#211- Put Your Hands UP!

Proverbs 2:8-9 - That He may guard the paths of justice; yes, He preserves the way of His saints. Then you will understand righteousness, justice, and fair dealing [in every area and relation]; yes, you will understand every good path.

"Put your hands up! You are under arrest!"

Have you ever resisted something? Maybe not specifically a police officer, but have you ever resisted change? Holding on to how things have always been, not wanting to change and jump into the new? The last few days I have been going through this myself. Experiencing an area in my life of change, but in my heart wanting to hold back and resist it. You know the feeling, when you feel uneasy, uncomfortable, like you have knots inside your heart. As you go to sleep at night, your mind keeps going over and over this possible change if you decide to give in to it. That was me last night.

As I fell asleep, I just thanked the Lord for working everything out. I praised Him that all is well, and that "this too" shall work out.

I often use "peace" as my guide when making decisions. I know that our God is a God of peace. So, the feelings of "uneasiness" I take with caution. I don't like to jump into anything unless I sense a peace from the Holy Spirit that the decision is right, one of obedience. As I experienced feelings of uneasiness with this decision I was facing, I knew the Lord would have to make it right within me, He would have to bring a peace. Who likes change? When things are comfortable, working, good... who wants to change things? I know often I do not!

This was what the Holy Spirit revealed to me this morning, maybe it will apply to you in an area as well.

Resistance. Be open. Change can be uncomfortable, but is is often part of My plan in taking you to the next level of MY blessings for you. 

The knots in my heart were wanting to hold me down. I was not wanting to change what was good. Not being able to "see into the future," I was just looking at the present. Praise the Lord for the Holy Spirit. He may guard the paths of justice; yes, He preserves the way of His saints..... yes, you will understand every good path. 


I can have faith in the fact that GOD is guarding My path! As I seek Him, He will not lead me astray. Sure, change may be uncomfortable, BUT I WILL understand this good path. Though I may not understand it now, I will understand it. He ultimately is always setting me up for favor. He reminds us in Proverbs 2:9, "...yes, you will understand every good path." I will understand it, eventually.

There is a point of resistance that is good. Resistance until peace is received. Resistance until release is received. Release? Yes, release to move forward. Release to make the change. Release. Once the "Umpire" shows up on the scene, "Peace", then it is time to move forward and allow change to take you to a point of understanding, blessing & favor. If we always stayed in the same place, there would never be new books, new business', new opportunities. There would not be new inventions, new concepts, new ideas. Change is essential. Action is essential.

The Proverbs 31 woman also took this to heart. We can see that through one running theme through Proverbs 31:10-31. Look at ALL the verbs of Proverbs 31!  Look at some of the verbs...

• She comforts
• She encourages
• She does him only good
• She seeks
• She works
• She brings
• She rises
• She assigns
• She considers
• She plants
• She girds 
• She makes
• She tastes
• She sees
• She lays
• She opens
• She reaches
• She fears not

Our Proverbs 31 friend is open to change. She is ACTIVELY moving forward. She is taking action. She is not stagnant. She does not stay in one place. 

In what area/s do you need to step out in? Are there areas of change that you need to embrace? Though it surely was uncomfortable for the Proverbs 31 woman at times to "Step Out," she did step out. Because of it, she was blessed and you will be too!

#117 - SHOW YOUR FAITH!

Good morning! It's been quite an interesting day already. Seems like things have gone a bit backwards.... but nonetheless, it's been a great morning. I guess when you wake up late, things aren't always "on schedule" like normal. The boy enjoyed a bath this morning.... fun. I must say, he is such a joy. Sometimes I just feel like I'm a broken record.... well, OK, all the time! Every day I just say how much I love him and what a blessing he is. He is SO good. After breakfast, he played for awhile, then went back up to his room to put him in bed and let him have HIS quiet time. Well... at first, he whined for a second when I put him in bed... mom was taking too long getting his books and toys. Well, the SECOND I put his books in his bed, he immediately grabbed one and just started looking through it... reading of course (ha!). And then he waved bye to me. He's so funny! Blessed! Blessed! Blessed! Early on we determined that WE, Tyler Sr and I, were going to set the tone of our home, and set the schedule of our children.... the verse in Joshua rings clear "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." And we ALWAYS want our kids to know what the MOST important thing is, and that is Jesus. So far, so good. :-)

Proverbs 14:14 - The backslider in heart [from God and from fearing God] shall be filled with [the fruit of] his own ways, and a good man shall be satisfied with [the fruit of] his ways [with the holy thoughts and actions which his heart prompts and in which he delights].

