#266 - Is it Possible to Hear from God?

Jeremiah 30:2 - Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Write all the words that I have spoken to you in a book. 

Proverbs 31:15 - She rises while it is yet night and gets (spiritual) food...

John 10:27 - The sheep that are My own hear and are listening to My voice; and I know them, and they follow Me. 

Have you ever been curious as to whether you hear from God? Or if it is even possible to hear from Him? Is it Biblical to hear from Him? Let's take a look into the Word about this very subject. 

If we take a look at the Word, in John 14, Jesus is talking to the disciples and is letting them know that he is going to leave, the world will see Him (the person Jesus) no more. BUT, the even better news is that Jesus says that in His place, He will leave the Counselor, Someone who will be with us forever! Let's take a look in verse 16 and 26 of John 14, "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever ...  But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you."

I know there is a myth out there that we, as Christians, cannot "hear" from God, but the truth of the matter is, that is a wrong belief! If we are a believer, we CAN hear from God. More specifically, we can hear from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is one of the Trinity of God (God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit the Counselor). When we get saved, it is the Holy Spirit of the Trinity that comes to reside inside of us. It is the Holy Spirit that is talked about in John 14:16, 26. The Comforter as it describes. Also Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Strengthener. As believers we are SUPPOSE to hear from the Holy Spirit. He resides in us to be that Voice to tell us, "No, turn right here instead of left today. There is an accident ahead that I want to keep you from." As we read earlier in John 10:27, the sheep (us!) hear My (the Holy Spirit's) voice. 

So, we have to get the 1st myth out of the way. Now that we believe we CAN hear from the Holy Spirit, GET OUT YOUR JOURNALS! Literally! Jeremiah 30:2, tells us to write down what we hear! 

I remember doing this for the first time. It was about 12 years ago when I first began to practice the art of listening and writing down what the Holy Spirit revealed to me. I was a teacher at a private Christian school and was on my prep period. I was sitting in the library reading my Bible and was determined that I was going to practice trying to listen to the Holy Spirit. I remember like it was yesterday as I sat at the table by myself. Often finding myself distracted by things or sounds, I had to try to make everything quiet. I closed my eyes and literally plugged my ears with my two index fingers. I pictured a big bulldozer or tractor with a cement wall on the front literally going through my mind and pushing all the thoughts out of it until I had a blank slate. My mind was blank, distractions gone and for the first time, I began my conversation with the Holy Spirit. It began like a simple conversation. I said, "Good morning Holy Spirit." He replied, "Good morning Amy." As our conversation continued, as it says in Jeremiah 30:2, to WRITE down in a book what He tells us, I had my journal out and began to write what I felt He told me. Interesting enough, probably just to prove to me it was Him, after journaling what I thought He was saying, I opened up my Bible to read. The passage of scripture that I read, went right along with what I had journaled. Confirmation! I was so JACKED! I HAD heard from the Holy Spirit! I was so excited. And THAT was the beginning of me practicing to listen. Granted, I don't have to go through all the steps I did at one time to get in a position to hear, but for a long time I did. Today, after practicing listening for so long, like John 10:27, I can hear my Fathers voice. I can distinguish between His Voice and the noise of the world or of the enemy easily, as long as I take the time to listen. 

I'd encourage you today, get a journal or notebook. Begin to WRITE DOWN as you hear from the Holy Spirit. Be confident that the Holy Spirit DOES speak to you and WANTS to! He was designed for that VERY REASON! To be our Counselor. It wouldn't be a very good counselor if he didn't give us any counsel, now would it?! That is why Jesus left! He said it is BETTER that He leave. Why on earth would it be better? Because as a man, he could only be one place at one time. The Holy Spirit on the other hand dwells within EVERY believer and can be everywhere! We have the Holy Spirit with us FOREVER! (John 14:16)

Friend, practice today! Listen and write down what you hear! Never go another day without conversing with the Holy Spirit!

#264 - Time with the Lord Anyways!

Hello & Welcome back to both of us!! :) Many of you most likely know that we just welcomed the birth of our 3rd child on December 30th! :) Timothy Isaac Josiah McCart. He is just now 4 weeks old. So….. at the McCart house we are learning to settle in to a "new" normal. Obviously still adjusting. I must say though, our little champ did a great job last night of sleeping almost 7 hours straight! Yay!! I'll take it!! :)

Meet Timothy! Born: December 30th, 2013 - 8:46am. 

Proud Big Brother Tyler Jr (4) and Trinity (2) meet Timothy hours after he is born.

Timothy weighed 8 pounds, 6 ounces and was 20 3/4th inches long. 

Nonetheless… I do look forward to getting back into a blog routine (along with many other things). No pressure, I'm going to ease back into things, but getting on a regular schedule is my goal. Since I've started blogging, when Tyler Jr was just a newborn himself, we have had THREE kids!! :) Tyler Jr, Trinity & Timothy. Which leads right into the topic for today…. spending time in the WORD despite some of lifes changes and adjustments! So…. let's get started! :)

Proverbs 31:15-16 - She rises while it is yet night and gets [spiritual] food for her household and assigns her maids their tasks. (16) She considers a [new] field before she buys or accepts it [expanding prudently and not courting neglect of her present duties by assuming other duties]; with her savings [of time and strength] she plants fruitful vines in her vineyard.

As my 3rd time around with a major life-event, I must say I am reminded of the importance of having a regular time with The Lord. The last month has had its "whirlwind" type schedule of sleeping, dialing in a newborn, helping him sleep through the night, recovering from a C-section, etc, etc and to be honest, I most definitely have not been perfect! There have been many mornings where I have missed my time in the Word, which has reminded me even more why it is so important!

Let's take a look at this Proverbs 31 woman and her example. I want to look specifically at THREE things that she does in preparation for her day.

1. She rises while it is yet night. - Any of you who have children, especially toddlers, know how crucial this aspect is! Once children get out of bed, the idea of quiet is almost a far fetched possibility. Not impossible, but pretty unlikely. Our Proverbs 31 friend, a mother, must have witnessed this first hand. In order to get some QUIET in, she needed to rise while it was still dark and while her family was still sleeping in order to get some solid spiritual food in her spirit! 
2. Get spiritual food! - The value of feeding her spirit took place even before feeding her flesh. It didn't say that our friend prepared breakfast for her family first… but that she first got spiritual food. She first spent time, in the quiet, still dark outside, feeding her spirit! 
3. She considers! - Once up, she has sought the Lord, now she seeks the Lord about what to do for the day! The Holy Spirit knows what is going to happen with our day before it happens! He knows how the day is going to unfold and He knows just what tasks should be on our plate! When we seek HIM first, it allows us to go about our day without doing things that could be done in vain. Have you ever tried to get laundry done, only with interruption after interruption, taking 2-3 hours just to get ONE load folded and put away?! Not saying this is the case all the time, but when we seek the direction of the Holy Spirit, He may have directed us to NOT do laundry on such a particular day. He inevitably knows when certain tasks will just take WAY TO LONG for a given day. When we SEEK the Holy Spirit, when we CONSIDER what tasks to take on for the day, we can gain INSIGHT and DIRECTION on the God-specific tasks that should be on our schedule!

