#171 - Cowboy Up!

Good morning! It's going to be a great day because THIS IS THE DAY the LORD has made! Praise the Lord! Do I hear and Amen out there from wherever you are sitting?? Well, good! Amen. Let's get started.

Proverbs 21:31 - The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but deliverance and victory are of the Lord.

I remember reading this verse sometime when I lived at home with my parents. I remember that it stood out to me so, that I wrote it on an index card and pinned it on the wall next to my bedroom door. It's funny, because even today when I go home to visit and sleep in my old room, there it is, still on the wall, still pinned up for me to read. Today, it also jumped out with significance.

As a bit of a continuation from yesterday's devotion, "Endure because You Win!", I'd like to piggy-back off of some of the concepts from yesterday. Something that the Holy Spirit pressed on me heavily yesterday was this, "Press Back In! Press Back IN! PRESS BACK IN!" Have you ever started something with fervor and diligence, with excitement, to only find yourself a month, two months later just going through the "hum-drum" of life, no longer diligent in that area? What you began was a worthy pursuit, but in the process of pursuing you lost your consistency, you lost your drive, you lost your excitement? Well... I have been guilty of that.

Tyler sent me a voice note this morning while he was driving to an appointment. As he usually does, he was listening to a "Self-Improvement/Success" CD. In his message to me, he just reminded me of a couple who had arrived to a place in life where we aspire to be. He said, "Amy, this couple is no better than us, they just more consistently pursued their dream with focus. We can do that." He is right. God is no respecter of persons. If God has done something for one person, He can do it for you! God does not make any junk. You & I are already winners! We fought the odds and came out victorious! Are you trying to think of how you have done that? Well, think back to even the beginning! You are ONE in 300,000,000! That is THREE HUNDRED MILLION! When your parents got together there were 300,000,000 sperm trying to get to that egg! And do you know what? YOU SWAM the FASTEST! You fought the HARDEST! You edged your way in with the most diligence! You WON! You are already a winner. You are no accident! 299,999,999 others lost to you! When you think about it, the odds of winning like you did are probably similar odds to winning the lottery. YOU WON!

What I want to say is this, COWBOY UP! COWGIRL UP! If you, like me, lost some wind out of your sail, lost some diligence along the way, TODAY is the day to get back up! Get back on that horse! The HORSE is made ready for battle, but the VICTORY is of the LORD! What is your responsibility? Your responsibility is to BE PREPARED! BE ON THAT HORSE! Then... the cool thing is this, the "Victory" part is the Lord's responsibility! You just need to be prepared! You need to be in your place. You need to be doing YOUR JOB diligently. What is that? I'm sure you know exactly what it is for you... but here are some possibilities: Do you want to get pregnant? Maybe it's your job to get your body in shape to prepare for carrying a child. Do you want to be a light in your workplace for Jesus? Maybe to do so, you need to have more WORD in you to be prepared to share with people, maybe you need to be more girded up and strengthened by having a regular "Quiet Time" with just you and the Lord? Do you want to be a better mom? Wife? Maybe "COWGIRL UP" means evaluating your calendar and taking some things OFF of it so you can focus time on your family, raising up godly warriors? Learning to say one of the most spiritual words out there, "NO" and not adding more things to your plate, but taking away. Maybe you have a Mary Kay, Pampered Chef, Amway, Premier jewelry business and you've lost your "umph" to add partners to your team, or sell products. Maybe for you it means getting your "handshake on" and reaching out to people. God has the people out there that are looking for what YOU have!

Cowboy up! Get back on that horse! NOW is the time like the Holy Spirit said to me, "PRESS BACK IN! PRESS BACK IN! PRESS BACK IN!"

Give God something to work with! Remember, the VICTORY is HIS responsibility. Your responsibility is to be diligent and prepared! When it's time for battle, to be on YOUR horse, be prepared! Don't leave your horse running into battle by himself! COWBOY UP!

____________________________

Check out our upcoming little blessing! :) 

We are expecting this to be our little "Trin-Trin"! Trinity Faith.  Since I'm around 16 weeks pregnant right now, the Doctor officially tells us around 20 weeks. She'll be a blessing & Tyler Junior will be a GREAT big brother!

"YES YOU! COWBOY UP!" :)
Doesn't he look like a politician in this picture?! HA! Minus the jello on his head! 

