NOT Walking in FEAR about your Children & Life!

Psalm 91:11 (NLV) - For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go.

Psalm 118:6 (GNT) - The Lord is with me, I will not be afraid…

Job 3:25 (AMP) - For the thing which I greatly fear comes upon me, and that of which I am afraid befalls me.

As a believer, it is great to walk in and KNOW the promises that God has stored up for us. Often, before knowing some of these promises, I was living in fear, doubt and unbelief without even knowing it. Now as a parent, I can see where it is crucial to STAY in a spirit of FAITH and not fear. To PRAY prayers out of FAITH, based on the Promises in the Word and not pray prayers out of FEAR! Faith is from God. Fear is from Satan. John 10:10 reminds us that the enemy wants to kill, steal and destroy, but GOD has brought us LIFE and brought it abundantly! The enemy, Satan, wants me to live in, think about and meditate on fear based thoughts. BUT, when I am walking and living in fear, I am walking and living according how SATAN would have me live, NOT based upon how GOD wants me to live.

Let me give you a few examples… this morning, as I was journaling, I felt led to thank God. This was my prayer.

Bless Tyler today. Show him favor in all he puts his hands too. Thank you that he walks in divine health every day of his life AND I thank you for the angels that surround him wherever he goes!! EVERY DAY! 

I was praying a prayer based out of FAITH because the WORD has given me specific PROMISES that I can cling to and hold on to. As I was praying for Tyler, I envisioned literally an entourage of angels surrounding him as he goes out and about, as he drives in his car. The thing is, an entourage of angels lines exactly up with the WORD OF GOD! As it says in Psalm 91:11, "For He (God) will order, His angels to protect you wherever you go." In THANKING God, I am but putting HIS Word to work. I am putting Him in remembrance of His Word, a promise that has already been given to me as a believer. THAT PROMISE IS FOR ME! PROTECTION is a promise for ME and MY FAMILY!

Often, the life of Job causes many people to walk in a life of fear. They look at the story of Job, how his family, home, business and health was all stripped from him. Unfortunately, they miss the part about Job LIVING in FEAR. Job sacrificed offerings daily, out of FEAR for his family.

Today, AS A BELIEVER, someone who has the Word of God, the Bible, which we can go back to again and again to reference…. I CAN KNOW God's Promises and I can stand on them for my life and the life of my family! I can pray prayers based upon the WORD, out of FAITH because it is the WORD OF GOD. It is a PROMISE for me!

No fear for my children. I'm not immune to Satan wanting to PLANT seeds of fear in my head. I'm not immune to Satan trying to tell me something is wrong with Timothy while I lay in bed. Granted, don't get me wrong, it is good to check on your kids. But, as I lay there, I need to first check myself. Am I being led of God or led of Satan. Am I walking in faith or fear? My first response is to take every thought captive and under the obedience of Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 10:5). If the enemy is trying to get me into fear, my job as a believer is to STAY IN FAITH and stay OUT OF FEAR. I may even say out loud, "I refuse to fear. My kids are covered under the blood of Jesus. According to Ps 91:11, angels are protecting my children because that is a PROMISE God has given me. My kids are fine. I take every thought captive. Fear you must GO in Jesus Name! I refuse to walk in fear!" 

Once I have taken thoughts captive, then I determine whether I am going to check on my kids…. I may fall asleep peacefully, or I may go cover them up and make sure they are warm. Whatever it is, I'm taking faith-based actions, and not taking rushed and hurried actions because the enemy is planting fear in me about my children's safety. I heard my pastor say before, when the enemy tries to get him in fear, he'll often "cook an egg." If you think about it, fear almost always causes you to panic, rush and hurry. "Cooking an egg" tells the enemy, "NO! I WILL NOT FEAR and I WILL NOT RUSH. I'm going to just take my time! I'm not in a hurry. I choose to walk in faith. All is well."

I encourage you today, if there is something in your life that the enemy continues to try and use against you, whether it is safety for yourself, children, husband, maybe it is finances, health, whatever it is, FIND A PROMISE IN THE WORD on that issue! Find a Promise that you can USE against the enemy when he tries to get you in fear over the situation. The enemy is smart, and he WILL try and use fear against you. He is here to kill, steal and destroy. Do not let him steal your peace and joy by causing you be in fear. SHOOT BULLETS BACK at him of the WORD OF GOD! Those are sure to stop him in his tracks!


PS. Psalm 91:11 and Psalm 118:6 are BOTH two of the memory verses that Tyler Jr (age 4) and Trinity (age 2) know and can recite. If they say they are afraid, I want them to KNOW that we do not need to be afraid! FEAR has NO place in our home because THE LORD IS WITH US, WE WILL NOT BE AFRAID! And we have BIG ANGELS TO PROTECT US WHEREVER WE GO! There are not monsters in their closets, there are ANGELS in their room protecting them! 

#262 - Part 2: Fueling A Marriage That Will Last

Proverbs 31:12 -  She comforts, encourages, and does him only good as long as there is life within her.

Ephesians 4:26-27 (MSG) -  Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry—but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don’t stay angry. Don’t go to bed angry. Don’t give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life.

Going on 13 years of marriage (January 6th!), Tyler and I got to talking the other day about our marriage. It was a good conversation. We discussed why we felt it had been so good up to this point, how to improve it going forward, and one specific building block came out of our conversation that I thought would be valuable to share.

As a newlywed couple in our early marriage, we decided that we would implement a monthly marriage evaluation. Each month, we spent time filling out an evaluation with questions that we had pre-determined. We had seen patterns good and bad modeled by our parents and other people, some that we wanted to follow, some that we wanted to avoid. Our marriage evaluation may have took 30-45 minutes for each of us to fill out separately before coming together and discussing each question. The questions covered every possible aspect that could bring turmoil into a marriage if not dealt with, such as: How is the meal preparation going? How are household chores being done? Is this effective? How is money being managed? How is our sex life? Have you felt romanced in the last month? How is fitness working within marriage? How are relationships/friendships outside of marriage? How has our relationship with the Lord been, our time alone with God? And the list goes on.

The KICKER

At the end of each marriage evaluation, we had TWO of the MOST IMPORTANT questions. I'll start with the last question.

