DOR & WELCOME!

Good morning! Just wanted to say HI! Today is my Day of Rest.... excited about that. Not sure totally what I'm going to do yet.... but I know it will be nice. :)


Wanted to send out a WELCOME and thanks for visiting to everyone who's come by the blog in the last week! Here are the countries that have visited:

• United States
• South Korea
• Canada
• Czech Republic
• China
• Australia
• Netherlands
• Poland

THANKS for VISITING! If you find this blog something that blesses you... consider sending your friends here. Maybe they would be blessed too, at least, that is my ultimate goal - To Bless People!

WELCOME New Follower! Welcome KESHIA ATKINS! :) So glad you became a follower! Glad to have you joining us. Please say hello sometime and let me know what YOUR thoughts are about things! I would love to hear from you! :) 

Anyone else read this blog, but not follow? Consider becoming a follower! :) It's free! 

Bless you on this wonderful FALL day! It's beautiful here in Columbia! I think today may even be a sweatshirt weather day! Yeah! :)

#93 - How To Get Answers from the Lord

Good morning! It is so still out this morning. It's like the air is just still. Almost a strange quiet. No wind. No rain. Just very still and quiet. A bit like my feelings of things I need to do I suppose. If you've joined us the last 2 days....hum.... well, let's just say that it's been Holy Spirit convicting time. Have you had times in your life where the Holy Spirit is just getting on you about change? I guess maybe it's a good thing. I have a close enough relationship with the Holy Spirit, with my Lord that He is able to talk to me about areas in my life that need change. I'll tell ya, it's really not always easy to hear. Sometimes it seems like such a big job! I'm still majorly in the process of "De-Cluttering".... that is definitely not an overnight process. But... I know what to do, so that is probably the biggest part of it. (GTD - Getting Things Done by David Allen - Get the book on CD if you don't have time to read it.) Tyler has implemented GTD really well and for probably over a year has wanted me to just DIVE in. I've pretty much blown that idea off in the past. I wasn't really ready for it. But... evidently the Holy Spirit says I need to be ready now! I agree! De-cluttering will be good. Things need to have their place and that will most definitely free up my mind! What did Tyler do that was SOOOO good in it all?? He frequently does this..... he casts me on the Lord. He realizes that HE can't fix me or change me, but the Lord can. So... he continues to cast me on the Lord.  That's a good place for me to be. The "Old Amy" would want to rear up and totally buck the system if someone tried to make me change. Especially if I wasn't ready. I'm not saying that's right, it's just true. As a child, my parents always prayed that the "stubborn Amy Jo" would one day steer the stubbornness to serve the Lord with a fervor. Well... let's just say, I'm glad Tyler has learned to cast me on the Lord. That's the best place for me to be. The Holy Spirit has a way of speaking the truth to me in a way no one else can, and at a time when I am ready and willing to listen. Well... with quite a long intro... let's get started. 

Proverbs 28:19 - He who cultivates his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless people and pursuits will have poverty enough.

Psalm 118:6a, 7a - The Lord is on my side.... The Lord is on my side.....

Psalm 118:8 - It is better to trust and take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in man. 

This morning I was talking to Tyler.... he is really a wealth of knowledge. I'm glad I married him. He is always learning. He reads all the time! He listens to awesome men of God and business leaders, and really is quite an inspiration to me. He makes me think all the time! It is so true what it talks about in Proverbs 27:17 - Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. - That is my husband. A definite iron sharpener! 


So, in our conversation he reminded me something I had heard a long time ago. The best way to get an answer to a problem. George Washington Carver, inventor of over 300 uses for the peanut, including yummy peanut butter! And how did he come of with these inventions? He said, "God gave them to me." It has been noted, when Carver wanted to solve a problem or was seeking an answer to a question, he didn't seek out men, he didn't seek out education and books, but he sought God. He took his Bible and a notebook went to a quiet room, closed the door and sought the Lord. It was not "try, fail & adjust", but it was, "Lord, you give me the answer. I'm going to seek you until I have it."


Wow! What an awesome example to learn from! Is there really anything else to say? The Lord will answer, and as it says in Psalm 118, The LORD is ON YOUR SIDE! He's on your side! He wants you to be a success! He wants you to win! He wants the RIGHTEOUS to flourish! 


What are you following? Who are you following? What are your pursuits? Are they worthless? Are they of value? If they are, and things are not going how you would like them to go, do like Carver did, seek the Lord. Get a notebook, get your Bible, leave your laptop and cell phone in a different room (and turn your phone off or on silent) and SEEK the Lord. With Him, it is not "try, fail & adjust," He just gives you the actual exact thing to do IF you tune in to Him and listen. 


Short and sweet. But a definite Word!  

#92 - De-Clutter

GOOD MORNING! GOOD MORNING!! Wow! It's quite an interesting day here in Cola. Everyone here calls "Columbia", COLA for short. Like how Atlanta is know as Hot-lanta. Anyways... just thought I'd share a little "local trivia" with you! :) I'm sure you are very happy to know that info!


Well... this morning is a blessed morning! A blessed day all together! The boy and I are going to MYGYM today! Excited about that! We are going to be ON TIME too! Another one of my STRENGTHS! (I'm speaking that into existence!) Then.... we may go to the ZOO this afternoon. Hip Hip Horray! That will be fun! I think it comes along with the whole "mom" thing to use words like "Hip Hip Horray!" Fun-ny!