Today… I encourage you, can you find a way to fit some time with the Lord in, in the morning? 

Find some time with the Lord today ANYWAYS! Even thought life may throw a curve ball, throw a curve ball back! Decide to get some time in with the Almighty! Set your alarm now for tomorrow morning. 5 minutes early? 15 minutes? 30? Steal away for 5 minutes in the bathroom if you've already missed the morning hours…. Just START! Even if you start with just 5 minutes, He can direct your day in a way that you and I can never do. At least in a way that will wind up the most fruitful and productive! Because after all, isn't that what we're looking to do? Produce the best fruit? And on some days…. that may just be playing in the snow with your kids! :) #memories 

Have a blessed day!

#263 - Why You WON'T MISS IT?

Jeremiah 29:13 - Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity] and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Mark 1:35 (ESV) - And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. 

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

Have you ever thought, "I just don't want to miss it. I don't want to miss God."

I know that there have definitely been points along my life where I thought the very same thing. This morning as I was journaling and taking some time to listen to the Voice of the Holy Spirit, I felt very reassured by what I heard.

If you get this next thing down, I believe you will have won 95% of the battle!!

What is that? First things first: Daily time with the Lord. Once we have committed and have established a DISCIPLINE in devoting time EACH DAY with the Lord, I believe a large portion of any upcoming battle is won. I believe we will "WIN" the day! I believe we will "WIN" in our relationships. I believe we will "WIN" with our dreams and goals!

I attended a business class last night, and the gentleman was talking about a mentorship relationship and what it looks like, what proper communication looks like and doesn't look like. He said something to this effect, "I recently had a conversation with a guy that I am mentoring. Consistently, when we would get together, he would talk the whole time. It may be an hour long of him talking, the guy barely came up for air. He established a habit of monopolizing the conversation. I'm OK with that, but I finally told him. 'You don't need me. If all I am is just a wall for you to talk to, you don't need me.'"

A true mentoring relationship sometimes means you need to be quiet! A true mentoring relationship means that both parties talk and both parties listen.

What does your time with the Lord look like? What does your "quiet time" with Him look like? Like the protege in the above relationship, are you doing ALL THE TALKING when you spend time with the Lord? Do you pray and pray and pray, then get up to leave while the Lord is still just sitting there. He never had a chance to get a word in. He didn't have a chance to offer HIS advice, HIS answer to the situation or problem.

WHY can we be assured we will not miss it? This is what I heard this morning...

Why won't you miss it? Because of this! Because of this daily time spent with Me! When you spend daily time with Me & even open up yourself to LISTEN, I will SPEAK because you are seeking Me!! You won't miss it! Business, marriage, money, kids. You won't miss it.

So friend, I ask, are you spending time listening? Sitting in silence, pen & journal in hand, ready to hear from that still, small Voice? Ready to record His thoughts about the very situation you are seeking Him about?

I encourage you to take some time today, to get in a quiet place and in that silence ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -    LISTEN. 

#258 - FOUR Ways to be a Super Woman!

Proverbs 31:15-16a - She rises while it is yet night and gets [spiritual] food for her household and assigns her maids their tasks. She considers a [new] field before she buys or accepts it [expanding prudently and not courting neglect of her present duties by assuming other duties]...

As we read about the Proverbs 31 woman, I'm sure you've thought it too... she is Super Woman! When we read about all her attributes and accomplishments, it can be extremely intimidating in comparison to where we may currently be in life. I assure you, I am NO different! I often stand in awe of this amazing woman.

Let's look at just a few things from the verses above and see how we may be able to apply these Super Woman qualities!

(1) Benefits to "rising while it is yet night" - The house is quiet. For maybe the only time in the next 24 hours will you be able to think without hearing, "Mommmmy! Mommmmy!" Or without wiping a mouth, washing fingers, cleaning up spilled milk, picking up toys before your spouse walks in the door. I read this morning the quality of "THINK TIME."

• "Resolve now to set aside some time each day (at least thirty minutes) to be completely by yourself.... Select a time when your mind is fresh and when you can be free from distractions.... Spend some time in managed solitude every day and think yourself to success." - David J. Schwartz

(2) Getting YOUR Spiritual Food or Direction - As a woman, mom, business owner, employee, wife, friend, sister, daughter, we have responsibilities that involve the well-being and growth of others. As a mom, it's mine (and your) responsibility to grow our children up in the Lord. HOW are we doing that on a daily basis? Is it a planned event? Are we daily imparting the Word of God into our children, teaching them Biblical lessons or how to act as a child of God? With grown kids... are we encouraging them in their walk with the Lord? Cheering them on to seek the Lord even in the little things? Being an iron-sharpener versus a constant bearer of gossip? Being spiritually fed every morning put US in the right mentality to be able to LEAD our children & ourselves! Being spiritually fed and taking that morning time to THINK and PRAY, allows us to be SPIRITUALLY DIRECTED for our day, so those things we do are not done in vain! 

(3) Assign maids their tasks! - I don't know about you, but I have yet to hire a maid, though I look forward to the day I will be able too!! Until then, how are we doing in assigning those MAID TASKS? Planning when things are going to get done?

• Meal Preparation - healthy & on time for the family 
• Cleaning - baseboards, toilets, mopping, dusting, vacuuming... all the fun stuff!
• Laundry - washing, folding AND putting away. 
• Organizing - how does that tupperware cabinet look? the garage? the pantry? your closet? 

This time of planning of when you are going to get to some of these things. To be honest, I need to work on every one of these areas! But, if we never take the time to assign these tasks to OURSELVES (until we can afford a maid), they may go undone, or a point of stress because we always feel behind. IF ONLY we PLANNED out these items, we may be surprised at the amount of time we actually have AFTER they are completed, not to mention how good we feel about ourselves. (i.e. not carrying that guilt around, and nervous if our husbands are going to ask us for clean underwear again - they are still in the laundry basket!) UNTIL "we" have a maid, our job is to PLAN, PLAN, PLAN - ASSIGN THE TASK. Pull out the calendar, and FIND a TIME to ASSIGN THAT TASK!!! Maybe it's one day a month where we prepare meals in advance to freeze? Just PLAN it!

(4) CONSIDER & Expand PRUDENTLY - I KNOW God has called me to do great things with my life, to accomplish things that will change people's lives for the better. I also know that He has called YOU to great things too! He has a purpose and plan, and it is OUR JOB to accomplish HIS purpose for our life. That will take carefully considering everything that goes onto our calendar. If we are going to add something to the calendar, expanding prudently after time as put prayerfully considering that activity. IS it something that you and I are suppose to do, or will it be just one more thing to keep us "busy?" (B.U.S.Y. - Being Under Satan's Yoke) - Make sure that "BUSY" isn't keeping you from accomplishing God's BEST for your life! Sometimes the most POWERFUL and SPIRITUAL word can be "NO"!  Consider, maybe you are suppose to say NO to that committee so you can actually work towards the assignment GOD has for you to do! 