• On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your marriage and why? Where could it improve? 

That was a great question! For one month, I may have scored our marriage as an 7 with the reason "why" as, "I feel like I wasn't romanced at all. Our schedules just got too busy, and there was little of the spark." The following month, I would notice Tyler working on keeping the spark in our marriage. Maybe bring me flowers, or scheduling a romantic date with a walk on the beach. It was RARE, if ever, for two months in a row that we felt the "weak" spot was in the same area.

The QUESTION that HELPED THE MOST

For me, and probably for most young married couples, I did not know how to communicate in the beginning. I definitely did not like confrontation. If my feelings got hurt, if not for this most important question, I would have pushed my hurt feelings under the carpet, only for hurt to build upon hurt. They may have been small hurts, but hurts nonetheless. Over time, those hurts would have most likely created scars over and around my heart. For some marriages, those small scars undealt with are what has led to the "D" word down the road. What was that question? 

• List 2 positive withholds and 1 negative withhold that happened in the last month. 

"What in the world is a withhold?" you may ask. First of all, a "withhold" comes with rules. The recipient could only respond with TWO WORDS. "Thank You." A positive withhold was something that Tyler did that month that made me feel good. Maybe I didn't have time to comment or say something to him at the moment it happened, but it was something that made me feel good. A negative withhold was the opposite. It was something that he did or said that month that hurt my feelings or made me upset. We may have been in a public environment, not allowing me to comment immediately on it, and then maybe it was forgotten..... until I had to pull together 3 things for "Withholds" on our marriage evaluation. Then we would sandwich the withholds when we told the other person: one positive, one negative and wrap up with the final positive withhold.

What this taught me? As a newlywed, this was CRUCIAL to me in learning how to communicate. I knew that ALL Tyler could say in response was, "Thank you." That was the rule. He couldn't get defensive and try to defend his position, but could only say, "Thank you." Whether my feelings were right or wrong, had no bearings on the fact that they were my feelings, and my feelings had been hurt. Same with Tyler. When he would give me his "Withholds," I could not defend myself, but could only thank him for telling me. 

It was WONDERFUL! It allowed a "green," "newlywed couple" to voice our feelings, even the hard ones. Some months it may have been about something sexual, that would have been embarrassing for one of us to bring up otherwise. Other months, it may have been something I said to undermine Tyler in front of people he respected. 

Ultimately, our first year of marriage we LEARNED how to communicate. We learned how to talk about topics, despite how difficult the subject may be. When most of the time, newly married couples may take years to learn how to communicate and talk about the tough issues, some never talk about them, we learned during year one. 

We no longer do a monthly marriage evaluation, although we did discuss re-implementing it a few times a year when we go on our "husband/wife" weekend recharge retreats. Why reimplement it after so many years? Communicating and keeping our marriage fresh is worth it! 

What about you? How do you keep your marriage fresh? How do you keep the communication lines open with a busy life, jobs, kids, and everything else that goes on?

#259 - THREE Power Tips of Encouragement

Romans 15:1, 2, 4, 5 - We who are strong [in our convictions and of robust faith] ... (2)Let each one of us make it a practice to please (make happy) his neighbor for his good and for his true welfare, to edify him [to strengthen him and build him up spiritually]....(4)the encouragement [drawn] from the Scriptures we might hold fast to and cherish hope. (5)...the God Who gives the power of patient endurance (steadfastness) and Who supplies encouragement

Proverbs 31:12 - She comforts, encourages, and does him only good as long as there is life within her.

Encouragement and strength come from God and from His Word. His Word was brought for this purpose, to strengthen, guide and direct the believer. To give us a roadmap when we need direction, comfort when we need help, peace when we need calmed in our spirit and answers when we choose to look. Let's look at the 3 power tips of encouragement.

1. GIVE IT - Encouragement, as we see in Romans 15:2, is for YOU and I, We who are strong in our convictions and of robust faith, "encouragement" is for us to GIVE. When? As often as possible! To who? Our neighbor, the person next to us, friends, believers, and even the non-believer. That we should be concerned about his/her TRUE WELFARE. It may just be our encouragement that gets them through the day. It could be as simple as complimenting the cashier at the grocery store for her friendly smile or pretty skin. She may just get home that night with that as the highlight of her day. Encouragement. Give it freely and give it often!
2. RECEIVE IT from the Word - Do you need encouragement? The WORD is a giver of encouragement. The WORD was put into place for you and I to be able to come and RECEIVE the much needed encouragement that we will need often as believers. The Word is designed to fill you with hope, to encourage and build you up. The Word is designed to be your sword, your strength, so that you do not have to go ONE DAY without hope and direction! Believers SHOULD BE the most hopeful, expectant, excited people alive. When we know Who is on the inside of us, what is to come and that God is on our side, we have a LOT to be excited about. Today, receive YOUR encouragement from making sure you spend some time in the Word. 
3. RECEIVE IT from God - According to Romans 15:5, GOD supplies us with encouragement. Maybe you are out and about, you don't have access to pulling out your Bible, maybe you don't have access to just sitting down to dive into the Word, you can still receive encouragement from God, the Holy Spirit Himself!! Begin to pray. If you are in your car, begin to thank God outloud. Thank Him for encouraging you. Thank Him for helping you in your situation (in advance). Thank Him for giving you the words to speak in your upcoming meeting. Thank Him for guiding you. Thank Him IN ADVANCE for what it is you need. Praise Him. Sing to Him. Allow your spirit to be encouraged by the very Holy Spirit that is with you 24/7! The Holy Spirit lives inside of you, as as part of the Trinity, part of God, the Holy Spirit is there to ENCOURAGE YOU! Take advantage of it and RECEIVE! 

We see that our Proverbs 31 friend practices the art of encouraging her husband. As long as their is life within her, she makes sure that she puts Romans 15:2 into action! He is the man that God had placed in her life to be her partner and completer. Her encouragement to him only helps him to lead their family better. Sister, encourage your husband today. Build him up. Think of three kind things to say to him that would encourage him. Maybe it's simply, "Hey honey, I just want to let you know that I appreciate you going to work to provide for our family. I don't see or know what you go through every day, but I know it can take a toll on you at times. Thank you so much for providing for our family, even when your job may throw some hard things at you. I want you to know I SEE and I appreciate you. I love you." 