Alright... enough shooting the breeze! Let me just share this one last thing with you before we start! The boy was with dad "out and about" the other night... check out the picture I got! SOOOO FUNNY!!! I LOL'd! Totally laughed out loud when I saw it! The boy LOVES people.... so he was in the cart with dad and just wanted to turn around to SEE all the people. So funny! He really his a funny kid! Makes me laugh all the time! Love it! And notice the BELT that is still around his waist! He turned himself around!!! :) LOL! 

Psalm 87:6a - The Lord shall count, when He registers the peoples

Psalm 147:4 - He determines and counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by their names. 

Proverbs 31:27 - She looks well to how things go in her household... 

Yet another day with some pretty straight words to ME. The verses above... to me, for some reason just show God as a God of order and organization. To some this is a strength, to others it is not. To me... well.... I would say that in the past it's been more of an area I need to work on than that of a strength. 


God of order. We are made in his image. And what doest that bring me to? Clutter. De-cluttering. Currently, if you could see my kitchen and several different areas of my downstairs... I have some projects going on. Good projects, but nonetheless, projects. Things that have been going on for awhile, started, not finished, leaving behind a pile of clutter. A pile of things that, "Oh, I'm going to finish that project, let me just leave it out." And a week, two weeks later, there it still lies. Causing clutter. Dishes in the sink. Clutter. 


As I re-read Proverbs 31:10-31, I look at this amazing woman of God. The woman who "excels them all." This woman is VERY accomplished in her life. If I, Amy Jo McCart want to accomplish a greater amount of things in my life, do more for the Lord, accomplish more for my family, help set my family up financially. Bottom line, the Proverbs 31 woman didn't just stay at home doing 'fru-fru' things as a mom & wife, she contributed using her gifts, talents & discernment. She was an asset to her family and her community. My desire to do the same. To affect the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, and to do that, I need to de-clutter. 


Knowing that God is a God of order... and clutter causes feelings of chaos, frustration, un-productivity. In and amongst clutter, it is hard to work productively, and harder to establish an environment of peace. A working, living, thinking environment of peace. So... not only does if affect ME if I have clutter all over my house, it affects my HUSBAND! AND..... my goal is for my husband to be able to think, reflect, meditate on the Word.... my goal is to create an environment of growth & peace, an environment that can harbor ideas, concepts, thoughts that can change our family and ultimately CHANGE THE WORLD for the Kingdom of God!


And all this has to do with clutter? I think clutter is a root killer to ideas, concepts and inventions that will never be created because the environment is not one of order. God operates in order. I personally need to do a better job at keeping order. I know it won't happen over night.... and I even know already some of the things I need to apply..... one... mainly, applying GTD. The book "Getting Things Done" by David Allen. Amazing book and I know it will help me. It's a matter of digging down, finding out from the Holy Spirit, what is step one. And really.... bottom line, it is establishing a working schedule that will incorporate REGULAR "order keeping." A regular, time on a consistent basis that involves de-cluttering. 


So... today.... take it for what it is. I just was convicted in looking at the Proverbs 31 woman. Seeing ALL that she is accomplishing, I KNOW she wasn't like the phrase says, "a chicken with it's head cut off." She wasn't just running around wild, stressed and not knowing what to do next. I believe if I could go to her house today, I would see her house one of order, and just being around her, I would feel the spirit of peace. I would anticipate that she had ORDER even in her spirit. That even just being around her would make me feel at peace because when she would be with me, she would fully be with me.... not thinking about the 1,001 things that she needed to do. I would anticipate when she is doing things or with people she is fully WITH them. She is 100% there. Not so divided thinking about so many things which causes the haze over her eyes. You know the haze you see when you talk to some people and you know they aren't really there... they aren't there listening to you, they are thinking on their own thoughts. That haze. I don't want to be like that. 


Well, Praise God that I'm a work in progress. I'm working TOWARDS being the best Proverbs 31 woman I can be. I'm obviously not there yet, as you can see! Wow... talk about transparency! Ya'll know a LOT of my downfalls. Hope ya love me anyways! :) 


OK.... time to go de-clutter a little before getting the boy up to head to MYGYM to be ON-TIME! 


xoxo,
Amy J

#91 - Are you RISING while it's yet night?

Good morning! I pray that today finds you SUPER blessed! :) Well... I will be excited to show you pictures of the boy's play room soon. It is definitely cutie! He is BLESSED!!! Yesterday he got a BALL PIT! Yes, a ball pit! It is huge! It's super fun though! He really just got introduced to it yesterday, so today will really be the day he gets to play in it. I'm sure it will be very entertaining to watch! Blessed and HIGHLY Favored!! Praise the Lord!!! :) 

Proverbs 31:15 - She rises while it is yet night and gets [spiritual] food for her household and assigns her maids their tasks 

Psalm 56:4 - By [the help of] God I will praise His word; on God I lean, rely, and confidently put my trust; I will not fear.

Psalm 86:1a - INCLINE YOUR ear, O Lord, and answer me... 

Psalm 116:1 - I LOVE the Lord, because He has heard [and now hears] my voice and my supplications. 

Well... today's word comes as a bit of that .... hum... what do you call it... constant reminder of what you NEED to be doing, but maybe aren't doing. Have you ever had something like that come up in your life? The word that is RINGING in your ears, that thing that you know you NEED to do but you keep avoiding it. Well, for me, that is today's devotion. We'll see if it is something that rings in your ear too... maybe like me, this will be something that you have known you need to do but until now have not commited to the action of DOING it. 

