#70 - DON'T BE MOVED!

Top of the mornin' to ya. :) Can you hear my accent? Irish? :) lol. I sometimes sit around and say things that make MYSELF laugh. It's a good thing I can entertain myself. I laughed yesterday as I was recalling something that my grandpa often reminds me of..... he says, "Amy Jo... when you were little, it was so funny. You just looked up at me and said, 'Grandpa, I just like myself so much I can't keep from smiling.'" To this day, he is still tickled by that comment I made as maybe a 5 year old child. It is pretty funny! :) lol. "I just like myself so much, I can't keep from smiling." But, you know what, that's how we should be now! We should be so happy with life, with God, with who we are and where we are going (because we are Christians and are following a divine plan), we should be so excited because the FAVOR of God is all over us, ALL THE TIME, that we cannot keep from smiling. :-D ---- Maybe today... when you are driving down the road, or walking to class, to a meeting, to an appointment, while you are working out, cooking dinner.... just practice the art of SMILING. :) Just SMILE. You can just be silent. You don't have to talk. Just SMILE. If you need something to smile about, recall all of the "HIGHLIGHTS" in your life. Like movie previews, showing the best parts... go through your life and see the previews. Smile at the main events. Think on the best moments that you have lived up to this point. And... even smile at what is to come. How GOD is going to use you in mighty ways to bless and further HIS Kingdom. Like YOURSELF so much that YOU can't keep from smiling! Smile so that people ASK YOU, "Why are you smiling? Why are you so happy?" What a testimony that is, just from a smile?! :) 


Ok... let's roll today. 


Today's Scheduled Reading: Proverbs 16, Psalms 16, 46, 76, 106, 136, Proverbs 31:10-31


I'm going to give you my highlights of the scriptures that jumped out to me this morning in a different way. I'm going to run them all together. I really think it tells a story... check out this.....

IN JUDAH God is known and renowned; His name is highly praised and is great in Israel. Our fathers in Egypt understood not nor appreciated Your miracles; they did not earnestly remember the multitude of Your mercies nor imprint Your loving-kindness on their hearts, but they were rebellious and provoked the Lord at the sea, even at the Red Sea. Nevertheless He saved them for His name's sake to prove the righteousness of the divine character, that He might make His mighty power known. To Him Who earnestly remembered us in our low estate and imprinted us on His heart, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever. Be still, and know, recognize and understand, that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth! I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. The highway of the upright turns aside from evil; he who guards his way preserves his life. 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! (Psalms 76:1, 106:7-8, 136:23, 46:10, 16:8, Proverbs 16:17, 31:30)

How is HIS name in YOUR home? In YOUR life? God wants to be KNOWN! Not just in JUDAH, not just in ISRAEL, but he wants to be known in YOUR LIFE! He wants to be known in your home, at your address. 2121 Main Street, WhereILive USA. Put your address there! He wants to be KNOWN THERE! 


Look at it, a WHOLE generation FORGOT. A whole GENERATION forgot about the miracles that GOD DID! "They did not earnestly remember the multitude of Your mercies nor imprint Your loving-kindness on their hearts." Do you realize, WE are, right now, WE are a generation following His miracles....not only following them, but in the midst of them. He is STILL performing them today! Do you know what, He wants US to remember HIS miracles. Often, not only in the time of the Bible, but also just in times past, stories would get passed down from generation to generation. In order to REMEMBER. In order to REMEMBER. Remember what ancestors had done. To remember what Great, Great, Great, Great Grandpa Abraham had done. But, now, we do not just have stories, we have those stories in WRITING! The actual events written down exactly how they had taken place. Miracles. What God did in Egypt JUST to bring His people out of a land of slavery. Miracle after Miracle after Miracle! What GOD performed through Moses to bring out GOD'S CHOSEN people into a land flowing with milk and honey. We are a generation that did not live during that time, but we can STILL REMEMBER. Do you remember? Have the stories been passed down from your parents, from their parents, from their parents? Have the stories continued? Are you passing them down to your children? The great and MIGHTY works that GOD did so that HIS PEOPLE would have FREEDOM!!! Would be released from the slavery they experienced in Egypt. If you do not remember, NO FEAR.... the EXACT details of the story are ALL written down so that YOU COULD REMEMBER!!! So that you could pass it down to your children. 


Even though a generation had forgotten, had forsaken God, but needed help in a time of trouble....they had forgotten, forsaken and turned their backs on God. Nevertheless He saved them for His name's sake to prove the righteousness of the divine character, that He might make His mighty power known. He SAVED and FORGAVE a generation that had forgotten Him. 


What does He want US to do? To set the Lord continually before us, to NOT be moved. Friends are pulling you down? Don't be moved! Your marriage has been rocky? Don't be moved! Your finances have been in trouble? Don't be moved! You've experienced a sickness? Don't be moved! You have lost your job? Don't be moved! You're trying to launch out with a business and you've had set-back after set-back? Don't be moved! You are trying to overcome an addiction? Don't be moved! 