Give and receive encouragement today. 

#198 - A Tactic of the Enemy: The Wife!

*blowing breath out*

Whew. *wiping brow* It's been a full morning already. The first 2 hours of being awake was heavy! And that was even before getting into my quiet time! My husband is so smart. We talked a lot this morning, I reviewed some notes that I recently took, and overall... it was just a pretty emotionally full morning. I believe that today's devotion is going to impact you. If anything, connect some dots on some very important things to do.  We are going to take a "field trip" from our Proverbs 22 chapter of today, and jump  back earlier into the Old Testament. Let's get started....

2 Chronicles 26:5 (talking about King Uzziah) - He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the things of God; and as long as he sought (inquired of, yearned for) the Lord, God made him prosper.

2 Chronicles 32:31b (talking about King Hezekiah) - ... God left him to himself to try him, that He might know all that was in his heart.

Proverbs 31:11a - The heart of her husband trusts in her confidently and relies on and believes in her securely... 

This is going to be full. I'm going to do my best, with the direction of the Holy Spirit to bring it all full circle.


First of all, if we look at the beginning of Proverbs 31:11, we see that it is talking about the heart of the Proverbs 31 husband. His heart trusts in his wife. His heart is confident in her. His heart relies on her. His heart believes in her. She is not how some would view as the "weaker vessel" or as the "lesser of the two," she is VALUABLE and he is relying upon her.

Let's take a trip back to the beginning. In the Garden, there were Adam & Eve. How did the enemy infiltrate mankind? He got to the woman. Satan chose his tactic to get to Eve, the wife, to bring down mankind. His plan worked, in the short-term (obviously Jesus came back and gave us a way to Victory! Praise the Lord!) I heard an amazing woman of God say last night that she noticed when SHE was not on her full game, it was very quickly after that she would notice her husband would come off his game. If the enemy is successful in getting the wife down, getting the wife distracted, he has the potential to get the WHOLE mission of the couple off course!

As we peek into 2 Chronicles 26:5, it tells us that as long as King Uzziah sought the Lord, inquired of, yearned for the Lord, that because of it, GOD made him to prosper. Marry that with the lesson from Adam and Eve. It becomes SO MUCH MORE important for WOMEN to stay in a position of SEEKING THE LORD! It ultimately makes it a key in why the Lord makes us to prosper. YOU, woman of God, like in the beginning of time are a target. Like it or not, you have a bulls-eye on your back. Just ONE of the tactics of the enemy, if he can get to the woman, he has potential of disrupting the whole mission. Whether that be through strife, discord, discouragement, busyness, focusing on the unimportant... whatever it is, the tactics have been set out by the enemy.

The Woman's Responsibility: STAND GUARD! GIRD YOURSELF with the Word and with strength. Serve, give, love people. Pursue your calling. Don't delay. Distractions can cause you to get off course, be aware of what is taking your time. Be aware of your heart. Pursue the Lord! Pursue deeper revelations into the Word. EXPECT to get clarity. EXPECT to be directed. Like King Hezekiah, God wants to know your heart. What are you putting into your heart? What is going in? Is your heart getting purer or is your heart static? Staying the same? Blank?

The Husband's Responsibility: PRAY! Knowing that YOUR WIFE is one MAJOR tactic of the enemy to destroy your mission and ministry as a couple, PRAY FOR HER! Pray a hedge of protection around her. Pray for her mental stability. Pray for her growth in her walk with the Lord. Pray for her sharpness, that she would be able to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit with clarity. Plea the blood of Jesus over your wife. Protect her from the enemy with your prayers!

The Proverbs 31 husband TRUSTS in his wife with his heart! She has has spent time girding herself up, strengthening herself, and because of this, he trusts her. She is guarding herself from becoming overwhelmed. She has safe-guards in place. Where she is vulnerable & obedient, is to being LED by the Holy Spirit, and that is exactly where we want to be.

We can learn from the past. We can learn from the beginning. The enemy's goal was to take out Eve. His goal was to distract Eve, get Eve into disobedience. Woman of God, recognize this as a warning. This is ALL THE MORE reason for you and I to be diligent in our pursuit with the Lord. Our marriage and our calling as a couple is dependent upon our stability & obedience. If we know that we are a target of the enemy, it makes it crucial that we are always armed. That our foundation is in the Word. That our stand is on the ROCK! Stability is key, pursue it! Don't be victim to the enemy, be the VICTOR!

#187 - Excel Them All!

Good morning! It's so good to be back! I'm enjoying my screened in back porch, the breeze, the sounds of birds & the aroma of hydrangea's & gardenia's. Wow. They smell amazing! I have finally started to get my sense of smell back. Being pregnant, for about the last 4 weeks my hormones have been a bit off and I haven't really been able to smell. Don't get me wrong, that was nice when it came to changing a dirty diaper.... but unfortunate for Junior, he would probably run around a little longer with it because I couldn't smell that it was dirty. Anyways.... smell is good! Something that I definitely realized I took for granted.

We had an amazing vacation and enjoyed a lot of time in the water and in the sun! Tyler Junior has been a little fishy for the last 9-10 days, and he definitely has a cute little tan (despite the fact that he had spf 60 on all week!) I'm excited to get back into the word with you, and today seems like a perfect day. The 31st. It really allows us to dive into the whole chapter of Proverbs 31, who this woman really is, and discovering our role in it all. Let's jump in.

Proverbs 31:1 - THE WORDS of Lemuel king of Massa, which his mother taught him...

Proverbs 31:30 - Charm and grace are deceptive, and beauty is vain [because it is not lasting], but a woman who reverently and worshipfully fears the Lord, she shall be praised!

Proverbs 9:10 - The reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is the beginning (the chief and choice part) of Wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight and understanding.

Proverbs 31:27 - She looks well to how things go in her household, and the bread of idleness (gossip, discontent, and self-pity) she will not eat. 

