Today I have a renewed appreciation & thankful heart for how God is able to raise me up above the overwhelming circumstances of life.
This morning I had a realization....why do I allow my circumstances to crush me? Why do I let them badger me right OUT of the presence of God? Why do I let them suck the life right out of me until I have nothing left?
I belong to Almighty God. He is able to do more than I could ever need, want or even imagine! So I have no excuse for allowing such a defeating pattern of living into my daily life. It is such a trap that the enemy is responsible for.
Today, I am choosing to walk in victory because my God is able....MORE than able to help me rise above anything I encounter today!
Friday, November 30, 2012
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Nearer My God to Thee
Grateful today, that I have the privilege of drawing near to God.
There is no greater comfort for me than knowing He is ever before me.........behind me.........beside me......... and beneath me. Such a gift!
"Nearer my God to Thee, nearer to Thee.
Even though it is a cross that raiseth me.
Still all my song shall be, nearer my God to Thee...nearer to Thee" --- Sarah Adams
Thank you LORD for your faithfulness to draw near to me when I draw near to You....oh how desperately I need You!
There is no greater comfort for me than knowing He is ever before me.........behind me.........beside me......... and beneath me. Such a gift!
"Nearer my God to Thee, nearer to Thee.
Even though it is a cross that raiseth me.
Still all my song shall be, nearer my God to Thee...nearer to Thee" --- Sarah Adams
Thank you LORD for your faithfulness to draw near to me when I draw near to You....oh how desperately I need You!
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
An UNdivided Heart
Today I am THANKFUL that God invites me into an interactive relationship with Him. Grateful that He does not get tired of me asking Him to change my heart.
David pleaded with God in the Psalms....."Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name." (Psalm 86:11)
A divided heart is a very dangerous thing for a Christian to have. It disrupts your peace, steals your contentment and sabotage's your devotion to God. Even worse, I find that it causes my heart & mind to do battle....my heart attempts to override what I know to be true with feelings that are contaminated by allegiances to counterfeits. Thankfully, God is patient with me and mercifully covers me with His grace when I find myself struggling to maintain a heart that is fixed on Him. The Christmas season often proves to be full of opportunities to have a divided heart....offering an array of alternative focusses for us to be preoccupied with. We must be deliberate about engaging our hearts heavenward and not on the temporary things of earth that can, so easily, entangle us. David had it right when he prayed fervently for an undivided heart....maybe that's one of the reasons he was a man after God's own heart?
Lord, give me a heart that is unwavering and steadfastly focussed on You alone. May I be wholeheartedly attentive to You today.
David pleaded with God in the Psalms....."Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name." (Psalm 86:11)
A divided heart is a very dangerous thing for a Christian to have. It disrupts your peace, steals your contentment and sabotage's your devotion to God. Even worse, I find that it causes my heart & mind to do battle....my heart attempts to override what I know to be true with feelings that are contaminated by allegiances to counterfeits. Thankfully, God is patient with me and mercifully covers me with His grace when I find myself struggling to maintain a heart that is fixed on Him. The Christmas season often proves to be full of opportunities to have a divided heart....offering an array of alternative focusses for us to be preoccupied with. We must be deliberate about engaging our hearts heavenward and not on the temporary things of earth that can, so easily, entangle us. David had it right when he prayed fervently for an undivided heart....maybe that's one of the reasons he was a man after God's own heart?
Lord, give me a heart that is unwavering and steadfastly focussed on You alone. May I be wholeheartedly attentive to You today.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
He is the same yesterday, today & FOREVER!
Today, I'm finding myself really thankful that God is changeless!
In a world that is ever restless, never satisfied and constantly changing its standards --- I am steadfastly clinging to the One who is Faithful. Yesterday. Today. Forever & always!
If you find yourself consistently disappointed in life, like I sometimes do.......then you are putting your hope in something other than God. Let's choose to put our hope in the One who never changes and always fulfills His promises. He will never let our hopes be dashed! (Psalm 119:116)
In a world that is ever restless, never satisfied and constantly changing its standards --- I am steadfastly clinging to the One who is Faithful. Yesterday. Today. Forever & always!
If you find yourself consistently disappointed in life, like I sometimes do.......then you are putting your hope in something other than God. Let's choose to put our hope in the One who never changes and always fulfills His promises. He will never let our hopes be dashed! (Psalm 119:116)
Monday, November 26, 2012
Fixing my eyes on Jesus
Today I am thankful that I do not have to worry. Plain and simple.
I can easily run down the road of worry if I let my eyes gaze upon situations around me. The key is to fix my eyes on Jesus....and not the concerns of life. Legitimate concerns will press me closer to my Savior where I can cast my cares on Him and find peace & comfort in knowing that He cares for me and He is trustworthy. Worry pulls me away from God and creates a fearful, faithless chasm between us.
In Matthew chapter 6 Jesus tells us that God knows my needs and He will take of me. He is, after all, Jehovah Jireh-the God who provides. Praise Him!
I can easily run down the road of worry if I let my eyes gaze upon situations around me. The key is to fix my eyes on Jesus....and not the concerns of life. Legitimate concerns will press me closer to my Savior where I can cast my cares on Him and find peace & comfort in knowing that He cares for me and He is trustworthy. Worry pulls me away from God and creates a fearful, faithless chasm between us.
In Matthew chapter 6 Jesus tells us that God knows my needs and He will take of me. He is, after all, Jehovah Jireh-the God who provides. Praise Him!
