From Vodka to Vanilla

Phil 4:13 - I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].

Philippians has always been one of my favorite books in the Bible. When I was in High School, Philippians 4:13 was my favorite verse, we even included it on the back of one of our cross-country shirts. Though there are the other great verses in the book, Phil. 2:13, Phil 3:14, Phil 4:8, Phil 1:6, just to name a few of my favorite.

This morning, for the first time ever, I read Philippians 4:13 differently as I read the amplified version. I noticed that in the amplified, it used the word "infuses." It says, "through Him Who infuses inner strength into me." 

You see... my recent "Martha Stewart" skills over the last 2 years caused me to try and learn how to make Vanilla Extract. I bake enough that I use vanilla extract A LOT! Not to mention my theory with vanilla... "If a little vanilla is good, a LOT is better!" When baking, I think vanilla makes everything better. If a cake or cookie recipe calls for 1 teaspoon, I add 2-3 teaspoons! But, vanilla is not cheap for the normal person! A small 2 ounce bottle may cost $4-5. That doesn't go to far with as much as I use it. So, that brings me to this eye-opening new way of seeing Philippians 4:13. I looked up the definition to the word "infuse." This is what it said:

infuse: to steep or soak (leaves, bark, roots, etc.) in a liquid so as to extract the soluble properties or ingredients.

In order to make vanilla extract, you need vodka or rum. You cut the vanilla beans, scrape out the "caviar" from the center, and both the bean and the "caviar" soaks in the vodka or rum. Then what happens, the vanilla flavor is infused into the vodka creating Vanilla Extract. The vanilla flavor is extracted into the vodka creating that super yummy ingredient for all your favorite baked goods. THE SECRET?!?!

Infusing takes TIME. 

For the vanilla beans to change the vodka from simply an "alcohol" to "vanilla extract" takes TIME. At least 6 months to be exact, and like wine, the longer the vanilla infuses into the vodka, the greater and richer of a flavor it will be. Like wine fermenting over time, vanilla beans will continue to extract their flavor and infuse into becoming a delicious ingredient that could make world renowned cookies! :) (If you know me, you know that I have been in a few chocolate chip cookie bake-off's, so I take my cookie baking and ingredients seriously! Ha!) 

The amplified version of Philippians 4:13 reads, "I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency."

The Holy Spirit will INFUSE INNER STRENGTH within you! But this infusing process takes time. It's going to take you and I steeping and soaking in the Word of God so that the Word of God can be extracted into our lives! So that the Word of God can begin to change our flavor, change our make-up, renew us, change us from the "vodka" (the world & flesh) to the "vanilla extract" (the good things, the God-nature, the Christian who walks in and by the Spirit). As we steep and soak in the Word of God, not only are we strengthened as it says in Phil 4:13, but our literal make-up begins to change. The cuss-words that were a part of our sin nature, as we steep in the Word of God, over time, those same cuss words begin to sound like nails on a chalkboard. Some of the movies we watched at one time, now seem to not be appropriate. As we steep, we are changing! The Holy Spirit is infusing us with INNER STRENGTH! When things come at us, we are stronger to handle them, where the previous us would have broken, the INFUSED US rises up with STRENGTH!

Friend, I encourage you.... take the time now steep and soak in the Word of God. Allow the WORD to get infused into your very being, so that when strength needs to rise up on the inside of you, that is exactly what will happen. You will be filled with inner strength and able to conquor anything!

#261 - Part 1: Fueling a Marriage That Will LAST!

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

Proverbs 31:17 - She girds herself with strength [spiritual, mental, and physical fitness for her God-given task] and makes her arms strong and firm. 

In a recent conversation, my husband was telling me about a minister he was listening to. This minister said, "I love God more than I love my wife. But....... she also loves God more than she loves me!"

It is the key ingredient to a long & successful marriage. How would you respond if I posed the question to you? "Do you love God more than you love your spouse? Your children?"

Why is it so important to love God first? When you love God first and foremost, you will love your spouse how God would want you to love them, even on those days when they may be unbecoming, unattractive, frustrating. When you love God first and foremost, you will find ways to show love to your spouse, to make them feel special, to meet their needs.

THIS IS CRUCIAL! Sure, we can only control our own love for the Lord... we cannot control our spouse, and their commitment and time they spend with the Lord. BUT we can CONTROL ourself! When we LOVE the Lord first, it WILL spill off into all other relationships in our life. His love will overflow into our relationship with our spouse, our co-workers, our children. When we love God first, HE will give us wisdom HOW TO love! Maybe it's loving in a way that we would not have thought of on our own. Maybe, unbeknownst to us, our spouse is really feeling like he/she needs a break. He/she would feel loved just by having a weekend getaway to recoup. Fishing. Chilling. Sleeping. In a mountain cabin. Alone or with you. SO... because we love the LORD first, the Holy Spirit leads us to send them on a little 1, 2, 3 day getaway to refresh (no kids allowed!). Maybe it's something as simple as, our spouse would feel loved by having some of their favorite fresh baked cookies when they get home from a long day at work. Maybe it's the new "technology" piece they were eye-balling at BestBuy, or a new shirt? Maybe it's just walking in the house to a wife with make-up on, her hair done & in clothes other than sweatpants & a T-shirt?

FUELING your marriage is IMPORTANT! You cannot get a return on investment if you do not invest!! That could mean a regular weekly, or monthly date night. A husband/wife retreat to getaway without kids... once or twice a year. It doesn't have to be too fancy, but investing in the babysitter, the lodging, the meals could REAP GREAT DIVIDENDS into a long, healthy and happy marriage!!!

Some days it's about the little things. The little things DO matter. Saving the curly chips for them, because those are their favorites. Pulling the covers up and tucking them in when it's time for bed, because they like their covers tight. Filling up their coffee cup for a refill so they don't have to get out of their comfy seat. Peeling their tomato that you put on their sandwich, because it shows you went the extra step - and it's just how grandma did for them! Loving them. Saying kind words. Not nagging. Serving their favorite foods. Showing love how THEY receive love the best! If you need help in this area, a great book to read and RE-read is, "The Five Love Languages." ----- And friend, let me remind you of the principle of sowing and reaping. When you SOW these good seeds into your spouse, you WILL REAP a harvest in return! Don't fret! If you feel like you are doing all the giving and sowing, continue sowing with a good attitude, GOD SEE'S! Your good deeds will not go unnoticed!