She rises while it is yet night. The Proverbs 31 woman is rising to get food for her household. She is included in her household, she is also getting food for herself. What kind of food? We can talk specifically about two kinds of food. 1) Spiritual Food, 2) Physical Food. Not only is she spiritually spending time with the Lord and getting filled up spiritually, but she is also preparing the food for her household for that day. Both are areas that I can improve on! 

Have you ever had someone in your life that was not accountable? Someone that you could not rely on? I recently was reminded of that from someone in my life. I was reminded that the person had good intentions and they were a good person, but I could not count on them to follow through with what they said that they would do. Most likely, this person is stretched too thin and overcommited. Well, to RELY on, LEAN on and CONFIDENTLY put your trust in someone, it first is going to take you KNOWING that person. Right? If you do not know then, you automatically are not going to have confidence in them. Psalm 56 talks about having CONFIDENCE and RELYING on the Lord. Like the Proverbs 31 woman, it is going to take SPENDING TIME with Him to get to know Him. Specifically, I would anticipate that the Proverbs 31 woman rose while it was still night, earlier than everyone else in her household because it was still quiet. The busyiness of the day had not begun. The hussle and bussle had not started, and she could have some quiet time, just her and the Lord to get direction for her day. 


I have been around "stay-at-home" mom's or mom's in general and everything seems to always be a world of chaos. Everything is either an emergency, chaotic, stressful. It's like you can feel it in the air, like a spirit of stress. It almost makes your heart tighten just to be in the environment. One mom, I asked her specifically how things were going with her Quiet Time and her time with the Lord. She told me the answer that I expected, she was not having a quiet time. Things had gotten so busy, that she had not been "fitting it in". And, it was evident in the constant state of stress that she appeared to be in. Lack of peace. 


To have CONFIDENCE in YOUR FATHER, for us to have confidence in OUR FATHER, we need to spend time getting to know him. Before the kids are up, before the spouse is awake, before the obligations of the day begin. The Psalmist in 116 says, I LOVE the Lord, because He has heard. Don't YOU want the Lord to HEAR YOU!? Don't you want to KNOW that you have been HEARD?! I know I do. 


The second aspect. Physical food. I have DEFINITELY not been the poster child for this one. Waking up and "fixing breakfast" for my husband? Wow! I know this is something that he would LOVE, but it is definitely something I have not done. But... why haven't I? It says it in the Bible. It says that's what the Proverbs 31 woman does, so why haven't I done it? One easy answer, sleep. I sleep in later than Tyler. Granted, I still get up at a decent time.. usually between 7:30-8:30, but he is always up before me. What a suprise it would be for him to wake up and I was up, had already spent time in the Word and had BREAKFAST for him!!! WHOA! One of my NEW goals. It allows another way for me to serve and love my husband. Not in a demeaning way, "wife being the dormat" way, but in a way that Jesus would do. Serve. What is the verse that talks about that says, the least among you are the greatest.... and it's through serving! 


One final thought... what about the maids? In Proverbs 31:15 it talks about she assigns the maids their tasks. Well.... I believe her SPENDING TIME with the Lord is a key to having maids. Sure their are wealthy, non-believers who have maids but, if you are a Christian and don't have them.... then maybe in your time with the Lord, he will reveal to you how you will have them. Imagine not ever having to do a load of laundry again, or scrub a toilet. Could you find something more fun to do with your time than that? Well.... I believe it is there for you if you want it. And... it begins with that commited time with the Lord. 


OK.... I'm going to do it. I'm going to work on getting up earlier and EVEN making breakfast for my husband. If you see me... you can check up on me... ask me how I'm doing! I can definitely use the accountability! 


XOXO. Have a blessed day!


Amy J

#90 - Some Truths Can Go Unsaid.

Good morning. It's raining here in Columbia. I'm still enjoying the morning though. Sometimes rain is nice. Out on my porch, it's rather comfortable. As I've been writing my book, it brings me to such different places.... the journey of going back in time and reliving some of the events. It is definitely not always fun. The heaviness of my heart this morning was then confirmed by the scriptures I read today. It's amazing how God does it. The importance of guarding our mouth, guarding our words.... that is what we are going to visit today. 

Proverbs 25:26 - Like a muddied fountain and a polluted spring is a righteous man who yields, falls down, and compromises his integrity before the wicked.

Psalm 25:7 - Remember not the sins (the lapses and frailties) of my youth or my transgressions; according to Your mercy and steadfast love remember me, for Your goodness' sake, O Lord. 

Psalm 55:14 - We had sweet fellowship together and used to walk to the house of God in company. 

Proverbs 31:26 - She opens her mouth in skillful and godly Wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness [giving counsel and instruction].

Well, it is a definite "Praise the Lord" that HE forgets our sin. The moment we ask for forgiveness, our sin is washed away. Like we've talked about lately, as far as the east is from the west, our sin is forgotten. What a wonderful thing! Though that is great, in regards to our words, when sin is accompanied with our words, things we have said, to some, those words may never be forgotten. 

I'll take you back to early on in mine and Tyler's marriage. We were young, obviously still growing in our walk with the Lord, as we still are, and just excited about life. Living life to the fullest. Accomplishing goals. Accomplishing dreams. Chasing God's calling on our life. (Still things we do today!) But, in all that, the key is, we were "raw". We were un-finished, definitely un-polished, and at times our zealousness maybe came off the wrong way to people. 