I believe as women, when we read Proverbs 31:10-31 and we begin to understand a little bit of the depth of this godly woman, our first instinct is to want to work on ourselves. As we read down through the verses, we want to work on becoming all we can be, striving to mirror the attributes of this Proverbs 31 woman, this Ultimate Woman. I think that is the first and most obvious take away as we read this chapter. One that may not be quite as obvious is one that takes us back up to verse one in Proverbs 31. Who is the speaker & who is directing these thoughts & descriptions of this woman? It is a mother speaking to her son. The obligation of a mother to share with her son what he should be looking for in a woman, ultimately his wife. King Lemuel here has taken heed the advice of his mother, he has obviously recalled it because he is able to recount it, so his mother must have made it a priority to teach & re-teach the godly characteristics that he should be looking for in his wife. The message here to us? The obvious, work on ourselves and becoming this godly Proverbs 31 woman. Secondly and often not practiced as much, teaching who this woman is to our sons. Teaching who this woman is to our daughters. Taking the time, as we raise up godly little warriors in our boys, to teach them what exactly they are looking for in their mate. Sure, it may be 20-25 years before they will really be applying the things they have learned, or looking for these qualities, but as with King Lemuel being able to easily recount what is mother had taught him, repetition in who "she" is will allow our sons to one day marry a strong partner, a godly woman, a woman who does "excel them all" (Proverbs 31:29).

Who is she? She is a woman who fears the Lord, respects the Lord, worships the Lord. As we look at Proverbs 31:30, we can see that, but more importantly, we can go back to Proverbs 9:10 and see the significance of it! Reverent & worshipful fear of the Lord is the BEGINNING of Wisdom! The chief part of Wisdom! This reverent & worshipful fear of the Lord leads our Proverbs 31 woman to gain Wisdom. To gain the most important attribute that essentially leads to almost all other things, decisions & outcomes. The fact that she has attained Wisdom, allows us to know in her daily dealings with purchasing real estate, working with people, planting a vineyard, whatever she is doing on that day she is proceeding with Wisdom. Wisdom attained by fearing/respecting the Lord.

I remember hearing a quote that is pretty powerful by Eleanor Roosevelt, one that I'm sure our Proverbs 31 woman also abides by, it says: "Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people." Proverbs 31:27 tells us that this Ultimate Woman does not take part in gossip, in talking about other people. She does not take part in idle chatter, but steers clear of it. She does not even allow herself to wallow in self-pity or discontentment. She straps on her boots & just "gets over it!" Surely she addresses situations that need addressed, but self-pity is not something that she allows herself to take part of. She changes her situation. By Wisdom, she allows herself to be directed to make the necessary changes so that self-pity & discontentment does not have to be a part of her life. She is led & directed by Wisdom. The outcome? A life that she loves. A life that she can enjoy. A life that she can "taste & see" that it is good (Proverbs 31:18)!

Wherever you are at today, take an evaluation. Are you a mother? Are you single female? Single male? Father? Single women, married women, take the time to daily work at becoming this woman. Take the time to seek out and attain the reverent fear & respect of the Lord so all your dealings can be done in Wisdom. Take the time to work on becoming this Proverbs 31 woman, not just for success but to be an example. If you have children or plan to, one day your son will be looking to you for an example in what he wants or does not want in his wife. Mothers, it's never to early or to late to begin teaching your sons & daughters who this Proverbs 31 woman is. What a son should one day look for in his wife, and what a daughter should aspire to duplicate. Fathers, you're not off the hook. You can equally teach your sons  what they should be looking for in a wife and teach your daughters the values in striving to become all God has called her to be. Like the Proverbs 31 woman, aspire to excel them all! With Wisdom ALL things are possible. With God, ALL things are possible! Today, begin to teach your children the qualities of a godly young man or a godly young woman. It's never to late to teach them the godly way to excel!

_________________________

Vacation Pictures 

What fun!

#168 - Are you in Full Partnership?

Good morning! :) Today I have a 17 month old. Wow! He's turning into such a big boy!! He got a big-boy hair cut the other day at the barber shop with CLIPPERS! Wow! He looks so different.... so much older. He is so funny, just loves to be the center of attention and be goofy. We definitely laugh a lot around him. What a joy! Praise the Lord. :)

Let's get into the Word.

Proverbs 14:6 - A scoffer seeks Wisdom in vain [for his very attitude blinds and deafens him to it], but knowledge is easy to him who [being teachable] understands.

Proverbs 31:11 - The heart of her husband trusts in her confidently and relies on and believes in her securely, so that he has no lack of [honest] gain or need of [dishonest] spoil. 

Well....the Word does have a way to reveal & confirm things in our life, doesn't it? As I was reading about the scoffer, a few things came to mind. First of all, this person was SEEKING Wisdom. They were SEEKING. In the past, we've studied verses on the importance of SEEKING, searching out scripture, finding those hidden truths in the Word. Well, here this "scoffer" is SEEKING Wisdom.... but as we read further we see that it is done in vain. Wow! Who knew you could seek Wisdom, but it be in vain!? We see why it was in vain, because of his attitude! His attitude blinded and deafened him for really gaining the truth, really attaining answers and Wisdom.

I personally had to to an "Attitude Check" for myself. The Holy Spirit revealed some things in my life that up until recently had been faulty, wrong. I'll share shortly (arghhh... OK, let's take a look at Amy's faults again! ha!! that's ok!)

Proverbs 31:11, gives us a bit of insight into how the relationship is between the Proverbs 31 wife and her husband. He trusts in her CONFIDENTLY, he relies on her, he believes in her. They truly are a team working together in their strengths. Each bringing things to the table that completes the "PAIR" to make them a dynamic duo! Separately, there would be thing missing. BUT, the Proverbs 31 wife has proven to her husband that she is capable. Through her series of successes of taking a task, accomplishing it, producing income with it or producing things her family needs, she proves herself worthy of his belief!

I have fallen in the guilty category of, "I'm the wife, you are the big, strong husband. Ride in off your white horse. Conquer the giants. Handle the responsibilities. And when all is said and done, I will dust you off and we will go off and live 'happily ever after.' - That is, AFTER YOU have done all the hard work." All the while, happy to give my opinion, or even on the rare occasions, sometimes disapproval every once in awhile.