Finally, the Proverbs 31 woman girds herself with spiritual strength. FRIEND, YOU need to be renewed and refreshed! YOU need to have YOUR batteries recharged too. This may mean TAKING SOME THINGS OFF YOUR PLATE, OFF YOUR CALENDAR! Her physical fitness strength gives her the extra energy she needs to keep up, to keep her metabolism high and give her those endorphins (the happy chemical her body makes!)! Her mental strength keeps her sharp, because she invests time into reading books to help her grow mentally versus wasting countless hours watching TV, on Facebook or playing mindless games on her iPhone. She finds ways to STAY SHARP, stay mentally strong, to be an iron-sharpener to her husband.

It's OUR job to get OURSELF right. Let's begin today. What are some ways we can FUEL our marriage today??? I'd love to hear ONE way that YOU fuel your marriage? Feel free to share! :)

xoxo!
Have a blessed day!

#255 - Resting Keeps out Unbelief!

Hebrews 4:9,11 -  So then, there is still awaiting a full and complete Sabbath-rest reserved for the [true] people of God... (11) Let us therefore be zealous and exert ourselves and strive diligently to enter that rest [of God, to know and experience it for ourselves], that no one may fall or perish by the same kind of unbelief and disobedience [into which those in the wilderness fell].

Proverbs 31:17 - She girds herself with strength [spiritual, mental, and physical fitness for her God-given task] ....

When was the last time you really had a rejuvenating day? When you really rested? When you really took the time to re-charge your batteries? 

In today's day and age of goals, accomplishing things, moving up the corporate ladder, getting ahead, hustle and bustle, keeping up with the Joneses, keeping up with laundry & cleaning, meeting financial desires for savings, bank accounts, homes or cars... with all of that, when is there really time to rest? 

Taking a full day to just rest and recharge our batteries can almost seem like an impossibility. "How could I give up a FULL day to just rest? I have so much to accomplish!"

In a recent post, we talked about Proverbs 31:17 and discussed in detail the description of the word "gird," since it's not a word we use to often today. Just to recap, the thesaurus gives some further definitions... Gird: fortify, secure, support, are just a few. 

I'm confident that our Proverbs 31 woman took some time to rest. Just yesterday I ran into a revelation from Hebrews that I had never seen before. As you read in Hebrews 4:9, you see it talking about taking a complete Sabbath-rest. In the amplified version of the Bible, it goes on to say be zealous and exert yourself and strive diligently to take that rest! The NEXT part is what really got me!!! Let's look at the end of Hebrews 4:11, that no one may fall or perish by the same kind of unbelief and disobedience [into which those in the wilderness fell].

What does entering that rest do? It is MORE than just recharging your batteries. It is MORE than just taking a break? We often think of weak people are the ones who need a break. Weak people take time off. Weak people stop. Weak people take breaks. 

Friend.... I'm here to tell you just the OPPOSITE! In Hebrews 4:11, it is telling us the IMPORTANCE of taking that day of rest, that Sabbath day to rest, so that we will not FALL. So that we will not be in unbelief and disobedience!! Not only is the Sabbath day of rest there to simply rejuvenate us, BUT it is there to KEEP US OUT OF UNBELIEF! It is there to KEEP US OUT OF DISOBEDIENCE! 

I know for myself, I have noticed when I do not take a day of rest, I'm much more prone to temptation than the weeks when I take a day of rest. It has been much easier for me to fall, or sin when I'm running on fumes. When I've missed a week of having a day of rest. I can tell that my spirit seems weaker. I feel weaker. I've noticed it's harder to stay steady when I'm tired or run down. 

According to Hebrews 4, a day of rest is going to help you to walk in BELIEF! It's going to help you walk in OBEDIENCE! 

Friend, I'm going to encourage you, pull out your calendar, mark out when you can have a day of rest this week! Maybe work it out with your spouse to watch the kids for a few hours (or the whole day!) But, equally, do the same for your spouse! Encourage them to rest, rejuvenate, recharge their batteries! 

Maybe you can't get a full day of rest in. Maybe you have kids and there is no one who can watch them so you can actually feel rested. Well, do what you can, God WILL HONOR IT! Maybe prepare food the day before so you can just plug in the crock-pot, have an empty dishwasher when you start your day of rest. Let the kids watch a movie. Don't clean. Don't do laundry. Don't do any major cooking. Pull out a fun craft, or watch a movie yourself. Read a book. Get in the Word. Worship. Take a nap. :) Just have a day that is a fun filled day of recharging your batteries!! :) 

Friend.... from experience, having a weekly day of rest (DOR) has literally changed my life and my energy levels!!! I highly encourage it! :) 

Be blessed!! 

#249 - Mental Growth!

Proverbs 31:17 - She girds herself with strength [spiritual, mental, and physical fitness for her God-given task] and makes her arms strong and firm.

What causes this Proverbs 31 woman to have strength? Personally this morning, I was looking into the mental aspect of strength. As I sat, meditating on this verse and the idea of mental strength, I started thinking of many things that would cause this Proverbs 31 woman to grow mentally for her God-given task.

Wouldn't you agree, for you or I to accomplish our God-given task, the actual assignment which we were put here on earth for, wouldn't you agree that we may have to stretch and grow? That most likely, we are going to have to do things that are, at first, maybe a little uncomfortable? That may mean, coming out of our comfort zone to make some phone calls to stretch us. It may simply be changing up our schedule to accomplish those God-given assignments. It may mean taking time away from the "normal" to begin a project, start that Bible study, volunteer as a youth leader, start that book, get certified as the instructor. All these take one thing, a step. A step, stretching, to do something we have never done before.

Maybe you have heard the saying, "Once you stretch a rubber-band, it never goes back to it's original state." Sure, it may go back to a similar shape and size, but once it is stretched, it does not go back to it's exact original form. This is the same with our minds, with our mental capabilities.

I began making a laundry list to these questions: "How do you gain mental strength? What would be mental exercises to get stronger." Here are a few of the things I came up with...


To Gain Mental Strength...

