Success Formula!

Proverbs 16:3 (amp) - Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed.

What an exciting verse... one that may take some time to actually fully do. Roll YOUR Works! Roll your job, your kids, your business, your book, your crafts, your projects, your inventions, your finances, your dreams.... ROLL THEM onto the Lord. Commit & trust them WHOLLY to HIM. Once we've rolled our works and our cares over to the Lord, then it's time to TRUST Him with them. Trust that His goal and desire for us IS for us to accomplish the God-given dreams and desires that we have! How exciting! He will cause YOUR THOUGHTS to become agreeable to His will. Probably my 2nd favorite part of this verse. When we cast our works upon the Lord... when we cast our business, our job, our dreams upon the Lord and trust him with it, THEN begins the work of OUR THOUGHTS coming into line and into agreement with God's! Now that is good stuff! Once our thoughts come into line with God's THEN He will cause OUR plans to be established and SUCCEED! 


Who wants SUCCESS?!? I do! By turning our works over to the Lord, trusting Him with them, He begins to transform our mind. Thoughts, ideas, plans, specific activities, the 'how-to', comes into clarity and focus. THEN because we have honored God with our "works", He causes them to SUCCEED!

So... Formula for success?

Roll your Work/Care/Dream onto the Lord + Trust GOD with that Work/Care/Dream = Our Thoughts Line up with God's thoughts (plans, ideas, ways to do things just "pop" into our heads) = (ultimately leading to) SUCCESS 

 

 

 

#232 - When You Feel Like Thomas...

Proverbs 15:29b - ...He hears the prayer of the [consistently] righteous (the upright, in right standing with Him). 

Proverbs 31:30 - Charm and grace are deceptive, and beauty is vain [because it is not lasting], but a woman who reverently and worshipfully fears the Lord, she shall be praised! 

John 20:24-29 - ²⁴But Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came.
    ²⁵So the other disciples kept telling him, We have seen the Lord! But he said to them, Unless I see in His hands the marks made by the nails and put my finger into the nail prints, and put my hand into His side, I will never believe [it].
    ²⁶Eight days later His disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, though they were behind closed doors, and stood among them and said, Peace to you!
    ²⁷Then He said to Thomas, Reach out your finger here, and see My hands; and put out your hand and place [it] in My side. Do not be faithless and incredulous, but [stop your unbelief and] BELIEVE!
    ²⁸Thomas answered Him, My Lord and my God!
    ²⁹Jesus said to him, Because you have seen Me, Thomas, do you now believe (trust, have faith)? Blessed and happy and to be envied are those who have never seen Me and yet have believed and adhered to and trusted and relied on Me.

Have you ever been in a situation where doubt just seemed the easiest thing to believe? The odds were stacked against you, your faith level felt low, automatically the 'rock-kicking' position was the state of your feelings and faith. You look at past situations and see what appeared to be failure, and by how things look with this new situation, it's just going to be a repeat. Friend, today, there is hope for you to believe!


Earlier in John chapter 20, the disciples are gathered together in fear. They are in fear of the Jews. They sit behind closed doors, in one feeling, fear. Little did they know, their Friend, their Beloved, their Missed Savior was just moments away from walking through that closed door. Just moments away. Upon seeing Jesus, and the holes in his side, hands & feet, the disciples believed. They saw! All but Thomas saw. What if one of the others would not have been in the room that day? Eight days later when Jesus reappeared, would we also be reading about "Doubting James?" or "Doubting John?" All the disciples except Thomas were there when Jesus appeared. They saw. 


Now go with me, go with me back to that time. Can you imagine the grief you would feel after the passing of your Friend, your Savior. The mourning, the sadness. Sure, He promised He would come again, but sadness still held an overwhelming sensation in your body. When would He come? Was He just saying a parable again? Telling a story? And here, eight days after Jesus appeared to all the other disciples, He appears to them again and Thomas is present. Though eight days prior, Thomas says, "Unless I see in His hands the marks made by the nails and put my finger into the nail prints, and put my hand into His side, I will never believe [it]." 


As Jesus walks in the room, it does not say that Thomas actually did place his finger in the nail prints, or put his hand in Jesus' side. But he just says, "My Lord and my God!" I can only imagine at that very moment Thomas may have fallen to the ground, embraced his Friend, his Lord, his Savior. So happy to believe. So happy that He really was alive! 


Then Jesus talks about you & I! He says BLESSED are those who have believed and have not seen! That's Me! That's You! "Believed" in the Greek (Jn 20:29), also is translated, "to place confidence in."


Have you trusted Jesus with your salvation? Have you turned your life over to Him? Are you saved? Then, Jesus HERE, in this scripture is talking about YOU! Two thousand years ago, He was talking about YOU!  


Today, from the worlds perspective, the odds may appear to be stacked against you... but all we have to do is to CHOOSE to believe. We don't have to know the details, the outcome, how everything is going to come together on our behalf. All we have to do is CHOOSE to believe. All we have to do is place our confidence in the ALMIGHTY ONE!


Build your faith up today! Build your belief up today! Put your situation in God's hands and leave it there! Put scripture to work for you. Check out the power behind these confessions! They are for YOU & for ME! 

• All things are possible to him that BELIEVES!
• My God shall supply ALL my needs according to HIS riches in glory!
• I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me!
• With God for me, who can be against me? 
• My God gives me the desires of my heart!
• I have FAVOR in the sight of God & Man!
• My God does exceedingly & abundantly above ALL I can ask, think or imagine! (WOW! That's a lot!)

When you feel down & out... when you feel like Thomas, "How could I possibly trust or believe until I see some results." I encourage you... cast your situation on the One who came to save you! Cast your situation on the One who CHOSE to die for YOU! He CHOSE you! Will you CHOOSE to believe in Him for your situation? When you feel like Thomas, Choose the Word. Choose the truth. Choose to trust. Choose to place your confidence in your Savior! Choose Jesus!

#209 - Forgive Me?

Proverbs 28:13 - He who covers his transgressions will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes his sins will obtain mercy.


Proverbs 31:11 - The heart of her husband trusts in her confidently and relies on and believes in her securely, so that he has no lack of [honest] gain or need of [dishonest] spoil.