Be blessed! Maybe take ONE thing in the above thoughts that you can work on this week. We CAN BE SUPER WOMEN! It may just take a little THINKING and PLANNING! :)

#253 - Christmas Overwhelmed?

Romans 9:21 (NKJ) - Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?

John 15:1-7 - I am the True Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser.
² Any branch in Me that does not bear fruit [that stops bearing] He cuts away (trims off, takes away); and He cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent fruit.³ You are cleansed and pruned already, because of the word which I have given you [the teachings I have discussed with you].⁴ Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. [Live in Me, and I will live in you.] Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me.⁵ I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.⁶ If a person does not dwell in Me, he is thrown out like a [broken-off] branch, and withers; such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, and they are burned.⁷ If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.

Proverbs 31:15-16 - She rises while it is yet night and gets [spiritual] food for her household and assigns her maids their tasks.¹⁶ She considers a [new] field before she buys or accepts it [expanding prudently and not courting neglect of her present duties by assuming other duties]; with her savings [of time and strength] she plants fruitful vines in her vineyard. 

Good morning! Honestly, as I sit here sipping my 2nd cup of coffee, writing in my journal and just spilling everything in my heart and mind to the Lord, one sentence came to mind, "I'm ready for things to get back to normal." As I thought about it, that was a bit sad because it's ONLY December 6th!! The Holiday season is JUST starting. My whirlwind started at the beginning of November, North Carolina Leadership Conference, Florida Birthday with Grandparents, Georgia Thanksgiving, Kansas Business Trip, Mom's Night out Christmas Party (at my house), and blah, blah, blah... they were GREAT, but life has been anything but normal!

Do you know the feeling I'm talking about? I am not even unpacked from one event, to just dump my suitcase out and pack for another.... while the pile grows of things that need to be put away... or new suitcases come out while the others remain unpacked. 

So... here I sat, this morning in my Quiet Time, just spilling out my brain onto paper. Telling the Lord of all the things that I need to fix about myself, feeling frustrated and a bit like I'm still in the center of a whirlwind. Remembering the weird dream I had last night, waking up in a frenzy because I had "lost my basketball shoes and was running around looking for them and I didn't want to get left." (Weird! I don't have basketball shoes and haven't played since I was in 9th grade.)  So my dream was just another reminder of one area in my life I need to improve on...... argh..... getting more organized and being on time! 

I stopped my frenzy of all the things I "NEED" to do, the areas I "NEED" to improve on, the tasks that I "NEED" to get my head together on... I stopped. Then, I proceeded to just LISTEN. 

As I listened, this was what I heard: 

Amy....it is all about staying connected to Me. Staying connected to the TRUE VINE. I will prune you & as a potter shapes, I will shape you. I will direct you in your tasks & priorities. 

Immediately the verses that came to mind were Romans 9:21 and John 15:1-7.

What happens when a branch is disconnected from a vine or tree? I had a "Mom's Night Out" Christmas Party for my mom's group on Monday night. Beforehand, I went out back and cut some branches off pine trees, got some sprigs of pine to make a centerpiece and decorate some random places. I even found a "Charlie Brown" looking pine tree and cut that down to decorate in a corner. Well... currently, my "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree in the corner of our eating area is staying artificially alive. It is in a vase with water. BUT, it will not stay alive forever. It is currently being artificially kept alive. It is disconnected from it's root system. As soon as I take it out of the water, it will begin to brown, dry up and die completely.

The reminder to me this morning.... as I've been feeling overwhelmed, a bit in a frenzy, my "To-Do" list of Christmas presents and exchanges growing, this morning as I slowed down long enough to LISTEN to the Voice of the Holy Spirit... I got a great reminder! Stay connected! Stay connected to the TRUE VINE. As I stay connected, like the potter directs the shape of the clay, the Holy Spirit will direct me. He will even direct me in keeping me productive on the tasks I NEED to be productive in. He'll direct me where to go and when to go. "No Amy, don't go there right now, they won't have what you need. Wait until Wednesday." Then, the store will receive a shipment, put items out and the item I was looking for will be newly placed on the shelf. I will not spend time in vain, or toiling because I will have taken time to listen.

It really is amazing!!! Because Jesus ascended into Heaven and left this earth, what a gift we have! But, even the disciples argued with Jesus. "NO Jesus, Don't go! Don't go!" Jesus responded, "But I am telling you the truth: it is better for you that I go away, because if I do not go, the Helper will not come to you. But if I do go away, then I will send him to you." (John 16:7 GNT) The Helper, Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit. Isn't it awesome that WHEN we got saved the HOLY SPIRIT comes to live inside of us!! I remember growing up and as a child we would say that Jesus lived in our hearts. Well, it wasn't actually Jesus (since he was human and it would be hard to fit him in our heart), but it was the Holy Spirit. The Spirit part of the Trinity. 

Why is that such good news today? Right now? Because SINCE we have the Holy Spirit living inside us, we have COMPLETE ACCESS! All we have to do, is quiet ourselves enough to listen! John 10 talks about the shepherd and his sheep, "...sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. ⁵ Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." 

How cool! When we accept Jesus into our life, we have the SHEPHERD leading us. BUT... we must tune our ear into HEARING and KNOWING His Voice, so that the other voices (ie: the voice of the enemy), when we hear those, we will NOT follow them but flee from them. It's a process and it begins with just choosing to quiet ourselves and listen. Shutting off the TV, the radio, our iPhone, getting away from the hustle and bustle, before our kids are awake... and with no distractions, just sitting and listening. 

So today.... are you feeling the "Christmas Overwhelmed" feeling? My suggestion (to myself!!), STAY CONNECTED. Being connected to the TRUE VINE is crucial more than ever during times like this. I feel so much better after just having a true quiet time this morning. Stay connected. Don't allow yourself to be cut off from the vine! The life cut off from the vine is ARTIFICIAL and TEMPORARY.... it's inevitable that someone cut off from the True Vine will not last. So, this holiday season, stay connected. Allow the Holy Spirit to guide and direct you, to save you time, free your life from toil, to direct you to be at the right place at the right time. Allow the Holy Spirit to position you for Divine Favor!! :) Because as a CHILD OF THE MOST HIGH GOD, that is EXACTLY what our Father wants for HIS  children! Divine favor! 

Be blessed! :) 

#252 - Are You Being Pruned?

John 15:1-7 (GNT) “I am the real vine, and my Father is the gardener. ² He breaks off every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and he prunes every branch that does bear fruit, so that it will be clean and bear more fruit. ³ You have been made clean already by the teaching I have given you. ⁴ Remain united to me, and I will remain united to you. A branch cannot bear fruit by itself; it can do so only if it remains in the vine. In the same way you cannot bear fruit unless you remain in me. ⁵ “I am the vine, and you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without me. ⁶ Those who do not remain in me are thrown out like a branch and dry up; such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, where they are burned.⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, then you will ask for anything you wish, and you shall have it.