• Organize: I must stop toiling in my mind! All those "To-Do" Things, lists, etc, I must get them down on paper so that they stop clogging up my mind. So I can stop constantly feeling like I have to "remember" them because they are important to complete. Once I put that item to paper, I can remember it just by looking back at the paper. "Oh yah! I need to purchase this item online so it can get here in time for me to finish that Christmas present! Wow! I need to get that ordered right away." 
• Ways to do this? 
• USE a calendar. It's not enough to just HAVE a calendar, I must USE it!
• Utilize an organization system like GTD, Getting Things Done by David Allen. - Get things out of my mind to free up MENTAL energy to be able to handle/take on more. Have a systematic approach to actually getting the things completed that I have committed to paper. As David Allen says, "Having a next action item" for each item on my "To-Do List."
• Get up earlier.
• Follow a SCHEDULE. Allot things a time period.
• TURN OFF notifications on phone, like FACEBOOK. Have certain times in the day that I check social networking. AVOID being like Pavlov's Dog, when I see that I have a FaceBook "1" or "2" or "3" on my phone, "*panting like a dog* Oh I've got to check FaceBook now, I have a message. I have a notification. Someone has communicated with me. I have to check it NOW! Now! Now! *more panting and fidgeting until I see WHO and what it is.*" - Check Social Networking during scheduled times so it doesn't STEAL time through out the whole day. 
• Stretch: Do things that I am nervous to do...maybe scared to do. If it's making the phone call, "Eat That Frog!" (A book by Brian Tracy about not procrastinating!) Do the thing you don't want to do first! When you do this, not only does it clear things up mentally, allowing you to think about and do other things, but you've just stretched. You've just grown mentally. Once you stretch, once you've done something that you were scared to do, you have grown and like the rubber-band, you won't go back to your original state. Next time, you will "Eat That Frog" quicker, you will get that thing done that you didn't want to do quicker because you realize it really wasn't that bad. Hmmmmm.... like finishing taxes maybe? :) (Yikes.... speaking to myself there! I need to eat the tax frog!!) 

Those are just a few things that I thought of in regards to growing mentally. To working towards becoming the best Proverbs 31 woman I can be, that you can be. If we view our minds like the muscles of a weight lifter. Once a weight lifter begins doing the bench press, he'll gradually be able to lift more and more. 100 pounds may lead to 150, then 200, maybe 250 pounds or 300! BUT, the weight lifter doesn't try to lift 300 pounds from the start. He gradually increases it, growing those muscles, developing them, getting stronger and stronger. A new runner isn't going to start with a 10 mile run the first day. They are going to start gradually, working up to being able to run a mile. They may have to walk and run, on and off for awhile. Eventually, as they continue to work at it, they are able to run 1 mile, then 2, then 3, then maybe 5. As they gradually stretch, they will be able to do more and more. 

Mentally, as we gradually stretch, grow, organize, we begin to be able to take on more. We begin to be able to accomplish more. "Growth involves risk. Progress involves risk. A baseball player can't steal second while his foot is on first." What are some ways that you can begin to grow mentally? 

What are some other areas that you think help us grow mentally? What are some mental exercises that can help us to grow on our way to becoming the Ultimate Proverbs 31 woman? 

I'd love to hear your thoughts! :) 

#237 - Strength

Good morning!  Things are getting back to normal here at the McCart home. Not "normal" quite yet.... but we're at least moving in the right direction! Due to "lack of time" this morning, I wasn't going to begin back or post anything today... but I figured I would share my short revelation and for me this morning, it was a bit of a kick in the pants. Like I shared with Alison yesterday... I do look forward to fully getting back in the groove of regular posts!

Proverbs 31:17 - She girds herself with strength [spiritual, mental, and physical fitness for her God-given task] and makes her arms strong and firm.

Strength. Quite an interesting word. Our Proverbs 31 friend girds herself with strength. Due to where life is for me right now and all of the life changes over the last 3 months (2 surgeries, adjusting to having another child, building a house, moving, family vacation, Christmas vacation, etc)... I am still excited to get back to habits that were very regular before "life" happened. As I look at the word "strength," while reading about the Proverbs 31 woman, it takes on a bit of a different meaning to me today than maybe it would have 6 months ago. I began to think about my "excuses" for not having gotten back into my regular writing schedule. I began to think about what draws from "strength" and why routines maybe have been hindered. Why maybe my alarm may go off at the "right time" in the morning... but this morning for example, every FIVE minutes for an HOUR & 45 MINUTES my alarm rang! Snooze. Snooze. Snooze. Snooze again.

So... what is my deal? I decided to read again Proverbs 31. Surely I've read it 100's of times before. But just like the Holy Spirit does, He has a way of pointing out just what you need to hear today. Just want you need to read or adjust in life today. A tweak to turn you back onto the course you should be heading. Have you heard if a pilot is traveling to a destination and according to his instruments is only a 1/2 of a degree off in the direction he's traveling, he'll NEVER get to where he wants to go. That 1/2 of a degree could potentially take him 100's of miles off course. The Holy Spirit is tweaking my 1/2 of a degree. He's getting me back on course.

Strength. What are some things that could "take away" from strength. Here are some things that were obvious things in my life, although the list is much more extensive than just these three items.

1. Proper Eating. Sure, it's a new year. For a lot of people "proper eating" usually goes out the window over the holidays. I think is OK for a time. It's OK to splurge and enjoy yourself... but at some point, things have to get back to a normal standard of eating healthy. With the move, our closing date was pushed back 4 different times.... though I continued to pack with much of our kitchen items in boxes in the garage as we prepared to move into our new house. The more that got packed, the less options I had in food prep. Guess what that meant for the McCarts? A regular diet of pizza! Every week... maybe a couple times/week. It was easy, and less of a hassle. But again... at some point, a regular standard of a healthy diet has to come back! Now is that time!
2. Proper Supplementation. I think we are fooling ourselves if we think we can avoid supplementing with vitamins. Most people, probably 99%+ of the population, don't eat the recommended amounts of food for our dietary needs. Even if we TRIED, we wouldn't get everything we need. From the time an orange comes off of the tree, the amount of Vitamin C diminishes DAILY, when it's not attached to the source of growth (the tree.) Knowing that, when we buy an orange in the grocery store (since most of us don't have an orange tree in our back yard), how long has that orange been off the tree?? Weeks? Maybe a month? This makes proper supplementation essential. I've been majorly dropping the ball in this area. My standard has been an all-natural company. I toured one of their farms once. It was amazing. From the time a plant is harvested to go into a supplement, it only takes ONE hour for that cherry, orange, apple, etc to begin the process of getting into supplement form. ONE HOUR!!! To me, this means I am getting the MAXIMUM amount of vitamin into my system when I take the supplement! And since I'm not a farmer, farming my own food, I get MORE of the good stuff than I would if I actually ate it! Anyways... their quality assurance is pretty amazing too. From Seed to Supplement, before it gets to my front door, it's checked 500 times to ensure quality. I was amazed at their standards of excellence! So... for me... in reference to the Proverbs 31 woman, I need to re-discipline myself about taking my vitamins! I know I have a TON more energy when I take them. I also know that I am not eating ALL of the proper food to give my body energy, so supplementing is essential! 
3. Rest. Sleep. Have I been getting enough sleep? For me, it means, NO MORE DILLY-DALLYING before bed! Get to bed. Get done with what I need to do, and get in the bed. This may mean avoid the next Netflix episode on "24," not beginning or completing the next craft.... whatever it is. I need to get in the bed! 