Have you ever known you needed to ask for forgiveness, but knew if you pushed it under the rug, no one would even know? The uncomfortableness of "asking for forgiveness" would mean that you were wrong. It would highlight your shortcomings. Not to mention, having to ask for forgiveness makes you feel shameful. I hate feeling shameful. But, the alternative, is going through your day or days, with this "sin" hanging over your head. It's like everywhere you go, you can't escape the feeling of the shame, it doesn't go away, it follows you. Until, finally you decide to give in.  You decide to go to the person and just ask for forgiveness.

Recently in a Quiet Time, the Holy Spirit addressed this topic with me. I had asked Tyler & the Lord for forgiveness about something the day prior. It was uncomfortable and it felt shameful. Like Proverbs 28:13 says, I did obtain mercy. He did forgive me. But, the next morning in my Quiet Time, the Holy Spirit addressed the importance of asking for forgiveness. Tyler and I have a "confession" rule with each other, if we mess up in whatever area, we've agreed to ask for forgiveness. It's uncomfortable, but it holds us accountable to one another. The Holy Spirit prompted me again of the importance. He said though I may not like confronting an area of sin, it helps. The Holy Spirit pointed out that the alternative would be a hardening of my heart. I know I do not want to get to a point where my heart is hardened to sin.

The Proverbs 31 husband is able to trust & confidently rely on his Proverbs 31 wife. I would like to believe Tyler can trust me. Granted, we both know that I'm not perfect, but he knows despite how difficult a situation may be, I will confront him if I need to. I want him to believe in me & trust me securely as it says in Proverbs 31:11.

So... in person, over text, over the phone.... you will often hear us say the uncomfortable words, "I messed up, will you forgive me?" Praise the Lord for mercy.

What about you and your relationships? Do you have any safeguards for sin? I would love to hear about them!

#198 - A Tactic of the Enemy: The Wife!

*blowing breath out*

Whew. *wiping brow* It's been a full morning already. The first 2 hours of being awake was heavy! And that was even before getting into my quiet time! My husband is so smart. We talked a lot this morning, I reviewed some notes that I recently took, and overall... it was just a pretty emotionally full morning. I believe that today's devotion is going to impact you. If anything, connect some dots on some very important things to do.  We are going to take a "field trip" from our Proverbs 22 chapter of today, and jump  back earlier into the Old Testament. Let's get started....

2 Chronicles 26:5 (talking about King Uzziah) - He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the things of God; and as long as he sought (inquired of, yearned for) the Lord, God made him prosper.

2 Chronicles 32:31b (talking about King Hezekiah) - ... God left him to himself to try him, that He might know all that was in his heart.

Proverbs 31:11a - The heart of her husband trusts in her confidently and relies on and believes in her securely... 

This is going to be full. I'm going to do my best, with the direction of the Holy Spirit to bring it all full circle.


First of all, if we look at the beginning of Proverbs 31:11, we see that it is talking about the heart of the Proverbs 31 husband. His heart trusts in his wife. His heart is confident in her. His heart relies on her. His heart believes in her. She is not how some would view as the "weaker vessel" or as the "lesser of the two," she is VALUABLE and he is relying upon her.

Let's take a trip back to the beginning. In the Garden, there were Adam & Eve. How did the enemy infiltrate mankind? He got to the woman. Satan chose his tactic to get to Eve, the wife, to bring down mankind. His plan worked, in the short-term (obviously Jesus came back and gave us a way to Victory! Praise the Lord!) I heard an amazing woman of God say last night that she noticed when SHE was not on her full game, it was very quickly after that she would notice her husband would come off his game. If the enemy is successful in getting the wife down, getting the wife distracted, he has the potential to get the WHOLE mission of the couple off course!

As we peek into 2 Chronicles 26:5, it tells us that as long as King Uzziah sought the Lord, inquired of, yearned for the Lord, that because of it, GOD made him to prosper. Marry that with the lesson from Adam and Eve. It becomes SO MUCH MORE important for WOMEN to stay in a position of SEEKING THE LORD! It ultimately makes it a key in why the Lord makes us to prosper. YOU, woman of God, like in the beginning of time are a target. Like it or not, you have a bulls-eye on your back. Just ONE of the tactics of the enemy, if he can get to the woman, he has potential of disrupting the whole mission. Whether that be through strife, discord, discouragement, busyness, focusing on the unimportant... whatever it is, the tactics have been set out by the enemy.

The Woman's Responsibility: STAND GUARD! GIRD YOURSELF with the Word and with strength. Serve, give, love people. Pursue your calling. Don't delay. Distractions can cause you to get off course, be aware of what is taking your time. Be aware of your heart. Pursue the Lord! Pursue deeper revelations into the Word. EXPECT to get clarity. EXPECT to be directed. Like King Hezekiah, God wants to know your heart. What are you putting into your heart? What is going in? Is your heart getting purer or is your heart static? Staying the same? Blank?

The Husband's Responsibility: PRAY! Knowing that YOUR WIFE is one MAJOR tactic of the enemy to destroy your mission and ministry as a couple, PRAY FOR HER! Pray a hedge of protection around her. Pray for her mental stability. Pray for her growth in her walk with the Lord. Pray for her sharpness, that she would be able to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit with clarity. Plea the blood of Jesus over your wife. Protect her from the enemy with your prayers!

The Proverbs 31 husband TRUSTS in his wife with his heart! She has has spent time girding herself up, strengthening herself, and because of this, he trusts her. She is guarding herself from becoming overwhelmed. She has safe-guards in place. Where she is vulnerable & obedient, is to being LED by the Holy Spirit, and that is exactly where we want to be.

We can learn from the past. We can learn from the beginning. The enemy's goal was to take out Eve. His goal was to distract Eve, get Eve into disobedience. Woman of God, recognize this as a warning. This is ALL THE MORE reason for you and I to be diligent in our pursuit with the Lord. Our marriage and our calling as a couple is dependent upon our stability & obedience. If we know that we are a target of the enemy, it makes it crucial that we are always armed. That our foundation is in the Word. That our stand is on the ROCK! Stability is key, pursue it! Don't be victim to the enemy, be the VICTOR!

#184 - Walk Away PROFITABLE Every Time!