Proverbs 31:16 - She considers a [new] field before she buys or accepts it [expanding prudently and not courting neglect of her present duties by assuming other duties]; with her savings [of time and strength] she plants fruitful vines in her vineyard. 

We recently came out of a period in our life that they only way I can explain it is as a "Sabbatical." A period where we took a few years "off" so to speak. We were not really aggressively "in the pursuit" of what we knew God was calling us to do. It was almost like we needed a period of time to renew our mind. Tyler especially during this time was really changing. I would come home from work and in the evenings just be excited to hear about what he had been learning. It was as if God was gradually changing so much of our old thought process and renewing it with a proper mindset. I wish I could say that during this time we were still progressing forward with some of the important areas in our life, but in all reality, a lot of things stood still and were put on hold. So much was churning in our heads. We were learning a lot spiritually, but God was doing a really great work in us. A great and a deep work. It was like a digging down to create proper thought process. Out of that, came a lot of new revelations, a new fervor and a more complete belief and acceptance on the subject of faith and how it works. 


James 2:20 says this (AMP), "Are you willing to be shown [proof], you foolish (unproductive, spiritually deficient) fellow, that faith apart from [good] works is inactive and ineffective and worthless?" Or commonly read in the NKJV, "But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?" During the couple of years we were on our "Sabbatical", we most definitely learned a lot. We were still operating in faith, but we were not AGGRESSIVELY operating in faith. Our faith was accompanied by good works, but not aggressively so. More recently, this old concept, has become so new to me. New in a way that combined with some other great truths I have been learning, it has really started to allow a "NEW ME" to emerge. A NEW & BETTER Amy to surface. An Amy that does not hold back, does not fear, does not hesitate. But an Amy who takes FAITH at it's word and applies action to it. A faith that says, "GOD does indeed have EVERYTHING under control. He has ALL things planned out. He is carrying out the good work that He began in me as it talks about in Phil. 1:6. GOD is bringing my desires to pass. He is setting me up!" A faith that says, "GOD, even more than ME, wants me to accomplish MY Calling that is on my life." Me accomplishing the calling on my life, only feeds into GOD accomplishing HIS calling for mankind. It allows Him to trust me to do my part as a piece of the big puzzle. MY Calling is part of the BIG PLAN. MY Calling is part of God's big plan that He has to evangelize all mankind and bring us all home. 


Before, MY works were not accompanying MY beliefs. I believed, but I was not showing my belief by my actions, therefore, like it says in James, my faith was dead. Since my faith was not being backed up with actions my faith was INACTIVE, INEFFECTIVE & WORTHLESS. Whoa! That's a hard pill to swallow! Well, let's read the tale end of Proverbs 14:14 again, a good man shall be satisfied with [the fruit of] his ways [with the holy thoughts and actions which his heart prompts... - Notice the word: actions. Sure actions are first accompanied by thoughts, but what I was excited about was this.... it was all prompted by the HEART. During the few years of renewing, I did not know HOW to get to the next place in life, I didn't know how to get that fervor back, or the excitement. Praise the Lord for a godly husband, he is much to thank for our coming out better, stronger and more excited than ever, more planted, more prepared, more ready. The consistency of taking in the Word, whether it be through reading, devotions, listening to CD's, online media broadcasts, or just sitting at dinner listening to the newest revelations that Tyler had, the Word was taking root. The WORD was doing it's part. The WORD was working! 