Sunday, November 25, 2012
A Blessing of 21 Years
This morning I am thanking the Lord for 21 blessed years of being mom to an amazing son!
21 years ago today, God brought Jacob into my life. There are simply not enough words to express how much he has taught me over the years, nor are there enough pages to type out how proud I am of him & all the ways he blesses so many people just by being Jacob! I thank God for every single day that I get to be called "mom".
21 years ago today, God brought Jacob into my life. There are simply not enough words to express how much he has taught me over the years, nor are there enough pages to type out how proud I am of him & all the ways he blesses so many people just by being Jacob! I thank God for every single day that I get to be called "mom".
Saturday, November 24, 2012
To Everything There Is A Season....
Today, I am thankful for the arrival of the Christmas season. I really enjoy pulling out the decorations and being reminded of all the fun traditions and memories from years ago. Nostalgia is about to be in FULL swing around here! We will be putting away the Fall decorations and bringing down the boxes of Christmas things. It is a lot of work, but it represents a season of LOVE, HUMILITY, JOY & the promise of PEACE.
LOVE -God loved us SO MUCH that He sent His only Son to be our Savior and our hope, when we had none!
HUMILITY -Jesus humbled Himself, giving up His rightful place in heaven and took on our frail, human flesh. He chose to make a very fallen, dark and troubled world His dwelling place.
JOY -What greater joy could there be than the Light of the world entering the darkness and bringing clarity, hope, mercy and love to every human heart who receives Him? PRAISE GOD!!!
PEACE -The promise of peace is SO HUGE....When Jesus was born, the angels sang "Peace on earth" because that's exactly what it was; peace was literally ON EARTH! Perfect peace was birthed in a stable in the hills of Bethlehem, and the world would forever be changed because of it. Now, that perfect peace dwells in humans hearts that have been transformed through His salvation. Without His perfect peace, I would be utterly despondent on a daily basis. Thank you, JESUS!
These are the specifics of my gratefulness this morning.....and really.........every morning.
LOVE -God loved us SO MUCH that He sent His only Son to be our Savior and our hope, when we had none!
HUMILITY -Jesus humbled Himself, giving up His rightful place in heaven and took on our frail, human flesh. He chose to make a very fallen, dark and troubled world His dwelling place.
JOY -What greater joy could there be than the Light of the world entering the darkness and bringing clarity, hope, mercy and love to every human heart who receives Him? PRAISE GOD!!!
PEACE -The promise of peace is SO HUGE....When Jesus was born, the angels sang "Peace on earth" because that's exactly what it was; peace was literally ON EARTH! Perfect peace was birthed in a stable in the hills of Bethlehem, and the world would forever be changed because of it. Now, that perfect peace dwells in humans hearts that have been transformed through His salvation. Without His perfect peace, I would be utterly despondent on a daily basis. Thank you, JESUS!
These are the specifics of my gratefulness this morning.....and really.........every morning.
Friday, November 23, 2012
The Thankfullness CHALLENGE
Welcome! Thank you for joining me here. This blog has been created out of a desire to foster a genuine attitude of gratitude in my own life. I hope you will find it to be an encouragement for you to do the same.
My journey with this challenge actually began last spring. I was finding myself in a bit of a "funk", so to speak, and as I reflected on possible reasons why this was the case......I began to realize that my focus was way out of whack! Why is it easier to focus on the negative aspects of life, rather than the positive ones? So, I made a gratitude journal and began writing at least one thing each day that I was grateful for. Slowly, but surely, my focus really zoomed in on what's REALLY important in life because I was making a concentrated effort to deliberately recognize all the many things I have in my life to be SO THANKFUL for! We live in self-absorbed, materialistic society that concentrates on promoting ourselves and attaining materialistic possessions.....when we aren't successful at doing either one of those things, we tend to think our lives are empty and don't mean anything. I am suggesting the exact opposite! Let's strive to live our lives with hearts that are overflowing with gratitude to God (Almighty God - not some false god that man has created) for all the many ways He blesses our lives each and every day!
I hope you will join me in this journey....my goal is to post something that I am thankful for each day for the next year. Won't you consider adding what you are thankful for in the comments each day and together, perhaps we can reprogram our minds and learn to be grateFULL in ALL circumstances together.
My journey with this challenge actually began last spring. I was finding myself in a bit of a "funk", so to speak, and as I reflected on possible reasons why this was the case......I began to realize that my focus was way out of whack! Why is it easier to focus on the negative aspects of life, rather than the positive ones? So, I made a gratitude journal and began writing at least one thing each day that I was grateful for. Slowly, but surely, my focus really zoomed in on what's REALLY important in life because I was making a concentrated effort to deliberately recognize all the many things I have in my life to be SO THANKFUL for! We live in self-absorbed, materialistic society that concentrates on promoting ourselves and attaining materialistic possessions.....when we aren't successful at doing either one of those things, we tend to think our lives are empty and don't mean anything. I am suggesting the exact opposite! Let's strive to live our lives with hearts that are overflowing with gratitude to God (Almighty God - not some false god that man has created) for all the many ways He blesses our lives each and every day!
I hope you will join me in this journey....my goal is to post something that I am thankful for each day for the next year. Won't you consider adding what you are thankful for in the comments each day and together, perhaps we can reprogram our minds and learn to be grateFULL in ALL circumstances together.
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