Buenos dias! Well, today is an exciting day! We go to have an ultrasound and "officially" find out that we are having a girl! We've always believed that our "Trinity" would be #2, so it will be fun to get to see her and hear the "official" word from the Doctor today! Yippee! So dad, Junior & I will have an exciting appointment! Tyler Junior is going to be a big brother! How fun!

Well how about it? Let's get started in some Word.

Proverbs 16:3 - Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed. 

Proverbs 31:16 (NLT) - She makes sure her dealings are profitable; her lamp burns late into the night.

Isn't the Word awesome?! This morning I was just really reminded of how much of an entrepreneur our Proverbs 31 friend is. We know that she is the "Complete Package", and included in that, she is a "Business Woman!" Isn't that interesting. She is smart.

The New Living Translation tells us that our Proverbs 31 friend is "profitable" in her dealings. Those exploits that she pursues, she is making money, she is progressing, she is moving forward. When we look back to Proverbs 16:3, we can see how one can be successful in any endeavor, let's take another look.

1. Roll your works on the Lord - The first part of our assignment as we pursue a new endeavor or a business venture, an idea, is to roll that idea, roll that business venture, roll that thought onto the Lord. What does that mean? How are we to do that? The amplified version gives us a bit more insight on exactly that, it tells us to "COMMIT" that idea and "TRUST" that idea wholly to the Lord. "Wholly" in the dictionary is defined: entirely, altogether, totally, completely, without exception, exclusively. The "works" or "ideas" that we have, the "pursuits" that we want to chase, the "business concept" that we want to launch out into must FIRST and FOREMOST be committed to the Lord. Once it is committed and entrusted to the Lord, take a look what happens to it! Take a look what HE does with that idea, business venture, thought...
2. He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will - So, as we commit the thought or idea to the Lord, He begins to change things. The idea goes forth, we daily commit and remind Him of our trust in Him with the idea, we expect Him to further clarify and fine-tune the idea.... and look what He does! He not only clarifies and fine-tunes the thought, the idea, the business venture He does something even BETTER! He makes OUR THOUGHTS in regards to this idea, our thoughts in regards to the business venture, He makes OUR THOUGHTS to come into agreement with His will. Areas that we may have had things a little bit off or wrong, they get tweaked. Our thoughts are changed and perfected to be like HIS thoughts! The good news? His thoughts are PERFECT and His thoughts and His plans always succeed! So? What happens next? 
3. Our plans are established & succeed - Wha-la! Like a perfect batch of cookies coming out of the oven, our plans are successful! Like the Proverbs 31 woman, "our dealings are profitable!" Tell me this, WHO doesn't start a business but to be profitable?! That is the goal! People don't start a business to fail. People don't start a business to loose money. People start a business to succeed, to be profitable. The missing link in most failed business'? I would bet you could guess. The LACK of rolling the business or idea onto the Lord. The LACK of allowing our thoughts about the business to come into line with the Lord's thoughts for it.

How can we assure our success? Follow the above steps. I once heard a minister say that he NEVER has lost any money in ANY business investment! WOW! Outside of his ministry, he is a millionaire. Why? Because He allowed the LORD to be his counselor. In an economic downturn, his bankers advised him to do certain things with his financial portfolio. He took in what they said and told them, "Let me pray about it, I will get back with you." He left, He prayed about it. He brought it before the Lord and came back to meet with his bankers. In turn he told them, "No, I don't want to do what you are recommending... this, this and this. I would like you to do this ________." He had them move money into certain areas that made no sense to them. They were recommending their other high profile clients to do things completely different. Well... do you know what? Not long after, those very bankers came back to him and said, "Sir, do you realize out of ALL of our clients and ALL of our portfolios, everyone lost money but you! You were the only one who gained and increased during this economic time. Maybe we should have taken advice from you on what to do with everyone's money."

Praise the Lord! Everything about the Lord is about making us increase and prosper! He is not a God of lack. He is not a God of subtraction and division. He is a God of addition and multiplication. When we really COMMIT & TRUST our ways and plans to Him, when we really seek Him and allow Him to fine-tune our thinking, HE WILL! He will give us exactly the information to succeed & like the Proverbs 31 woman to walk away profitable!

#168 - Are you in Full Partnership?

Good morning! :) Today I have a 17 month old. Wow! He's turning into such a big boy!! He got a big-boy hair cut the other day at the barber shop with CLIPPERS! Wow! He looks so different.... so much older. He is so funny, just loves to be the center of attention and be goofy. We definitely laugh a lot around him. What a joy! Praise the Lord. :)

Let's get into the Word.

Proverbs 14:6 - A scoffer seeks Wisdom in vain [for his very attitude blinds and deafens him to it], but knowledge is easy to him who [being teachable] understands.

Proverbs 31:11 - The heart of her husband trusts in her confidently and relies on and believes in her securely, so that he has no lack of [honest] gain or need of [dishonest] spoil. 

Well....the Word does have a way to reveal & confirm things in our life, doesn't it? As I was reading about the scoffer, a few things came to mind. First of all, this person was SEEKING Wisdom. They were SEEKING. In the past, we've studied verses on the importance of SEEKING, searching out scripture, finding those hidden truths in the Word. Well, here this "scoffer" is SEEKING Wisdom.... but as we read further we see that it is done in vain. Wow! Who knew you could seek Wisdom, but it be in vain!? We see why it was in vain, because of his attitude! His attitude blinded and deafened him for really gaining the truth, really attaining answers and Wisdom.

I personally had to to an "Attitude Check" for myself. The Holy Spirit revealed some things in my life that up until recently had been faulty, wrong. I'll share shortly (arghhh... OK, let's take a look at Amy's faults again! ha!! that's ok!)

Proverbs 31:11, gives us a bit of insight into how the relationship is between the Proverbs 31 wife and her husband. He trusts in her CONFIDENTLY, he relies on her, he believes in her. They truly are a team working together in their strengths. Each bringing things to the table that completes the "PAIR" to make them a dynamic duo! Separately, there would be thing missing. BUT, the Proverbs 31 wife has proven to her husband that she is capable. Through her series of successes of taking a task, accomplishing it, producing income with it or producing things her family needs, she proves herself worthy of his belief!