#48 - Reach Out

Good day to you! :) What a FINE day it is!! :) I am joined today by a fine new friend! :) Whom my husband has referred to as my GNF.... my "Great New Friend". I'm so excited to be joined. Excited & surprised & blessed! So... who is this GNF? Well.... let me tell you a quick story before making the introductions..... :) ..... so... I am on a business conference call last night that my husband was leading. He was getting home probably around 10:30... and to my SUPER exciting surprise....when he walks in, he is carrying a BIG BAG!!! A big, pretty bag with a BIG box in it. :) 

Well.... if you know me well, you know that I am a "gifts" person. I just can't help it, I love gifts! From anything as little as a butterfinger to a diet coke, citrus XS... to big things..... I can't explain it, other than, I'm like a little kid! I just get excited! It's like waking up on Christmas morning... I still get excited! :) Even silly things like new socks or undies. Well... I was SHOCKED at the non-occasion of this gift! :) My husband was beaming. Yesterday he had taken his DOR while the boy and I went to church solo. Well.... he said as he was in his DOR talking to the Holy Spirit that the HS told him to bless me and buy "it" for me. So... I went to open the big, FUN bag & it revealed my GNF... my visitor during this mornings devotion. :) A new diaper bag! :) So... my KATE (Kate Spade) that he got for me has went into temporary retirement. She is going to take it easy for awhile while I sport my fun, new GNF! :)

Isn't she pretty!?! :) I think so!!! :) My husband is a blessing. He just loves to bless me.... even with the unexpected!!! I didn't even "need" a new purse or diaper bag, but he just wanted to bless me. He said in his QT, that the HS was telling him that HE, GOD enjoys blessing us too. Not just with meeting our "needs" but blessing us with our wants. Things that we don't even "know" we want. Our secret petitions and desires. That truly, "God takes pleasure in the prosperity of his servant." And, we are MORE than servants! We are SONS and DAUGHTERS, so imagine how much MORE God takes pleasure in OUR prosperity, His Children! He delights in blessing us!! :) 


So... I am blessed & very grateful! Thankful that my husband listens to the voice of the Holy Spirit. What a blessing. :) He is so awesome!! I LOVE YOU TYLER! Thank you for my new gifty! :) XOXO!


Alrighty then.... let's get rolling with today's Word...

Proverbs 9:3 - She has sent out her maids to cry from the highest places of the town...

Proverbs 31:20 - She opens her hand to the poor, yes, she reaches out her filled hands to the needy [whether in body, mind, or spirit].

In Proverbs 3, when you are reading it, you realize that the "she" that it is referring to is Wisdom. WISDOM has sent out her maids to cry from the highest places of the town. And, basically as you continue to read through verse 6, you see WHAT are the maids "crying out" about? Why is it so important for them to go to the highest places of the town to CRY OUT to people? And, WHO are they crying out too? Well.... in verses 4 & 6, you see that WISDOM is crying out to the simple, those easily led astray, the foolish. Wisdom is crying out to them in verse 6 to LIVE!!! To walk in the way of insight and understanding. 


Wisdom, she is standing at the highest place in town. Imagine her, looking down at the town... I envision looking down onto like a maze. She sees all the paths, the dead ends, the danger, the roads that lead to nowhere. Then.... she sees THE PATH. The path that leads to the exit of the maze, blessing, prosperity, health, blessed relationships, passion, love, eternal life - SALVATION, Jesus! She sees the: turn right here, turn left there... keep going straight.... don't take that exit, don't take that turn, it will lead you to nowhere, it will waste your time, you will be walking in toil if you go that way. WISDOM stands from the heights of VISION. SHE SEES. See has a view of the WHOLE PICTURE that you can not see through the trees. She stands up tall and beckons, COME! She cries out the lost, COME THIS WAY AND LIVE! Walk this way in insight & understanding. I will show you the way, you just have to follow me. Follow wisdom. 


What do I find interesting about Wisdom? Something VERY interesting is this... you see if you agree.... Wisdom is CRYING OUT! She is not trying to be elusive & mysterious. She is not trying to hide from you, from us. She is trying to be found! She is wanting to be heard! She is CRYING OUT to lead YOU & to LEAD ME! We just have to tune in. We just have to listen to her Voice, to her Cry, to her LEADING! 