Falling into the category of "not being the equal", but being the "lesser half" because of not wanting to take responsibility. Full responsibility. I was reminded of several things this morning that take two. (1)The disciples were sent out 2 by 2. (2) Deut 32:30 - One can put 1,000 to flight, TWO can put 10,000 to flight. (3) Eccl 4:11 - If TWO lie together they keep warm, but one by himself is cold.

And the list could go on. It has been an easy thing to just want "the husband" to go out and slay the dragons of life and just be the rescued damsel in distress, but I don't think that was how we were designed to be. The Proverbs 31 wife, PROVED HERSELF WORTHY. She earned her rewards through diligence. She was very much a PARTNER with her husband. Right, wrong or indifferent, I have wanted to be the "rescued damsel" into the fairy tale story without doing my part, leaving the weight & responsibility unfortunately on Tyler.

Praise God for marriage. We are brought together to become ONE. Where TWO become ONE. We were designed to COMPLETE each other, with our gifts, talents & abilities to be able to COMPLETE the calling God has on our life.

Are you single? It's YOU & GOD then! He's your partner! But to those married folks.... any of you trying to "shirk" responsibility? Are you in full partnership? Well... it's just another area that I have to work on.

Have a blessed day!

#110 - Leading by Example: Tyler McCart

Good morning! Bath morning again for the boy! I guess that means that it's time to go up a size on his diapers?! Argh. :) He's so cute when he wakes up, but definitely cuter if he's not wet up to his NECK! Nothing like fresh sheets everyday! Ha! 


Well... I already know this mornings devotion is going to be a bit unconventional. I have done one like it before....it will be good though! 

Psalm 1:1-3 - Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; ²But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. ³He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. 

I've been thinking about this for the past several days. I didn't necessarily plan on writing about it, but the Word this morning leads right into it. What a great opportunity to share. It could be called "A Tribute to My Husband", or "All the Great Things I've Learned from Tyler".... you get the idea. 


As the verses this morning talked about meditating on the Word day & night, the first person I thought of was Tyler. If you haven't ever met my husband, I hope one day you will be blessed with the acquaintance. He is the most amazing person I know. In Psalm 1:2, I have watched my husband live this verse. I have watched him take a scripture and meditate on it for days, weeks and even months. I've watched him take something and keep going over and over it. Looking at it, reading it outloud, praying about it. I've watched over the last couple years the Lord reveal amazing revelations to him through him taking the time to meditate on the Word. When we first got married, for our first year we were both pretty consistent with taking a Day of Rest. Then, we got caught up in life for 4-5 years and just worked, worked, worked. Praise the Lord for the Holy Spirit, but about 3 years ago, we got back into the habit of taking a Day of Rest. What a blessing! I remember coming home from work on the day Tyler would take his Day of Rest. It was always my favorite day of the week! Typically it was Wednesday. But HIS Day of Rest was my FAVORITE! Why? Because we would go out to dinner, and I would just sit there .... typically at Carrabba's pasta bar, I would just sit there and take it all in. Tyler would just tell me all about what the Lord revealed to him that day. The revelations, what he learned from some broadcasts online, through all of our dinner he would just pour out what he had learned. What had be revealed through meditation. I just sat there like a thirsty kid, drinking it all in. I marveled at how he learned and the revelations God gave him. Tyler taught me how to meditate. He taught me how to do what Psalm 1:2 says. 


"Nor sits in the seat of the scornful..." - Tyler had lunch the other day with a guy who I used to work with. This guy is quite an extraordinary person in the corporate arena, very driven, very goal oriented and with a great desire to lead a life of significance. As Tyler returned from their lunch appointment, I was just again amazed at his desire to pour into the lives of others, to add value, to encourage, to build up & to help provide resources that Tyler knows will be able to help people. This person is definitely not a "scornful" type of person, but optimistic and ambitious. As I listened to some details of their lunch appointment, I just heard of "friends" having lunch, but Tyler pouring out some situations from his day, and being able to bring it back to the Word... what he had received from meditating and how the WORD completely turned around his morning. Tyler was not trying to teach or preach, but just sharing. And I found it pretty interesting that at the end of their lunch the guy asked, "So, do you read your Bible every morning?" Even that question just made me smile. This gentleman, probably a Christian, but most likely doesn't read his Bible every morning. In how Tyler lives his life, he was attracted to it. He was attracted to what Tyler received from the Word. He was attracted to how the Bible is not just words on paper to Tyler, but that it is ALIVE and LIVING, ACTIVE. For someone desiring to live a real life of significance, he was drawn to the Word, because the Word has a way of revealing the depths of true significance. A life built on the Word. 


"Whatever he does shall prosper." - Over the years, I've obviously watched Tyler. Even when I first met him, I was drawn to him. I knew he was going to do really great things for the Lord and the Kingdom of God. I was drawn to that. I was attracted. It was more than his build and good looks (hehe!)... Tyler was going places and I wanted to be a part of that. I've watched set-backs over the years, but I've watched Tyler press forward. I've watched him not wallow in discouragement, but continue to put his trust in the Lord. I've watched him continue to dig deeper into the Word to find answers to situations we may have been going through. When things got hard, Tyler got in the Word more. When he got squeezed, the WORD came out of his mouth. He is such an amazing example to me. Even recently, I mentioned to him some things that were noticed by some close people to us. It wasn't something easy to tell him, nor was it probably something easy to receive. But, it was a perception. And whatever someone else's perception, is their reality. He didn't get mad, but he said, "Well, I guess I will just need to work in that area so it does not things are not perceived in that light." He took something hard to receive and did not get defensive, but said, "I'm going to work on that!" Talk about humility. Talk about laying down ego. 


"Whatever he does shall prosper." - Tyler, I know you will read this at some point... and I want you to know this. From the day I met you, I KNEW that this verse was you! I knew that WHATEVER you did, you were going to prosper. I just want you to know that I am so thankful to be on this journey with you. My train will always be linked up to you because I know where you are going, you are making a difference. You are doing things that matter and you are prospering! I'm so blessed to be married to a man that continue to move forward. That continues to lead by example and press forward. I AM SO BLESSED! I feel like the most blessed life in the world! Thank you for pouring into the lives of so many men who need it. I've watched you pour yourself out unselfishly to help other people. You are such a blessing to me! Thank you Tyler for always leading by example! I love you!