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

I got a Word this morning from the Lord that ROCKED me to the core! Not every morning is a morning that rocks me to the core... but this was one of those mornings! The revelation that I'm going to share with you will ROCK you and CAN change your life if you let it! Strap in my friend, strap in.

Tyler & I are coming out of a 4 year valley... a 4 year lull... a 4 year blah. After this mornings time in the Word, I have found it was a 4 year pruning! Now THAT is some pruning!!! Let me tell you a story...

For a little background, Tyler and I met on a mission trip in England in 1998. After 18 months of waiting and pleeing with the Lord, I finally saw Tyler again for the first time since our mission trip December 23, 2000. A little over a year later, we were married. Tyler gave a salvation message AT OUR WEDDING, offered the opportunity for people to accept Jesus as their Savior, and we were then married! That's different, huh?! We became youth leaders at the church we attended.... and 18 months after we were married, we also started our own business where we spent several years aggressively growing and having great success. Until 2008.

Over the next four years, we continued with our business at a less aggressive pace, but immersing ourselves in the Word, especially Tyler. I remember coming home from work on Wednesday and loving it! Tyler took off on Wednesdays during that time, committing to having a Day of Rest (DOR). He grew, changed, meditated on the Word... but continued to feel a strong sense that he was not released yet to build our business again with intensity. Though every bone in his driver body wanted to go and grow, like reigns on a horse, he was pulled back in.

Here is the Word I got this morning.

A bulk of the pruning is complete. Do you realize why? You both went for several years with NOT having a solid Quiet Time. You sought Me only out of need and desperation, not out of pure love and desire. Amy, the pruning was GREAT because the garden had been untended for a LONG time! A great gardener prunes daily! You never have to go through YEARS of pruning again IF you only allow Me to DAILY prune you!! Stay in communion. Stay in counsel with Me & you won't ever get too far off track!! It doesn't have to be painful. It will just be like daily maintenance. Daily maintenance is not like a MAJOR pruning of an untended garden. We had to do an overhaul, that's why it took so long. Weeds, even unwanted trees were growing up in your garden.

Wow. Talk about a wake-up call. I envision a garden with trees and tall weeds growing up everywhere.  A courtyard that could be beautiful, but instead is a weed-stricken mess. Do you remember the original movie, "The Karate Kid"? The one with Mr. Miyagi? Envision him trimming his Bonsai bushes in his courtyard. He had tiny scissors, trimming with accuracy and perfection. To the ordinary eye, you couldn't even tell anything needed to be trimmed. Why? Because he pruned daily!

What a revelation! If we STAY connected to the TRUE VINE, Jesus, like Mr. Miyagi's bonsai trees, we will never have to undergo major pruning. When we stay connected to the vine, when we allow the Holy Spirit to prune us daily, in a daily quiet time, large weeds or even trees won't have a chance to grow up in our garden. The Master Gardener will just daily trim with perfection. Bitterness, unforgiveness, envy, gossip and any other ugly thing will not have a chance to take root and begin to decay the inside of our hearts.

Allow yourself to be pruned, then STAY pruned! Allow the Master Gardener to prune you daily!

My challenge to you. Find a time, make a time, to be in the Word daily. Commune with your Father daily.

 

#236 - Above All Else

Good morning! :) SO.... let me put out a preface. I read the devotion from Friday on my mobile phone over the weekend. I noticed some obvious spelling errors, that almost made me laugh... (hear & here... and there was one other that I caught). Anyways, thank you in advance for grace! :) With kids, sometimes all the time I have is to read my Bible, have my own quiet time with the Lord, and write a devotion. It's a jam-packed time that doesn't always allow me to proof-read before posting when someone is yelling from there bed, "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" And before he tries crawling out, I need to go get him and get his day started. So, THANK YOU for your grace in the occasional spelling or grammar errors. Sometimes I go back, read, catch & correct them... but sometimes I do not. Well... with all that said, let's go ahead and jump into the Word this morning. :)

Proverbs 15:14a - The mind of him who has understanding seeks knowledge and inquires after and craves it... 

Proverbs 31:15a - She rises while it is yet night and gets [spiritual] food for her household...

Isn't it great to hear from the Lord? When you ask & He gives you direction. Not just general direction, but direction very specific to you and your situation. Direction that encompasses the details of your life. How to accomplish what needs to be done with a strenuous work schedule or with kids running around (feeding them, changing diapers, feeding them again, etc, etc). Isn't it awesome that we have a Voice that not only is alive today, but who actually will speak to us & direct us. He looks down and sees what we may not see. He sees the outcome before we are even obedient to His direction.

This morning, this is part of what He told me,

Continue in this priority with Me. This time should be above all else. I have the answers, the solutions to the questions you have not even asked yet.  

"This priority with Me." As I have had a 6 week or so break from writing devotions, I've really enjoyed my mornings and getting into a routine with my newborn. Trinity has been a definite blessing from the start. Although, I knew it was important to maintain my morning quiet time with the Lord. Sometimes it morning passed, and it was my "early afternoon" quiet time, but nonetheless, it was time receiving direction from my Maker.

"Above All Else." The Holy Spirit reminded me this morning, that above ALL other priorities, above everything else that "I" think is important, my time with Him is the MOST important. I may not have nailed down the status that the Proverbs 31 woman has, in rising "while it is yet night" and getting spiritual food, but my continual goal is to get DAILY spiritual food for myself and my household. "Above All Else." Gaining this spiritual food is ABOVE ALL OTHER THINGS, it is the MOST important task of the day. It is the FIRST "big event" of the day, as my husband would say. This time allows us the opportunity to get direction.

I remember a time in my life when I did not spend daily time with Him. I remember the feeling of chaos that accompanied me throughout the day. I remember the feeling of "not having enough time" to do it all. I remember the feeling of stress that followed me. I was making decisions and acting on my OWN knowledge and abilities, I was not relying on the wisdom & direction from the Holy Spirit. As I compare that time in my life with my current life, I can definitely say life is much more peaceful now.

Two people come to mind who have children & many responsibilities. As I think of the last conversations I've had with them, I remember the feelings that permeated from the one mom... just talking with her I could hear the stress & chaos in her voice. From previous conversations, I knew that in the process of having children, her time with the Lord had been pushed to the back burner, and it was obvious. Life seemed to be filled with chaos & stress, disharmony & lacking unity. The other mom that comes to mind, has an equally full schedule with many responsibilities, actually probably more responsibilities, though with I speak with her on the phone, peace rings through the receiver. Peace. If I have been questioning something in my own life, just talking to her and hearing her voice brings a peace that is indescribable. I KNOW that she spends daily time with her Father. I know that she has a "prayer closet" that sometimes she wakes up to visit in the middle of the night. I know that her time with the Lord comes Above All Else. It is obvious by her life. Her life is still definitely full, but a life of peace & joy. A life filled with DIVINE direction from her Maker.