Yes... I know you may have thought this too.... in our cross-referencing and comparison with the Proverbs 31 woman.... my initial instinct when choosing a verse was to choose Proverbs 31:15b, she assigns her maids their tasks. I find it interesting that WISDOM & The Proverbs 31 Woman have maids. WISDOM in chapter 9 has assigned her maids to GO! GO to the highest point and guide. Direct. Lead people. Help them to find LIFE! Wisdom has given her maids an assignment. She has employed them to GO on her behalf and work. So... you may be surprised that I didn't choose Proverbs 31:15 as our "verse" for our Proverbs 31 meditation verse.


Why? Well... as I read through Proverbs 9:6.... I read that she is beckoning to the LOST. Those who are without direction. She is crying out to them. She is trying to bring LIFE. Our Proverbs 31 friend is doing the same thing in verse 20. I looked at the key words in verse 20, poor and needy. What ULTIMATELY makes someone poor or in need? What is the ULTIMATE gift that can be offered? What Proverbs 9:6 talks about as LIFE. SALVATION. Without it we are poor, needy, destitute! We are lost. Without salvation, we are at our greatest point of need because without salvation, we are eternally dead. I believe that our Proverbs 31 friend is not just OPEN to offering this, but she is PRO-ACTIVE in offering this to the poor & needy. She PRO-ACTIVELY REACHES OUT. She is REACHING OUT to the non-believers, to the unsaved, to the lost. She has not remained in her comfort zone or bubble of perfectness. She has not kept to her "bubble of perfect Christian friends", her church friends, her saved friends. All the women in her scrapbook club, or business associates, her small group at church. The women she has coffee with or tea with. She is PRO-ACTIVELY REACHING OUT! She has filled hands, she has something to give, something to offer, a gift. The gift of salvation, the gift of friendship, the gift of a listening ear. She has something to give and so do you!


Empower:
Today, I empower you to reach out to someone. Give! You have something in your hands that can change the ENTIRE life of someone! It can change where they spend eternity, and it can change their life here on earth! I empower you today, go out of your way to REACH OUT to someone. YOU be PRO-ACTIVE today! Be a friend, a listener, minister of the gospel, or RIP someone out of the pit of despair & lead them to the Lord today. Offer the solution. 


Prayer:

Father, we come to you in the name of your son Jesus. We THANK you for giving your son as a gift, as a sacrifice that WE might have life! Today Lord, we pray for 2 specific things..... first Father, let us HEAR & HEED as Wisdom cries out! Let us hear Your Voice & direction. Even as we walk through our day. Walk down the hall, work, eat, allow us to converse with you. We thank you that you promise in your Word that YOUR SHEEP (us), we HEAR YOUR VOICE and the voice of a stranger we will not follow! So we thank you in advance that you PROMISE that we can and do hear your voice. Help us to have a keen ear today, to LISTEN and obey. Secondly Father, we ask you to guide us today to REACH OUT. Help us to reach out to someone in need. Cross our paths with them today. When we come across them, prick our hearts, may we be obedient to your Voice saying, "Reach out!" Father, we LOVE you. We thank you for the opportunity to be called your Child. What a gift! We pray all this in the MIGHTY & POWERFUL name of your son, Jesus, AMEN!

#13 - Are you a Value Adder?

So... have you had those days? You go to bed in anticipation about a great next morning? Well.... typically Tuesday nights I just go to bed excited! Tuesday nights are great.... we have our business class, so I get to see lots of friends. I'm typically stretched in some form or fashion to do more or be more. I'm around an association of people who are doing more than the norm.... they are doing more than just sitting at home watching TV at night.... they are aspiring to be more, do more & make a positive Impact in the world. I enjoy the association, it has molded me and made me into a better person. Positive association is so crucial to our growth & development in our gifts. Recently on Tyler's vlog (video blog), he said, "If you do not know your purpose, if you do not know why you were put here on earth, get around people who know where they are going. Get around people who know their purpose and in time, that will give you a clue to what your purpose is." (Check out his YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/tylerhmccart)


Well, got home last night and jacked to see Ms Sherrie had done all the laundry, dishes, our sheets were changed and everything looked very tidy. She has been off the last 2 weeks so we were desperately looking forward to her return. She has been overcoming a lot of bone challenges.... so pray for her to be completely well. (And... I haven't done laundry real regular for 3 years! Ahhh! I could do it again, but wouldn't be too jacked about it.)