----- If you are not linked up with someone who you KNOW is doing things that are going to matter! You need to meet Tyler! You need to link up with HIS train because I know he is going to do great things for the Lord & Kingdom of God! 


Here is a recent "VLOG" Tyler did on the Life of Joseph. It's good stuff! Check it out!


Bless you all! Have a great day! Time for MYGYM! :-)

         

#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

#61 - Forgotten

Good morning! Can you share with me the excitement, the satisfaction, the pride you can have when you know you are obedient to the Lord? When you have done something that HE has instructed you to do. You have not procrastinated, you may not have gotten it down quite perfect yet, but you have completed the assignment. What a good feeling. What a good feeling to be obedient knowing that because of obedience and diligence, great rewards are on the horizon. Praise the Lord! :) Well.... let's get started.


Reading Schedule: Proverbs 31:10-31, Proverbs 2, Psalms 2, 32, 62, 92, 122

Proverbs 2:16b-17 - ...to deliver you from the alien woman...Who forsakes the husband and guide of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God. 

Psalms 32:3-5 - When I kept silence [before I confessed], my bones wasted away through my groaning all the day long. For day and night Your hand [of displeasure] was heavy upon me...I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord [continually unfolding the past till all is told]--then You [instantly] forgave me the guilt and iniquity of my sin...

Psalms 92:13-15 - Planted in the house of the Lord, they shall flourish in the courts of our God. [Growing in grace] they shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap [of spiritual vitality]... They are living memorials...  

Proverbs 31:11 - The heart of her husband trusts in her confidently and relies on and believes in her securely, so that he has no lack of [honest] gain or need of [dishonest] spoil. 

Wow! What fullness in the very words. What fullness in the Words we can read. It's almost as the verses above tell a story. A story of a woman who had forgotten... a woman who once knew God, who once had a relationship with Him, but allowed it to slip away. Forgot. Faded. Imagine if that same woman would have continued on.... confessing all her sins to the Lord, acknowledging it all, just spilling everything to the Lord.... all the while, He already knew all of her sins. Unfolding the past till all is told. What beauty in the very transparency of it all. The sweetness of release takes place, guilt is lifted. Guilt is taken away, and newness of life occurs. A new lease on life begins. 


If the alien woman would have continued.... continued on further in her walk with the Lord until she was living a life that was flourishing. Firmly planted in her relationship with God. Firmly planted in her devotion to a living Savior! What beauty! Continually growing in grace, greeting old age in fullness, in SPIRITUAL VITALITY! The words alone express victory. Express one who has lived a life full of victory and still charging forward with fervor. Spiritual Vitality. Living in old age, lasting, pursuing life to the fullest. A victory of being known as a living memorial! A living memorial! Typically a memorial is a tribute to someone who has done something great, but who has passed away. Imagine this alien woman, changing her course and direction, to get into her older years and be recognized by people around as a living memorial! She is CONTINUING to do great things! She has made her name great. She has served with greatness. She has pursued with passion. She has followed her one true love, her Lord and Savior, Jesus. And what is a result of it all? How does it affect her marriage? It affects her marriage in such a great way. It affects her marriage in total belief, respect and reliance from her husband. He does not rely on her in a weak sense... in a sense that he has given over leadership to her, he has not. He is 100% man. He is 100% leader of their marriage. But, he has allowed himself to be vulnerable to believing in her. Her roots are so firmly planted in the Lord, that he can trust her. He does not have to second guess her decisions. He does not have to have a hint of doubt when she does something. From the very CORE of his being, he knows that what she does, she has reason. What she does, there is purpose. What she does, even if it may seem questionable at the way it is approached, he knows in the depths of him that she most definitely has been led by the Holy Spirit, and the fullness of her actions will unfold to show the greatness of God's plan. He trusts her. 


He trusts her fully.


If only. If only the alien woman would have chose to change her course. She could have experienced this all. She could have experienced a life more fulfilling than the danger or risque life she was living. Lurking on corners. Never being fully loved by a man. Never experiencing the fullness of friends or fulfillment towards a worthy cause. If only she would have not forgotten the God of her youth. 


Today... where are you in the story? 

• Are you at the cross roads? Are you there at the point where you need to choose.... choose a life living for the world or a life living for your God?
• Are you at the place of repentance? Are you full of guilt and shame? Does it feel like it is hurting your heart, like it just wants to break from your chest? Are you at a place where you just need to spill all.... run to the Savior you know is there. Run to the Friend that you know will be there in Jesus? Are you in that place? Where you need to repent? 
• Maybe you are in the place where victory you are experiencing? You are firmly planted? You are now working towards leaving your lasting mark on this world. Leaving a mark that will carry on for generations. Maybe you are working on being that living memorial? 
• Or maybe you are there, desiring to be the spouse you know you need to be. Desiring to have such complete trust and unity with your spouse. Desiring to change the dirty. Desiring to change the hesitancy in his thoughts about your actions.... not knowing if your next actions will be for yourself or what you both know God would want. Maybe you are at the place where, like the Proverbs 31 woman, her husband trusts her completely. Has NO lack of honest gain. Has full confidence, respect and trust in her. Maybe YOU are working to grow in this area. This area where your husband does not doubt you or question you, but fully trusts all your actions. 

Wherever you are today... pray. Take the next step. Choose God. Repent. Ask for forgiveness. Continue aggressively to make a difference. Or begin to BE the trustworthy person. Begin the pursuit to be a trusted wife & living memorial, to leave a lasting impact on this world.

Today.... ask yourself.... where am I in this story? Where am I? What do I need to do next. 

Do not be the forgotten. Do not forget the God of your youth. Do not pursue life forgetting the most important Guide. Leader. Director of life. It would most certainly be a life of unfulfillment and loss to live having forgotten.

__________________________________________

Have these devotions been a blessing to you? 

Have they helped you in your walk with the Lord? 