Above all else, that is how I want others to speak of me. I want my Maker to shine through when others speak with me. Above all else, I want Jesus to be who people see when they see me. Above all else, when I make decisions about my day, my family & my life, I want it to be decisions directed by the Holy Spirit, not merely thought up on my own. Above all else, I want the peace of God to shine through my life & my home. I want people drawn towards me because they feel the peace of God when they are around me.

Above all else. What is the priority that shines through your life? What is "Above All Else?" Is it obvious to others? Is it your job? Your family? Your business? Soccer practice? Basketball? Swim team? Crafts? Working out, exercising? Or... is it your God? Is it your time with the Lord? Above all else. What is "above all else" in your life?

QUESTION: Can YOU share with me about Proverbs 31:15?

Proverbs 31:15 - 

She rises while it is yet night and gets 

[spiritual] food for her household and assigns her maids their tasks. (AMP)

• Can you share with me someone you know who represents this verse? Do you have a story? I'm looking for women examples of this verse and would love to hear your feedback. 

• OR... what are YOUR thoughts on this verse? Does it stretch you? Do you like it? Is it something you are already good at? Was it instilled in you when you were younger by your mother? 

Please share your story! :) It may be added in the book I'm currently working on, "The Ultimate Woman."

#215 - The Ultimate Game

Proverbs 9:3,6 - She has sent out her maids to cry from the highest places of the town...Leave off, simple ones [forsake the foolish and simpleminded] and live! And walk in the way of insight and understanding.

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

Life is busy. Would you say these would be some of the priorities you deal with? Job, kids, family, cleaning the house, owning a business, doing laundry, cooking, working to have a consistent quiet time, working out, reading maybe some self-improvement books, trying to stay organized, keeping the bedroom picked up and clothes in their place, spending quality time with your spouse.... and then maybe even some down time for you. With all the priorities we already have, is there really room for anything else?

I looked at Proverbs 9 this morning and noticed that it is talking about "Wisdom" here. Wisdom is sending out maids to help guide people to insight and understanding. Wisdom is trying to steer the foolish, those who may be on the wrong path. She is trying to steer them to the path of LIFE. Wisdom wants them to live. We know that our Proverbs 31 friend walks in wisdom as well, and she also has maids. As a Proverbs 31 woman, do we have more of a responsibility? As a Christian, with our long list of things that occupy our time, do we have more of a responsibility? We are reminded of this responsibility also in Matthew 28:19, where it tells us to "GO and make disciples!" Here we see Wisdom doing that very thing, leading people to insight & understanding (which ultimately is Jesus.)

I would anticipate that our Proverbs 31 friend does the same as Wisdom. Being on her game to share the gospel. Being on her game to step out in boldness and ask the tough questions. Being on her game to steer others to the path that leads to life. Sometimes it is as simple as one question, "Do you know Jesus? Do you know what he did for you?"

To be on point. To play in the "The Ultimate Game," the game of leading people to the truth, leading people to life.

As we go about our productive, daily lives... today, is there anyone in your path that may not know Jesus? Could YOU be the one to ask them the question that may very well change their life? Change their eternity?

___________________

Check out the video in yesterday's post! 

Jesus did all of that for YOU, me & the person who needs to know Him. 

#205 - Build Your House!

Good morning! I pray you have started off your day blessed?! My prayer for you today is that you would go out today with FAVOR! That everything you put your hands to would prosper and that today would be a day of fulfillment. That at the end of the day, you would be able to say, "I had a really good day." That is my prayer for you today! Now... let's get into the Word! :)

Proverbs 14:1 - EVERY WISE woman builds her house, but the foolish one tears it down with her own hands.

Before diving into things, let's first take a look at the Hebrew definitions for a few words in Proverbs 14:1.

• Builds:  refers to building a family. 
• House: dwelling habitation, human body, house as containing a family. 

As we know that the Proverbs 31 woman is indeed a wise woman, let's take a look at how this "wise woman builds her house" and see what we can learn from her!

Physical House: 

Proverbs 31:13, 19, 22 - She seeks out wool and flax and works with willing hands [to develop it]. She lays her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. She makes for herself coverlets, cushions, and rugs of tapestry. Her clothing is of linen, pure and fine, and of purple [such as that of which the clothing of the priests and the hallowed cloths of the temple were made].

Our Proverbs 31 friend is working on the area of developing her physical house. She may not do the actual construction, but we know that she does work with her hands to make this house a home. We know that all of the small things that make a home a "home", she is working on them. I'm sure you have been in places that you can tell a distinct difference. Those homes that feel warm, have cushions on the couches and tapestries hanging on the walls, it feels warm & cozy. It feels like a home. Versus a place that may not have the extra touches of a woman. No paintings on the wall, no warmth to the place, no elegant cushions lining the couch. My first thought goes to a "bachelor" pad. Often before a man gets married, the "extras" in his house are few. The walls are white, the furniture plain, minimal if any extra touches to make the house feel like a home. No flowers or plants, no candles, no "homey" extra features. This is what a Proverbs 31 woman brings to a home. She brings the "extras" that make a person want to get comfortable and stay. She has provided an environment of growth & peace.

• The foolish woman puts little time in creating an environment of peace. Her household is NOT a place that the family wants to be. It is messy, cold & breeds chaos. The foolish woman's husband most likely does not want to come home from work, because he knows it will just be an environment of stress and disharmony. 

Spiritual House (spiritual growth): 

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

We have discussed this verse several times. Our Proverbs 31 friend puts a priority on growing spiritually. Her spiritual "house" is important and she takes time to develop her relationship and walk with the Lord. She spends time in the Word. She girds herself up with strength, spiritual strength. She is a picture of stability. Her consistency in the Word grounds her, and that is what also gives people confidence in her. She is stable. She is not swayed or wavering. When people are around her, that aura that she puts off is one of peace. Have you been around people, or in someones home and you immediately feel the presence of stress? The mom always seems stressed or in a hurry, always frazzled or yelling, the whole environment just lacks peace? Sure, everyone has their "days" that may be challenging, but when it is on a daily or a consistent basis, I would anticipate that this woman has not invested into her daily spiritual growth.... "spiritual house." The "wise woman" as talked about in Proverbs 14:1, puts a priority in establishing her own spiritual growth, and it in turn spills into the whole environment and warmth of her household.

• The foolish woman does not spend daily time developing her spirit. She allows herself to remain B.U.S.Y. - Being Under Satan's Yoke. Though she may recognize that maybe at one time she spent daily time in the Word, she does not make a change to come back to that discipline. The foolish woman may be doing things that appear good, running kids to and from soccer practice, making dinner, going to work, but the most important aspect of her house, her spiritual growth, goes unattended too. 

Physical House (as physical body):

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.

