantly be pulling my mind back into focus.
I try to, every time before I begin to pray, ask God to take control. I pray against anything that the Devil is trying to throw against me and I pray protection over my family. This tends to help me gain victory.

Also, we need to realize that just because our minds wander doesn't mean that we are a bad people. Everyone is tempted. BEING tempted is not what we need to fight against, FALLING to the temptation is. We have to make sure that we see any obstacle between us and God as from the enemy, not from us.

Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

This verse says that you are a new creature in Christ. That means that in Christ you are no longer considered a sinner. Sure, you still fail at times, but now you are essentially good. That means that ANY temptation that comes your way is from your FLESH (your old sin nature, to which you are now dead) or THE DEVIL, not you. You are a new creature in Christ!!

For, how can we say that when we do something good it's from Christ yet when we do something bad it's us. NO! In Christ we are new, different, changed.

Romans 5:18-20
So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.
[my emphasis added]

Christ has given you the victory!! He died so that you might have life and have it in abundance!!

John 10:10
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."

Live that life. Claim it in the name of Jesus. The One who is on our side is greater than the one who is in the world (1 John 4:4). Proclaim it in the name of Jesus and the enemy will flee!!!!!

Prayer can only be established by practice. The more you practice prayer, the easier and more natural it will become. The apostle Paul tells us in his letters to the Ephesians that we should pray without ceasing. That means that we should not only set aside a time for private prayer but that we should pray throughout the day.

While you're doing the dishes if you think of someone who needs prayer, pray!! There is nothing stopping you. God invites us to pray to Him at all times. That's what Paul meant when he said pray without ceasing. Not that you should always lock yourself away in your room, but that you should constantly be in communication with God. It's funny, but the word communication has the same root as the word communion. Just a thought!

Thanks guys for listening to my ramblings!

Getting My Priorities Straight

Recently I have been thinking about priorities and where God should fit in. I mean, I knew that the Bible taught that God should come first in all that we do and that most churches teach that you should "tithe your time" but what does that mean?

I always saw it as meaning that I needed to give God a percentage of all of my time. I don't know about you, but I found that difficult. To always be worried that I wasn't giving God enough? And what is "enough" anyway? I had no idea.

One person would tell me, "All you have to do is dedicate some time to prayer and read your Bible every day," another would say, "No, no, you have to share the gospel with someone to have truly tithed your time," and still another, "Just follow the rules the best you can and you'll be fine."
Okay, now I was really confused! What's the truth? Where should God be on my priority list?

From all the advice that I had been given my list ended up looking something like this:

• God
• Prayer
• Reading the Bible
• Sharing the Gospel
  
• Family
• Friends
• Quiet Time for myself
• Chores at Home
• Work
• Going to Church
• School
• Having Fun
• ...

Now, I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with the things on the list. They are all good things and most of them things that I do every day. The problem with the list is that it's set up as a list of expectations. That means that for me this list was something that I lived by. A standard that I had set. When I went to the Bible, however, I found very different results.

1 Corinthians 10:31

Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

So, the Bible says that in ALL things and ALL the time we must give Him the glory. I found myself thinking, "But that's not what everyone else says!" It turns out that the Bible had something to say to that argument too.

Colossians 2:6-8

Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

Now I was really stumped. Not only was I wrong in my assumptions, but I couldn't use what people had told me as a basis anymore. I had to go to the Bible and come up with a whole new kind of priority list. This is something like what I came up with:



We need to give God everything and more! We can't give Him a portion or even a percentage. If He isn't being glorified in everything that we do then we are falling short of God's command.

Matthew 5:14-16

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

We must be lights to the world and we do that by showing God in our actions. As it says in James 1, "...Faith without works is dead..." You can't be a Christian and NOT show Christ in all your actions!

You need to realize that I'm not perfect or even close. Just because I finally figured out what my priority list should look like doesn't mean I have as easy a time living it out. I still fight against my flesh and the Devil-- whose object in life is to see me fail. Only by the grace of God do I even have a chance. But, thanks to Jesus, I do have the grace of God, and I can do it!!!

In His service~

Feelin' Feminine Week Graphic

I just got this idea to make a picture of all the days that I participated in the challenge! It was really fun to make! I hope you all enjoy! Blessings!

Feelin' Feminine Challenge: Day 7

The week of the Feelin' Feminine Challenge is now over. I really enjoyed it, despite the heat, and I wouldn't mind doing it again. Honestly, I've thought a lot about changing my clothing style to just skirts. I don't really mind doing it, but I'm going to wait until the hot season is over first. It will have to be something gradual because I can't just decide to wear only skirts when I don't have more than four! I'll also have to pray about it a little and see if it's something I'll be able to stick to. The last thing I want to do is start something and not follow through with it. So anyway, I had a great week picking out outfits and "dressing up". I think that no matter how old you are you never quite "grow out" of it!

Feelin' Feminine Challenge: Day 6

This is my outfit for day six in the Feelin' Feminine Challenge. This is one of my favorite shirts because my Grandma and I made it when I visited her this last summer. I'm soooooo happy that the heat is finally going away a little bit!! The humidity level actually went below 70% today! Today we had a breafast of pancakes... Those are one of my favorites!!!!!!!!!

Feelin' Feminine Challenge: Day 5

Another normal day in my "normal" life (is anything normal when Christ is with you?). Normal skirt, normal shirt, normal shoes, normal day!!

Feelin' Feminine Challenge: Day 4

Time for Church. I decided that this momentous occasion warranted the wearing of a dress!

Feelin' Feminine Challenge: Day 3

Day three of the Challenge has arrived! This was the day I went to French class!

Feelin' Feminine Challenge: Day 2

This is my outfit for day two in the Feelin' Feminine Challenge. Still hot... But this time I decided on a skirt! You'd think that at 7:30 a.m. it wouldn't be hot. Oh well, only 13 more days to go before the humidity leaves! (just as a note: today's teperature is 95* 72% humidity)

Feelin' Feminine Challenge: Day 1

This is day one for me in the Feelin' Feminine Challenge. I was going to wear a skirt, but in this weather it's too hot. So I settled for a dress. Amazing, isn't it? Who'd of ever thought that a skirt would be hotter than a dress!

The Feelin' Feminine Challenge

(Written by Miss Jocelyn at Feelin' Feminine)
This is going to be our 6th Feelin’ Feminine Challenge. If you’ve never taken part in the challenge you can read about it by clicking on the link in the menu bar. A lot of the ladies who are participating already wear skirts, like myself, but we want to take a special week and really display our femininity to ponder on how we feel, what we think, and how God can use us as we seek to fulfill the role of the Biblical Woman.

In addition to wearing skirts and posting your thoughts and photos online I would also like to challenge you to make a list of 5, just 5, ladies who you would like to encourage, inspire, and challenge to do the challenge with you. When you’ve made your list download and print of this flyer and then give it to each lady on your list.
Because I want to commend you as you take or continue to take this journey toward beautiful womanhood two of the ladies who participate in this week’s challenge will be entered in a chance to win a pattern of your choice from Sense & Sensibility. Thank you Mrs Chancey for donating the items!

If you start the challenge late that is alright. We still encourage you to join us. I will not being drawing for the winners until October 13th to give you all time to wear your skirts, take your photos, and challenge your friends!

Please post about the challenge on your blogs so other ladies can hear about it and add your post links to the linky throughout the week to be archived here!

Hey all, this is Sarah (aka: Mexican Redhead) and I'm going to participate in this challenge. I think it's a great way to let our lights shine. I hope you will join all of us who are going to participate!!! To sign up click HERE and enter you name and email address in the Mister Linky box at the bottom of the post.