Better than Gumballs

1 Thessalonians 5:16 "Be full of joy all the time.  Never stop praying.  In everything give thanks.  This is what God wants you to do because of Christ."

Many people look upon prayer as being a "gumball machine" process, drop a quarter in and out comes your request.  Many times friends will ask, "Pray for me because __________________." Being women of faith, we nod our heads and respectively will respond, "Will do."  Prayer is not just where we put our hands together and then send up requests, prayer is how He wants us to be in communication with Him.  

1 Chronicles 16:11 states to "look to the Lord and ask for His strength.  Look to HIM ALL THE TIME."  As a young child, a teenager, and young adult, I tended to "ask for His strength" in times of trouble, treating this process as a "gumball machine".    I didn't understand the "why", because HIS PLAN IS BIGGER THAN MY MIND CAN UNDERSTAND.  I need to look to Him at all times, not just in times of trouble.  Being in constant prayer, you will change, you will have an unexplainable peace that He will provide.  The answers are always there, we just have to look at our Father, who loves us unconditionally.  And that is better than any "gumball" that this Earth can provide.  

Chris Tomlin - Good Good Father

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBmwwwiHrOk

Be Blessed!

Walking the Tight Rope

John 14:1  “Do not let your heart be troubled.  You have put your trust in God, put your trust in Me also.”

2 Corinthians 5:7  “Our life is lived by faith.  We do not live by what we see in front of us.”

I have recently began reading a book written by Angie Smith called “What Women Fear”.  She had a really good analogy that I have to share.  

Imagine our lives as a tightrope.  We are walking, embracing the pole that helps hold our balance, but yet the moment the wire begins to shake, we start to fear.  We know that the net is below us and ready to catch us, but in that moment, do we regain our balance by focusing on the pole and the rope, or do we focus on the net catching us in that moment when we fall?  

The tight rope symbolizes our faith walk.  We put one foot in front of the other, feeling good and confident.  Holding the pole, which symbolizes Christ, and letting Him balance our lives.  Then situations occur, we begin to loose our balance, our faith begins to waver.  The net symbolizes God.  He will always be our safe place.  He will always be waiting to catch us when we fall.  However, why don’t we just put our full faith in the pole that we have sitting in our hands.  “The more we tap into life balanced by Christ, grounded in knowing Him and His word, the less we have to worry about falling off.”  

“Walk By Faith” by Jeremy Camp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygyOECYwd-4

God Bless!

Thorns in Our Lives

John 16:33  I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world.

Isaiah 40:10  See, the Lord God will come with power, and His arm will rule for Him.  See, he is bringing the reward He will give to everyone for what he has done.  

Every single day we have to remind ourselves not to get caught up in__________________.  Fill in the blank with something that stirs your frustration, anger, etc.  This ends up putting a thorn in our side.  Christ came and then wore a Crown of Thorns so that we could give our thorns in our lives to Him.  IF WE LET HIM TAKE THAT THORN, he will give us PEACE.  We have to truly offer up that feeling of frustration and anger because it chisels away at our heart and the pure love that we have for Him.  God doesn't short change our lives or give us thorns, Satin LEADS us to feel that way.  

Yes, bad things occur, sickness, death, debt, marriages failing, and so many more things that weigh on our shoulders.  If we let it weigh on our shoulders, we are letting the thorn sit in our sides.  We have to continue to offer it up and continue to immerse ourselves in His love and His words.  

Be Blessed!

Pulling Each Other Through

Galatians 6:2 “Help each other in troubles and problems…”

Ephesians 4:16  “Christ has put each part of the church in its right place.  Each part helps other parts.  This is what is needed to keep the whole body together.  In this way, the whole body grows strong in love.”

Living in TN, August through October we would look to the skies and see geese flying south.  I never thought anything of why they are flying in a V formation.  (Here is an article that can explain that further: http://med.fsu.edu/uploads/files/FacultyDevelopment_LessonsGeese.pdf )  When we are burdened and have “boulders” weighing on our shoulders, we need to look to HIS word and others to help give us the strength to pull through.    Unity is the lesson that speaks the most to me.  Why is unity so important?  It is important because we can encourage and help one another.  God puts us here to not only spread the words to others, but to also be a community for each other.  Feeling alone is not anything He wants us to feel.  

We are all brought together from many walks of life, but we are all sisters and brothers in Christ.  You are not alone.   As we roll into 2016, I would like to add a small piece to our Thoughtful Thursdays.  If you have prayer requests, send them to me personally and I will add them to the bottom of our weekly emails.  Our paths may not physically cross on a day to day basis, but it can spiritually cross through prayer.  Take a moment to view the link below and I pray that you are lifted up today and during this season.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOBthOPuw2U

Be blessed and Merry Christmas!

Believe

2 Corth 12: 9 and then he told me, My grace is enough;  it’s all you need.  My strength comes into its own in your weakness.  Once I hardhat, I was glad to let it happen.  I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciation the gift.  It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness.

John 3:12 I tell you about things of the earth and you do NOT believe them.  How will you believe if I tell you about Heaven?