So... those are some areas that I need to work on! My goal is to achieve in life what the Proverbs 31 woman does.... so I'm going to get things back together! 

#226 - Wake Up Your Brain!

Proverbs 30:2-3 - Surely I am too brutish and stupid to be called a man, and I have not the understanding of a man [for all my secular learning is as nothing]. ³I have not learned skillful and godly Wisdom, that I should have the knowledge or burden of the Holy One.

Proverbs 31:10a - A capable, intelligent, and virtuous woman--who is he who can find her?

Brainless. Have you ever went through your day and just felt like you had your brain turned off? Like you left your house without it? You left your brain & your cup of coffee on the counter as you headed out the door for work. Then... you went about your day just taking whatever came, accepting it and adjusting accordingly. Good & bad, you just accepted it.

This morning before I got into reading the Word, the Holy Spirit addressed this very issue with me. Here were some of His thoughts to me:

You have a lot more choices than you really are aware of. Choices to accept things & live with them, or simple choices NOT to accept certain things & live with them. Many believers go on with life never thinking, just accepting! If you & others would wake your BRAIN up, you would realize areas, little, simple areas of victory you COULD be walking in. These victories causing you to be more productive with less toil, happier & more fulfilled than you could have thought. 

Little, simple victories. I'm all about victories in my life! For me, part of what the Holy Spirit was referring to related specifically to energy, or lack there of.  Being 35 weeks pregnant, I have definitely had LOTS of times recently where I have been completely drained and in need of a nap. I've got to the end of my rope many days and had to sleep. The Holy Spirit addressed with me, speaking to my energy levels BEFORE getting tired. Speaking to my energy levels during a time I felt fresh. As it says in Romans, calling things that are not as though they were. Sure, we all have choices. I could leave my brain off, and when fatigue hit, just go with it and take a nap. Wrong, no, not necessarily. BUT what the Holy Spirit was wanting to reveal to me was this, I do not just HAVE TO accept what comes. I have choices! You have choices! So often, our brain is turned off to our rights as a believer, the promises that are ours. It takes a conscience effort to keep our brains turned on. To really evaluate, Is this right? Should I accept this or choose something different? Is there something better? What does the Word say?"


As it talks about in Proverbs 30:2 and Proverbs 31:10, we can live being stupid or being intelligent. Proverbs 30 talks about the stupid man living off merely his secular knowledge and this knowledge is as nothing. How awesome that as believers we CAN walk in skillful & godly wisdom. We have access to not just walking through life accepting what comes our way, but with our brains ON, and being tuned in to the Holy Spirit, we truly can live a better life! We can life a blessed life even in the simple areas. Even in the simple day to day activities like housework or grocery shopping or having energy! We can look to the Word for ANY situation we are going through and apply the Word, confess it & walk in it. Specifically for me & energy, I could choose to apply the Word this way:

Thank You Father that Your Word says in Isaiah 40:31, "But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired." Father, since Your Word says it, I'm going to believe it! Therefore I CHOOSE to have ENERGY! I choose to be RENEWED! Thank you Father for giving me energy! Thank you for being true to Your Word and performing it! I praise you that I can have a day filled with energy, energy that YOU promised! Thank You FATHER for ENERGY TODAY!!! 

Do you see how easy it would be turn on or off our brain? For me in this situation, to turn off my brain and accept fatigue without even a second thought. Or turn ON my brain, accept the WORD of God & His promises and receive energy! Unfortunately, many a days have went by where my brain has been turned off in this area, and I have just accepted fatigue.

What is it for you today? I challenge you today, don't just accept what comes your way today. Filter it! Do you REALLY want to receive it? Does it REALLY line up with the Word of God? Wake up your brain and walk in the promises that God has for you!

#221 - Comparing!

Proverbs 18:24 - The man of many friends [a friend of all the world] will prove himself a bad friend, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Proverbs 31:30a - Charm and grace are deceptive, and beauty is vain...

She has more friends than I do.
She's prettier than me.
She always has such a cute outfit on.
People invite her places all the time.
Her house is nicer than mine.
She is so nice.
She's always buying something new.
She is always doing something fun.
She & her husband always go out to eat.
Money doesn't ever seem like a big deal to her.
She's so good at making things.
She throws lots of parties.

Who is the "she" in your life? Who are the "Joneses" in your life? Are they there? Do you find yourself frequently discontent only when you look at the life of someone else? If you are truly just looking at your life, living your day, you actually like it.... you enjoy your life, until you compare it?

It's interesting, I found the Holy Spirit revealing some things to me this morning about this very issue. As I reflected on the "Joneses" in my life, I found myself realizing, all the areas where I felt inadequate or insecure (ie: all of their strengths), mirrored a lifestyle that would not even fulfill me. As I thought about my true perfect day, it would not be doing the daily and weekly activities that the Joneses did.

Tyler was sharing with me about a recent audio he listened to. It was by Marita Litweiller (author of Wired That Way). She went on to describe personality types. How opposites attract. What brings energy and life to different people. What energizes one person would be completely draining to the next person. They were not designed for that 'strength.' Where one person is energized by working out, running, lifting weights... the thought of being so "die-hard" would be draining to someone else. Equally, the bubbly wife always entertaining guests week after week, would be draining to the next mom. We were not all designed to be the same. We were designed to be different. We begin to get drained when we are trying to BE & DO those things that are a strength of someone else. Whether your a "one-person friend" or a "30 person friend," it's OK! You were designed just that way!

