Numbing Joy

Have you ever been at a crossroads? One path will take you down a road to one life, while the other path will lead to a completely different life. The 1st life, The Blessing - the blessed life that The Lord has in store for you to live. The good life. The 2nd life, a life that, in the beginning brings happiness, it feels good, it fills a void in your life, it even seems consuming. Your heart and mind are consumed by this life (often revolving around a person or position). You think about it/them all the time. When you rise and when you wake, it is the consuming thought that is with you at each breath. 

Proverbs 2:23 - Men who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness…

Proverbs 4:26 - Consider well the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established and ordered aright.

I remember well that day. That defining day. The day that would change the very course of my life. The term crossroads almost seemed too light of a word to describe the position I found my life. I knew, though tangled up, obsessed, wrapped tightly, consumed - the one life would bring me fulfillment in the today. The fulfillment would be at least for a day or maybe just moment, though it could immediately turn on me for the worse if it felt like it, as soon as tomorrow! The other path, in the short-term, would be painful. It would be a painful today, tomorrow, next week and most likely next month. It would mean cutting ties. It would mean hurting my heart. It would mean opening up a place in my heart where I had allowed something to slide in and fit, puff up and fill a void. Path 2 meant I would take that piece out, leaving an empty, shallow, dark, painful hole. My heart would be open and my heart would be hurting. 

The defining day. The lottery option. If I chose the first road, it was a true gamble! The lottery option in effect meant, I could lose everything. My second road, I ultimately knew would bring pain now! I would be in pain for awhile, and only time down this path would heal my opened heart. BUT….. the end of the road meant I would be fulfilled, healed, whole and healthy. My heart would be in a healthy place. The void would be filled with God, and by choosing Him, He could lead me to HIS life that He had for me. The immediate life, the microwave choice, would be immediate happiness, long-term mediocrity, and potentially end in devastation & toil. 

The good life, the blessed life required patience. Painful, day in, day out, patience. The path God had for me, put me on a path that required putting in, beginning to fill that void with Him. Beginning to fill the place in my heart with God was not always easy, but I chose God first over self, short-term feelings, my flesh and my pleasure. It was a painful path that required my continual, daily pursuit of God, when sometimes the pursuit of alcohol or relationships would have brought a more numbing joy. 

On this journey, when I was ready, when I was complete, the ultimate gift would be waiting. The gift that would bring so much joy and happiness that I could not have imagined. After the pruning away, trimming back, the waiting, shaping, molding and defining, that ME…. the me of the 2nd path, could be finally trusted with the good life! I had proven myself faithful. I had allowed roots to not only take root, but go deep & thicken. In pruning out the hard things, my roots were strengthened. God could TRUST me! 

I'm so thankful I chose true joy over numbing joy. The numbing joy would have been fleeting. It would have gone. It would have continually had to be replaced. It would have included toil. It would have ultimately caused more pain. It would have pushed me into the hamster wheel of life, sin and entanglement that had me going too fast, it was hard to get off the wheel… not to mention, the wheel was extremely exhausting and certainly not the blessed life. 

Is there something in your life that you are choosing numbing joy instead of choosing to truly seek & follow God? What is it? Will you consider dealing with it today? Finally head down the road of peace, restoration & true joy! 

YOUR Supernatural Provision

1 Kings 17: 1-6 - Elijah the Tishbite, of the temporary residents of Gilead, said to Ahab, As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before Whom I stand, there shall not be dew or rain these years but according to My word. (2) And the word of the Lord came to him, saying, (3) Go from here and turn east and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, east of the Jordan. (4) You shall drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you THERE (5) So he did according to the word of the Lord; he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, east of the Jordan. (6) And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning and bread and flesh in the evening, and he drank of the brook.

Supernatural Provision. You have a wealthy place. You have a place where everything is provided for you. A place where the supernatural meets your reality. You have a THERE! 

What is a "THERE?" A "THERE" is the place where your supernatural happens. Your "there" is the place that God instructs you to go so that He can provide for you supernaturally. Your "there" is a place of provision. When it appears everything is drying up all around you, when it appears a famine or drought has struck, business has dried up, opportunities seemed to have stopped, all around you the only thing you see are people at a stand still and struggling. During that time, if you listen, you will hear God telling you, like Elijah, "Go." During this time where the world seems to be struggling and not succeeding, it is God's desire to provide for you in a way that you can only tell the world, "This is God. How did I make it? How did I survive? It was God, He did it supernaturally."  

But?? Where is the "THERE?" The THERE is wherever God has instructed. A crucial element in supernatural provision is actually SHOWING UP! Notice, that God lets Elijah know that there will be no dew or rain for years. Then, God gives Elijah his next step, and the next step is not to stand still. The next step is to GO.  There was supernatural WAITING for Elijah at his THERE! 