My best friend while I was in college still lived back home. I was most definitely focused on specific things Tyler and I were pursuing. We had some specific goals, with a time-line and we were very focused. It had been close to two years that I had lived in the south. Living several hundred miles away from someone, being newly married and someone taking the #1 'earthly' spot in my life, and in a focused pursuit of some goals left my friend feeling very unimportant. As I have thought back on the season in my life when we were best friends, it truly was sweet fellowship. We would spend hours talking about the Lord, so green, just so excited to seek Him out and learn about Him. We would read our Bibles together, I'd go visit her and we'd stay up late into the night talking about God and the hopeful plans for our life. Most of our late night talks did revolve around the "boys" in our lives. For me, it was Tyler. I couldn't get my mind off him. I just knew that one day God would reveal to him that he was going to marry me. 


We did have a sweet friendship. But until one day, she confronted my "lack of putting enough effort" into our friendship. It seemed this was a constant guilt trip I had been feeling whenever we talked. I felt frustrated and I felt smothered. Things had definitely changed. In my "raw" way, I finally told her the things I was pursuing with Tyler, my marriage and our goals in our marriage were more important. Yikes. Our conversation quickly ended. I felt horrible, but what I said was true. I maybe didn't have the people skills to do it more tactfully, but what was done was done. 


And that was the end of that. Our friendship never recovered. She was hurt. I was hurt. What I said and the way I said it definitely did not reflect the "law of kindness" like the Proverbs 31 woman. They were things that were true, they were my feelings, but they were not said in kindness. My invitation to be a bridesmaid in her upcoming wedding had soon been recanted, and our friendship left a dark pit in my heart. 


Sure... God forgave me. Many times over through the years that I talked to God about it. Asked for forgiveness, and even asked for my friends forgiveness, but what was done could not be undone. Forgiven, yes. Forgotten, no. 


Will anything ever come of the friendship I once shared? I'm not sure. She was a very dear friend during a very pivotal time in my life. A time when I needed a Christian friend, she was there. Sure, I felt a bit smothered at times.... but she was a great friend. 


I've learned from it. I'd like to say I'm more polished now, more studied in the Word, less raw. I know now, if we ask God's direction, seek His face, He always has an answer. Like the Proverbs 31 woman, it is an answer wrapped in kindness. And.... I have definitely learned that some truths can go unsaid.


Guard your tongue today. God will forget, but sometimes people have a hard time forgetting. If in doubt, don't say it, just be quiet. Some truths can go unsaid. 

#89 - Be Diligent in Your Work

Good morning! It's almost good afternoon! It is a beautiful fall day and it's FRIDAY!!! Hip Hip Hooray!!! I even look forward to Friday's because that means DAD is off for the weekend to play with us!! Yippee!! :) 


Well, let's get started. This wasn't the direction that I was planning on going today, but God is God and I am just Amy. So, we're going to choose to go with what GOD had for today. :-) As I do my best to do during every devotion. His Word stands forever and YOU & I only need ONE WORD from Him to change our lives! So... easy decision to go with what He had. :) Let's roll....

Proverbs 22:29 - Do you see a man diligent and skillful in his business? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.

Psalm 52:7-9a - ...the man who made not God his strength but trusted in and confidently relied on the abundance of his riches, seeking refuge and security for himself through his wickedness. But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in and confidently rely on the loving-kindness and the mercy of God ... I will thank You and confide in You forever, because You have done it.

Psalm 112:1b,3 - Blessed is the man who fears the LORD...Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. 

Proverbs 31:24 - She makes fine linen garments and leads others to buy them; she delivers to the merchants girdles [or sashes that free one up for service].

Wow! So much to be said from the verses above! And to think, they were ALL in today's reading!! It's amazing how God does things! WOW! Sometimes He just overwhelms me with how amazing He is! 


Diligent & skillful in business! Do you own your own business? Do you have a job? Well, I know we know the word diligent, and use it frequently...but let me just remind you of it's meaning in the dictionary. It was quite eye opening really to see it's original meaning: constant in effort to accomplish something; attentive and persistent in doing anything. 


Diligent. Constant in effort to accomplish something. Whatever your business is or job is, being in the constant pursuit to ACCOMPLISH. Not to just "go with the flow", punch a time clock and 'do your time', but to ACCOMPLISH. Do progress forward. The dictionary also called diligent as having 'Persevering Attention.' Wow! It makes you think differently about your job or business, doesn't it! I mean, wow! Do you or I put 'Persevering Attention' towards it? If it is where God has placed us, it is our calling and we are called to do it with diligence. With a constant pursuit to accomplish and to apply persevering attention to our business! 


What about money? What about the subject of money? Income? Profit? Yikes! This can be such a touchy subject in so many arena's, and for some reason Christian arena's. Psalm 52 today mentioned the man who trusted in his OWN abundant riches, acquiring them through his wickedness. There in lies the key. Trusting in yourself for riches. Putting faith or reliance on your 'riches' versus on God. Elevating the "Almighty Dollar Bill" instead of the "Almighty GOD" who is the maker of it all! It is all about keeping GOD where He rightfully belongs, on the THRONE. Elevated. Father. Jehovah. Almighty One. King of Kings! Savior! Ruler over heaven & earth! Savior! Lord! It is about keeping God the Lord of our lives, and in regards to finances, keeping HIM as OUR SOURCE. Not relying upon our business, our job, our sales, our efforts or our works as our source. The moment we begin to rely on our own efforts instead of keeping our faith and reliance upon God is the beginning of where the trouble starts. For example... I just put on an information class on a 12 week program we are starting here in Columbia, "New Way to a New You." I asked the Holy Spirit what materials/products, if any, I should have with me at the class. I was willing to invest in whatever I needed to invest in, but I wanted to invest in the RIGHT things. Well, the Holy Spirit said, "Buy 10 books, that's all." OK. That's easy enough. So, I pre-purchased the 10 books to re-sell (we will be using throughout the 12 week class as a guide.) Out of those 10 books guess how many I sold? LOL. I laugh at how amazing God is when we listen. I sold 10. If I would've had 9, I would've been 1 short. If I would've had 11, I would've had 1 extra. The Holy Spirit knew EXACTLY how many I needed. He is even concerned in the little things! Isn't that amazing!