In the King James Version of Proverbs 31:30 it begins with, "Favour is deceitful, beauty is vain..." "Favour" in the Hebrew is also defined as "acceptance." "Deceitful" is also described as: in vain, disappointment, lie, wrong. So we're not just talking about the charming and graceful woman here in verse 30. We can look at it in a whole new way! We could also say this, "The woman who focused on being accepted is deceived, disappointed, living a lie. She is operating in vain."

Our desire to be accepted, to be like the "Joneses," to be like that co-worker who seems to have it all together is all vain. It all brings disappointment. I've heard this phrase that is helpful: "You will only ever be SECOND best if you try to be someone else, but you can be #1 at being the best YOU!" 


You can finish #1 ALL THE TIME when you are focusing at being the #1 YOU! When we compare, we will always find ourselves disappointed and discouraged. What are YOUR strengths? What is YOUR perfect day? What makes YOU happy? Focusing on those questions will help us to really experience fulfillment in this walk through life as a Christian. You are not called to be like "her." Be the best YOU and feel the wonderful release of pressure you've placed on yourself to be like someone else!

 

#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?

______________

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!)

#159 - Give Your Battle a VOICE!

GOOD MORNING! It's a bit chilly out there today!! Is it where you live?? Yesterday was rainy and cold, definitely an indoor day. We enjoyed the weekend in Indiana doing business & visiting my family.... got home around 2:00 am yesterday after a 13 hour DRIVE! Yes, DRIVE! Even with a 1 year old! Wow! Quite amazing, I know! Tyler Jr was quite a trooper, such a good little traveler. Nonetheless, after getting home, bringing some stuff in, and finally getting to bed, we were rolling upon 3:00, so TJ & I slept in yesterday! He didn't wake up until 11:30!!

Well, let's get going and see what the Lord has to say today! :)

Psalm 29:2 - Give to the Lord the glory due to His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness or in holy array.

Psalm 29:3a, 4a, 5a, 7a, 8a, 9a - The voice of the Lord...  The voice of the Lord...  The voice of the Lord...  The voice of the Lord...  The voice of the Lord...  The voice of the Lord... 

Psalm 29:11 - The Lord will give [unyielding and impenetrable] strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace. 

As I began into my Quiet Time this morning, like usual, I first pulled out my journal and began to journal. I couldn't help but look back over the month and be thankful over all the things the Lord has done. The little things and the big things. How HE has completely just provided. I was reminded of how our Father provides by getting a package off the front porch this morning. It was a package for Tyler Junior! A pair of shoes & a summer outfit. He does not even know it, but he is completely provided for! All his needs are met ALL the time! And if he had any needs, he would have grandparents falling in line to meet them, to bless him, dress him, feed him, do whatever to provide for any and every need. As that was my "before" experience before my Quiet Time... I started out with just a grateful heart, thankful how the LORD provides! Through one means or another, He provides, He comes through. His grace, His mercy and when it doesn't make sense on paper, it's by His grand Provision! Like Psalm 29:2 says, Give the glory due HIS NAME! Give Him the glory that HE deserves! We all have things to be thankful for, health, finances, family, relationships, protection, clothes, a warm home, living in an area that HASN'T been hit by a Tsunami or earthquake. We have SO much to be thankful for. Give Him the glory due His Name! Give Him the glory! 

Thank you Father! Thank you Lord! We PRAISE YOU right now! We PRAISE YOU for all you have done! Thank you Father for providing! Thank you for protecting! Thank you for your hedge of protection! Thank you for being great and mighty! Thank you for allowing ME to be your child, for allowing me to be an heir. Thank you Lord for sending Jesus. Thank you that I, with the mistakes and all I have done, thank you the you have given ME a second chance. Thank you for forgiving me, redeeming me! Thank you Father for forgiveness! Father, I PRAISE YOU! You are SO worthy to be praised!! Thank you that you are Jehovah Rapha, God our Healer! Thank you that you are Jehovah Jirah, God our Provider! Thank you that you are Jehovah Nissi, God our Victory, our Banner! You are God our Peace, Jehovah Shalom! Thank you Father! We praise you! You are so worthy to be praised! 

As we read further in Psalm 29, out of the 11 verses, 6 of them begin with "The voice of the Lord." As I read these... they revealed something MIGHTY that the Voice of the Lord brought forth. ie: Makes the wilderness tremble, Splits and flashes forth forked lightning. The verses remind us how POWERFUL the Voice of the Lord is. As I was reading them, the immediate thing that popped up in my spirit was this, WE, YOU & I, are made in the very image of who these verses are talking about! We were made in the image of God. Where it says the VOICE of the LORD is powerful, we could also substitute this: THE VOICE OF AMY is powerful! The VOICE of Deb is powerful! The Voice of David is powerful! The Voice of Stephanie is powerful! Put your name in there! As children of God, WE were made in HIS image! When we committed our lives to Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we were given a power that can only come from heaven. We were given power and authority to operate in strength on this earth! And, we can read verse after verse in Proverbs and throughout the Bible on how powerful our Words are, the strength that our Words hold. Even God did it to Abram in the old testament. Abram & Sarai, married, no children and past child baring years, what did God do? God SAID, I change your name to ABRAHAM, which means Father of many Nations! I change your name from Sarai (which means quarrelsome) to SARAH, which means Princess. In a time that they did not have ANY children, and were getting old into years.... old? Yes, even as old as 90 years old! Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90 before they had their first child, Isaac! But, WORDS! Words are powerful! Putting VOICE to our situation is so powerful!

Still a bit uneasy on accepting it? Fast forward down to Psalm 29:11... what does it say there? The LORD will give unyielding and impenetrable STRENGTH to HIS people! One way He gives us this strength, is through our ability to TALK! To give VOICE to a situation! "My God supplies all MY needs according to HIS riches in glory! I call my bills paid!" - "By Jesus stripes, I AM healed! I call this headache GONE in Jesus Name!" - "I have FAVOR in the sight of God & man, therefore, in this situation, in this meeting, I THANK YOU God for FAVOR! Unmerited Favor!"