Slid into some new, clean, tight sheets.... so heavenly, my favorite and closed my eyes as I looked forward to my DOR (for the new folks.... that's - Day Of Rest). Every Tuesday night I look forward to Wednesday, being off. Not working. Not having a list of "To-Do's". Not setting an alarm clock. Just completely resting & enjoying the day. So, here's where it started out interesting. Not good sign #1: Woke up to the boy crying. I thought... "Bummer.... hopefully he'll go back to sleep." Went down to get my coffee, listened to the boy a bit more and could tell he wasn't going back to sleep, so we'll get him up and feed him. Not good sign #2: After feeding the boy, Tyler asked, "Where are you going with the laptop?" .......so.... annoyance began to set in. I'm thinking, "DUH! I'm going where I usually go." I was definitely getting annoyed at that point. Not good sign #3: Tyler talked about us needing to change up our DOR's and take them different days from each other. Totally annoyed me, but.... is totally true. (Having a child throws a whole new thing into the mix, which sometimes can make it "not" restful or relaxing....especially if you are looking to have a nice quiet time with the Lord.) Not good sign #4: Apologies. I headed outside, totally annoyed with Tyler. I thought, "I just want to start my Quiet Time and now I'm annoyed and annoyed and AHHHH! I don't even feel like I'm at mental place to even want to spend time with the Lord. Even though I apologized, doesn't mean I'm still not annoyed..... and definitely just being in a bit of a bad mood now." I even cried a little. Don't you hate it when you cry and know that there's not really a "good" reason for it?


That's where it all began. Have you ever had days like that? I left out "Not good Sign #5, #6, #7" .... thought I would spare you the ANNOYANCE of having to read!


Here's the crossroad. Road #1 - Just have a crappy attitude. "Well dang it! My day started out crappy, so I'm just going to have the rest of it be crappy. Stomp around. Slam cupboards. Not look at Tyler when I go back inside and just give him a guilt treatment. And just be mad the rest of the day. (Even as I write that, I noticed I'm typing hard on the keyboard! You know when you're mad, you slam the keys down! haha!) Or Road #2 - Realize Tyler was not trying to upset me. He really didn't even do anything wrong. Just start over now. DECIDE to have a positive attitude and enjoy this DOR. Enjoy the rest of this day despite it's beginnings.


Reluctantly, I guess I will choose Road #2. I'm really mentally having to work my way into that road.


So...let us begin! :)

Proverbs 31:20 - She opens her hand to the poor, yes, she reaches out her filled hands to the needy [whether in body, mind, or spirit].

Proverbs 9:3-5 - Wisdom... has sent her maids to cry out.... Whoever is simple (easily led astray and wavering), let him turn in here! As for him who lacks understanding, [God's] Wisdom says to him, Come, eat of my bread and drink...

Proverbs 9:13-17 - The foolish woman is noisy... calling to those who pass.... Whoever is simple (wavering and easily led astray), let him turn in here! And as for him who lacks understanding, she says to him, Stolen waters (pleasures) are sweet [because they are forbidden]; and bread eaten in secret is pleasant...

Voices are going to call out regardless. Wisdom is on a mission to make a difference. Wisdom is on a mission to allow the lost to turn down her path, to bring them down the path of understanding so they will not follow the road that leads to death. Wisdom sends out her maids to CRY OUT, because Wisdom most likely knows that the foolish woman will be yelling too! The foolish woman, whose road leads to death will be calling out, luring and tempting, "Come down my road!"

All the while, our Proverbs 31 friend PRO-ACTIVELY also reaches out. She is reaching out to the needy...... like Wisdom calls out to make a difference, to bring others to her path in Proverbs 9, our Proverbs 31 friend is also PRO-ACTIVELY reaching out to make a difference. It didn't say that the needy came knocking down her door asking for help, food, guidance, direction. Our Proverbs 31 friend chooses to be a VAR. In the "corporate world" which I left... we talked about VAR's a lot.... those companies that were "Value Adding Relationships". Our Proverbs 31 woman chooses to be a VAR. She chooses to be a VALUE ADDER in the lives of others. She isn't counting what she is going to get out of it, she is just choosing to give, to be a VALUE ADDER into the lives of those who need it. She is "reaching her hand out, calling out to those who may be going down the wrong path, and she says, "Come this way. Eat. Drink....travel this path."

Well... I hear the boy inside. Since my day has been a bit "unconventional"... I should probably go "play mom".

Food for thought.... 
First, Who can you add value to today? 
Secondly...what is going to determine your day? When things go bad....do those circumstances control the outcome of the rest of your day? Do YOU control having a good day, or do the circumstances control you?