#213 - The Path of Clarity

Proverbs 4:12, 18  - When you walk, your steps shall not be hampered [your path will be clear and open]; and when you run, you shall not stumble. But the path of the [uncompromisingly] just and righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines more and more (brighter and clearer) until [it reaches its full strength and glory in] the perfect day [to be prepared].

Proverbs 31:18b -  ...her lamp goes not out, but it burns on continually through the night ...

It's early in the morning, and you are standing in the forest. The early beams of light are shining through the trees onto the path. The vision is magnificent. The light morning fog is lifting and the path before you is lit up as the rays embrace its outline. There is no mistake. You know exactly where you are going, the path is leading you. Your direction is sure. With the light as your guide, you begin your journey to your next destination.

Clear & open. No questions. No confusion. Clarity. Do you just want to know that you are on the right path? Headed the right way? You CAN know. Proverbs 4 tells us our path is clear & open, like the morning light shining to give you direction it makes your path brighter and clearer! Clarity. The questions are subsiding, the fuzziness of decisions are coming into focus. You CAN know exactly where you are supposed to be. You CAN know the exact path and direction that you are supposed to be traveling. Isn't that good news?!

The Proverbs 31 woman keeps her lamp on. Her lamp burns continually, just as the light of dawn, the light reveals areas where we may not want to step. The light magnifies areas we want to avoid so we do not stumble.

What is the "light?" How can I have it? As a believer, the light within us is continually burning, the Holy Spirit is continually at work within us to direct us on this clear path, this path of clarity.

I was reminded this morning to acknowledge the Lord more frequently throughout the day. When a question arises, or a decision needs to be made, to take a moment and stop. Stop and ask. Even if the question is just in my head and I pause long enough to acknowledge the leading of the Holy Spirit, He will direct me. Often, a question that I need to ask is this, "Holy Spirit, what should I do next? I'm feeling tired and fatigued, do I just press on to finish this task or should I take a break?" He knows exactly what I need to do in order to complete the tasks that HE has laid out for me for the specific day. In acknowledging Him, I do not stumble. He shines clarity on the tasks at hand. He makes my path clear. He shines light on the activities that are on my "to-do list" that may be in vain, the activities that may add no value that I just "thought" would be good. HE will direct me with clarity.

I encourage you today. When you are feeling weary, having questions, feeling like you are going to stumble.... take a moment... pause... close your eyes and envision the morning light shining in through the trees on your path... envision clarity and ask the Holy Spirit what you should do. He will give you clarity. He will shine light to your path.

#196 - Draw It Out!

Good morning! :) We're going to get right into the Word this morning.....

Proverbs 20:5 - Counsel in the heart of man is like water in a deep well, but a man of understanding draws it out.

Proverbs 31:18 - ....her lamp goes not out.... 

"Lamp" in the Bible often refers to as several things; Wisdom from God, direction, the Holy Spirit living inside of us, Jesus (ie: "I am the light of the World, no one comes to the Father but through Me.") To me, "lamp" means, having the ability to receive answers, HAVING the answers. I know I have said this before, but I recently heard the saying that, "There is NO problem that can not be solved without sustained thought." The ability to HAVE the answers! As it directs in Proverbs 20:5, COUNSEL is like a deep well, but a man of understanding DRAWS IT OUT! Counsel, direction, Wisdom from God, the RIGHT Counsel, Counsel directly from the Holy Spirit! As believers, we have the ability to DRAW OUT the answers. BUT, like a deep well, it WILL take a little bit of work!

A deep well... think about it. In the Bible, when someone was going to get water out of a well, they would have to not only first have the well dug, but dug down deep enough to hit water. Once that was in place, they would have to lower a bucket down low enough to draw up the water. Then, with their muscles, most likely some sweat and grunting, lug the full, heavy bucket up to the top of the well. It was not a sweat-less process. It took some effort.