The thing is this… if Elijah would have went to the stream, up the road behind his mom's house, he could have starved to death. The supernatural provision was waiting for him at a defined and definite place. The supernatural provision HAD A PLACE, it had a LOCATION. For Elijah his place was, "from here and turn east and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, east of the Jordan." It was very specific. If he chose to go somewhere else, his friends house, his mentors house, his moms house, his grandparents, his place of employment… if he had decided to go anywhere else, like everyone else in the drought, he would have been met with struggle. Elijah's Supernatural Provision had an actual place! His wealthy place was waiting for him. Those ravens were circling that area waiting to provide for Elijah. 

Let me wrap up by adding, the Go, that Elijah had to do in order to receive his provision may not have been comfortable or convenient. He may not have wanted to GO. But, thankfully for him, he did. If you slowed down to listen to that still small Voice of the Holy Spirit. What would you hear? 

Today, apply this BLOG to your life! Allow The supernatural provision to meet your needs!  

1. Be Warned: Know the upcoming season. 
2. Listen: If you listen, the Word of the Lord will come.
3. Obey: If you obey, God's provision will meet you there. 
4. Go: Where is your "THERE?" (Maybe it is where you are at now? Maybe it means going somewhere else.) Your "THERE" is where the provision is! Now GO!

______________________________

A SHOUT OUT!

Just wanted to send out a quick HELLO to the readers in
the country of LUXEMBOURG! 

It's great to have you joining us!
 I just wanted to let you know I SEE YOU!
Thanks for reading! I call you blessed in Jesus name!
Also… I'd love to hear from you!
Leave a comment and let us know a little about
you & life as a Christian in LUXEMBOURG!

Fanatical Obedience

Isaiah 65:16 - So (it shall be) that he who invokes a blessing on himself in the land shall do so by saying, May the God of truth & fidelity (the Amen) bless me. 

Matthew 5:8 - Blessed (happy, enviably fortunate, and spiritually prosperous—possessing the happiness produced by the experience of God’s favor and especially conditioned by the revelation of His grace, regardless of their outward conditions) are the pure in heart, for they shall see God!

We all want to live our dream life, right? We all have our own vision of what "living in the blessing" is. We all (hopefully) even are still clinging to dreams, dreams of what we want to do, where we want to go & how we want to spend the rest of our days before meeting Jesus face to face.

Where are you today? Where were you 5 years ago? What will change 5 years from now if you do not change anything? Are you making progress towards the life you want to be living? Five years from now, how old will your kids be? Will you still be in the same rut, the rat in this rat race of life, running from here to there ready to pull out your hair if you don't get a break? What will you have to show for your life 5 years from now?

Your answers to the above questions could be answers that ARE indeed taking you to your dream life and dream destination, you could be well on your way, and if so, I commend you! If you calculated out how old you would be in 5 years, how old your kids would be in 5 years, and looked to see where you would be at in life in 5 years and you are not happy about it, i'm going to propose something to you. Are you ready? Here goes….

Fanatical obedience.

Yes, that's it. Fanatical obedience. The non-negociable sort of obedience.

The above verse, Isaiah 65:16, used the word fidelity in describing God. I wanted to look it up to see what it was really talking about. Here's what I found:

Fidelity

• strict observance of promises, duties
• loyalty
• accuracy, exactness
• devotion to duties, obligations
• loyalty or devotion as to a person or cause 

In the verse above, it is describing God as the "God of truth & fidelity". Ie: God is going to observe the definition of fidelity, it is who HE is. 

I'm going to propose that you and I adopt those characteristics in our relationship & obedience with God. That we apply devotion to duties & obligations. That we apply strict observance to the duties that God has asked us to do. Fidelity also was described as faithfulness to one's spouse. How about faithfulness to one's God?

I'm going to propose that we take an inventory… What is God asking us to do? What is He leading us to do? Once we know that answer, let's FOLLOW IT OUT TO A T! Let's get fanatical about the obedience of what HE is asking us to do! Let's get fanatical, if it means purging out some responsibilities that WE took on without consulting Him first, activities that maybe are taking us AWAY from obeying what we know we should be doing, PURGE them! If it's a TV show that has sucked you in… if it's that afternoon nap… if it's Pinterest, Facebook, twitter, or even just a simple one sleep! Whatever it is for you… let's take an inventory. What do we need to do to be obedient to what and where the Holy Spirit is leading us? 

Let's be FANATICAL in our OBEDIENCE!! 

I believe as we do this, the picture we see of where we "could be" in 5 years, will become a REALITY! Position yourself today to be LIVING in your wealthy place. I say "wealthy place" not only meaning financially. But, positioning yourself in your "wealthy place" with stress levels, with happiness levels, with your physical fitness, with your relationships, with you marriage, with your children, and yes, with your finances. Let's position ourselves so that WHAT WE DO TODAY, will put us in our wealthy place and in 5 years from now our lives will be the epitome of being blessed as it says in Matthew 5:8. Happy, enviably fortunate, and spiritually prosperous—possessing the happiness produced by the experience of God’s favor and especially conditioned by the revelation of His grace!