Are you reading them but not a "follower"? If you are on your computer, to the left side you can choose to be a "Follower". Would you consider doing that today? As I pursue a writing career, with books coming out in 2010, "followers" help in the publishing world. 

Bless someone else with these devotions. 

Share on Facebook, Twitter, or email a friend. 

Thanks so much! I am equally blessed to hear what the Lord says each day. I love to hear His Voice and follow His direction. There is no better thing in life to know when you are hearing your Creator, and being obedient to His Voice. 


Thanks again for reading. I am blessed to have you as a brother or sister in Christ. Until we meet....

                            Xoxo, 

                                      Amy J.

Follow me on Twitter: @amyjmccart

#38 - How to be a "Dynamic Duo" with your Spouse!?

Good morning! I have a full day of things to do today. Work on a slide-show for Tyler Junior's baby dedication on Sunday, get him some shoes, make baby-food.... hum... and it would be great to actually work on some taxes. I really need to pray and ask the Holy Spirit WHAT I need to work on today. Because, since I have a lot to get done and it doesn't sound like I can do all of it, so being directed would be important. Let's go ahead and get going into some Word.... 

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.

Proverbs 31:23 - Her husband is known in the [city's] gates, when he sits among the elders of the land.

First of all, I thought it was interesting that as we read about this "Ultimate Woman", this Proverbs 31 woman.... it takes a "time-out" to give us a small look into who she is married too. Who is the husband behind this amazing woman? Or rather who is the husband in front of/beside this amazing woman? Who is he? We already know, to be married to HER, he must really be what I would call THE BOMB.COM! (holla Jill!) He must be THE MAN! I mean... just take a minute and think about who this couple is....if you have been following each day in the posts of who the Proverbs 31 woman is, she really is the complete package. I'm sure she did not "marry down". I'm sure she married a pretty amazing man... and actually we know that she did as we see just a brief insight into who he is in verse 23. This couple could be coined as the "Dynamic Duo". As powerful couple. 


Diligence elevates you to a place of influence. A place where you can be heard. Since the Word does not contradict itself, we can say that since the Proverbs 31 husband is sitting in a place of influence, among the elders of the land (which may include the king), he has been diligent and skillful in his business. He is sitting among the people of influence. 


That brings me to a question. What should be our goal? What should our desire be if we want to accomplish more for the Kingdom? If we want to complete our calling with fervor? What should be our goal? I want to list out some words that come to mind... some goals to achieve when aspiring to be this Powerful Duo: 

• Unity 
• Trust & Belief
• Together-Together
• Support
• Moving as One
• On the Same Page
• Fully Supporting
• Fully in agreement with Goals
• Speaking the same Language

To be a "Powerful Duo", "Dynamic Duo" it is going to need to start with Unity. Unity in the marriage. You may have heard the phrase being "Together-Together". The Proverbs 31 husband has moved to this place of influence. He is sitting among the elders. He has a VOICE in the Land. He has influence with the king... with the President. His diligence has elevated him to this position of influence. 


To walk in Unity, strife needs to be far from you. The bickering, the quarrels, nagging. All of that needs to be eliminated. Unity means you ARE moving as ONE. You are in the flow. You have immersed yourself in the Word so much, both husband and wife that you are even able to complete thoughts or sentences. You are fully "Together-Together", you are going in the same direction, you are in agreement, you are on the same page. 


To get to this point, you must first IDENTIFY WHERE you are going? 

1. Get together with your spouse
2. Identify WHERE you are going
3. Pray about direction and a plan
4. Get back together and PLAN. SET A PLAN.
5. Re-Group - "Honey, this is what I'm doing to move towards our goal. Are we still on the same page?" 
6. SPEAK IT - Speak the same language. Read about the Tower of Babel - Genesis 11:1-9 - You can do ANYTHING! If you and your husband are on the same page, if the goal is ultimately going to glorify God and point back to God, NOTHING is IMPOSSIBLE! You may write your goals on an index card, in the notes of your cell phone, on a sheet of paper.... But SPEAK YOUR GOALS. Let me give you an example: 

• Almost 9 years ago, Tyler and I determined where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do. We looked up scripture to back what we wanted to do... from there, we set a plan and began speaking it daily. Several times a day. We had our stop watches go off a certain times throughout the day to remind us to SPEAK OUR GOALS. Speak LIFE into the direction we were going. It started with something pretty simple, but this is what we said, "Thank you Father that we have an overflowing abundance of wealth and riches in our house, that we produce over $15,000 a month, that we shall never lack, that we are debt free and that we are spiritual Giants!"

We began speaking that daily. Through a series of events, God led us to some spiritual truths that we were unaware of, some revelations that unveiled our eyes to some things. We were introduced to a business that eventually began to change the course of our finances. And we continued to SPEAK our goals. Those things did come to pass. The key is STICKING WITH IT! It may not, and probably will not happen over night. And... speaking to myself, I need to get back to speaking my goals out loud, daily! Out loud is important. Don't just THINK your goals. Speak them out loud. 


What if your husband is not on board with you? What if your husband is not saved? 

• Work on YOU (see below- Get in agreement with God) and pray for him. 

What if you are not married? 

• Easy! All you have to do is get your goals in alignment with God. It's easy for you to get into agreement with God... you and God, get in agreement. Maybe your goal has to do with an area you love or are gifted in, well, bring it before God, pray the power of agreement (Matthew 18:19). And from there on, daily THANK GOD for the answer! Thank God for doing it! Thank Him that BY FAITH it is DONE! You prayed it, you believed it, it is done. Now walk it out until you see the manifestation!

This world needs POWERFUL people! Be a DYNAMIC DUO! Get "TOGETHER-TOGETHER" with your spouse! Set a plan, put it in motion, be diligent and see your life be elevated to a place of influence! A place with a Voice! 

#17 - Is there a Light in your Eyes?