The same is true with us as believers. As it states in Proverbs 20:5, COUNSEL (aka: answers from the Holy Spirit!!!) are in the heart of man! Last time I checked, we are "man." Sure, I'm a woman, but the point is that this verse is talking about US! Equally, a MAN (or woman) can DRAW OUT THE COUNSEL. Read it for yourself! Isn't that what Proverbs 20:5 says? IF we CHOOSE to be a person of understanding, we can DRAW out the answers that are already within us! Again, if we are saved, we have the Holy Spirit living in us, right? So, since we have the Holy Spirit ALREADY living in us, we have ALL the answers to EVERY question ALREADY within us! Our job is to just DIG. Our job is to DRAW out the answers. That may take some praying. That may take some time. That may take getting in a quiet place with no distractions. That may take SUSTAINED thought. It may take some work! Just like Proverbs 20:5 says, counsel in the heart of man CAN BE drawn out. "Drawn Out" is a verb. It requires ACTION. In whatever your situation is, to draw out the answer will most likely take some work, meditating on the Word, prayer, etc.

Our answers are already here. It's our job to DRAW THEM OUT! If you notice, the Proverbs 31 woman has caught on to this concept as it says that HER LAMP does not go out! She is constantly seeking and in tune with the Holy Spirit. She is constantly drawing out the answers. She succeeds because she DRAWS OUT what the Holy Spirit would have for her in regards to business, family, servants/employees, etc. She draws out the answers and she SUCCEEDS!

That was a good Word! In what area to you need to draw out answers? Pencil it in your calendar. Take the time to seek, to dig, to get quiet and get YOUR answers!

Praise the Lord for making things known to us!!!!
Have a blessed day!

#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!

#74 - ROLL YOURSELF on the LORD!

Buenos dias! A quick shout out to the Canadians out there! :) And... how exciting, New Zealand. Sad to say, I'm going to have to look at a map to see where New Zealand is.... I guess that tells you how much I paid attention in Geometry class. LOL! Just kidding... I know it's Geology! j/k - Geography class? :-) You know the class where you study where places are! HA! Praise the Lord that you don't have to be good at everything! That God gives us specific things we're passionate about and those specific things do not encompass everything! PTL! I'll stick with my boys (both of them! because who knows Tyler Sr is as much of a boy sometimes as Tyler Jr!), my God, writing, our business, athletics.... and we'll throw in some craft things now and again! 


Ok... well, we have MyGym in a little bit, so we are going to ROLL today! :) I'm excited to see what the Lord has to say. :) 


Scripture for Today: Proverbs 22, Psalms 22, 52, 82, 112, 142, Proverbs 31:10-31

Psalms 22:8-9 - He trusted and rolled himself on the Lord, that He would deliver him. Let Him deliver him, seeing that He delights in him! Yet You are He Who took me out of the womb; You made me hope and trust when I was on my mother's breasts.

Psalm 52:7-8 - See, this is the man who made not God his strength (his stronghold and high tower) 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 forever and ever. 

Psalm 112:4 - Light arises in the darkness for the upright, gracious, compassionate, and just [who are in right standing with God].

Psalm 142:7 - Bring my life out of prison, that I may confess, praise, and give thanks to Your name; the righteous will surround me and crown themselves because of me, for You will deal bountifully with me.

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].

Lord, we just thank You for revealing to us in your Word what You would have us to see. Thank You that YOU bring light in Your Word. Thank You that YOU bring forth revelation. Thank You that YOU speak to us, Your children. Thank You Lord that we can count on You EVERY DAY, EVERY MOMENT, in every hour to direct us, to guide us in our circumstances. Thank You that YOU set us up to be the head and not the tail, above and not beneath. Thank You that YOU GIVE LIGHT! We receive Your LIGHT. We receive You shedding Your light in the areas that we need light in. Thank You Lord, in Jesus Name, Amen! 