Together, let's do it! Let's be FANATICAL IN OUR OBEDIENCE! Ask the Holy Spirit NOW… what does that mean for you? Go ahead, ask Him!

The Speed of Your Harvest is Determined by….

Psalm 127:1a -  Except the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it...

Proverbs 18:16 - A man's gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men. 

What was the last thing that the Holy Spirit directed you to do? Have you done it?

The speed of your harvest is determined by the speed & diligence of your obedience.

Have you, like so many, looked around you, looked at your life and felt frustrated? "This is not where I want to be. I am not happy." Like the moment in the movies that shows the person standing there, but everything around them seems to be spinning. 

The speed of your harvest is determined by the speed and diligence of your obedience.

What is is that the Holy Spirit has been leading you to do, but you just haven't gotten around to it? Is it waking up an hour earlier in order to read your Bible and have your quiet time before getting ready and leaving for work? Did the Holy Spirit instruct you on a discipline that you need to establish in your life? If you are a writer, maybe it's writing 4-5 days/week, but you just haven't gotten around to it yet. If you feel called to paint, are you painting? If you feel led to paint a certain amount of days/hours, are you being obedient to it? If you are building or developing a new business, has the Holy Spirit led you to do a few specific tasks to get things off the ground? Are you being quick and diligent to obey, are you consistently following through on those actions each day?

I know for me, sometimes when I am taking time to listen to the Holy Spirit, I get a very specific plan in how to do things, when, for how long, etc. Other times, I get a "just do it" plan. 

Your obedience is tied to your harvest. When you close your eyes and envision the perfect life, doing the things that bring you joy, you are envisioning your dream life. And your dream life CAN happen. But living that dream life, is tied to your obedience. If you've felt led to paint five days per week (but maybe haven't been making the time to do that), maybe the Holy Spirit is setting you up to be able to sell your works which will bring you to a place where you can paint full time, in that house on the beach, all day long if you want. The Lord may have things He wants to get to you, but it is often tied to our obedience to follow through on the instructions He has given us. Those instructions that will lead you to the good life, your dream life. 

So friend, I implore you, be quick to obey the full instructions of the Holy Spirit. He knows the end result. He knows how you are going to take possession of your promise land. He knows the result of your obedience is good. Now it is your job to follow through. Obey quickly and with diligence so you can get to your dream destination, so you can live your dream life!

You ARE Chosen!

2 Chron. 29:11 - …. the Lord has chosen you...

I recently heard a mom say that she felt like she was living in the mundane. As a stay at home mom, she chased a toddler, fed a newborn, and did the daily "day-in, day-out" activities that need to get done in a home. Cooking, cleaning, cooking, cleaning, wiping noses, washing little fingers, laundry, and the list goes on.

Mundane.

Monotony.

Day in. Day out.

Are these things little value in the Kingdom? Is there value to them?

I asked the same question this morning as I was journaling. I made my list of things that need to be done. Today's list specifically, there seemed to be no "life-changing" or "world changing" activities on my list. As a Christian, wanting to take the world by storm for Jesus, change people's lives, help people, and I look at my current to-do list, and (aside from reading, listening to an audio, having my quiet time) the activities for today include: clean a box in the garage, do laundry, dishes, pick up living room. 

As I flipped open my Bible, I randomly fell upon 2 Chronicles 29:11, which read, "…the Lord has chosen you….". Though in context, this passage is talking to the Levites, those who are the ministers of this time, the priests. They are to guard and preserve the temple, the Holy place, receive offerings, etc. Though, as the yellow highlighted passage in my Bible stood out to me, I took a moment to listen to what that Still Small Voice had to say to me about being chosen.  (Substitute YOUR NAME and YOUR calling)

You are CHOSEN to be exactly Amy. Exactly where you are. Mom & wife. Pregnant right now. Business owner. Writer. You ARE CHOSEN to complete your calling. You ARE CALLED! Some days it may seem mundane. It may seem like the things are of little effect, but if you follow My Voice & plan, it all works into the big picture. Amy, I am not calling the perfect, I'm calling the willing. Those willing to listen, obey and act on My Word & Voice. Yes, some days it is as simple as cleaning a box out of the garage & doing laundry. Do not belittle the daily tasks. It is part of your CURRENT assignment, but it WILL NOT be your assignment forever. 

You are CHOSEN. You are CALLED. Even through the days that seem mundane. Organization and cleanliness allow a peaceful place for the Holy Spirit to operate and move. I've heard it said, "Clutter and chaos hinder the Holy Spirit. It breeds lack of peace." Maybe de-cluttering is what you are doing today. And do you know what, that is OKAY! It could very well be paving the way for starting up a ministry, and it may be right out of your garage!