The Lord gives STRENGTH to HIS people! Begin today with your Voice! Satan can't hear your thoughts. You can't fight your battles in your mind, with your thoughts, you MUST give WORDS to your battle! You must SPEAK! Give your battle a VOICE! In your voice is STRENGTH!

#130 - Stacked in YOUR FAVOR!

Good morning fellow brothers and sisters!! Isn't it GREAT that God is no respecter of persons! He doesn't pre-qualify us. To hear from him we don't have to have a Masters Degree, or have went to Seminary, we don't have to be a missionary or a pastor. Isn't it awesome that each one of us, the only pre-requisite is to be born again, to have invited the Holy Spirit to live inside of us. Once we are saved, like Jesus said, he sent the Holy Spirit as our Guide & Comforter, to be with us always. At that point, when we have made the commitment to follow Jesus, and have invited Him to be our Lord, as believers, we all enter onto a level playing field! No "office politics", no "political correctness", pure and simple we have DIRECT access to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords! Like we have an "ALL-ACCESS" pass! Way better than a back-stage pass, we have an "ALL-ACCESS" pass! As much time as we want to spend with Him, He is available! In the board meetings, on the playing fields, in your car as your driving down the road, in your office, in the bathroom, in the heat of battle, HE is right there available for access the moment we ask. He is there! Praise God! What a wonderful gift!

Ps 24:3-4a - Who shall go up into the mountain of the Lord? Or who shall stand in His Holy Place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart...

Ps 54:4 - Behold, God is my helper and ally; the Lord is my upholder and is with them who uphold my life. 

Ps 84:11 - For the Lord God is a Sun and Shield; the Lord bestows [present] grace and favor and [future] glory (honor, splendor, and heavenly bliss)! No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

Ps 144:1-2 - BLESSED BE the Lord, my Rock and my keen and firm Strength, Who teaches my hands to war and my fingers to fight-- ²My Steadfast Love and my Fortress, my High Tower and my Deliverer, my Shield and He in Whom I trust and take refuge, Who subdues my people under me. 

Who is He? Who is this "One" on your side? Is He illusive or hard to figure out? Is He just this "mystery being" out there somewhere who wants to keep things hidden from us, who wants us to 'play it on our own?' NO. He is alive & well. He is KNOWN to those who want to KNOW Him! He will not stay hidden, He will not stay a mystery. Through the Holy Spirit, He has made it possible for ALL things to be known to us and for us. The key, pivotal factor is, we made have to do some seeking, we may have to do some digging for those hidden secrets or nuggets He has for us. 


If you picture a boxing ring, look at who you have in the ring. One one side, opposite of you, you see a very small but toothless being. You see one who has been cast down from heaven, and has a "ROAR", but no teeth to back it. He has a big "talk" but no "punch" to back it. The only thing he has is the power of suggestion. He can try to make you believe the negative things he may whisper, but the bottom line is, everything he says is a lie. So.... if you go into the match just KNOWING that ALL he says is a lie, you'll be fine! 


Let's look at who is in the ring with YOU on your side! Shall we begin? 

• Your Helper. 
• Your Ally. 
• Your Upholder - if you do happen to slip or almost fall, He'll uphold you. 
• The SUN - bestowing grace, favor, honor, blessing & splendor
• The SHIELD - bestowing grace, favor, honor, blessing & splendor
• Your ROCK
• KEEN (finely sharpened & accute) Strength
• Firm Strength
• Your Steadfast Love - steadfast... a love that won't allow ANYTHING to harm you. 
• Your Fortress
• Your High Tower 
• Your Deliverer 
• Your Shield - blocking any attacks
• Him Whom you trust 
• Him Whom You can take refuge 

Here we look. A scraggly, short, puny, toothless being VERSUS ALL this that you have on your side of the ring. Is there ANY question of who the winner of this fight would be? I'm not a betting woman, but if I was, I know where I'd put my money! The key is going into LIFE, going into EACH DAY knowing WHO you have on your side. Knowing WHAT you bring to the table. You go out with great FAVOR on your side. Favor! Strength! There is no way you can fail with our great and mighty God fighting on your side! 

Is there a way you could be defeated? Technically, yes. One way. If you listen to the suggestions of the scrawny being on the other side of the ring. If you allow yourself the freedom, if you put your guard down long enough for him to begin talking to you, he brings to the ring lies & manipulation. He brings to the ring deceit. Close off your ears to thoughts or suggestions of the enemy, and instead go out and CHOOSE to operate in the Victory that is already yours! The odds are most DEFINITELY stacked in your favor! Operate with the attitude that YOU CANNOT LOOSE! If you are willing to stay in-tune with your Father, and tune out the enemy, the victory is YOURS! The odds are stacked in YOUR favor! Go out and WIN today!

#114 - Are You the TARGET?

Good morning! Sometimes I just marvel at how blessed I feel! What a good boy I have! He is just so good! He did two kinda "new" things this morning. While he was eating breakfast, he took a drink of his drink and then PUT IT BACK in the cup-holder on his tray! WHOA! Go Tyler Jr! That is definitely a step up from throwing it on the floor! ha! AND, he very obviously did the sign language sign for "all done." It was so good! So, we celebrated and clapped and yelled about how good he did! He liked the praise! He clapped too! Then... we went upstairs after breakfast and read HIS Bible... now he is in his bed talking, playing with his toys and reading his books.... and having the rest of HIS Quiet Time! :) He's so good! I never imagined being a mom would be this fulfilling and joyous! Praise the Lord! 


Well, let's get started today! :) 

Proverbs 9:13-18 - The foolish woman is noisy; she is simple and open to all forms of evil, she [willfully and recklessly] knows nothing whatever [of eternal value]. ¹⁴For she sits at the door of her house or on a seat in the conspicuous places of the town,
    ¹⁵Calling to those who pass by, who go uprightly on their way:
    ¹⁶Whoever is simple (wavering and easily led astray), let him turn in here! ....
    ¹⁸But he knows not that the shades of the dead are there [specters haunting the scene of past transgressions], and that her invited guests are [already sunk] in the depths of Sheol (the lower world, Hades, the place of the dead).

Proverbs 31:25a - Strength and dignity are her clothing and her position is strong and secure... 

I thought today's reading was very interesting. In the scriptures above we have 3 different main people it is talking about. 