I have fallen in the guilty category of, "I'm the wife, you are the big, strong husband. Ride in off your white horse. Conquer the giants. Handle the responsibilities. And when all is said and done, I will dust you off and we will go off and live 'happily ever after.' - That is, AFTER YOU have done all the hard work." All the while, happy to give my opinion, or even on the rare occasions, sometimes disapproval every once in awhile.

Falling into the category of "not being the equal", but being the "lesser half" because of not wanting to take responsibility. Full responsibility. I was reminded of several things this morning that take two. (1)The disciples were sent out 2 by 2. (2) Deut 32:30 - One can put 1,000 to flight, TWO can put 10,000 to flight. (3) Eccl 4:11 - If TWO lie together they keep warm, but one by himself is cold.

And the list could go on. It has been an easy thing to just want "the husband" to go out and slay the dragons of life and just be the rescued damsel in distress, but I don't think that was how we were designed to be. The Proverbs 31 wife, PROVED HERSELF WORTHY. She earned her rewards through diligence. She was very much a PARTNER with her husband. Right, wrong or indifferent, I have wanted to be the "rescued damsel" into the fairy tale story without doing my part, leaving the weight & responsibility unfortunately on Tyler.

Praise God for marriage. We are brought together to become ONE. Where TWO become ONE. We were designed to COMPLETE each other, with our gifts, talents & abilities to be able to COMPLETE the calling God has on our life.

Are you single? It's YOU & GOD then! He's your partner! But to those married folks.... any of you trying to "shirk" responsibility? Are you in full partnership? Well... it's just another area that I have to work on.

Have a blessed day!

#146 - My God SHALL SUPPLY!

Good morning! Man! It feels so good to have gotten a really good night sleep. I just feel great this morning! My husband took me out for my birthday last night, so that was nice. We had a great time and enjoyed a yummy dinner at one of our favorites, Carrabba's. 


Well... we're going to change things up a little bit with these devotions. As the Lord leads, I'm just going to uncover some truths I/we've learned along the way. Some of those truths that really either built our faith or rocked our foundation. SO... I hope you enjoy. Our Proverbs/Psalms journey has temporarily come to an end, but feel free to continue reading them. 

Phil. 4:19 - And my God will liberally supply (fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 

I was in college, this was over 10 years ago that the realization of this truth first became alive to me. So will you travel back with me.... it was somewhere around 1999.


Indiana Tournament of Champions. One day. 9 events & scholarship money to the top 4 contenders. This would be the 3rd year that I participated, and I was coming back as the returning Champion. The previous year, I had walked away with the grand prize of $2500 in scholarship money, and boy did that help. My track and cross country scholarships did not pay for everything, so I worked through college, had loans, applied for grants, and looked for any type of scholarships I could acquire. 


This year, this time it was different. For some reason, over the last month I felt the Holy Spirit leading me to just dig into the Word. In my flesh, it seemed natural that I should be training, I should be practicing. Swimming, tennis, running, basketball, golf... I should be working on my skills. I really needed that $2500.  But, this time, this year, I wasn't released to spend all that time practicing. Matthew. The Holy Spirit had me just devouring the book of Matthew. I was reading it. And re-reading it. It was becoming real and alive to me. Mornings at my parents house, out by the pool, sitting in the gazebo just taking notes, journaling, reading. A whole month worth. 


I traveled to Michigan to a friends graduation reception. Her uncle had come in from Las Vegas.... wouldn't you know, that one night we were in the living room and the door opened and he just began asking questions about God, Jesus... about specific things I had been reading and studying for the whole month. Each question went right back to an area in Matthew where I had studied, and I was able to share, chapter & verse, answers to his questions. I believed I was placed there for that time, ready, prepared to share with him. 


Back home... the Saturday had come. The Tournament of Champions was here. I returned, the hope of another victory in my heart. I really needed this money for school. As the day flew by, event after event, it all came to a close. Me, the returning Champion, turned in a 4th place performance. $500. I got in my car and the tears began to come. They were streaming down my face. I remember banging on my steering wheel. "LORD! I needed that money! I need that for school!" 


Tears streaming down my face, I drove home, stopped at the mail box on my way in the drive. An envelope addressed to me caught my attention. I opened it. Inside was a check for $2500. 'Congratulations. You have received this grant for school.' Tears began to stream again. The Lord hadn't forgotten me. It wasn't his plan for me to win the Tournament of Champions this year. He had provided! 


And Phil. 4:19 was real to me, AND MY GOD shall LIBERALLY supply ALL of my needs according to HIS RICHES in glory in Christ Jesus! Praise the Lord! It hadn't happened how I thought it would, but God had supplied and met more than my need. He had LIBERALLY supplied me. I was so thankful. What a wonderful lesson. And I have continued to watch His Word be real and alive to me. His Word come to life. His Word be true! 


So today.... will you trust. Will you trust that God WILL supply your need! He won't let you down. 

#109 - Victory is Yours if you will TRUST

Good afternoon! :) It feels like morning since I'm still in my "morning routine"... but running a bit late this morning. Had to give "the boy" a bath. :) Let's just say when he woke up he was SOAKED! So.... what is he doing now? He is also having his Quiet Time like mom. He has some toys, his books and HIS Bible in his bed with him. We got him his first Bible for his birthday and are beginning the process to talk to him about reading his Bible each morning during our "Quiet Time." I have been setting up the routine that the morning time is Quiet Time, reading time, and playing in "his" room. It's working. It will be fun to watch Tyler Junior as he grows and truly does establish and learn the importance of spending time in the Bible each morning. It is pretty amazing that kids really do want to mimic whatever their parents do, so since we read a lot, I anticipate he will do the same. 


Well, let's get rolling this morning. 

Proverbs 30:5 (NKJV) - Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. 

Psalms 30:3-6 (NKJV) - O LORD ...You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.... His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning. Now in my prosperity I said, “I shall never be moved.” 