You are CHOSEN and you are CALLED. If it's dishes and laundry today, accomplish TODAY's Calling. Conquering the World and seeing a million people saved may be work for next year, or 5 years from now or even 10, 20? But today, pave the way with your obedience…. even in the mundane.

You are CHOSEN to be YOU. Listen to the Voice of the Holy Spirit & obey today's assignment for your life.

Timing or Toil

Good morning!! :) It's been so long that I've logged in, I forgot my password for the first round of "tries." Anyways... here I am... excited to share some good Word with you. Why? Because ALL the Word is good! God's Word changes things. God's Word brings peace where their may be toil in your mind. God's Word and Voice brings clarity where their may be confusion. Praise the Lord that we ALL have access to God's Word for our life!

Eccl. 3:1 - To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven

Let's try this on for size....tell me, have you ever found yourself having this conversation with God? "But God, when? When are you going to bring this to pass? When are you going to do it? How long do I have to wait to live my dream, to accomplish what I have been working towards? Pleeeeeeeease God! Will you please help it to happen now?" 

Have you ever found yourself having this conversation? Maybe you are going along through life, working towards your dream or goal, and one day you just get frustrated. You aren't seeing the results that you think you should be seeing.... or it appears that God is SLOW! "God! What is taking you so long?" :)

I'm sure Joseph may have thought this in his journey to seeing his dream become a reality. In Genesis 37, we see that Joseph was 17 years old when he had his dream. The dream? His brothers & parents bowing down to him. In Genesis 41:42, 46 we do see Joseph ascending to the #2 position of leadership in ALL of Egypt. Notice, he is 30 years old at this time, but even this success still is not fulfillment of his dream:  Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand; and he clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt.

In Genesis 42, we see that the 7 years of plenty in the land of Egypt had come to an end. At this point it had been 20 years since Joseph had had his dream. 20 years! In verse 6 we see final fruition, Now Joseph was governor over the land; and it was he who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the earth. 

As I sat this morning in my quiet time, basically whining to the Lord, I was reminded of God's perfect timing! Like Ecclesiastes 3:1, there is a season for everything, timing for everything! Just as there was a season for Joseph's dream, there is also a season for my own dream/s. God has perfect timing for my dream. God is not late. 

The Holy Spirit reminded me this morning that the greatest thing that I can do in the pursuit of my dream is to do two simple things. 1) Listen. 2) Obey. If I do those two simple things, my dreams will surely come to pass. THOUGH, the fruition of my dreams coming to pass are still based upon God's timing. I can toil, and try to force my dream to come to pass on my own time, or I can listen & be obedient in the process of my dream coming to pass. I've toiled. That is no fun. I've tried to force things, only to be frustrated in the end. 

What if I want my dream to come to pass NOW? How can I accelerate it? ACCELERATE listening and obeying the Voice of the Holy Spirit! It seems so simple. Proverbs 3:6 tells us, In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. 

How are you doing in that area? Acknowledging Him in ALL your ways? "Where should I go today Lord? What should I do? What should I work on? Do you want me to call someone? Drop a note in the mail? What should my day look like? How can I be 'God-Productive'? How can I be productive in the areas that YOU want me to work Lord?" 

Acknowledging Him. It means fine-tuning that LISTENING EAR. He will direct you and me to be in the right place at the right time. He will set up the divine appointments. And while HE is bringing to pass the dreams that you have, you can ENJOY LIFE knowing that you are listening & obeying. You can continue to be obedient to His direction WITHOUT toiling and actually enjoy each day. Enjoy each day with your children, spouse, friends, family WHILE pursuing your dream. 

Listen. Obey. He will tell you what to do. Just as Noah received very SPECIFIC instructions in building the ark, God will give you specific instructions too!

Will you practice listening today?

"Little" is the Doorway to Much

Good Morning! I am still "out here." :) I know over the last 6 months, my 4 time/week blog has dwindled to maybe once per week....sometimes once per month. Well... let me just assure you... I'm still out here, and I am still spending daily time in the Word. I just wanted to let you know I haven't fallen off the deep end! :) It is an interesting and new season for me. I'm very excited about that, but at the same time, much change has been and continues to come. With a change of season requires a change in activities, schedule and a continual reevaluation that I am indeed on the right track. My goal, as I'm sure yours is, is to not miss ANYTHING the Lord has for me. Thankfully my husband has "cast me onto the Lord" (which he did a long time ago, PRAISE THE LORD!) and allows me and the Lord to work out what "AMY" needs to be doing.


Anyways... with all of that said. I believe I have a good Word for you today. The Lord continues to give me incites as I dig into His Word. It is so good! Constantly new.


Let's dive in...

Psalm 40:5,6b - Many, O Lord my God, are the wonderful works which You have done, and Your thoughts toward us; no one can compare with You! If I should declare and speak of them, they are too many to be numbered....You have given me the capacity to hear and obey...