Maybe YOU are living in a time of darkness... in a time of what may be a 'prison' time in your life... a time when you feel like you are living in the pit. You think, "When is it going to get better? When will there be light? When Lord? When? My very life feels like I am living in prison, every day is miserable. This situation, miserable. My job. This relationship. My marriage. Lord, I feel like I'm living in a PRISON! BRING ME OUT!"


Trust is a partner with Faith. Sometimes you can not see trust, reason in it, or know why you are doing it. Sometimes you just need to trust. When things seem bad, sometimes the only thing to do is to trust. To rely confidently on the Lord. To put your trust FULLY in Him. Here's a novel concept, to NOT RELY ON YOURSELF or YOUR OWN REASONING, but to simply just TRUST that the Lord is leading, guiding and directing your path. TO TRUST that HE will see you through. When you do not see anything else, any other way, ROLL YOURSELF ON THE LORD! Like it says in 1 Peter 5:7, "Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully."


To trust your situation to the Lord. TO GIVE it to Him, and then LEAVE IT THERE! To leave the care, the situation, the relationship at HIS FEET. To FULLY TRUST it in HIS Hands. 


Once you have LEFT YOUR CARE at the feet of Jesus. TRUST that HE will handle the situation. TRUST that HE will remedy the situation. TRUST that HE will do what needs to be done to bring LIGHT. TRUST. TRUST. TRUST. Rest easy. Rest light that IT IS DONE! And MOVE forward focusing on HIM. Move forward growing in Him. Move forward in learning to lean on Him more, to listen to His voice more, to be guided more each day. Move forward with your focus on HIM versus on your CARE, on the BURDEN, on the FRUSTRATION, on the WORRY, being "UNDER" the circumstances! FOCUS ON HIM and HE will "TAKE YOUR CARE." Focus on knowing HIM more. Loving Him more. Serving Him. Growing in Him. Allow Him to help you live above your circumstances. 


ROLL YOURSELF ON THE LORD! Roll your shortcomings, your weaknesses, roll all the areas that you beat yourself up because of your "lacks" or "inabilities". Roll YOURSELF on the Lord and TRUST HIM. 

#59 - Go ahead and Cry

GOOD MORNING!! What a great morning it is! :) I AM HOME! It is so nice to be home!! It has been almost 2 weeks that I have been gone. Home sweet home for sure! It was such a blessing to be with my family. It was a blessing to visit with my grandma before she passed away. The viewing and funeral brought back floods of memories as 250+ people came through visiting with the family. Friends, neighbors, extended family, lakers. What a blessing. The floodgates of tears did come at the last good-byes. Seeing grandma in the flesh for the last time before the casket was closed....that was a bit hard. But.... overall, there was closure. There was rejoicing. And, there was much time spent with family during the unrushed trip to Northern Indiana. Praise the Lord that I was blessed to be able to resign from Corporate America to be able to spend time, unrushed. What a blessing!


Well... this morning... we are going to add a few things to our daily "reading". I have thought this would be coming as I have just been stirring inside, but have not been ready until now. Along with our Proverbs chapters, we are going to add in Psalms. I heard Billy Graham talk about reading Proverbs and Psalms every day, "Proverbs helps me in my relationship with men, Psalms helps me in my relationship with God." So.... check out the "Bible Reading Schedule" tab to see what chapters to read each day. We will continue to read Proverbs 31:10-31 daily, as well as our regular Proverbs verse. Ok... let's go...


Reading Schedule Today: Proverbs 31:10-31, Proverbs 30, Psalms 30, 60, 90, 120, 150. 

Psalms 30:5b, 11a - Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. You have turned my mourning into dancing for me.

Psalms 50 - PRAISE THE LORD!

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].

It's ok to cry! Cry it out. In the Bible, we know of the word lamp as it refers to the Word, the Bible, Jesus, Jesus being the "way", the guide, the lamp! The Lamp... guiding us to where we want to go, guiding us to the next place, giving us light, revealing, exposing, showing us the way. The Lamp. 