Wealth & Riches? Expect them! Do you fear the Lord? Do you honor and respect our Mighty God? Well, then Psalm 112 is talking about YOU! This is a verse Tyler and I confess DAILY over our lives and our family. DAILY! Outloud! 


Sales!? What about sales? In the world, often 'sales people' are seen maybe with a bad light. The whole "used-car salesmen" feeling. No one wants to be "SOLD". When you are "sold", you are being convinced into something you do not want to do. When you "buy", you are buying something you need or saw value in. And even the WOMAN WHO EXCELS them ALL was a SALES PERSON!!! Can you believe it?! Take a look in Proverbs 31:24! She makes fine linen garments and leads others to buy them; she delivers to the merchants girdles [or sashes that free one up for service].!!!


A couple things to keep in mind... she wasn't selling junk. She obviously believed in what she was selling. It was a FINE product made of FINE material. She was meeting a need in the marketplace. A product that freed people up for serving. 


Do you believe in your product? Do you believe in your service? Lead others to buy it! Those people that NEED it will see it's value and have no remorse in purchasing from you. They will also often be your greatest source of referrals too! Add value to others and you can not go wrong. 

#88 - Faith Comes by Hearing!

Good morning to all! How goes it?! Good here. I am outside on my porch. The weather is nice and fallish. I'm in my college sweats and sweatshirt! :) Comfy! I did have to dry off the glass table that I sit at... it was covered with dew. Is that what it would be called? Or just condensation? Anyways, it was wet! Fall is here!


Well...yesterday was an interesting day. I was overcoming some stomach issues, so the afternoon consisted of a nice long nap. Thankfully the boy cooperated with me and took a nap too! What a good kid! Such a blessing to his mama!! Needless to say, I did not end up posting yesterday... hopefully you can forgive me! :-D


Let's get going...

Psalm 51:12 - Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit.

Proverbs 31:18b - ...her lamp goes not out, but it burns on continually through the night [of trouble, privation, or sorrow, warning away fear, doubt, and distrust].

Pretty short and to the point with verses today. What a good word today. A good word to me, and I anticipate to some of you this will speak to you too! 


I want you to just think about maybe a failure in your life. Something that you have been trying to have victory over. Maybe it's a goal you have been working towards and it has just seemed like you've been working on it forever and still in the same place. You've been going and going and going, with little to show for your efforts. Today is a word for you. 


The word "restore" jumped off the page at me. Restore joy. Do you feel like you have been just going through the motions. Have you wondered where your joy is? How can I be happy? I just feel like a failure. I'm just not happy. I'm not where I want to be. This is not how I envisioned my every day being. I just want to get out. I want to get to that happy place. I want to have joy. I want joy! 


To RENEW & RESTORE often requires forgetting the past. Specifically forgetting past failures. Sometimes forgetting the past all together. If you think about your past and all it does is depress you, then maybe you need to forget the past all together. God has forgotten it, as far as the east is from the west, so why do you keep dwelling on it? Begin today and add something in your life that brings you joy. If you like to bake, stop at the grocery store and bake something. If you've had a challenge with your weight and don't want to eat it yourself, think of someone you could bake something for.... sow your gift of baking into bringing joy to someone else's life. Who can you bless with your gift and the thing you enjoy? Amazing that simultaneously, you find joy because you are doing WHAT you enjoy. Do you like to draw? Draw something. Do you like to run? Go for a run after work? Do you love spending time with your kids? Be spontaneous, pick them up after school and bring them to the park. You can dread every day, or you can begin to change it today. 


As I read about the Proverbs 31 woman, I read how her lamp does not go out. Her lamp, her connection to the Word, to God. Lamp in the Bible often refers to the Bible. What does this do for her? Exactly what it will do for us! In the amplified, it says that the lamp warns away fear, doubt and distrust. For us... what could that be? Fear of having to live another day in our life. Fear of having another day bring unfullfillment and despair. Dwelling on the Word, meditating on the Word, ie: keeping the "LAMP" on, helps us to avoid these feelings!


Doubt. What is doubt? Doubt is lack of faith. Lack of belief. If we are living in doubt, that means we are not renewing our mind enough to bring our thoughts, actions & life to a point of faith. To come to a point of belief. So how do we do that? It's a process, and most likely will not happen overnight. Yes, spend time in the Word. What's the verse we have all heard?? Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by what? The word of God. Faith comes by hearing. Hearing specifically the Word of God. Meditate on the faith chapter in the Bible. Hebrews 11. Get around and associate with people who have had victory in the area you want to have victory in. Get around people who HAVE the FAITH that you want. Allow their faith to rub off on you! If you are around pigs, if you are constantly in the arena of pigs, what's going to happen? You will most likely be dirty and you will definitely smell like pigs. It will affect how you look and will affect your attitude. Find an arena where people are winning. Find a way to put yourself in that arena to be around them. That may take YOU going out of your way to put yourself there. Maybe driving to get around them. Inconveniencing yourself to put yourself in a place where you can change how you think. 