God's thoughts towards you. Did you know that they are HUGE! Did you know that as the SON or DAUGHTER of the Most High God, that His Plans for you are great! The "greatness" or "legacy" that you leave here on this earth are in direct proportion to your ability to hear and obey. What could that mean? Maybe that means "hearing once" and fulfilling one specific calling with greatness. Maybe that means "hearing daily" and accomplishing a lot in many venues.


In Psalm 40:5, it talks about God's thoughts towards us being too many to be numbered. Imagine a room filled with all the things that you are suppose to accomplish. Maybe it's developing witty inventions, as Proverbs 8:12 says. Imagine in this room, there are shelves full of your inventions. Great inventions, not just one, but MANY. Really, cool, great ideas, just sitting there on the shelves. Multi-million dollar products. Products and inventions that really help people. Just think about peanut butter alone. George Washington Carver invented peanut butter in 1876, and went on do invent 300 other products using the peanut. A devout Christian, Carver considered his laboratory "God's Little Workshop." Maybe in your "room" there are books that you have written, great books. Maybe there are products you have sold. Business' you have started. Engineering firm, photography business, a marketing company you've expanded, a restaurant or chain of restaurants. Maybe it's a dessert you've made famous, or a sauce? Maybe it's your artwork, work and designs that are so exceptional that they are known worldwide for how extraordinary they are. What is in your room? God's thoughts of you are too many to be numbered. That includes that great plans He has for you! His plans for you are for you to prosper! (Ps 1:3, 35:27, Proverbs 16:3, 16:9) There are SO many places that talk about how the Lord's plans for YOU, as His child, are for YOU to SUCCEED!!!!! For YOU to WIN! For YOU to be PROSPEROUS! Healthy! Wise! Wealthy! Third John 1 verse 2, Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.


THE KEY HERE? Psalm 40:6b. You have the CAPACITY to HEAR AND OBEY! If you don't feel like you have been able to "HEAR" the direction or Voice of God (the Holy Spirit)... then guess what? That hearing ear can be developed! You can begin the process of practicing to listen! You will be amazed that as you pursue God, as you seek out Him & His treasures, He WILL make Himself known to you! Your life, your direction, your calling does not have to be a mystery to you! It is not suppose to be a mystery! He has HIDDEN TREASURES for YOU! They are HIDDEN for YOU to find them! They are HIDDEN from the enemy FOR YOU! But you have to seek them out, listen and obey! 


So... in your room.... in this room that has "all God has for you".... what is going to come to fruition here on the earth that is in YOUR ROOM? Are all the inventions, business', churches that you help build, books that you write....are they going to be left on the shelves? Or are they going to come to fruition here on earth? I believe that your capacity to RECEIVE those inventions, ideas, successes are based upon your ability to be obedient with the FIRST ONE! If you don't take the first idea, or the first business or the first book and do anything with it, WHY would God give you the next one? When you have not been faithful with the little, the ONE, why would he give you the rest of the AWESOME ideas? 


It begins with 2 things. Listening & Obeying. 


Can you do that today? Can you Listen? Can you obey? Can you take the first step to being obedient to what God has called you to pursue? Just like the story we've heard many times. The servant who was faithful with little, was given much. 


Servant. Child of the Most High God. Will you be faithful with the little He is trying to give you today? That "little" that you are faithful to is the doorway to much. Will you be faithful?

Obedience. (quick post!)

Proverbs 7:1 - MY SON, keep my words; lay up within you my commandments (for use when needed) and treasure them. 

Just wanted to share a quick verse today.  It's very appropriate that this was the first verse I read. Have you ever had scripture convict you of something you should be doing? Or have you ever had a prompting or the Holy Spirit tell you something that you need to do? Here, in this verse, we are reminded to KEEP HIS WORDS. Obey.

I'm still working on crucifying the flesh... specifically when my alarm clock goes off! Say a prayer for me if you think about it! I NEED to wake up earlier!

What about you? Is there anything you are working on? Are you "keeping HIS word?" Are you being obedient to what His last direction was for you and your life? 

#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!

#192 - Focus on Obedience

Good morning! :) It's a beautiful day out here in Columbia! Birds chirping, a cool breeze and blue skies. Let's get started in the Word because Junior will be getting up soon! :)

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

Matthew 6:27,31 - And who of you by worrying and being anxious can add one unit of measure (cubit) to his stature or to the span of his life. Therefore do not worry and be anxious, saying, What are we going to have to eat? or, What are we going to have to drink? or, What are we going to have to wear? 

This morning I had a some questions for the Holy Spirit... primarily on specific direction. I sat, in my mind I felt a little bit scattered, like I was just saying, "Well, what about this? What about that? Should I do this?" It was as if my thoughts were running out ahead of me to try to answer the questions. My thoughts were hurried and seemed chaotic. I slowed down enough to listen, and from that comes today's main theme, "Focus on Obedience."