Our Proverbs 31 friend treats her body, "house", as a temple. She strengthens herself in her physical body. She is strong. She does not need to make a "New Years Resolution" to go to the gym because physical fitness is a part of her life. It is a priority. It's not just a short-term goal to loose 20 pounds, physical fitness is her lifestyle, it is part of her regular schedule. Not only does this allow her to have energy and accomplish more, but because she is fit, it also makes her more attractive to her husband. Because she is fit, her innermost parts of her body are healthy & she is able to live a LONG, healthy life because she invests in her fitness! She dies at an old age, and is even physically strong then.

• The foolish woman neglects her physical body. Her physical "house" may be the home of junk food and processed foods. She spends little time focusing on putting good wholesome food in her body, fruits & vegetables, good proteins, whole grains, etc. Due to her unhealthy eating lifestyle, her vitals are most likely also poor resulting in high blood pressure, being overweight, and higher risk factors for disease. The foolish woman also tears down her body by NOT remaining physically fit. Due to extra weight she carries around, it puts pressure on other aspects of her physical body (organs, ankles, knees, etc). The foolish woman does not remain physically fit causing her to feel sluggish & tired, overall less productive in what she is called to do. 

Household (family): 

Proverbs 31:27 - She looks well to how things go in her household, and the bread of idleness (gossip, discontent, and self-pity) she will not eat.

The Proverbs 31 woman builds her family up. With her words and encouragement she establishes a home that breeds growth and success. Her children grow up truly believing that, "Yes! I CAN do all things through Christ who strengthens me!" She sets such a standard of godliness, that her children desire to duplicate her. In her prayer life, her children desire to follow. Because the prayers of the "righteous are powerful and effective" and this Proverbs 31 woman sees results & fruit, her children don't desire to go the ways of the world. They see that they ways of the Word come with blessings! Come with favor! Just like the old "Life" cereal commercial with the tag-line, "Mikey likes it!" You see the little boy copying everything his father does, that is the life of the Proverbs 31 woman's children. They see she is blessed, therefore, they copy what she does leading to a life of godliness and a new generation of believers.

• The foolish woman unfortunately tears down her family with her words and actions. She may call her children "stupid" or tell them "you can't do anything right." She does the same to her husband. Instead of building up and encouraging, she does just the opposite. She tears down those around her, tends to wallow in discontentment, and enjoys spreading negative about other people. 

So many ways to build our house! My goal is to model the life of the Wise Woman and the Proverbs 31 woman. Sure.... I'm not perfect, and surely do make mistakes.... but my goal is to stay on the path of LIFE. Life that leads to godliness. What about you? Does your life model that of the Wise Woman or the Foolish Woman? What adjustments could be made? 

#174 - Is there enough Time in Today?

Good morning! :) I pray all is well with you?! Things here are great. Went to bed a bit early, starting out the morning awesome, and the Word of God is ALIVE & ACTIVE like a two-edged sword! Hebrews 4:12, "For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart." The WORD is ALL of that! That is powerful! Well, praise God that we serve a RISEN Savior! That even today, we can commune with, be directed by & enjoy a friendship with a living God! I'm thankful for that!

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

This morning as I sat down to have my Quiet Time, I began to journal.... and this morning I began listing out ALLLLLL the things that are on my mental "To-Do" list. In a way I was kind of whining to the Lord. Not really totally whining, but just trying to figure out what has the most priority on it, because all the things are important. I was just journaling out my thoughts to the Lord, kind of in a "HELP" mode. Have you ever done that? Either in your mind, on paper or out-loud? You think, "How is it humanly possible to get all of this done today? I just need more time." Well... those were some of my thoughts.

I read through Proverbs 26, nothing really jumping out at me except the obvious.... "don't be a fool!" It talked a lot about "the fool." I then proceeded to jump over to Proverbs 31. Though I have read this chapter what seems like hundreds of times, I just felt like this amazing woman must have some insight into planning. I just knew that she surely had it together in this area of "accomplishing" and "getting things done." I mean, she is the infamous Proverbs 31 woman! She is the woman who "excels them all" as it says in verse 29. Surely she could reveal to me the secret. Right?

I read through the chapter, through my underlining, circled words, highlighting, scratches in the margins... and as I completed the chapter, I was still just drawn back to one of my favorite verses. Proverbs 31:15. I say "favorite"... but it may just jump out at me because it is still something that I know I need to work on. Now, don't you go and tell Tyler to read this devotion! He doesn't read all of them, but this one, he could very well come out saying, "I told you so!" But, praise the Lord for Tyler. He's an amazing husband and probably the #1 thing he's learned over the years is to cast ME on the Lord. He doesn't try to change me, he just casts me on the Lord. He lets the Lord deal with me and make me better! Which is good.... probably the stubbornness of my childhood may just rear up and buck if someone tried to "make me do something." However, the Lord has His way of prodding us, doesn't He?

So, I'm reading Proverbs 31:15, "She rises while it is yet night and gets [spiritual] food for her household and assigns her maids their tasks." Sure, we know that Franklin Covey wasn't around when this was originally written. As well, she wasn't able to go down to her nearest Office Depot to pick up a DayTimer. Right? But.... imagine with me, if you could read while closing your eyes, I'd have you do that... but just imagine this... She, our Proverbs 31 friend & example, wakes up, crawls out of bed leaving her sleeping husband still there, she quietly puts on her house-shoes (slippers for those of you up north!), brushes her teeth and pulls up her hair, then slips downstairs. The house is quiet, the windows reveal the darkness still hanging outside, the birds are even still sleeping and the only sound is the occasional chirp of a cricket. She gets the coffee ready and pours herself a cup, most likely doctoring it with honey or something good for you (OK, she might not even drink coffee... just go with me on this. *wink*) There at the table, she sits down and begins to get her "spiritual food." She begins getting in the Word, listening and talking to the Holy Spirit. She is not beyond learning. She is pulling out gold nuggets from the Word, she is learning, she is growing. After her spiritual hunger is filled, she moves on to listing out the tasks and assignments of that day, including what the maids are to accomplish. I would imagine, she also lists out those things that SHE wants to accomplish that day. With the direction of the Holy Spirit, she prioritizes & is led with a plan for the day. Since she is in-tune with the Holy Spirit, and has already been communing with Him, if she writes something down that would be done in vain, HE prompts her not to do that today, it wouldn't go well, the person that you need to talk to wouldn't be there, so don't go to the "Market Store" today. She LISTENS to the promptings, wraps up her list/schedule of activities for the day, begins to prepare breakfast for her family, slips back upstairs to put on her clothes for the day, a touch of make-up, her hair in a neat pony-tail, and the hustle and bustle of the house begins! The house awakens. The birds begin to chirp, the kids begin to arouse, and everyone wakes up hungry and ready to eat, the smell of bacon already pulling them out of bed.