Here, we see that our Proverbs 31 friend keeps her Lamp continually burning. It is continually burning, in troubled times, God is close. In sad times, her Word is at hand. In sorrowful times, she is still being guided by the Holy Spirit. In tough times, she is being comforted by her closest friend, Jesus. During the night, even she, even our excellent Proverbs 31 friend.... even she during the dark hours of the night may weep, may cry, may mourn. But PRAISE THE LORD, JOY COMES IN THE MORNING! Throughout the mourning and sad times, JOY will come! 


The WORD. The WORD is our Lamp. At a time of loss, death, or trying times, the WORD is there to comfort us. We are not macho to try and just "stay tough".... even the Word acknowledges that there are times when weeping may come, sorrow may arise.... but there is a time to look forward too... a time of JOY. A time that JOY will arise, and sorrow will not remain. It will not be night forever. JOY will come! But even during those hours or days where the night seems to be all we can see... the darkness seems to be all there is, the LAMP does not go out. We are not alone. If we could see through spiritual eyes, we would see our friend, our confidant, our comfort, Jesus, sitting right there with us... and probably even joining in our tears. Crying with us with compassion for our loss, on behalf of our sadness. 


But... PRAISE THE LORD, He does not leave us there! He does not leave us there in the darkness, in the night. He is WITH US until the morning comes. He is with us to see us to the JOY! And the JOY WILL COME! With the joy there will even be a time of dancing! Where the music is turned up, we are spinning in circles, arms spread wide, just thinking, thanking and praising God, "Does it get any better than this? Could I be more blissful?" Our faces to the sun, eyes closed, heads faced up to the heavens, "Does it get any better than this?"


Morning will come. Joy will come. But tears are ok. Cry if you need to but look forward to YOUR MORNING. Your morning where there will be no more mourning. It will come. Keep you lamp on. Cry and be comforted. You are not alone. Your morning will come. :) 

#46 - Keep on your Lamp!

Wow! Can I just say PRAISE THE LORD! Tyler just called me. He was downtown and had to go into a building. Outside the building there was a fenced in "play area" with toys, it was obviously a daycare outside of his high rise building. I know exactly where it is. There was a section with kids that were toddlers and walking. Those kids were just playing. Then there was another fenced in area with babies who couldn't walk. Babies from 6 weeks old.... babies Tyler Jr's age. Tyler told me that as he walked past, he saw a quick glimpse of a scenario. He saw a baby, about Tyler Jr's age laying on the floor crying. His pacifier was laying on the floor and had fallen out of his mouth. He laid there and just cried. The day care worker, with another baby in her arms, walked over to the crying baby and put the pacifier back in his mouth. It had been on the dirty floor, people's shoes tracking through the area. Clean, right!?! Yah! Tyler said he walked into the building and just started crying. When he called me, I just started crying too as he painted the picture of what had happened. As Tyler cried in the building, he just thanked God, "Not my boy. Not my boy." That Tyler Jr doesn't ever cry for too long without his mama coming to him to love on him. It just gave me a more clear why! Yes, we own our own business, and it has afforded me the privilege and the blessing to stay home. To be a wife & mama. It just reminded me of one of my "WHY's". I know there are other Mama's out there who don't want to be at work. They want to be a Mama! They don't want to leave their child at the day care. They would cry to see their child laying on the floor, crying, with no arms to pick them up. Or behind bars of a play yard. 

Sure, not all parents have a desire to stay home and raise there kids, and that is OK. But for those that do, it reminds me of my Why. Why we have a business. To help & serve people. To help Mama's come home to do what I believe has been the most important thing I have done, raise up a godly Warrior who will usher the next generation of Christian leaders! To help daddy's come home from corporate America to be daddy's. Praise the LORD! If I could go pick up that baby on the floor, I would just want to pick him up and hold him. Stop his cry. Make his tears go away. And if or when I meet his mommy or daddy, I'm going to offer them an opportunity. A solution to not having to leave their son there. How your heart changes when you have children. Tyler Jr has made my heart so much bigger. So much more full of love. 