The root of my 'firing of questions' to the Holy Spirit stemmed from anxiety or worry, but it was as if He had to slow me down. Re-focus me. Re-ground me. Remind me of my current tasks at hand, projects He's told me to work on. As I hurriedly listed off all the things that I had questions on and seemed to feel a bit of stress rising up on the inside, I just heard that still small Voice say, "Just focus on obedience." An area, where just two days ago, I had to ask forgiveness.

Columbia summers are hot, humid. Sometimes just walking out of the house or car, it feels as if the air is sucked out of you for a split second until you get acclimated to the heat & humidity. Once you adjust, it's usually OK... but a summer without a pool would be tough down here. Our development has a pool conveniently about 100 yards from our house. It's very nice to just be a short walk away. Well... we had not paid for our pool pass for the summer yet. We still had our key-fob that would allow us to get in, but just hadn't paid or gotten the newly issued ID cards with our picture on it. Not really thinking about Proverbs 31:29, and her "strength of character," I proceeded to periodically scope out the pool to see if the "pool man" sat checking ID's. I found that there was normally no one there in the morning. Confession time. So, a few times Junior and I rode our bike by the pool, seeing no guard, rushed back home, got on our swimsuits and headed to the pool for a few hours of refreshing, cool swimming.

I know, I know. Some of you may be laughing and my deceitfulness... some of you may have gotten your stones out already! Well... let me tell you the rest of the story. No, I did not get caught. No, I did not get in trouble. Honestly, if I weren't telling YOU publicly right now, I don't think really anyone would have known. I reasoned that, we were going to buy our pool pass soon, we just hadn't yet. Once we did buy it, it wasn't even going to be pro-rated, we'd pay the same price as everyone else. We just hadn't paid it yet. I reasoned that it was OK for now. I didn't really like having to sneak. It felt dishonest, which isn't typically a quality I hold. Tyler and I joked about me "not being a rule follower" because he has always been pretty straight and narrow... I have usually been the "spontaneous" or "adventurous" one of the two of us. I'd joke about "not following the rules" and getting in to the pool, he would chuckle a little, but shake his head. Monday after dinner, Honest Abe Tyler, Tyler Jr, and I played outside in the backyard in the sprinklers. We did have a blast. Tyler Jr was loving it! He just ran around laughing, getting soaked, it was definite entertainment! Before bed I was reading and that's when the conviction began. I couldn't shake that what I was doing was wrong. We hadn't paid for the pool, so I shouldn't be going. Tuesday morning I made up my mind. Tuesday at lunch, I told Tyler I wasn't going to the pool anymore until we paid. Junior and I would just play out in the sprinklers or the hose, or stay inside where it was cool. And... I had to obviously ask for forgiveness from my Father. Tyler was surprised about my newly-found "pool honesty" and our day continued.

Wouldn't you know it, Tuesday afternoon, Tyler told me that he was going to surprise me but that I could go down and pay for the pool passes and get my picture taken! I was so excited! Yippee!!! Would it have happened if I had continued in deceit? Or would it have been another few weeks?

So, this morning when I was reading about the Proverbs 31 woman, and read about her "strength of character," I couldn't help but think about my temporary relapse. It's hard to be blessed when walking in disobedience or walking in a lie, even if it seems like a little one. A lie is a lie. I thought about her. Her strength of character stems out to even her honesty. Someone with a strong character is honest, trustworthy, they do the right thing.

"Just focus on obedience," I'm reminded of the Holy Spirit's words this morning. I don't know what it is for you. Maybe it's something like my "confession" above. For me, this morning, it was about being obedient to the things that Holy Spirit has directed me to work on. It was about being obedient to the current tasks He has me working on, not trying to bring on other things to do, but just focusing on the few things HE has directed me to do. Spending my time doing those things. If I do that, my daily accomplishments will not be in vain, they will actually be fruitful and purposeful.

What was the last thing the Holy Spirit told you to do? Are you working on it? Are you working towards completion? Have you gotten distracted with other things that seemed good to you? Have you forgotten what the last thing the Holy Spirit directed you to do? Maybe it's time to re-visit. Maybe it's time to check again, are we on the right track? Am I doing what I'm supposed to be doing? Am I being diligent? Am I focusing on obedience?

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Here's Tyler Junior and I at the pool yesterday! GUILT FREE! Having a great time! Look at how brave he is!!! Tyler said, "Maybe an Olympic diver?".... any cheerleaders out there know that it actually is a pretty good extension! :) (Though, I'm not speaking my son is going to be a cheerleader! HA!)

#180 - Reverent Fear of the Lord

Good morning! Happy belated Mother's Day to all you moms out there! :) I pray you had a great day. I had a great day getting to spend time with my two favorite boys! :) Tyler Sr & Tyler Jr!

OK... let's get going today... more of a look into the life of who this Proverbs 31 woman is...