As I briefly spent time meditating on the word shield, and the idea of a shield, I envisioned some pretty interesting things. Picture this, it says that HE, GOD is YOUR shield if you put trust in Him. Picture going into battle or attacking whatever problem it is that you might be going through right now. Maybe it's some differences or issues with your boss, maybe it's with your finances, maybe it's your in-laws (who you are trying by faith not to treat like out-laws!).... whatever the situation. Imagine, since your trust is in God that as you walk into this problem or what seems like a battle GOD walks in front of you AS YOUR SHIELD. He IS your shield. As you are holding up your arm, like you would a shield, it is God who is going before you. It is God who is setting up your Victory! It is God who is doing the prep-work and the "warring" on your behalf. HE is fighting your battles. You are just walking them out. You are just treading your feet on the land, He is fighting for you, and YOU are receiving the Land. You are receiving what is rightfully yours.

Weeping may have been last night. But this morning came joy! Now you are walking out the Victory! You are walking out in prosperity... be it soul prosperity, relationship prosperity, marital prosperity, business prosperity, financial prosperity, health prosperity. GOD is walking before you AS your SHIELD AS you TRUST Him. Trust is the key ingredient here. Your situation may look impossible. Trust. Your marriage may look hopeless. Trust. You look at your 'online banking' and your finances seem hopeless. Trust. You feel like you are at the end of your rope. You want to have hope. You want to believe things will get better. You are looking up from what feels like the pit you are in just wanting to believe, wanting to hope. TRUST. God has kept you alive. God has kept you here for such a time as this. And PRAISE GOD, he did not bring you to this point to leave you in defeat. You may know that it was not God that brought you to this point to begin with, it was you. Maybe your mistakes or selfishness. May unkind words that you let slip out. Maybe mishandling of finances. Maybe you brought yourself to the place you are at and you pride is keeping you there. Lay down that pride and TRUST. Let God know once and for all that you can not do it on your own. Let Him help!
"Victory is yours," saith the Lord. Victory is yours. "Put down your pride, put down your ego. Let ME be your Shield. I know how and WILL win this battle if you will only TRUST. Your way has not worked. When will you turn to Me and let me work on your behalf? My ways may seem strange, my plans may not be how you would have done them, but my way ultimately WILL work if you will just TRUST. Will you trust Me today?"

Let the end of your story be Psalm 30:6, Now in my prosperity I said, “I shall never be moved.” Prosperity. Prosperity in your marriage. Prosperity in your business. Prosperity in your health. Prosperity on your job. Prosperity in your relationships. Prosperity in your finances. That you would be left standing, the ground would shake, the strength of your voice would be heard for ALL to hear, "I SHALL NEVER BE MOVED!" The roar of your voice echos in the land, "I SHALL NEVER BE MOVED! I SHALL NEVER BE MOVED! I SHALL NEVER BE MOVED!" 

Let your testimony right now be that you STOOD and that you TRUSTED. That you laid down your pride and ego once and for all and that the end of your story be told that YOU WILL NEVER BE MOVED. That you chose to TRUST. 

#100 - Relax WITHOUT Toil!

Good morning & hello HEAT! Hip Hip Horray! We have heat! That's a good thing! I'm thankful for several reasons....but, it brings me back to a time when the heat may have stopped working because we weren't able to pay a bill, or did not have the money to fix it. Praise God, I'm thankful to say that God has brought us out of a time of lack. I'm thankful that God has MORE THAN ENOUGH to supply us with our needs and wants out of HIS ABUNDANCE. AND, with God's hand there is no shortage. He doesn't run out. There is pure abundance and overflow with Him. Praise the Lord. So... it makes me thankful that the heat did not go out because our lack of ability to pay for or fix something. Praise the Lord for growth & progress. From moving to revelation to manifestation. Walking in the blessing, that we can abide there. Praise God! What does it say, "abide in the shadow of the Almighty." With the Almighty is abundance of blessing, abiding IN there is accompanied with fullness and everything we need. I can't imagine "abiding in the shadow of the Almighty" and being hungry? Can you imagine that? Or not being able to afford clothes that fit. Abiding, living with God, and there being LACK in HIS house!??!?! That just doesn't line up. So I commit to STAYING in the shadow of the Almighty and abiding there forever! So long LACK! I've tried lack and I didn't like it, it only brought sorrow, frustration & tears. I choose ABUNDANCE! I choose prosperity! I choose to LIVE in the BLESSING!


OK... that was worth coming for, but let's jump into some MORE Word! :) 

Proverbs 10:22-23 - The blessing of the Lord--it makes [truly] rich, and He adds no sorrow with it [neither does toiling increase it]. It is as sport to a [self-confident] fool to do wickedness, but to have skillful and godly Wisdom is pleasure and relaxation to a man of understanding.

Wow. That is good stuff. As I was sitting down to read, I just thought, "Wow God! There is so much good stuff here! Where do you even start? The WHOLE chapter 10 is loaded! I didn't even get to read anything else. I was swimming in amazing verses that were jumping off the page, all of which I won't discuss in this devotion. 


As I was reading, my mind began to race at my schedule for today. To be honest, I was basically just toiling in my mind. Not completely "stressing", but my mind was definitely racing! And then the Holy Spirit said to me, "Amy, don't be so busy in your mind. Pleasure and relaxation. You can accomplish a lot & still be relaxed! Don't toil in your mind & thoughts. The blessing of ME makes rich. I add no sorrow. No need to toil, even in your mind!"  


Then... He told Tyler a pretty amazing thing too... as Tyler read it to me, I honestly thought he was reading a quote out of a book. It was good. This one is noteworthy enough to write down and keep somewhere as a reminder! He said, "When you plant & water, you put a lot of things into motion & sometimes you just need to relax & let the seed do it's own work." 


WOW! Relax. Don't toil. Trust in what you have sown that the law of sowing and reaping won't stop working with you. It's a law. Trust that once the work is done, the seed will grow and then RELAX! 


What a blessing that the Lord adds no sorrow with his blessings. And by us TOILING, living in frustration, or rush rush rush, go go go, constant toiling in our mind... that is NOT FROM GOD. Like He told me, we can STILL accomplish a lot without having to toil, but to be at peace moving from accomplishment to accomplishment. HE will direct our steps if we listen! HE will make the way plain. HE will make our plans succeed! How do I know that? It says it in his word! (Go study Proverbs 16 also!)


Bless you today! I've already wrote in my book, made meatloaf, made 48 ounces of baby food, been in the Word, wrote this blog, and now getting ready to go to MyGym with the boy. Blessed to listen to the Voice of the Holy Spirit! Praise GOD that HE speaks to us today!