BELIEVE

The last few weeks there have been certain words that have become the theme of Thoughtful Thursdays.  I have noticed them in the world around me, verses, the sermons on Sunday, and through discussions with friends.  

This week the word BELIEVE has been highlighted in several areas.  Yes, BELIEVE in the magic of Christmas, but what is truly magical about Christmas is not what is portrayed today.  We want our children to BELIEVE in the magic and we do all we can to create that magic for them.  We put a lot of effort into creating the magic.  Do we put that same effort into our relationship with Christ?  Do we BELIEVE that in the midst of a situation that He will carry us through?

Here is a visual:  Do we ever think about the chair we are sitting on failing us as we sit?  No. We sit and trust that the seat is going to hold us.  We trust wholeheartedly about 99.5% of the time.  So why do we not BELIEVE that HE will hold us.  Why do we wonder about the happenings of tomorrow?  Why do we not BELIEVE that He works for His good?  

Why?  Because of the world around us and how it clutters our minds.  Why?  Because we spend so much time in trying to create the “magic” or trying to create a “to do list” or checking Facebook or Pinterest…listing the “pollution” of my mind.  Do we spend that same effort in our relationship with Him as I do those “earthly matters”?  

Life is busy, but keeping in mind that the little moments with Him are just as important.   His love for us is overwhelming.  We just have to take the time to notice it, be captivated by it, and BELIEVE.

"Overwhelmed" by Bid Daddy Weave

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiGb14tTaH4

Feeling Full Until...

2 Corinthians 6:12

"We are full of sorrow and yet we are always happy.  We are poor and yet we make many people rich.  We have nothing and yet we have everything."

Philippians 1:6

"I am sure that God who began the good work in you will keep on working in youuntil the day Jesus Christ comes again." 

Romans 15:4

“…By not giving up, God’s Word gives us strength and hope.”

2 Timothy 4:7  

"I have fought a good fight.  I have finished the work I was to do.  I have kept the faith." 

I am going to start todays’ Thoughtful Thursday off with a story, as a teacher we all like stories.  

One day in Kindergarten, my teacher gave us a project of glueing Fruit Loops to a paper in a pattern.  I was so excited about putting those fruit loops on my page and slipping few into my mouth.  As we lined up for dismissal, my teacher took one look at my paper and saw that it was a blank blue piece of construction paper with a remanence of glue and pieces of the fruit loops.  What happened to them?  Well, of course, I ate them.  Complete satisfaction…until I got home and wanted more.  

Ok, so how does this all tie in with what God has been speaking to my heart this week?  We look for pure filling and fullness.  By nature, we are always looking for the next best thing to satisfy something that is empty inside of us.  We all have bumps and bruises.  We all have been broken in life in some sort of fashion.  What do we look for to fill that emptiness that fills us in those moments?  Do we look for the fruit loops or do we look for HOPE through Him?  

In the midst of the sadness that is going on in the world today, and around us, we need hope.  God’s hope only comes from Him.  We have everything we need in Him.  Let him work in and through you and the situations you are in.  Keep faith and know that He gives us PURE HOPE to hang on to.  Keep fighting the good fight!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0M3X3_pFD4

Side note…my mom didn’t allow us to have sugar cereals in our home.  Hence my addiction to Fruit Loops in my Kindergarten class.  (FYI…she knew what she was doing with her daughter who had a sweet tooth) :)

Focus on the Step Ahead

Deuteronomy 31:8  “The Lord is the One who goes before you.  He will be with you.  He will be faithful to you and will not leave you alone.  Do not be afraid or troubled.”

Romans 8:28 “We know that God makes all things work together for the good of those who love Him, and are chosen to be part of His plan.”

Last year I did my first 5K.  I AM NOT A RUNNER, I WALK REALLY FAST WHEN SOMEONE SAYS TO RUN.  However, I did RUN the whole 5K.  In that moment, I kept my head down, not wanting to look up to see how much further I had to go.  That is the moment I discovered that when I focus too much on the distance ahead of me, I feel like falling down and giving up.  I needed to just focus on the step in front of me, taking it, and then charging forward.  

God really put that into perspective for me a few weeks back.  I was in a moment of frustration one Sunday afternoon.  I grabbed my headphones, tied my laces, and took off running.  As I was running I started to look ahead.  I got overwhelmed with the distance.  Then I felt something fall on my neck.  I reached down and it was my necklace with a cross.  “I have this,” is what I heard Him say in that moment.  Don’t focus on the mile ahead, or the 100 feet ahead, focus on the step ahead.  

Our lives can be so overwhelming when we think about situations and how they are going to work themselves out.  I’m currently in a study called “Seamless” by Angie Smith.  I am going to quote a few things from my study this week, “We can all stand to be reminded that when the Lord has promised us something, we HOLD FAST to it regardless of circumstance and perceived ability.”  

Take a moment and look back on your journey.  What seasons have you been through or going through at the moment?  How did God, or how is God, working in and through you in those seasons?  “The disappointments that straggle us today will soon be forgotten…”  So keep your head down and focused on the moment you are in, because He has the future planned out perfectly for us.  HE HAS GOT THIS!