Proverbs 9:10a-11 - The reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is the beginning (the chief and choice part) of Wisdom... ¹¹For by me [Wisdom from God] your days shall be multiplied, and the years of your life shall be increased.

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! 

In Proverbs 9:10, the Hebrew further describes "fear" as: awesome thing, respect, reverence, piety. We're talking about having the utmost respect for the God Most High! The King of Kings. Though we can cry "Abba Father" and cry out to him as a Father figure, we also have a healthy respect for Him, there is a humility that would cause us to bow at His feet because He is so great. A worshipful respect, a worshipful honor, to hold Him up, highly exalted. This is honoring to our Father. I'm just briefly reminded of how Sarah called Abraham "lord" with a lower case "l". Now, don't get me wrong... I'm not going around calling Tyler, "lord", but the same feeling behind it is one of respect. A respect and honor. I know I have times with Tyler, where he is more of the person where I sit on his lap and get a hug, but equally so, I know he values and appreciates it when I show him respect as head of the home. When I value his opinion and recommendations instead of always "questioning" or "second guessing."

Bottom line, what is a great benefit to having a reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord? Proverbs 9:11 lets us know the great news! Those who fear the Lord, honor Him, respect Him, THEIR days shall be multiplied, the years of their life will be increased! Imagine this... living a good life, living a long life because you are a "good person", but then you add honor, respect, fear of the Lord to the equation and the already decently "long life" that you have is extended! Your years are increased! Time with loved ones is extended! Time to accomplish great things for the Kingdom, time to pour into your grandchildren or great grandchildren is increased. TIME. Fearing & honoring the Lord gives you a precious commodity that so many people long for more of, TIME!

Our Proverbs 31 friend has figured out a way to accomplish this. Proverbs 31:29 tells us that SHE excels them all! She excels ALL women! Verse 30 explains WHO will be praised. It's not the woman with a 6-pack set of abs, though our Proverbs 31 friend is in good health and physically fit. But it is the person who above all else, honors, respects & fears the Lord.

I took time this morning to just think about what that really means. What does it mean to "fear" the Lord, or show Him "reverence." I came up with a list that I think is a good start. Let me know what you would add.... what do you think?

• Obedience - One who is obedient to His Word shows him honor and respect. One who follows His commandments for our life. 
• Study - One who honors Him by KNOWING and STUDYING His Word. His direction for our life. 
• Love - I'm reminded of Jesus talking in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew. In Matthew 5, Jesus talks about loving those who love you, don't even SINNERS do that? Jesus says, "But I tell you, Love your enemies & pray for those who persecute you." Later it talks about whatever you do for someone else, it is as if you are doing it TO Jesus himself. How are you treating even your enemies? Those people who get under your skin? The potential "thorn" in your side... how are you praying for them? Are you wishing evil upon them? Are you even praying for them? What does your heart look like when you pray for them? Ask God to give you compassion for them, to show you more into why they are acting as they are. 
• Praise - Honor & fearing the Lord through praising Him! Thanking Him. Through song, through your words, through offering thanks. 

Honor, respect, fear, obedience... I desire to let my Father know that I honor Him above all else. That I don't put anything in front of Him. That I fear Him out of respect. I humble myself out of respect for ALL He has done for me. For sending His ONLY Son just for me! In return, He blesses me & you even further by increasing the years of our life. What a blessing. 

So... today... can you attempt to honor, respect or fear the Lord in at least ONE way? Show Him today that above all else, like the Proverbs 31 woman, that you too have a reverent & worshipful fear of the Lord. 

#156 - When It Doesn't Make Sense

Good morning! Well... I must say, it has already been a FULL morning! Tyler was leaving at 6:45 this morning, soooooo.... even though I went to bed after midnight, I woke up at 5:00 A.M and went GROCERY SHOPPING!?!?! Can you believe it!!?!? Whoa!! Was home by 6:20, cut up vegetables and a pot roast, put it in the crock pot, cleaned the kitchen and now having my Quiet Time! Wow! It's not even 9:00 yet. I'm actually counting on being a able to take a quick nap before "the boy" wakes up! We were traveling back from Georgia late last night and Jr didn't get in bed until about 11:30.... I'm banking on him sleeping in a little late this morning. Anyways... wasn't that a productive morning. I know I'm impressed with myself. It's not all the time where you have the "pat yourself on the back" sort of morning, but this would rank up there for me. OH.... AND I even fixed my husband a breakfast sandwich, he was happy. :)

OK... well, let's go ahead and get going....

Proverbs 21:30 - There is no [human] wisdom or understanding or counsel [that can prevail] against the Lord.

Over the years, one thing I have noticed about myself is this.... I tend to want to be a people-pleaser. I don't like to "rock the boat" with people, I don't like confrontation, and though I may disagree with someone I typically may have a hard time voicing my disagreement (which is sometimes good.... "unasked for advice is criticism"). Well... I literally had 3 scriptures this morning that I was going to discuss, wrote the first paragraph above, then double checked with the Holy Spirit about the topic. He said, "No, I don't want you to write about that. I want you to write about this....'When It Doesn't Make Sense'." So... He changed things up on me, but I LOVE IT! It's SO much better!