XOXO, 
Be Blessed!
Amy J

#91 - Are you RISING while it's yet night?

Good morning! I pray that today finds you SUPER blessed! :) Well... I will be excited to show you pictures of the boy's play room soon. It is definitely cutie! He is BLESSED!!! Yesterday he got a BALL PIT! Yes, a ball pit! It is huge! It's super fun though! He really just got introduced to it yesterday, so today will really be the day he gets to play in it. I'm sure it will be very entertaining to watch! Blessed and HIGHLY Favored!! Praise the Lord!!! :) 

Proverbs 31:15 - She rises while it is yet night and gets [spiritual] food for her household and assigns her maids their tasks 

Psalm 56:4 - By [the help of] God I will praise His word; on God I lean, rely, and confidently put my trust; I will not fear.

Psalm 86:1a - INCLINE YOUR ear, O Lord, and answer me... 

Psalm 116:1 - I LOVE the Lord, because He has heard [and now hears] my voice and my supplications. 

Well... today's word comes as a bit of that .... hum... what do you call it... constant reminder of what you NEED to be doing, but maybe aren't doing. Have you ever had something like that come up in your life? The word that is RINGING in your ears, that thing that you know you NEED to do but you keep avoiding it. Well, for me, that is today's devotion. We'll see if it is something that rings in your ear too... maybe like me, this will be something that you have known you need to do but until now have not commited to the action of DOING it. 

She rises while it is yet night. The Proverbs 31 woman is rising to get food for her household. She is included in her household, she is also getting food for herself. What kind of food? We can talk specifically about two kinds of food. 1) Spiritual Food, 2) Physical Food. Not only is she spiritually spending time with the Lord and getting filled up spiritually, but she is also preparing the food for her household for that day. Both are areas that I can improve on! 

Have you ever had someone in your life that was not accountable? Someone that you could not rely on? I recently was reminded of that from someone in my life. I was reminded that the person had good intentions and they were a good person, but I could not count on them to follow through with what they said that they would do. Most likely, this person is stretched too thin and overcommited. Well, to RELY on, LEAN on and CONFIDENTLY put your trust in someone, it first is going to take you KNOWING that person. Right? If you do not know then, you automatically are not going to have confidence in them. Psalm 56 talks about having CONFIDENCE and RELYING on the Lord. Like the Proverbs 31 woman, it is going to take SPENDING TIME with Him to get to know Him. Specifically, I would anticipate that the Proverbs 31 woman rose while it was still night, earlier than everyone else in her household because it was still quiet. The busyiness of the day had not begun. The hussle and bussle had not started, and she could have some quiet time, just her and the Lord to get direction for her day. 


I have been around "stay-at-home" mom's or mom's in general and everything seems to always be a world of chaos. Everything is either an emergency, chaotic, stressful. It's like you can feel it in the air, like a spirit of stress. It almost makes your heart tighten just to be in the environment. One mom, I asked her specifically how things were going with her Quiet Time and her time with the Lord. She told me the answer that I expected, she was not having a quiet time. Things had gotten so busy, that she had not been "fitting it in". And, it was evident in the constant state of stress that she appeared to be in. Lack of peace. 


To have CONFIDENCE in YOUR FATHER, for us to have confidence in OUR FATHER, we need to spend time getting to know him. Before the kids are up, before the spouse is awake, before the obligations of the day begin. The Psalmist in 116 says, I LOVE the Lord, because He has heard. Don't YOU want the Lord to HEAR YOU!? Don't you want to KNOW that you have been HEARD?! I know I do. 


The second aspect. Physical food. I have DEFINITELY not been the poster child for this one. Waking up and "fixing breakfast" for my husband? Wow! I know this is something that he would LOVE, but it is definitely something I have not done. But... why haven't I? It says it in the Bible. It says that's what the Proverbs 31 woman does, so why haven't I done it? One easy answer, sleep. I sleep in later than Tyler. Granted, I still get up at a decent time.. usually between 7:30-8:30, but he is always up before me. What a suprise it would be for him to wake up and I was up, had already spent time in the Word and had BREAKFAST for him!!! WHOA! One of my NEW goals. It allows another way for me to serve and love my husband. Not in a demeaning way, "wife being the dormat" way, but in a way that Jesus would do. Serve. What is the verse that talks about that says, the least among you are the greatest.... and it's through serving! 


One final thought... what about the maids? In Proverbs 31:15 it talks about she assigns the maids their tasks. Well.... I believe her SPENDING TIME with the Lord is a key to having maids. Sure their are wealthy, non-believers who have maids but, if you are a Christian and don't have them.... then maybe in your time with the Lord, he will reveal to you how you will have them. Imagine not ever having to do a load of laundry again, or scrub a toilet. Could you find something more fun to do with your time than that? Well.... I believe it is there for you if you want it. And... it begins with that commited time with the Lord. 


OK.... I'm going to do it. I'm going to work on getting up earlier and EVEN making breakfast for my husband. If you see me... you can check up on me... ask me how I'm doing! I can definitely use the accountability! 


XOXO. Have a blessed day!


Amy J

#82 - Free Fall

What a beautiful fall day here in Columbia. I have a lot of things to do today, so I'm excited and looking forward to a very productive day! I finished painting the playroom yesterday. Now it will just be a matter of getting some curtains done. I want to make them so they will match the design that I did on the wall. Not quite sure what I will do, but it will probably just be a valance. It will be fun! Maybe I will do it on one of my next DOR's since it seems more like a "fun" thing to do than a "productive" thing! :) I love DOR's because I can do WHATEVER I want! Tyler thinks I'm funny that I like to do things like sewing and crafts on my Day Of Rest. But... his DOR the other day, he watched TWO DOCUMENTARIES!!!! ARGGHHH!! To me that would be SOOO BORRRRRRING!!!!!!! Yah... I think plucking my eyebrows would be more fun and relaxing! Ha! Anyways.... needless to say, I DO NOT watch documentaries on my DOR. I guess that's what makes us different! 


So, did you enjoy the CUTIE pictures of "The Boy" yesterday?! :) Isn't he cutie?!? I know. You don't even have to answer, I KNOW he's cute! He's my little doll baby. I don't know if he even has a choice but to be mama's little boy! :) 


Alright... enough going on and on... let's get started. 