(1) The Foolish Woman - AKA: Sin, Temptation, Evil, Lust, the Wicked 

(2) The Proverbs 31 Woman - Strong, Sure, Confident, Secure, Stable - Nothing is moving this woman! She is steadfast & knows who she is.  

(3) The Wavering - This person is unsure of themselves. They are unstable, on rocky ground. They are wavering, like the verse talks about in James 1:6-8 - this person is tossed to and fro, has two minds or is double minded, lives in a constant state of doubt. 

The big question... Who is the Target? Who is the Target here in Proverbs 9? Who is the "Foolish Woman" looking for and WHERE is she taking the person she finds? Well, just reviewing the verses above, the target is simple, the TARGET IS THE SIMPLE. The Target is the person who is wavering! They are the TARGET! 1 Peter 5:8 tell us, "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." What type of prey would the a lion look for? If he saw a herd of gazelles, which one is the lion going to lock a TARGET on? The WEAK one. If there is a gazelle that looks weak, is hurt, is limping or struggling to run, the lion knows that lunch is just a few seconds away. The devil is looking for the weak! If he sees you are weak, he will attack you in that area. The foolish woman, she was looking for those who look unsure, the wavering, because she KNOWS she could persuade them with her cunning words and get them to come down her path. They lack confidence. They lack vision, they do not know where they are going and since they seem to be "wandering" about anyways, THEY are an EASY TARGET for the foolish woman. So what did the foolish woman do? She locked TARGET on the Wavering, and led them down her path. Unbeknown to them, the Foolish woman's other "invited guests are already sunk in the depths of Hell, the lower world, the place of the dead." As she spotted the WAVERING person, she led them like a calf being led to slaughter, she led them to their death. 


Why is this all so important? As a believer, we can look at this section of scripture and determine, Which one are WE? Has life been a series of instability? Do we really know WHO we are in Christ? If we were spotted, would we look like the WAVERING? Would the enemy lock TARGET on us because we appear to be unstable? Would the lion see us and then seek to devour us because we look weak? 


With New Years coming around the corner, a lot of people begin to think about New Year's Resolutions. Now may be a good time to evaluate if you are truly the Stable, Confident, Unwavering. As you search yourself internally, if you feel like you may be the "Wavering", maybe it's time to determine this year that it is going to be a year to develop STABILITY & STRENGTH. Maybe this be the year that you NOT focus on loosing the same 20 pounds you've wanted to loose for the last 5 years, but maybe this is the year that you focus on being STABLE & SECURE like the Proverbs 31 Woman. Men, like the Proverbs 31 Husband. Maybe NOW is the time for you to determine that the buck stops here, "I WILL NOT BE A TARGET!" 


So... which category do you fall into now? Which category are you going to be in next year?

#113 - Don't STAY Down!

Good morning! We have a full morning and a full day! The boy gets to go play today with his friend Harper! Hip Hip Horray! :) This will be a first for the boy and for mama! I will be going to have lunch with a friend & mentor which I'm excited about! Praise the Lord! Today's Word was much needed and refreshing, I think it will speak to a lot of you as well, so let's get started. 

Psalm 37:3-7a - Trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) in the Lord and do good; so shall you dwell in the land and feed surely on His faithfulness, and truly you shall be fed.

    ⁴Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart.

    ⁵Commit your way to the Lord [roll and repose each care of your load on Him]; trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass.

    ⁶And He will make your uprightness and right standing with God go forth as the light, and your justice and right as [the shining sun of] the noonday.

    ⁷Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him...

Well, let me set the stage of this mornings devotion. Yesterday, things were going well... all until the evening. Daddy was with the boy, and I teach/coach/lead a class on Monday nights on Health & Fitness. Well... one thing led to another with my evening, what should be a great night because Mama is kind of "off duty" and free to do things by myself after my class, turned into a not so great evening. It all started with thoughts that led to some frustrations. It began something like this..... the need to make decisions of Christmas traditions started coming, thoughts about what we want with our "family" Christmas, how to make Jesus the most important and most evident reason why we celebrate Christmas, gifts, shopping, money, people that I would like to buy presents for, etc, etc, etc. During this spiral of thoughts it was like the devil was just reeling me in, tightening and tightening, causing me to dwell on things that made me not happy. I found myself in Dicks Sporting Goods looking at my favorite brand, Nike, and I was literally almost crying. Just from a series of thoughts. Which, since I was just dwelling on "myself" and "my thoughts" made me completely ineffective in the marketplace. "Ineffective?" You ask. How did that make me ineffective? Well, I know that I am called to be a light in a dark place. I am called to draw people to the light. Draw people to the solution. And I believe I have the solution. I have what people are looking for! Not only from a business perspective for those people who are needing and praying for a way to bring in an additional income stream, but most importantly I have to offer the KING OF KINGS to those who may not know Him. 


So, here I am driving home. You tell me if you have done this before... I'm driving home, feeling bad. Dwelling on things that made me feel even more depressed, and recognized what was going on. I very seldomly allow negative thoughts to penetrate my mind for long, and I realized these thoughts had been continuing. I then began to confess outloud my goals. I have "confessions" that I speak several times a day, and I know that you can not defeat thoughts with thoughts, you can only defeat thoughts with WORDS. (that's worth writing down!) You can not defeat thoughts with thoughts, you can ONLY defeat thoughts with WORDS! So I began confessing my goals. Confessing my affirmations. Confessing the WORD over my life. And after I finished doing it once, I did it again with more enthusiasm. I would like to say that I kept doing that... but I did it maybe several times, then I went back to driving with my thoughts. Negative started weighing me down again. My first thought was, "Who can I call that would be able to encourage me?" Then, from within my spirit, I heard, "Encourage yourself in the Lord." I know that as a believer we can not always count on someone else to "lift us up," sometimes we need to know how to encourage ourself in the Lord. (Don't get me wrong, I'm all about friends and positive people to speak into our lives, and I have them.) This time, I knew it was not a job for someone else. I knew that I needed to encourage myself in the Lord. I had remembered reading a few places in the Bible how to do that, praying in the Spirit, verbally thanking God for all He has done, spending time in Praise & Worship.... all of these things wage WAR against the enemy. 