WHY? WHY NOT BE MOVED? - Because MY GOD, YOUR GOD, THE SAME GOD of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob, the VERY same God that sent the 10 plagues (In Exodus- frogs, lice, boils, locusts, hail, darkness, etc...) in order to FREE HIS PEOPLE. THAT GOD, is the SAME GOD of ANY problem you may be facing today! He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow! When Moses said, "LET MY PEOPLE GO." And Pharoah continued to say, "NO"... God was going to SHOW HIS POWER until HE WAS KNOWN! God was GOING to WIN, eventually, and HE DID! (Like now... if Tyler Jr is putting up a fight when I change his diaper... MAMA is going to WIN every time! One day he will be over 6 feet tall, but it's going to take a LONG time for him to be stronger than MAMA! :) ) 


REMEMBER! Do not be like the generation that forgot. Yes... even if you forget and get in trouble, whine, complain, finally cry out to God, yes out of His mercy may drag you out of your problem again. He will SHOW OUT His Power to be KNOWN! BUT, DON'T FORGET! Stop forgetting the GOD you serve! Stop forgetting that HE STILL is in the MIRACLE business! Whatever your situation, GOD CAN PULL YOU OUT! PRESS IN! Is it urgent? Is it a pretty important situation? Problem? Well, get serious! PRESS IN TO GOD! Press in like your life depended on it. PRESS IN and WATCH GOD SHOW UP! 


"The highway of the upright turns aside from evil; he who guards his way preserves his life." - You are on a HIGHWAY. Choose to TURN from evil. Choose to GUARD your way and what will happen? Your VERY LIFE will be preserved! Think about it.... what do preservatives in food do? They make your food last longer! They can be in your fridge or on your shelf for longer. While you are on this highway of life, TURN FROM EVIL, GUARD your thoughts, your mind, your eyes, choose careful your association, choose careful the movies or TV you watch, the internet sites you go on. BY GUARDING your way, you are PRESERVING your life so that while you are on the SHELF of life, you can LAST LONGER! 


GOD IS A GOD OF MIRACLES! DO NOT FORGET HOW MIGHTY HE IS! He is NOT to small for your problem! He is IN THE BUSINESS to clean up and fix things. HE can FIX YOU. He can FIX the problems you are facing! Just turn and go to Him!

#47 - The Principle of the Ants

Good Morning! It's definitely nice when I wake up earlier! I get to do more fun things before getting the boy up. Yesterday we enjoyed a fun day of blueberry picking. Aside from getting stung by a wasp, we had a great time and picked lots of blueberries! It was the last day the farm was open, so we were all glad that we went yesterday! Here's a few of the pictures from the days events: 

Ok... well, let's roll...

Proverbs 31:14 - She is like the merchant ships loaded with foodstuffs; she brings her household's food from a far [country].

Proverbs 6:6-8 - Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider her ways and be wise!-- Which, having no chief, overseer, or ruler, Provides her food in the summer and gathers her supplies in the harvest.

So... as I sit here, snacking on some blueberries from my "posed" blueberry photo shoot... I was pretty interested in the verses for today. Quite appropriate actually. May or may not be real life shattering stuff for people.... but it is another piece of the puzzle in regards to becoming a Proverbs 31 woman. 


We are exhorted to look at the ant and aspire to do the same things, to learn from, to apply what the ant does in natural life. The ant doesn't even have a leader, but goes about providing food during the summer and harvest season to last through the winter months. This reminds me of the story of Joseph. We look at the life of Joseph, you probably remember the story (Genesis 37-41), but let's review the highlights: Joseph- the fair-haired favorite of his father Jacob gets a colorful special coat, Joseph has a dream that his brothers and parents will bow down to him- blabs the dream off to his brothers, Joseph's brothers annoyed with him selling him into slavery, Joseph being elevated to the right hand of Potiphar, Potiphar's wife wrongfully accusing Joseph of trying to make a pass at her, Joseph being thrown into prison, called out to interpret Pharaoh's dream, Joseph interpreting well the dream of Pharaoh and being elevated to 2nd in charge of the WHOLE Kingdom of Egypt. That brings us to what I find very interesting. As Joseph correctly interpreted the dream of Pharaoh, there would be 7 years of plenty & then 7 great years of famine. During the 7 years of plenty, the harvests were great! People were pulling in more than they could imagine! They were eating off the fat of the land. I imagine during that time when part of the harvest was sold, since it was so plentiful, you could purchase grain or produce at significantly low prices because there was such a great quantity of it to go around. More than they could even use. In laymen's terms, they were selling stuff for CHEAP! They could've used the Wal-Mart slogan, Rollin back, rollin back, rollin back the prices! SALE SALE SALE! Basically they were living in plenty. 