Well... with that long intro, let's get started....

Proverbs 5:6 - She loses sight of and walks not in the path of life; her ways wind about aimlessly, and you cannot know them.

Proverbs 31:18 (NIV) - She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.

So, Proverbs 5 talks about the loose woman. The woman, quite opposite from our Proverbs 31 friend. Today, I saw something that I never have seen before. WOW! "She loses sight of and walks not in the path of life..." This leads me to believe that at one point in time, this "loose woman" may actually been on the path of life! She may actually have had SIGHT. Real, true sight! Without blinders, without scales. But true sight that revealed the one, true way of Jesus Christ. But, her life took a turn, and now her way is winding and she is going about aimlessly. 


Lamp. What do we know of the word "lamp" in the Bible. What are some of the spiritual connotations or references for this word? The first we probably think of is this: The Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. (Ps 119:105) We think of the Word "lamp" and we automatically think: Word of God, Bible, something that gives light, direction, vision. 


SOOOOO..... if the loose woman... who at one point has seen the light, has lost SIGHT, what has happened? The LAMP is no longer in front of her. The Bible, the Word has passed from her life. The Word is no longer in front of her, guiding her. If she once was reading it daily, things have gotten in the way. One day of missing the Word, led to 2 days, which led to "I'll get to it tomorrow." Then, tomorrow, led to tomorrow. Then that tomorrow led to, "I'll do it one day when I get time." Then that "one day" never came and the lamp got further and further away. Subtle other things began to draw attention. Subtle other things became fun, or felt good. Things slowly drawing her away from the lamp, the Word of God. What she one day SAW (because it refers to her LOSING SIGHT, so we know she at one point SAW it), has now faded into the dark distance. She got away from the Word. Her daily study, her quiet time has slipped away and we see what happens in Proverbs 5:23: He/she will die for lack of discipline & instruction, and in the greatness of his/her folly he/she will go astray and be lost.


She has strayed from the light. The result of sin is death. In this case, the result of lack of discipline is death. The loose woman has left a life of discipline.


The Proverbs 31 woman KEEPS the LAMP, KEEPS the WORD in front of her at ALL times! It says that her LAMP does not go out. She is steady. She is disciplined. She is not going to steer of the path that leads to aimlessness. To wandering with no cause or direction. Our Proverbs 31 friend is not walking down the road that leads to death. THE LAMP IS ON and the LAMP IS HER GUIDE! ALWAYS! 


What does that mean to you? What does that mean to me? Well... I have to admit, I recently just dropped the ball on this! Granted, I pray and talk to the Holy Spirit a lot throughout my day. But when we were in Hilton Head, I went THREE days without being in the Word! I went THREE days without seeking out God's Word! I could come up with many excuses, but there are none that are good enough to allow myself to slowly stray from the LAMP, from the Word. 


When is it MOST important to be on your guard? When is it EASIEST to stray from your LAMP? During a time of CHANGE. Are you going on vacation? Are you moving? Are you changing jobs? Are you changing schedules at work? Are you changing school schedules? Did you just begin a new activity? Do you have out of town guests coming in? Is it a Holiday? Times of CHANGE invite a perfect opportunity for the enemy to come in and cause a distraction, a diversion, the ability to get you away from the Word. To begin that process of "straying" from the LAMP. 


Is change getting ready to occur in your life? BE ON GUARD! Are there any "subtle things" in your life that are creeping in like what happened to the loose woman? Are there "subtle things"?


Let's make a resolution to be consistent. To be in the Word. To not miss our Quiet Time! Not even for one day. Like the Proverbs 31 woman, let's keep the LAMP, the WORD on ALL THE TIME!