And now? I'm thankful to say, more than ever I KNOW what faith means. Yes it means to believe. But more than that it means backing up my beliefs with ACTION! It means BELIEVING and ACTING! God has already provided EVERYTHING I need, want & desire. NOW all I have to do, like the Children of Israel collected manna. They collected food for 6 days, on the 6th day they collected enough for the 7th day. On the 7th day they fully rested. On the 7th day, there was no manna to collect. Manna was not on the ground when they walked out on the 7th day. AND GUESS WHAT? My PROVISION is out there too! God has put my PROVISION (manna) out there for me to collect each day and I am COLLECTING IT! And, I am excited about it! We are changing people's lives. Helping them change their finances. Helping them improve their marriages. Helping them live a life of victory. And, helping change the WORLD one person at a time. Our calling is sure. Our calling is definite. If you do not know what your calling is, I encourage you, link your belief up to someone who IS doing great things for God and watch God reveal to you the details of his plan for your life!  

#52 - The Verbs of our Proverbs 31 Woman

Good morning. In all my thoughts, I feel like I may be jumping around this morning... but I'm going to believe that God will pull it all together in the end and make it all make sense! 

Proverbs 16:33 - The lot is cast into the lap, but the decision is wholly of the Lord [even the events that seem accidental are really ordered by Him].

What does the Proverbs 31 woman do? What are her actions?  

Proverbs 31: ..... (KJV) - She seeketh, she bringeth, she riseth, she giveth, she considereth, she buyeth, she planteth, she girdeth, she strengtheneth, she perceiveth, she layeth, she stretcheth out, she reacheth, she maketh, she openeth, she looketh, she eateth not...

In the Hebrew:
lot - pebbles used for systematically making decisions 
decision - act of deciding a case, plan, execution, case, process, procedure, judgement, sentence


Verbs. Verbs show action. Show accomplishment towards an end goal. Verbs show movement. The Proverbs 31 woman is moving in the direction to finish tasks. Actions. Doing things to work towards accomplishment and completion. Just move. As I looked at the word "lot", I never knew that a lot were pebbles used for making systematic decisions. I had always heard the common, "they cast lots for Jesus clothes", but I guess I didn't really know what that meant. Sometimes it would be nice to have a "lot". In the past I have often thought, "Lord, what do I do now? How do I become more productive? How do I use my time wisely to get the most out of my day & my life? To get me closer to our families goals?" And then... this verse came to my mind...here it is in the Amplified...read it over and over. Meditate on it. Go back and read it again. 

Phil 2:13 - [Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight.

Today, we don't need "lots" because we have the Holy Spirit. I don't need to have a bunch of "pebbles" to toss to decide what "actions" I should take. Accidental, no. It makes me feel good that GOD ULTIMATELY is still controlling it all. Things aren't by accident. He is STILL in control. If I feel like I make a mistake, even that "mistake" He can bring it around to my favor. 


All the while, GOD is energizing & creating in me the power & desire to _______________. For me? To be more organized. To have a system. To get more done. To tie up loose ends. To incorporate a system where things do not slip through the cracks, where I do complete tasks, where I do not forget. A trusted system that I can count on versus relying on my brain to remember everything. A system. GTD - Getting Things Done by David Allen.  


I can continue to do the "do's".... do the "verbs", the "actions"... work towards completion, knowing God is in control. My desire is to do HIS will, and so I can TRUST that HE is creating in me the power and the desire to will and to work things for HIS good pleasure! It is not by MY strength, it is GOD who is working it in me. It is HIM. HE is creating in me the desires. That even on my Day of Rest, my desire is doing crafts, sewing, creating... all of that is part of what the Proverbs 31 woman does. She sews, crafts, creates. That even those things as "rest" are the things that are developing me more into this "Proverbs 31 Woman." 


I hope you didn't feel like I completely jumped all over the place this morning. It did feel like that a bit. Lots of thoughts. But praise God! We do not have to get overwhelmed with ALL that the Proverbs 31 woman does. All the VERBS! All the ACTION! All the ACCOMPLISHMENTS. We can trust that it is GOD who is ALL THE WHILE bringing those things to pass in us! That even those things that seem ACCIDENTAL, are drawing us into a place of favor! Praise the Lord! We do not have to "cast lots", throw pebbles, dice, "einy, meany, miney, mo"... in order to decide what to do next.... we can ASK. We can be directed! Praise God that we don't have to be ALL over night. We can apply the Slight Edge (By Jeff Olson)... doing those little things every day. Those things that are easy to do, but equally easy not to do. We can apply the small, that will eventually lead to BIG positive changes when you add them all up. The SLIGHT EDGE. No reason to get overwhelmed by ALL the Proverbs 31 woman does, and ALL that she is. It's a matter of taking ONE VERB, ONE ACTION, ONE ACTIVITY, and beginning to apply it. 