Then we fast forward to the years of famine. Because the people did not heed the principle of the ants, storing away food, it eventually enslaved them to Pharaoh. As people ran out of their supply of food, their crops not pulling in enough to survive on, they began to buy from Pharaoh. NO SALE TODAY! It's all about economics, supply & demand. When the supply is great, prices are low. When the supply is low, prices are high. They bought grain and it wasn't cheap! As money ran out, they traded their livestock (aka: their business') for grain. As their livestock ran out, they traded their land (aka: their inheritance) for grain. As their land ran out, they traded their LIVES for grain. In order to eat, they traded all they had, their life. They were now slaves, ownership of Pharaoh, ruler of the Kingdom of Egypt. Because Joseph applied the PRINCIPLE OF THE ANT it brought EXPONENTIAL WEALTH to Pharaoh's purse. People came from all over the world to get grain from Pharaoh! In the end, Pharaoh owned it all! He had all the money, he had all the land, and he owned all the people. From a "fiscal" perspective, you don't get wealthier than that! (Yes, i know solomon was the wealthiest and wisest... but go with me on this one) I mean think about it. Even the great POWER of fast food today, my dad's favorite place to eat, McDonald's. What are they in business to do? You say, sell hamburgers? Wrong. They are the greatest REAL ESTATE OWNER in the United States, maybe world. 30,000+ McDonald's throughout the world x all the real estate they own for each location.... = $$$$$$$!!!!! 


With all of that said, where does that bring us? How does this apply to us? Great! Joseph applied the "Principle of the Ants", got Pharaoh loaded... AND in the END even saw his DREAM come to pass, his brothers bowing down to him.  Where does that put us? Well.... we can take the same principle and apply it today. We may feel like we are taking a bit of a step back in time, but it is the art of canning or preserving or vacuum-sealing. Whatever you want to do, but it is the art of collecting during the harvest, storing up for the winter. Like what we did yesterday, blueberry picking. You can do it at whatever level you want. Blueberry season, here, came to an end yesterday.... peach season is about to come to an end.... that walks us into apples, maybe pears... and I'm not sure what else. Some options? COLLECT WHEN IT'S CHEAP! Then, learn the art of canning, preserving, or spend $25 on a vacuum-seal machine and put away all your purchases for the winter. We got blueberries yesterday for $1.00/POUND!!! Not sure if you can conceptualize that.... but the picture of all the jars with blueberries... (I got them for free since I got stung, wasn't that nice!).... but ALL those would have been about $2.00!!! So... store away. Take one day a week during the harvest season and cut, cook, puree, freeze, whatever, but take what you've purchased and store it away! Apply the "PRINCIPLE OF THE ANTS"!! Visit your local Farmer's Market. If you really want to be adventurous, plant a garden (I planted 4 things this year! Whoa! Didn't want to get in over my head!). 


I would anticipate that the Proverbs 31 woman collected in the harvest and stored her food away for the winter months. We know her family was prepared with clothing for the winter months and had no fear of cold. I anticipate she also had food ready for them too. 


Just a thought. And, it all comes down to planning. If you don't plan, it most likely won't get done. I need to get better at this, and CONSISTENCY of it. Planning. Seeking God about what should be on my agenda, and having one day a week have a project. IE: Monday's work on my book, Tuesday's can fruit & veggies, Wednesday DOR, Thursday work on a sewing project, Friday work on taxes for the next year & wealth creation, Saturday ??, Sunday??. You get the idea. It's all about planning. 


Per my sister Kimmi's great idea.... let's close this devotion in prayer today: 

Heavenly Father... we come to you in the name of your son Jesus. Father, we ask you to help us weed out things from our lives that are not yielding the fruit that YOU want in our lives. Help us not to get overwhelmed about our journey to becoming this Proverbs 31 woman... our journey to becoming ALL that you would have us to be. Help us to choose what areas to work on at what time so that we would not get overwhelmed. Father we pray in Jesus Name that you would mold us and make us into world changers. That we would not only just be an impact to our immediate family, but that you would use us to fulfill the Great Commission, that we would GO and make disciples of all the nations. That our lives would be pleasing to you, that our IMPACT would go FAR beyond the walls our our individual homes. Lead us to live out our dreams, lead us to be wise, lead us to have MORE than enough to meet our needs and then to be able to pour out and meet the needs of others. Lord... and if now is the time... lead us to even, maybe plant a garden. LOL. We love you Lord. We know you have perfect timing. Thank you for helping us to work on EXACTLY what you want us to work on right now! Like, how to eat an elephant, one bite at a time. With your help, we are working on becoming the BEST woman of God, and man of God that we can be, one positive habit at a time. Thank you Lord! Bless our day, expand our territories, and we claim Psalm 91 protection over us, our families, friends & co-workers. We pray all this in the mighty name of Jesus, AMEN!

Reflection Question: 

• Ask God, "What area would you have ME work on? Is there something I can do to apply the Principle of the Ants?"
• Now, STOP TALKING and LISTEN!

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XOXO, Amy Jo