What else? I was talking to someone the other day who is wanting to lose weight. In our conversation she said something with the phrase, "get my fat butt...". To begin to have faith in succeeding, it takes retraining how we SEE our situation. Faith comes by HEARING. By speaking words that CONTRADICT your goal, by default is what your are going to build your faith in! Faith comes by HEARING. In speaking the words, "my fat butt", she is training herself to have faith in having a "fatt butt" versus having faith in her goal, getting a skinny butt. It's a matter of beginning to SEE, to VISUALIZE, LITERALLY your success. WHATEVER the arena! In a specific area for me, I just capped over 43,000 words in the book I'm writing. For me with my book, it is SEEING my book on the shelves of Barnes & Nobles, seeing my book rise to the top of the charts. It is seeing my name on the speaking line-up for John Maxwell's "Catalyst" conference, it is SEEING my books changing the lives of college girls, seeing them break down and commit to a change towards purity, a change to waiting for the man God has made perfectly for them. For my business goals, it takes me SEEING the people who I will be best friends with, a living room full of my friends and business partners who we go out and change the world with. SEEING a group of leaders filling up our clubhouse, the "man cave" above our garage. SEEING them talk into the late hours of the night about changing this country, about changing families for the good, about setting captives free, about bringing mommies & daddies home from work. It takes me SEEING the people who will be like-minded, who want to make a difference, and we partner, hand-in-hand to take back America for God and for Freedom. It takes me SEEING, truly VISUALIZING and seeing these things come to pass. 


So today.... RENEW your mind. Fill it with the Word. Keep it constantly in front of you. Even if it's just ONE scripture that you can meditate on and every day go back to. Maybe it's a scripture that you search out that says you are MORE than a CONQUEROR. That you are a WINNER. That you are VICTORIOUS. RESTORE your love, your passions, your dreams. Begin to allow those to bring back joy in your life. FORGET THE PAST. FORGET YOUR FAILURES. Stop dwelling in the arena with pigs. Stop living today allowing your past failures to dictate your today. Begin the journey of climbing to joy. Of choosing joy. Of winning. Faith comes by HEARING. Say, "I HAVE A SKINNY BUTT!" Or, "I AM A WINNER! EVERYTHING I PUT MY HAND TO PROSPERS! I AM LIVING MY DREAM LIFE." If you aren't living your dream life, say it anyways!!! FAITH COMES BY HEARING! It will help you work your way to that dream life. It will help you to subconsciously align your actions with your dream life, your calling, your purpose. And it is BIBLICAL! Faith comes by HEARING! To build your faith, you need to HEAR! I didn't make that up, it came directly from the Bible! Look for yourself. Build your faith on the positive. Build your faith in the direction you WANT to go, not where you are now or not where your failures were in the past.


Let's go out and win today!

Late POST....

Good morning... I have some appointments this morning so I will try to post a blog this afternoon. 


Stay tuned and check back. :) 


BE BLESSED!! :)
Amy J

#87 - Revelation Comes from Meditation

Good morning. Well... this morning I am sitting inside... in my living room, my lamp on and fireplace going. Wow. It is getting fall out. I guess if I'm going to have many more mornings on my back porch, I need to wake up and dress warmly. It's chilly out there, but I could handle it. Chilly.... what's chilly here in October?? Well, it's 70 degrees right now. When I woke up, on the porch, it was probably closer to 60-65. It probably felt a bit more chilly because it's in the shade. 
Anyways, I'm enjoying my morning regardless. :) A good morning with some great revelations. Let's get started. 

Psalm 19:7a, 14 - The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the [whole] person... Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my [firm, impenetrable] Rock and my Redeemer.

Psalm 49:3 - My mouth shall speak wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be understanding. 

Proverbs 31:26 - She opens her mouth in skillful and godly Wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness [giving counsel and instruction]. 

Meditation. We are not in a race to read. To see how much we can read, how much content, how many chapters in the Bible, how many books, how many devotions. But if we were in a race, the race would be one to receive revelation. Lack of revelations comes from a lack of meditation. What is meditation? The dictionary coins it as continued or extended thought; reflection; contemplation. When we are meditating on the Word, we take the Word and continue to read it over and over. It may be just one scripture. One phrase. One word. Maybe we read it in other versions of the Bible to gain more clarity or insight. Why would we want to meditate? "Amy, it seems like I'm sitting there wasting time. Doing nothing." 


Meditation leads to revelation. Do you need a breakthrough in your life? Is there a problem that needs solved? Have you had an ongoing injury that you would like to avoid or cure? Meditation leads to revelation. 


I was listening to a preacher on Friday night and he said something rather thought provoking. He said, "Is there a problem? Pray for what the seed is. What was the seed of the problem? Where did it begin?" As I thought on that, I starred, highlighted it, circled it in my notebook... and I began to meditate on it. Let it mull over in my brain... in my mind. I kept coming back to it. He put into words what I felt like the Holy Spirit had told me during the last 2 months. As I continue to meditate on it, it just continues to get more and more exciting! The revelation is continuing to get greater and greater. More real. Touchable. Solid. Concrete. Not just an abstract thought.... but I'm almost to the point where I fully have my hands wrapped around this. More meditation will reveal fuller revelation. 


Let me expound. I recently had some challenges with my left hip. My "I.T.Band" to be exact. I remember the injury from college because I spent many a days after practice in the training room icing it. So... this seemed like something easy I could ask the Holy Spirit about. "What's up with my hip? Why did I get hurt? What happened? What could I do differently to avoid it?" 