Psalm 37:3-7a - ³Trust (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...

Psalm 37:34a - Wait for and expect the Lord and keep and heed His way, and He will exalt you to inherit the land ...

Proverbs 31:18 - She tastes and sees that her gain from work [with and for God] is good; her lamp goes not out, but it burns on continually through the night ...

Honestly... today I did not get past Psalm 37 in reading. It just rang inside me. There are so many good things in Psalm 37! SO MANY! 


Trust. What does it really mean to trust? To be confident in, to rely on, to lean on. Trust, to fully trust. To fully be confident. To not even have a question of doubt. With your whole being to have faith & trust. Did you ever do the activity where you are suppose to be blindfolded and do a "Faith Fall?" So, you are chosen. The trust? You are suppose to FALL back and expect to be caught. It's a great example and visual for trust. As you are blindfolded, the last person you see behind you is this little 90 pound girl and you think she couldn't catch a fly if it were coming towards her, let alone catch you from hitting the ground. Trust? The last thing you want to do is trust! Well.... you were the one chosen, so you have to do it. Reluctantly, with your blind-fold on, turned around, you put your arms out and you get ready to fall backwards, half scared that the next feeling you have will be a big, painful THUD on the ground. When given the "go-ahead" to fall, you begin your decent to the ground. To your surprise you feel FOUR sets of BIG arms and your are being held up, like a feather, in the air. No floor to brace you, but FOUR sets of big arms. Laying in these arms, the blindfold is removed, you see that you fell into the arms of FOUR really big, 270 pound football linemen. WHOA! Trust. They are huge. And you are most definitely not a challenge for them to "hold up" with ONE hand, nonetheless, FOUR sets of arms! Trust. How different of a picture it is if you only knew that those were the arms that were going to catch you. Trust.


God wants US to lean on, to trust, to FREE FALL into HIS ARMS. Like it says in Psalm 91, he will not even let us dash our foot against a stone. Trust. He desires our full faith, our trust. That we would not question, we would not be scared or nervous. He just wants us to clear our minds, push EVERYTHING out... all the cares, whatever is weighing on you. He wants us to push it out and to just trust. You fill in the blank. "I have been carrying the care of ____________________________." What care have you been carrying? Fill in the blank. You may have a really long blank.... you may have to add comma's! You may be carrying a LOT of cares! What are they? Will you TRUST them to God today? Do you realize what he did so that you would not have to carry those? The most precious thing to Him, His most prized possession, His Son. He sent Jesus to bore ALL the cares for you. Jesus has ALREADY carried your "CARE". If it has already been done, if it has already been carried, YOU ARE CARRYING IT IN VAIN! Jesus, at age 33, bore all the burdens for you. Sometimes we just need a reminder of that. A reminder that the cross has been carried, every burden that I have ever had or ever will have was on that cross as he walked up that hill to Calvary. 


Be still and rest in the Lord. Do you realize, that when you were in your mother's womb, He already knew you?! God already knew you! You were predestined to be here, right here, right now. To be sitting where you are right now reading these words. You were predestined to do it. God knew this day was going to arrive now. Do you realize that He knows what is going to happen the rest of the day. The things you will do, think, be. And do you know what else? He has VERY great plans for you! Do you realize that YOU are in His starting line-up?! YOU are in the front! YOU are the main character in this movie! It is YOU! You are not second string and you are not an "extra." YOU are the main character and your story is an AWESOME ONE! Do you know what else? With everything that has been racing through your head, your thoughts, your dreams, your hopes.... the places you want to go, the things you want to do, the dream job that you've always had, the things you want to buy, the people you want to be able to bless.... you do not have to "wonder" how those things are going to happen... or IF those things are going to happen. All you need to do is Be still and rest in the Lord. Isn't it awesome... that those secret desires of our heart, HE already knows about them. They aren't selfish. God would not put them there if they could not come to pass. He causes YOUR thoughts to become agreeable with HIS will so that YOUR plans will be established and succeed! His desire is to bless you! His desire is that you would own your home. You would own your vehicle. You would be able to bless people financially because you have an overflow of money. He wants YOU his CHILD to live in the blessing! 


It all begins with one word. Trust. 


Will you choose today to trust Him? To trust the God who is waiting for you to just LET GO and FREE FALL. Will you let go? Will you trust that God is lining things up on your behalf. He is setting things up to be in YOUR FAVOR. He is positioning you in the right place at the right time for His Will and blessings to come to pass in your life! 


As you sit there... if you're by yourself, as a commitment to yourself and as a act of turning over your trust and life to HIM... do this simple thing. As you are sitting up straight in your chair, put your arms straight out, look up to the heavens, close your eyes..... wait for a minute, feel your mind go free.... feel the cares diminish from your thoughts.... feel the worries go away.... and FALL BACK into your chair. Allow the chair to embrace you... safely. (Now... if you are on the train or at the airport, you might look a little weird doing this...I'd maybe wait if I were you! ha! lol!)


But for real... will you free fall? Will you allow God to catch you? Will you allow God to direct your life? Will you allow God to have ownership? The cares are not meant to be carried by you. If you are truly wanting to live in the will of God, can you have faith that HE will cause your steps to be right? That HE will cause you to be in the right place? That HE will direct you? And now, you have the FREEDOM to CARE LESS! To not care at all! You do not have to care about your goals and dreams and how they will come to pass! If you TRULY cast them on the Lord, HE will cause those things to come to pass, NOT YOU! So, take a load off today. Lay your heavy baggage down and enjoy a free-spirited trip. A trip through a day in YOUR LIFE. A day. Care-free. A wonderful, beautiful, breezey, fall day. 


Free fall today. I promise God will catch you. 

#74 - ROLL YOURSELF on the LORD!

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


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


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

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

Psalm 52:7-8 - See, this is the man who made not God his strength (his stronghold and high tower) but trusted in and confidently relied on the abundance of his riches, seeking refuge and security for himself through his wickedness. But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in and confidently rely on the loving-kindness and the mercy of God forever and ever. 

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

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

Proverbs 31:18b - ... her lamp goes not out, but it burns on continually through the night [of trouble, privation, or sorrow, warning away fear, doubt, and distrust].