Favor favor favor. God's favor goes before me now. His favor makes policies, rules, regulations, laws, attitudes, even my mistakes to change on my behalf. He even makes my mistakes to prosper. God's FAVOR is working for me now!

Choose ONE activity. Begin to work on it today.  

#50 - A Man Will DO More & BE More When....

Buenos dias! :) This afternoon we are going to pick blueberries again with some friends. It seems like "Thursdays" have become our fruit picking day! :) Well, I am going to believe now that it will be great, cool with a light breeze, and NO wasps, bees or fire-ants (or any other biting/stinging creatures!)


I had a nice DOR yesterday! I went to the $2.00 theatre and watched Karate Kid! :) It was really good. Jaden Smith does a good job as the little Karate Kid. :) Some good lessons in the movie about "respect", and language in the movie was good (only about 2-3 times the word a** was used in the beginning). So, overall, a good flick for kids too. :) 


Let's begin our devotion... get your steel-toed boots on today. :-/ 

Proverbs 12:4 - A virtuous and worthy wife [earnest and strong in character] is a crowning joy to her husband, but she who makes him ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.

Proverbs 31:29 - Many daughters have done virtuously, nobly, and well [with the strength of character that is steadfast in goodness], but you excel them all.

Well, today's word stems from a few bits of conversation that I had with Tyler this morning as he was leaving for the day. If I were to guess.... I would anticipate many of you have had similar conversations with your spouse. Maybe different words, but the same context. Just to give you a bit of background... Tyler just downloaded a "To-Do/Task" matrix on his cell phone. It allows him to keep up with tasks or "delegate them" to someone else, date them for a future completion, etc, etc... Let's see if you can relate... 

T: Hey, I'm going to forward you an email of a few things to do.

A: Well, I'm not going to guarantee that it gets done today. I already have a lot of things I'm going to do. 

T: Well, you didn't even see what it is. It won't even take long. 

A: Well... I just know that I have lots to do, and if it was a lot of tasks that had to get done today, I just wanted you to know I didn't know if I'd get to them. But I can probably plan them into my calendar for later.

T: All I was going to do was ask you to drop off the dry cleaning. I have all my shirts laid out on my chair upstairs.  (*bit of frustration in his voice*)

A: Oh. Well, I can do that when we leave to pick blueberries. (*feeling a bit bad that such a big deal was made out of something that would be so easy to do now that I knew what it was* - Now outside, as he's walking to the garage.)

A: And ,your welcome for packing your lunch. (*A bit of sarcasm since he didn't say thank you.*)

T: And, Your welcome for me going to my job, making money and providing for our family. (*frustration in his voice because of feeling under-appreciated*)

There ya have it! :) The perfect world of the McCart's. :) It seems pretty small... but even just the "tension" in the air of our conversation wasn't a great way to begin, or set the stage for the day, for having a good day anyways. Then... of course, the Word continues to correct, teach, rebuke and help. All good things since we are all continuing to learn and grow. Correction is all a part of a believer who wants to grow. 


Proverbs 12 talked about being a crowning joy to her husband and of course that is something that I always want to be. A blessing. A joy. An encouragement. This morning was a good wake up call to the power of appreciation. Or the power of a lack of appreciation. Then as I continued to read in Proverbs 12, it talked about the wife who makes her husband ashamed, how she is as rottenness to his bones. Rottenness stinks, rotten breaks, rottenness brings fruit flies & bugs. There is nothing real good about rottenness. And I definitely do not want to be any of that to my husband. As I meditated on the word ashamed, I really came across ways that a wife can do that, can bring shame to her husband.


The wife can cause the husband to feel "Shame" or be "Ashamed" in several different ways....