Sounds like a "dreamy" morning, doesn't it? Peaceful, but planned. Just the idea of "coming out with a plan" for the day sounds grande, doesn't it? I know I went through a season of doing really good at this! I accomplished a LOT with "planning my day." As I read this morning, I was prompted that ALL of my things can get done if I would only have a plan. "You can't just fly by the seat of your pants if you want to accomplish all that I have for you," I felt the Holy Spirit prompting.

So... this morning, I'm getting my notebook back out. "6 Things Before 11:00" was one of my goals. It allowed me to accomplish a lot. God has big plans for me, so I need to PLAN in order to get done all that He has for me!

Do you need to plan too? Is there enough time in today? There is EXACLY enough time to accomplish the things the Holy Spirit wants me & you to accomplish, we just have to ask Him!

XOXO!

Be blessed! ~ Amy J

#143 - Continual Growth

Good morning. :) Or.... HAPPY THURSDAY! :) It's a great day! The boy is enjoying watching Miss Pattycake right now! Any parents out there? Miss Pattycake is a great DVD/CD series that sings songs, teaches kids about God & Bible stories, as well as the basic things they need to know about using manners,  numbers, ABC's, colors, hygenine, healthy eating, etc. It's a great DVD series with a lot of energy. Tyler and I find ourselves walking around singing the songs... it's pretty funny! But if your in the market for some good Bible Based, high energy DVD's that teach great principles... Miss Pattycake is a winner! :) 


Ok... well, let's get rolling. :) 

Proverbs 17:28 - Even a fool when he holds his peace is considered wise; when he closes his lips he is esteemed a man of understanding.

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

Well.... it's amazing how the Word is a continual source of instruction and correction! Sometimes it's not fun... but as we are on this journey to become all God has created us to be, I guess it's good. ;) I know it's good! Have any of you talked when you should have just been quiet? Or have you been around people that ALWAYS are talking and you can't get a word in edge wise? Or those people that always change the subject when you are talking to them.... and they change the subject to, guess what? Themselves! I know I have been guilty of it too! But, as it says in Proverbs 17, even a FOOL is esteemed as a person of understanding when he CLOSES HIS LIPS! 


A couple of practices for the week:

1. When you (and I) are talking to people this week... when we are tempted to change the subject or BEGIN a sentence with the word "I".... let's take a second and stop ourselves! Can we NOT focus on ourselves? Can we keep the focus on them? Allow them to talk not us?
2. Practice Humility - When we are tempted to tell someone... "Well, let me tell you what I did...", or "Well, I actually went there AND I went here too...." - Let's practice the art of not trying to "out-do" someone else's story. AND.... if we feel tempted to brag about something we've done, let's take a second and just CLOSE OUR LIPS. 

Have you ever said something, sent an email, text or something and then your corrected by the Word? Or later when your not "in the moment" you think, "Man, that was kinda stupid." I know I have.... and I continually find things in my life to work on and fine tune. Here's just another one. 

What about Proverbs 31:15? Our Proverbs 31 friend "rises while it is yet night and gets spiritual food for her household." Do you ever wonder, "Am I ever going to get this whole thing down?" The whole being a good Christian, diligent, disciplined, etc. With a growing family, I am learning this. Tyler Junior is 15 months, so his schedule seems to evolve as he grows. So for me, my schedule changes too. Our routines change. I had my main quiet time before he woke up this morning. Spent some time meditating on some specific scriptures... then, the boy woke up. Pull out the "Mom Card" and do breakfast, etc. Well, after breakfast, Tyler Junior watches a short DVD called "My Baby Can Read", and then he watches "Miss Pattycake." So, as I'm reading through Proverbs, I'm listening to this song, "Fruits and veggies in your tum tum tum, Fruits and Veggies yum, yum, yum!" And OTHER fun Miss Pattycake songs, but songs that are NOT too conducive with having a QUIET "Quiet Time." 

So... I don't know if your schedule and life is changing, but if it is.... like me, do you need to figure out how to allow your Quiet Time to be what it needs to be? QUIET. An atmosphere that is inviting for the Holy Spirit to be present. Praise God that we are on a path of continual growth, that we will be forever learning and we don't "arrive." 

So THANK YOU as you are on the journey with me that you allow me the latitude to grow! I pray as I'm growing, God is doing things in you for you to grow. 

Would you share? What are you learning? How are you growing? I'd love to hear your voices out there! :) 

#135 -The CONFIDENT Life

Good afternoon to you! Hope you are doing well! Junior.... or as we call him around the house, Junior Asparagus.... or sometimes it just gets shortened to Asparagus (Veggie Tales - we don't even have any Veggie Tales movies... but that's still what we call him sometimes)... anyways, he just went down for a nap. It's been quite an interesting day, to say the least... but PRAISE GOD that we have FAVOR in ALL situations! FAVOR FAVOR FAVOR! :) 


Let's get started... we are back on our scheduled reading after our 2 day detour. I just pulled out of Proverbs today... let's go...

Proverbs 3:21b, 22a, 23 - ... but keep sound and godly Wisdom and discretion, And they will be life to your inner self... Then you will walk in your way securely and in confident trust, and you shall not dash your foot or stumble.

Proverbs 31:15a, 26 - She rises while it is yet night and gets [spiritual] food... She opens her mouth in skillful and godly Wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness [giving counsel and instruction].

Receiving sound & godly Wisdom... quite important to accomplish all the God has created us to do. Therefore, being in the Word.... or communicating, having a relationship with this Almighty God would be pretty important in order to receive Wisdom, right? Well, look at the benefits of receiving and keeping this sound wisdom, LIFE to your inner self!!! Let me tell you.... I have never felt so alive since I received the revelations that I blogged about the last two days. In my inner self, I have NEVER felt so ALIVE! (FREE FROM DOUBT! & PROVISION BABY!) How awesome that we can receive revelation from the LORD and it breathes LIFE into our inner self, into our soul! Feeling full of life sure is better than being filled with doubt & fear, frustration, discouragement, disappointment, unworthiness. I don't know about you... but all those feelings were regular feelings that I was living in. I was feeling full of LIFE! I wasn't feeling filled with HOPE & EXPECTATION! Sure I knew promises of God... but my constant thought was, "When is it my turn? When is it my time?" Praise God for the revelations, that I now confidently know the answers to those questions. My time is NOW! My turn is NOW! 


Like it says in Proverbs 3, I can go about my day in CONFIDENCE & SECURE! I can go about my day in BOLDNESS that for such a time as this, God has prepared me and made me ready! And like the Proverbs 31 woman, WHY and HOW is she able to GIVE COUNSEL & INSTRUCTION? Because she is also prepared! She has spent time waking up while it was still night and committing time to getting spiritual food. Spending time with the Lord so that SHE could have counsel to give. So that she would receive clarity. Clarity about her purpose. Clarity about her direction. Clarity about decisions that she needs to make. She is able to CONSULT the Great Counselor about what her next steps are. She is able to lay out HER PLAN that she has prepared, go before the Almighty Counselor to see if she needs to tweek anything. HOW DID THIS COUNSELING RELATIONSHIP BEGIN? How did it begin? It began with baby steps. It began with her making a decision to commit time each day to devoting to the Lord. Devoting to spiritual growth. 