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


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


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


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


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


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

#61 - Forgotten

Good morning! Can you share with me the excitement, the satisfaction, the pride you can have when you know you are obedient to the Lord? When you have done something that HE has instructed you to do. You have not procrastinated, you may not have gotten it down quite perfect yet, but you have completed the assignment. What a good feeling. What a good feeling to be obedient knowing that because of obedience and diligence, great rewards are on the horizon. Praise the Lord! :) Well.... let's get started.


Reading Schedule: Proverbs 31:10-31, Proverbs 2, Psalms 2, 32, 62, 92, 122

Proverbs 2:16b-17 - ...to deliver you from the alien woman...Who forsakes the husband and guide of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God. 

Psalms 32:3-5 - When I kept silence [before I confessed], my bones wasted away through my groaning all the day long. For day and night Your hand [of displeasure] was heavy upon me...I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord [continually unfolding the past till all is told]--then You [instantly] forgave me the guilt and iniquity of my sin...

Psalms 92:13-15 - Planted in the house of the Lord, they shall flourish in the courts of our God. [Growing in grace] they shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap [of spiritual vitality]... They are living memorials...  

Proverbs 31:11 - The heart of her husband trusts in her confidently and relies on and believes in her securely, so that he has no lack of [honest] gain or need of [dishonest] spoil. 

Wow! What fullness in the very words. What fullness in the Words we can read. It's almost as the verses above tell a story. A story of a woman who had forgotten... a woman who once knew God, who once had a relationship with Him, but allowed it to slip away. Forgot. Faded. Imagine if that same woman would have continued on.... confessing all her sins to the Lord, acknowledging it all, just spilling everything to the Lord.... all the while, He already knew all of her sins. Unfolding the past till all is told. What beauty in the very transparency of it all. The sweetness of release takes place, guilt is lifted. Guilt is taken away, and newness of life occurs. A new lease on life begins. 


If the alien woman would have continued.... continued on further in her walk with the Lord until she was living a life that was flourishing. Firmly planted in her relationship with God. Firmly planted in her devotion to a living Savior! What beauty! Continually growing in grace, greeting old age in fullness, in SPIRITUAL VITALITY! The words alone express victory. Express one who has lived a life full of victory and still charging forward with fervor. Spiritual Vitality. Living in old age, lasting, pursuing life to the fullest. A victory of being known as a living memorial! A living memorial! Typically a memorial is a tribute to someone who has done something great, but who has passed away. Imagine this alien woman, changing her course and direction, to get into her older years and be recognized by people around as a living memorial! She is CONTINUING to do great things! She has made her name great. She has served with greatness. She has pursued with passion. She has followed her one true love, her Lord and Savior, Jesus. And what is a result of it all? How does it affect her marriage? It affects her marriage in such a great way. It affects her marriage in total belief, respect and reliance from her husband. He does not rely on her in a weak sense... in a sense that he has given over leadership to her, he has not. He is 100% man. He is 100% leader of their marriage. But, he has allowed himself to be vulnerable to believing in her. Her roots are so firmly planted in the Lord, that he can trust her. He does not have to second guess her decisions. He does not have to have a hint of doubt when she does something. From the very CORE of his being, he knows that what she does, she has reason. What she does, there is purpose. What she does, even if it may seem questionable at the way it is approached, he knows in the depths of him that she most definitely has been led by the Holy Spirit, and the fullness of her actions will unfold to show the greatness of God's plan. He trusts her. 


He trusts her fully.


If only. If only the alien woman would have chose to change her course. She could have experienced this all. She could have experienced a life more fulfilling than the danger or risque life she was living. Lurking on corners. Never being fully loved by a man. Never experiencing the fullness of friends or fulfillment towards a worthy cause. If only she would have not forgotten the God of her youth. 


Today... where are you in the story? 

• Are you at the cross roads? Are you there at the point where you need to choose.... choose a life living for the world or a life living for your God?
• Are you at the place of repentance? Are you full of guilt and shame? Does it feel like it is hurting your heart, like it just wants to break from your chest? Are you at a place where you just need to spill all.... run to the Savior you know is there. Run to the Friend that you know will be there in Jesus? Are you in that place? Where you need to repent? 
• Maybe you are in the place where victory you are experiencing? You are firmly planted? You are now working towards leaving your lasting mark on this world. Leaving a mark that will carry on for generations. Maybe you are working on being that living memorial? 
• Or maybe you are there, desiring to be the spouse you know you need to be. Desiring to have such complete trust and unity with your spouse. Desiring to change the dirty. Desiring to change the hesitancy in his thoughts about your actions.... not knowing if your next actions will be for yourself or what you both know God would want. Maybe you are at the place where, like the Proverbs 31 woman, her husband trusts her completely. Has NO lack of honest gain. Has full confidence, respect and trust in her. Maybe YOU are working to grow in this area. This area where your husband does not doubt you or question you, but fully trusts all your actions. 

Wherever you are today... pray. Take the next step. Choose God. Repent. Ask for forgiveness. Continue aggressively to make a difference. Or begin to BE the trustworthy person. Begin the pursuit to be a trusted wife & living memorial, to leave a lasting impact on this world.

Today.... ask yourself.... where am I in this story? Where am I? What do I need to do next. 

Do not be the forgotten. Do not forget the God of your youth. Do not pursue life forgetting the most important Guide. Leader. Director of life. It would most certainly be a life of unfulfillment and loss to live having forgotten.

__________________________________________

Have these devotions been a blessing to you? 

Have they helped you in your walk with the Lord? 

Are you reading them but not a "follower"? If you are on your computer, to the left side you can choose to be a "Follower". Would you consider doing that today? As I pursue a writing career, with books coming out in 2010, "followers" help in the publishing world. 

Bless someone else with these devotions. 

Share on Facebook, Twitter, or email a friend. 

Thanks so much! I am equally blessed to hear what the Lord says each day. I love to hear His Voice and follow His direction. There is no better thing in life to know when you are hearing your Creator, and being obedient to His Voice. 


Thanks again for reading. I am blessed to have you as a brother or sister in Christ. Until we meet....

                            Xoxo, 

                                      Amy J.

Follow me on Twitter: @amyjmccart