When I got home, I honestly just wanted the day to be over. I wanted a new day. I didn't go to bed "happy." I was ready for the day to end. Then, this morning when I woke up the first thing that I wrote in my journal that I felt was directed by the Holy Spirit was, "Start over today." Last night, while I was out and even when I got home, I had felt like discouragement had made me loose my "Umph" about life. It got my eyes off of what was important. The Word today is such a perfect reminder! Let's look at it again! "Roll each care on Him" - "Delight yourself in the Lord and HE will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart!" PRAISE THE LORD! 


So, what did I do? I began to do just that. I began to list out each care I was rolling over to the Lord. "Lord, I roll this care on you........ I roll this care on you....... I roll this care on you.......... " And the list went on and on. I wrote it and I did it out loud! I rolled my dreams, my future, my desires, my cares, even my secret desires, I ROLLED them onto the Lord. Then I took a few minutes to listen.... One thing that the Holy Spirit told me that was pretty interesting was this, "Satan will try to use any tactic to get you down. He plays dirty & doesn't play fair. He will attack you at your weakness, not at your strength. He wants to keep you down long enough that you will stay down. To paralyze you, like a lame animal not able to move. You did right by encouraging yourself in Me. I will breathe life into you. I will remind you of what is true." 


Today, I encourage you.... don't let the Christmas obligations get the best of you. Don't let those things discourage or get you down. Whether it be shopping, presents, parties, family, friends.... Encourage yourself in the Lord. Remember that the true focus is Jesus. But also, keep this promise in front of you. Delight yourself in the Lord and HE will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart! HE WILL DO IT! The best is still coming! God has GREAT things in store for you! He has GREAT Blessings in store for you! ROLL EACH CARE onto Him and live in joy. Live a life blessing others and being a light. God has VERY VERY Great things in store for you! Defeat Satan! Don't let him get you or keep you down. Encourage yourself in the Lord! SING SING SING! PRAISE PRAISE PRAISE! THANK THANK THANK! 


I am STARTING OVER TODAY and you can too! 

XOXO,

        Amy J 

#75 - From STRENGTH to STRENGTH

Good morning! It's been a good morning. A full morning. I'm excited about making it a productive day so let's get started.

Proverbs 24:10, 16a - If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small. For a righteous man falls seven times and rises again...

Proverbs 31:25a - Strength and dignity are her clothing and her position is strong and secure...

Psalms 84:7a, 11 - They go from strength to strength [increasing in victorious power]... For the Lord God is a Sun and Shield; the Lord bestows [present] grace and favor and [future] glory (honor, splendor, and heavenly bliss)! No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

We might as well just jump right into what the Holy Spirit had to say to me about the topic. He has a way of making the words fewer and more clear than I do! 

"I desire to have a people that are strong, not weak. That their strength would be planted in Me, then I could bring them from strength to strength. That every day, in every way, in every situation, good or bad, their strength would be a STRONG STRENGTH. That even in a fall, they would be strong. But it is MY DESIRE to take my children from Mountain Top to Mountain Top. Like a weight lifter. They lift and get strong. It takes a period of time to get to that "strong" point. It does not happen over night. BUT, once they are there, they chisel. They go from strength to strength. They build upon what is already strong. That is where I want My Children. I want them to build upon a strength that has already been developed. The maintenance period is not hard. Rely & STAY in Me."

Need I say more? I guess I will just share from some personal experience. I know for me, I have had times in my walk with the Lord where I have felt far from Him. Where my quiet times were few and far between. I felt dry. I felt like I was in a desert and didn't hear His Voice much. I would try to wake up in the morning and read the Bible only to find myself dozing off... my eyes would get heavy and all I wanted to do was go back to bed. My consistency would be best described as inconsistent. My passion for everything was null and void. My eyes seemed dim. I lacked a "love for life." I lacked joy. I remember thinking in a time of day-in day-out drudgery, "I just want to be happy. I just want to have joy." I was far from a description of "Strength." At one point, sure I had a passion for the Lord, an excitement, but somewhere along the way I had lost it. 


For a period of time, actually about 2 years, Tyler and I both had somewhat of a sabbatical. Sabbatical in life. Where he sought the Lord, he read, he learned, he prayed. During that time, I really feel like I was gleaning off of his growth I was inspired by his growth. I hungered to have what I saw him having, growth and communion with the Lord. So my quest began again. My quest for my first true love. My quest for a relationship. My quest to feel happy and full. My quest to be strong again, but this time to stay strong. 


I am reminded of my brother. He is a fitness model and actor. If you knew him back when he was in high school, he was the farthest thing from "buff" or "muscular" as someone could be. He seemed to always be behind in growth, and most years was the runt of his class, the small kid. Bless his heart. Well, in college he decided that he wanted to change things. He didn't want to be small anymore. He wanted to be strong. He began the process of building his muscles, of getting strong, of getting big. He spent time in the gym. Hour upon hour. He began the process of building himself up. He has now graced the cover of many fitness magazines, and to say the least, he is strong. I am amazed now, in his strength, that he knows his body inside and out. If he needs to bulk up for a photo shoot or project, he knows just what to eat, just what to do in the gym, he knows just how long it will take for the muscles to respond. If he needs to get a leaner look, he knows just what to do to get a leaner look. He has spent time STUDYING his body. It is an art, and he now knows his body inside and out.  Now it is just a matter of him maintaining. Spending time, maintaining his strength. He continues to work on it, but the initial building stage is over. He has BUILT, he is past the building. He is now maintaining to stay strong. I would anticipate if someone were to ask him what period was the hardest, I would bet it was the initial building process to get to where he is now. To get to the maintenance. 

I believe that is where God wants us to be. He wants us to be in a place, like Jamie, where we can go from strength to strength. Where we know HIS Voice so well, that it just takes a Word from the Lord and we can and will change direction to build our "bi-cep" or work on our "shoulders", so to speak. That ONE Word from the Lord and He will lead us to work on our faith in the area of "finances" or "health/healing". Then we can chisel, develop, grow that are of our strength. That we are no longer on a slippery slope, but we are truly going from FAITH to FAITH. From STRENGTH to STRENGTH. 


Join me. If you are not conditioned. Begin that process. If you are conditioned. Let's get in the Lord's Gym and continue to build, continue to go from STRENGTH TO STRENGTH, INCREASING in VICTORIOUS POWER!