Well... it has been a fun morning. lol. So far, I have killed 4 fruit flies & 2 flies. One fly died via "coffee overdose". :) As my grandpa would say, "Oh, he won't drink much." You've got to admit... it's pretty exciting when you go to take a drink of your coffee and as you are bringing the mug to your mouth, you see a fly floating in it. Yes, gross! I was joking with Tyler and I said if I had a pest control company this would be my slogan: "Amy's Pest Control: Sending your bugs to meet Jesus!" :) lol! Whenever I kill bugs in my house, I just tell them, "I'm sending you to be with Jesus." It always makes me laugh just to say it, so maybe it will help them in their last moments. I will say that I have been warning them. I tell them if they want to live, they need to get by the door and fly out when it opens. Ha!

Anyways... that has been my morning thus far. :) SO excited for my DOR (Day of Rest) tomorrow!! YIPPEE!! YEAH!! :) I've been feeling a bit sluggish, I can tell I need a day to be rejuvenated. Tyler challenged me....he asked me if "writing a blogpost" was "resting" on my DOR. I defensively told him the reasons why it "could" still be resting... so, with that said, I may or may not post something tomorrow. I suppose if it feels like "work", then I will just chill, but if something is just JUMPING off my fingertips, then I may post something. 

Todays verses....

Proverbs 15:30 - The light in the eyes [of him whose heart is joyful] rejoices the hearts of others, and good news nourishes the bones.

Proverbs 31:28 - Her children rise up and call her blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied); and her husband boasts of and praises her...

Proverbs 15 was loaded with some jam-up scripture this morning! It was almost hard to get around "the mouth", "the tongue", "the lips", "words".... I definitely think that all the repetition isn't there for no reason. Just a reminder how very IMPORTANT it is that we are guarding our lips & words. 

Proverbs 15:30 stood out to me this morning. It just made me think about the light in the eyes of people. Have you noticed it? Can you think of people that when they walk into a room, it's like they have a twinkle in their eyes, it draws you to them, you just want to be around them. Can you think of people like that? You walk into a room, you see them, and you just gravitate to them. You think, "Oooh. I want to go talk to them. They always make me feel good to be around them." I was thinking about one of my friends who I go to church with, and that is how I feel when I am around her. You know the kind of person that you just click with. They always seem to be upbeat, they are like-minded and almost all the time they have a twinkle in their eye. They are filled with the joy of the Lord. I thought of my friend, and her husband is the same for my husband. They laugh about it, but they call each other "brother from another mother", or he calls my husband an "undercover brother." They are kindred spirits with us. We believe the same, we're both goal oriented, we both know how good our God is, we both love the Lord & love learning what he has to teach us. They are indeed our brother & sister in the Lord. Can you think of someone like that... when they walk in, they just have that sparkle? 

On the flip side...do you also know those people who are NOT walking in with light in their eyes. Yes, they may be Christians... but when they walk in the room, you quickly find a reason to exit. "Uh...yah, I gotta go to the bathroom." And you dip out because you just don't want to be around them. They bring you down. They are the people who if they said they have had a good day, or are having a good day, you want to respond with, "Notify your face." They are not bad people. But, just being around them your spirits are not lifted. Can you think of someone like that? 

That brings us to our Proverbs 31 woman....her children rise up and call her blessed. Who knows that you can't make a CHILD say good things about you if they are not true??! Children have this innocence about them... this truthfulness. Our Proverbs 31 woman is getting the praises of her children! I can just see it.... their mama walks in the room and she has that twinkle in her eye. Yes, she has accomplished a lot that day, but she still has the twinkle, the sparkle, the glitter. Just by the way they look at her, you can tell they adore her. She laughs with them, she loves on them, she kisses them, tickles them and even prepares for them their favorite cookies & lets them lick the bowl clean. :) Our Proverbs 31 friend is not living a lie, she just lives with light in her eyes. She doesn't jump down their throat. When they spill something, if she needs to be firm, she is... but most of the time she realizes that plain & simple, it was an accident and adults spill things too on accident. Who purposefully spills anything? Her attitude is, "No big deal, let me just grab a rag real quick and clean it up." Because of her child messing up, she doesn't make them feel terrible, they are not looking down about ready to cry because mom made them feel terrible. They are not running off to their room in tears because of the harsh words mom said. She may ask them to please be more careful, but her eyes are still full of love. Because of the love, because of the twinkle, her children ARE more careful next time. 

What about her husband? What about the Proverbs 31 husband? What is his response to her? He openly boasts of and praises her. He notices all she does. He takes note of who she is, what she accomplishes, how she treats the children, employees, the needy. He takes note of ALL that she does, he takes not of WHO she is.... he sees the twinkle in her eyes. She not only has it with her children, but she has it with her husband too. When she walks in the room, HE sees the light in her eyes. She is an encouragement to him. She lights up the room. She makes him feel good, feel better about himself. She thanks him for providing. She thanks him for what he did that day. She tells him how handsome he is, how cute he is. She loves on him, she adores him. Her eyes light up when she sees him. She loves him. Like a newly wed, he still has her heart. And the light even fills her eyes more when her husband brags on her. He tells of all she accomplished. He boasts of her. He praises her. It is not being prideful to brag on your spouse. To tell others of how blessed you are. Because of him boasting and praising her, deep down, her desire is to even do more, to even be better, to continue on this pathway of improvement, accomplishment, success. 

What does all this do for me? It makes me think about.... which woman am I? Am I the one people avoid because of my negativity? Or am I the woman that people are drawn too? Am I an encourager? A joy to be around? Have I been notifying my face when I am out. Granted, I don't have to be "overly happy" around people that it is annoying to them... I don't have to jump in the room bouncing & going overboard on, "HEY, Look at ME! I am HAPPY!" But, I can even have the quiet joy, the glow, the sparkle. The sparkle that shows even without words. The sparkle that shows a light in my eye.

When I think of my friend who is such a joy to be around... I know that part of it is because of her relationship with the Lord. She is full. She has found fulfillment in Him. She has spent time seeking Him out, finding Him, knowing Him. 

My desire for you is that you would find the light in your eye. That as your relationship with the Lord gets stronger and grows deeper, that you would YEARN even more for the Lord. That you would YEARN for that stronger relationship with Him. That you would YEARN to know your Father more, to talk with him, to fellowship, to love Him even more. That the light in your eyes would be an automatic result from your YEARN.

Close your eyes.... listen to the words..... enjoy this video: YEARN