Ashamed in Himself:

• Lack of Appreciation - Feeling like he is not appreciated. What he's doing goes over-looked as he goes works with the people, makes the sales calls, deals with "drama" that may come up with work. Deals with client problems. Deals with numbers, emails, voicemails, to-do lists, projects to complete, #'s to grow, $ income to increase, people to please, boss to make happy, and the list goes on. As he goes through ALL this, and rarely gets a "Thank You" for all he is doing to provide for his family. Lack of appreciation can cause dissatisfaction with work & disunity with the spouse.
• Lack of Accomplishment - Through her lack of appreciation, it shines light on their "Lack of Accomplishment". Sometimes causing him to feel shame in  how far along they are not. They have not gotten in life as far as they anticipated. They thought they would be further along in their goals, but they are not. She may mention or remind him of this with her attitude or words.
• Lack of Attainment - Through lack of appreciation, this can also make him feel like what he has provided doesn't make her happy. Even though he's doing everything he knows how to do, nothing is making her happy. 
• All of this making him feel like he is Not a good Provider - A man wants to know he is that "Hulk", "Mufasa", "King Kong", "He-Man". He wants to have the feeling of "beating his chest with his fists" and crying out "Oughhhh Oughhhh"... kinda like the "Tim 'The Tool Man' Taylor" would do on his show. Lack of Appreciation partnered with Lack of Accomplishment, then can cause a husband to feel like he is not a good provider. Then self-doubt sinks in. And the OPPOSITE begins to happen, instead of looking at where he can go, he may begin dwelling on what he is not. Who he is not, or has not been. Dwelling on failures and self instead of WHO GOD IS and WHAT GOD CAN DO through him. All of this self-imposed, or wife-imposed does not help the cause of progress, but directly can move them backwards. 

Ashamed in Her:

• Actions - Non-productive. She does things that are un-prayed about and un-productive. She focuses on self. Doesn't serve him. "The least will be greatest. The one who serves is the one who is great." - This statement doesn't show through her actions. She does not serve. Her actions are not helping to move their family forward financially or spiritually. Lazy. Unkept house. Lack of peace.
• Attitude - If she has a negative attitude all the time. Looks at the glass always as half empty instead of half full. Sharp tone. Sharp glares. Sharp words.
• Attire - Dressing sloppy... or doesn't wear make-up or do her hair for him.  Dressing in a way that would be too revealing. Wearing clothes that are either too short, tight, low-cut or just inappropriate. Causing him not to take pride in showing off his wife. "Wearing her around as his prize when he is out in public." Like he is showing off a gem. 
• Advancement - In her spiritual growth. In her physical fitness growth - being fit for HIM, to look good for HIM. In her PERSONAL growth. Reading books. In her fiscal growth - aspiring to make them money or save them money. Her not being a "shop-aholic" and spending money on things she and they do not need. 

WORK WITH YOUR MAN: 

• A man will do more and be more when he is VERBALLY appreciated. 
• A man will do more and be more when his wife treats him like her HERO. 
• A man will do more and be more when he is loved. 
• A man will do more and be more when he is RESPECTED. 
• A man will do more and be more when his wife's actions show that SHE is in agreement with him. She takes action towards their goals, you see her "buy-in" to their goals by what she does because she is moving in the same direction! Their actions are in unity!
• A man will do more and be more when he is served & treated like the King. She is the queen of the castle, but he wants to be her King!

I hope you didn't feel like this dwelled a lot on the negative. But... my goal is to avoid the negative and have my life dwell on the positive. Sometimes in order to do that, we need to know what the negative is. Are we inadvertently being negative in some way? Well... I know that I need to be more proactive with the POWER OF APPRECIATION! Actually with everything that was mentioned. I STILL have my work cut out for me. (I'm not even going to proof-read this today... arghhh!)

To Do:

Pick one thing today that you can apply. 

Prayer: 

Lord, In JESUS name, help me to be the help-mate to my spouse that you created me to be. Help me to encourage and lift up. Help me to serve even when it may not be "convenient" or fit into MY schedule. Help me to focus on loving and serving and being a spouse that allow my husband to MOVE MOUNTAINS because I believe in him. Through my words and actions, help my husband know that I believe he can do ANYTHING!! May I empower him to do great things! And may I help him to do great things. Prepare us Lord for what YOU have in store. For the GREATNESS you have for us! We thank you today for your protection according to Ps 91, and that we go out in FAVOR FAVOR FAVOR according to Proverbs 12:2. We love you and praise you in JESUS name, Amen!