Let me tell you this.... listening to the Lord and FOLLOWING His direction will not always make sense to other people. You may hear something specific that you are supposed to do, and frankly, in the natural, it DOES NOT make sense. But everything within you KNOWS that it is the Holy Spirit directing you to do this "thing." As you begin the journey of obedience.... you QUICKLY receive feedback of people disapproving. They don't agree with what you are doing. "Why are you doing that?!" they question, and sometimes even argue. They adamantly feel like you are making a BIG mistake! And the tough thing is, sometimes it is the people closest to you that verbally disagree with you. Let me tell you a few examples...

1. Tyler was 17 years old... at the time he had a really amazing girlfriend. A Christian girl, a really good track athlete, and they really liked each other. Their relationship was very God-centered. It really looked perfect, and to both of them, it felt perfect. They were a perfect match. Well... one day, Tyler felt like God told him to break up with his girlfriend. It TOTALLY did not make sense. They weren't in sin, they had a God-centered relationship, they liked each other. In Tyler's flesh, nothing in him really knew or even agreed with why the Lord was telling him to do this... but he chose to be obedient. He broke up with her. After a short time, he got a phone call from this girls dad. Her dad wanted to privately meet with Tyler. The day was pouring down rain. Tyler & the girls father met at a park, pouring rain, Tyler hopped in the back of the car and their it began. This father began to tell Tyler what he did was not right. Tyler & his daughter had a perfect relationship. Why throw it away? Tyler's only response was, "The Lord told me to do it. I can't explain it." Even this Christian father disagreed with Tyler, tried to persuade him otherwise. But Tyler's resolve was SET. Above EVERYTHING else, the Word of the Lord would stand on this situation, and on EVERY situation moving forward! 
2. If you remember the recent devotion about the Indiana Tournament of Champions that I participated in when I was in college. The devotion was entitled, My God Shall Supply. As the returning champion, the Holy Spirit did not have me train for the event. I was competing for scholarship money that was MUCH needed. The month preceding the event, even I did not understand why the Holy Spirit was not allowing me to heavily train. I wanted to win, and I felt like I NEEDED to win to get the scholarship money. In short... I got 4th place, not 1st. I did not get the amount of scholarship money that I needed. Instead of training during that time, I was in the Word for hours each day, and the Lord was setting me up to share the Word with ONE person! ONE PERSON! In it all, I still disappointed my dad, because my lack of training appeared to not make sense and seemed lazy. But GOD still supplied! The amount of money I needed showed up in my mail box the DAY I got home from the event! 
3. Tyler's senior year of High School... he would have been the Captain of his High School football team... his last year to play football. The Lord told him not to play, but to focus on track & field. His decision caused his parents to sit down with him.... frustration and disappointment was heavy in the conversation. "Why would you throw it all away? You're a SENIOR! You've always played football!" Tyler again had to stand on his resolve. "This is what the Lord told me to do." His football coaches.... pulled him into his office trying to sway him to play... ultimately they had to say, "You are going to regret this Tyler. For the rest of your life, you are going to regret this decision." In tears, Tyler had to stand his ground even though it didn't make sense. His football friends, chided him, were angry with him, frustrated with him. But he stood his ground. The result? He received a full ride track & field scholarship to a Division One college in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. What if he would NOT have listened to the Lord? And listened to everyone else's advice? 
4. For about the last 2 - 2 1/2 years the Holy Spirit had Tyler and I take a "mental & physical" step back from building the business we own. We were still involved and attended events we needed too, we still did some basic fundamental things... but the Lord had, especially Tyler step back. He didn't even want too. It didn't make sense. In his flesh, he wanted, desired, craved to be out building our business, growing it, expanding it. But, for over 2 years, the Holy Spirit kept pulling him back in. Why? Because we had to renew our minds. We had to flush out some old thinking that was holding us back. We had to purge some thought process that was not correct. Why did it have to take so long? Great question. But... we have been released now.... we are expanding. Growth is in the air. Excitement. Momentum. But... we had to listen. 

Obedience. At what cost will you listen? At what cost will you go against the crowd? Go against even the opinions of family? Along the way we have learned this valuable principle found in Proverbs 21:30 - There is no [human] wisdom or understanding or counsel [that can prevail] against the Lord. 

There is NO human wisdom that can prevail against the Lord! Our parents, coaches, friends, business partners/mentors..... all of them had well meaning opinions and thoughts of what we should do in these few situations. But even when it doesn't make sense to people, the LORD has a reason for everything! Along the years, no matter what, we have just chose and decided that the LORD's Word would stand above EVERYONE else! Today & everyday! 

What decision will you make when it doesn't make sense?