Like ABC's to a 6th grader, he told me something that seemed so ridiculously obvious! I felt almost a bit silly that I could be so ignorant. He said, "Amy, you ran intervals the other day. Yes, though it may have only been '4' 30 second intervals, nonetheless you ran them, and you ran them hard. You're not totally normal Amy, because you go hard when you run your intervals, like you are still in college or something. You can't just do that without a proper warm-up and proper stretching. That day you were in a hurry. You basically did it cold, and you didn't stretch properly afterwards. If you want to not get injured in the future, when you know you are going to go hard like you do, you need to do a proper warm-up, stretch, then your workout, then a proper stretching after."


So... I quickly found the root to my problem. And guess what? It wasn't the devil. The injury wasn't something where "Ohhh... I rebuke you Satan." No. Sure there is a time and place for that, and there are times where he is the 'havoc' worker. But this time, it was ALL AMY! I knew better. 


In Joshua 6, Joshua is wanting to defeat Jericho and their large army. As he continues to seek out God, he receives the battle plan. And one, if you remember that seems a bit ridiculous from a "War Strategy" standpoint. It seems absurd actually! God tells him to get all his army and for 6 days march around the city one time each day. On the 7th day, march around the city 7 times and then SHOUT! Joshua did it, it worked, the walls of Jericho fell and Joshua and his army experienced victory without even swinging a sword. Wow! 


You need a word from the Lord? Seek. It's your job to seek, to meditate. To stay on the topic, to keep pressing in to God until you have received your answer. He will give it. I have personally been avoiding God about a specific topic. I've thought, "Oh... this is a big one. I don't know if I'm ready to really press in to him on this topic." It takes effort. It takes commitment to press in, to listen, to pursue. So, I am going to begin my pursuit. My answer will come. He has already told me it would, I just need to pursue and meditate on His Word. My answer will come. And... who knows... the solution may come from what seems a ridiculous answer... "Walk around the kitchen 7 times. Shout. Then bang your pots and pans!" We'll see!! I'm excited to listen, I'm excited to obey and I'm excited to receive MY VICTORY! What about you? 

Pictures, DOR, & Do You Know anyone from NY, Idaho, Rhode Island or Maine??

GOOD MORNING!!! (Who couldn't be excited about seeing this smiling face!!) 

Man am I excited to have a Day of Rest!! We were driving home late last night from being with family this weekend. A cousin got married, she looked beautiful and we stayed around to spend some extra time with family. It was nice. But boy... on the way home I told Tyler I didn't know why I felt so exhausted... then when I thought about it, my last DOR was last Monday, so it is TIME for me to RECHARGE my batteries. Praise the Lord for ONE day a week that we are instructed to rest! PTL! I look forward to it. I need it. I'm so glad we take a DOR! When was your last DOR?

Also, my boy is healed from a cough! Thank God with me for his healing!!! He is HEALED! It's going to be a great day! I'm so excited to rest!! I had a Netflix movie arrive in the mail too.... so I think maybe I'll watch it. AND.... the boy has some Miss Pattycake DVD's! I'm sure he'll be excited to see those. A chill out sort of day, and beautiful fall weather at that!


Well.... other than that.... WELCOME to the countries who visited last week. Of course the USA, WELCOME all of you! So far 33 states have been represented having viewed this blog. Does anyone know people from 

• New York
• Idaho
• Rhode Island
• Maine 

Those are a few states that haven't visited. Do you know someone from one of those states who would enjoy a devotion? Will you help us reach ALL 50 states?? Email them this link: http://amyjmccart.blogspot.com


So... other than the USA.... the other countries were.... 

• CANADA
• ISRAEL
• POLAND
• IRAQ
• MALAYSIA

THANKS AGAIN FOR VISITING!! :) PLEASE SEND ME A HELLO OR COMMENT! LET ME KNOW WHAT YOUR THOUGHTS ARE OUT THERE IN YOUR AREA OF LIVING!! SO HAPPY TO BE YOUR SISTER IN CHRIST!

YOUR FRIEND IN COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA,

AMY J 

(or... Amy Jo as my mom calls me! :-)~ )

PS.... I'm going to include some pictures from a recent Dinner Date! :) SO FUNNY! The boy and one of his girlfriends, Zoe. :) 

The BEFORE picture! Whoa! Get a good look!

THREE helpings later!!! The boy ate more than I DID!!!

STRAIGHT to the Bath! Tyler, Tyler, Tyler & Zoe! :)

Walking Home! :) The boy loves his blue car!

#86 - LIVE in the BLESSING ** A MUST READ! **

OK.... WHOA! I almost feel like just bypassing the whole "Good morning" stuff... I'm just going to skip to: WHOA! I want to prepare you... what you are about to read is REALLY REALLY GOOD STUFF!!! You may have to read it more than once to allow it to sink in, but if you grab it as revelation to YOU then it could really change your whole life, how you think about things and what you accept as truth! It is good. So... let's get started. Well first... let me just pray, "Lord, I thank you for your AMAZING Word... please allow Your word today to flow out in a way that is easy to receive. Thank you that the words will all be in the right order and will FREE people. That they will allow people to truly grab hold of YOUR blessing that You have given to them. I pray this all in JESUS MIGHTY NAME, AMEN!"

Proverbs 15:15 - All the days of the desponding and afflicted are made evil [by anxious thoughts and forebodings], but he who has a glad heart has a continual feast [regardless of circumstances].

Psalms 105:6,11 - O you offspring of Abraham His servant, you children of Jacob, His chosen ones... He is [earnestly] mindful of His covenant and forever it is imprinted on His heart, the word which He commanded and established to a thousand generations, Saying, Unto you will I give the land of Canaan as your measured portion, possession, and inheritance. 