Do you need to be a "Spiritual Guru" to grow in areas of your goals. Well... no. But from my experience, looking back at my life, and looking at my life now... because of the time I have committed to growing spiritually I now have a LOT more clarity about HOW and WHERE to work. If I have a question, since I have spent time BUILDING a relationship, I can now just ASK and receive answers. ASK & receive the clarity that I need. On days and times when I don't feel like I have gotten a clear answer, I can allow PEACE to be my guide, and follow peace. 


What a great thing that we can live a CONFIDENT LIFE! We can move forward in faith, belief & confidence. That sure is better than the way I used to do things which was staying in the same place, treading water, not feeling like I was getting anywhere... day-in, day-out in toil, frustration... and wanting to sleep away my problems, pull the covers up over my head because I was not walking or living in confidence, I didn't have answers, I was frustrated. I just wanted to pull the covers up over my head and sleep in order to avoid life! Praise GOD because of time spent developing a relationship, that I can now have a CONFIDENT day & CONFIDENT life! And you know what? You can too! 

#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

#62 - Intimate Love

Buenos dias! To start off I want to say.... 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU... HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR GRANDPA... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!! :) 

HAVE A GREAT DAY GRANDPA! HAPPY 79TH BIRTHDAY! :) XOXO! 

We are getting ready to head out of town, yet again. We will be on a scheduled trip with Tyler's sisters and cousin and their families. Should be a good time! I have things to catch up on still after being gone for 2 weeks. Normalcy will maybe BEGIN to sink in next week. I can follow up with unanswered emails and calls to make. If you are one of those people....I'm getting to it, I promise!

Today's Reading Schedule: Proverbs 31:10-31, Proverbs 3, Psalms 3, 33, 63, 93, 123

Psalms 63:1 - O GOD, You are my God, earnestly will I seek You; my inner self thirsts for You, my flesh longs and is faint for You, in a dry and weary land where no water is.

Psalms 93:4 - The Lord on high is mightier and more glorious than the noise of many waters, yes, than the mighty breakers and waves of the sea

Proverbs 31:15a - She rises while it is yet night and gets [spiritual] food for her household...

Wow... what interesting words. Powerful really. But, isn't it all powerful?! So... as we read, to give you a little bit of a background, in Psalms 63, David is talking here and is in the wilderness. I'm not sure if your conversation with God is different than what David's is here, but if you can see through David being a man... read it again. His words describe such intimacy. Such love. Such desire. And all of this is aimed at his Lord, his God. I'm going to begin later in the verse, and include verses 3a, 5a & 8. As you read this, maybe put on different eyes. It's almost as if you could imagine the upcoming words being in a romance novel..... check this out.... 

Earnestly I will seek you; my inner self thirst for you, my flesh longs and is faint for you... Your loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise you. My whole being shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness. My whole being follows hard after you and clings closely to you; Your right hand upholds me.

As you read those words... if you are married, it sounds more like something you would say to your husband or wife during a time of intimacy. It sounds like love. It sounds like depth...fullness. More than just a "father-son" relationship... or a "yes sir, no sir" relationship. More than just a "heavenly Father, if it be your will..." relationship. The sound of Davids relationship with the Lord here is different. It shows a relationship of depth, of love, of friendship.... but more than all that, of intimacy. David loves the Lord. A deep love that some of us may only be able to relate to a love for a spouse or child. A love that shows no boundries. A love that says, you know everything about me. A love that says YOU O LORD are the most important thing to me. I must have You! Above all else, Lord, I CAN NOT live without a realtionship with You! If I were to guess, David's talk here to the Lord sounds different than how most people talk to the Lord. David shows evidence of intimacy with the Lord. 

I don't know about you.... but I would guess, this is the type of relationship that EVERY person LONGS to have! They may not know that they LONG to have this relationship with the Lord... or they may not know that the Lord can fulfull this kind of relationship. But as we see from David... it is possible. Husband or Wife was not meant or designed to meet ALL the needs that we have! That is when failed marriages occur. When we expect our spouse to fill a need or desire... a friendship and relationship that is shaped and designed to be filled by only One. By Jesus. By our relationship with the Lord... our morning communion with the Holy Spirit. When we begin to rely on our spouse to be the "be all, end all"... it is then when they will often disappoint us. They are human and can not possibily fill the same shoes that an OMNIPOTENT Father can fill. 

As we look at the life of the Proverbs 31 woman, we know that she does get filled up spiritually. We know that she excels all the women in the Bible... because it says so in Proverbs 31:29. We could study the lives of all the women in the Bible to determine how deep of a relationship our Proverbs 31 friend had.... but the one that comes to mind immediately is the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42. You know the story. Jesus comes to the house of Martha, she invites Him in and as Martha is preparing & busying herself... she is growing angry and annoyed. I can picture it. She is doing everything. She is getting drinks for the company, getting a veggie tray ready, snacks ready. Cleaning up the kitchen and dishes so everything appears perfect and presentable. She is doing it all. She pushes her hair back from her eyes with her forearm, not wanting to get her wet, clean fingers in her hair. All the while, it is as if steam is rising from her forehead... from her ears... from her pursed lips. She is obviously very frustrated at the lack of help she is receiving. All the while... there sits Mary. Like a little girl. Sitting at Jesus' feet, hanging on every word. Hungry. Not for the fruit or veggie tray that Martha is making... but hungry for every word Jesus is saying. Like she is listening to a suspenseful story, hanging on each and every next word. Mary is hungry to be around Jesus. She just wants to be with Him, to hear from Him, to be in His very presense. Martha comes out frustrated as the story continues in verse 40, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" 41"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, 42but only one thing is needed.Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

Like David and like Mary.... begin to choose the most important. You will love and be drawn to what you spend the most time doing. If you are a weight lifter or runner, the more time you spend doing that, the more you will be hungry for it.... the more you will want to be in the gym or crave to go for those runs. If you spend a lot of time watching TV, movies, on Facebook, the more time you will want to continue to do those things. But equally so, the more time you spend with the Lord, the more time you spend in the Word, in prayer, in communication with the Holy Spirit.... the more you will hunger for those things! As you grow to desire those things, you relationship with your heavenly Father will grow more intimate. And, I know for me... I want a relationship with the Lord like David had. To be know as, a woman after God's own heart. To have friendship with the one who can never let me down. To experience perfect love.

So today... evaluate your time. Are you spending enough time with your Jesus that it could get to that of mirroring the relationship that David had? What does your relationship look like with Jesus? Are you a stranger? An acquaintance? A friend? A best friend? An intimate friend? Or so close you could be classified as a lover? As we often read in Psalms or sing in songs, "lover of my soul." One who possesses a friendship that is deep and full. That is my desire.

Decide today. What time of relationship do you want? Now pursue it.