Proverbs 31:21 - She fears not the snow for her family, for all her household are doubly clothed in scarlet. 

Let's first look at the word forebodings... you probably have a feeling of what that word is... this is the definition from the dictionary: prediction, a strong inner feeling or notion of a future misfortune, evil. Just look at the POWER of your thoughts. This goes along with the devotion from the other day that talked about having a PMA, Positive Mental Attitude. All the days of the "desponding & afflicted" .... Desponding. Not a word you probably use every day. The dictionary terms it as: to be depressed by loss of hope, confidence, or courage. So, if you put that verse into words and terms that WE use it would say: The depressed CAUSE evil to come upon them by allowing themselves to be stressed (anxious thoughts) and by predicting evil in their life, allowing their inner feelings to think negative & dwelling on the possibility of future misfortune. WOW! That is a load! Do you ever drive around and your mind is racing on how bad this "situation" COULD turn out? STOP IT!!!! STOP! Choose to have a glad heart regardless of your circumstance! Choose to see the good! I'm going to tell you why that's important... 


Offspring of Abraham. Check this out... the offspring of Abraham are experiencing AMAZING things. I mean, think about it..... they are receiving an INHERITANCE that consists of the NATION of CANAAN!!! So much for your mom's china cabinet or wedding ring, Abraham's offspring are receiving an inheritance of a WHOLE NATION! WHOA! Ok... you may be thinking... "OK Amy. That's great for them, back in that day. Hip hip horray for Abraham's offspring. Now, how does that affect me?" 


OMG! Let me tell you!!! YOU ARE ABRAHAM'S OFFSPRING! IT'S TALKING ABOUT YOU!!!! It doesn't matter if you haven't traced your family tree back to Abraham, if you are a born again, child of God, YOU officially put yourself in this lineage! Let's go back for a short history lesson. Go with me to Galatians 3:29 - And if you belong to Christ [are in Him Who is Abraham's Seed], then you are Abraham's offspring and [spiritual] heirs according to promise. In other words, IF YOU have accepted Christ as your Savior, YOU are now Abraham's offspring. You have been grafted into and adopted into the family! You are an HEIR! 


Let's look further, let's continue to see what this entails! Galatians 4:4-7 - .... God sent His Son...To purchase the freedom ...that we might be adopted and have sonship conferred upon us [and be recognized as God's sons]. And because you [really] are [His] sons, God has sent the [Holy] Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba (Father)! Father! Therefore, you are no longer a slave (bond servant) but a son; and if a son, then [it follows that you are] an heir by the aid of God, through Christ.


Brother or Sister, do you get this? GOD IS YOUR FATHER! REALLY! He is your FATHER! Therefore, when you read about the blessing of Abraham, of the benefits of being an HEIR, it is talking about YOU!!! A Covenant. 1000 generations. What's a generation? How many years is it? Approximately 20-30... so let's just call it on average that a generation is 25. 1000 generations would be approximately 25,000 YEARS!!!! So, GUESS WHAT?!?!? YOU fall in that time period of what it is talking about in Psalm 105!!


Therefore, your inheritance? CANAAN! NATIONS! Having a hard time paying your bills? Grab hold of the concept of WHO YOU ARE! Brother, sister, this is HUGE - YOU ARE ABRAHAM'S SEED and HEIR, or RECIPIENT of EVERY GOOD BLESSING AND GIFT!!! If you want a LIST of the blessings that belong to you, go check out Deut. 28:1-14. Here are a few just to give you an idea... GOOD stuff!!! Blessed shall be the fruit of your body (Want kids? Told you can't have them? That's not what my Book says!!!) The Lord shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before your face... The Lord shall COMMAND the blessing upon you in your storehouse (aka: bank account in our day) and in ALL that you undertake. And He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God GIVES you. And the Lord shall make you have a SURPLUS of prosperity, through the fruit of your body, ...lifestock, ...ground, in the land which the Lord SWORE to your fathers to GIVE you. YOU SHALL LEND to MANY NATIONS, but you SHALL NOT BORROW. 


WORD!!! Friend! Meditate on this!! There is NOTHING to big for God. Receive this as a revelation. Sit on it. Think on it. Dwell on it. Let it permeate in your WHOLE BEING! THIS WORD is talking to YOU! This is YOUR INHERITANCE NOW! This belongs to you NOW! Are you living in an area of LACK in ANY area of your life?? Bills? Mortgage? Vehicles? Relationships? Then you need to GET A REVELATION where Deut 28 is concerned!! I am PREACHING to myself too!! I need to get a greater revelation of what belongs to me!! Because guess what?! When this revelation is lived out in it's fullness, that means you OWN NO MAN NOTHING. You own your cars, you own your house and houses, you own your land. You LEND money not to just your "brother-in-law", but NATIONS are asking to borrow money from you, and you LEND TO THEM! 


WOW! Get this! This is good stuff! Now let's get it and live it! The Kingdom of God NEEDS US, God's Children to be living in the FULLNESS of the blessing, of our rightful INHERITANCE that has ALREADY been given to us. The WORLD needs us to live like that!! WHY? Because Jesus is not coming back until the whole world has been preached the gospel! And that takes DOE RAY MEE!! GREEN BACKS! DINERO! CASHOLA! CASH! MONEY! To preach the gospel to ALL the ends of the earth takes money! Let's DO OUR PART and LIVE IN THE BLESSING!