"Little" is the Doorway to Much

Good Morning! I am still "out here." :) I know over the last 6 months, my 4 time/week blog has dwindled to maybe once per week....sometimes once per month. Well... let me just assure you... I'm still out here, and I am still spending daily time in the Word. I just wanted to let you know I haven't fallen off the deep end! :) It is an interesting and new season for me. I'm very excited about that, but at the same time, much change has been and continues to come. With a change of season requires a change in activities, schedule and a continual reevaluation that I am indeed on the right track. My goal, as I'm sure yours is, is to not miss ANYTHING the Lord has for me. Thankfully my husband has "cast me onto the Lord" (which he did a long time ago, PRAISE THE LORD!) and allows me and the Lord to work out what "AMY" needs to be doing.


Anyways... with all of that said. I believe I have a good Word for you today. The Lord continues to give me incites as I dig into His Word. It is so good! Constantly new.


Let's dive in...

Psalm 40:5,6b - Many, O Lord my God, are the wonderful works which You have done, and Your thoughts toward us; no one can compare with You! If I should declare and speak of them, they are too many to be numbered....You have given me the capacity to hear and obey...

God's thoughts towards you. Did you know that they are HUGE! Did you know that as the SON or DAUGHTER of the Most High God, that His Plans for you are great! The "greatness" or "legacy" that you leave here on this earth are in direct proportion to your ability to hear and obey. What could that mean? Maybe that means "hearing once" and fulfilling one specific calling with greatness. Maybe that means "hearing daily" and accomplishing a lot in many venues.


In Psalm 40:5, it talks about God's thoughts towards us being too many to be numbered. Imagine a room filled with all the things that you are suppose to accomplish. Maybe it's developing witty inventions, as Proverbs 8:12 says. Imagine in this room, there are shelves full of your inventions. Great inventions, not just one, but MANY. Really, cool, great ideas, just sitting there on the shelves. Multi-million dollar products. Products and inventions that really help people. Just think about peanut butter alone. George Washington Carver invented peanut butter in 1876, and went on do invent 300 other products using the peanut. A devout Christian, Carver considered his laboratory "God's Little Workshop." Maybe in your "room" there are books that you have written, great books. Maybe there are products you have sold. Business' you have started. Engineering firm, photography business, a marketing company you've expanded, a restaurant or chain of restaurants. Maybe it's a dessert you've made famous, or a sauce? Maybe it's your artwork, work and designs that are so exceptional that they are known worldwide for how extraordinary they are. What is in your room? God's thoughts of you are too many to be numbered. That includes that great plans He has for you! His plans for you are for you to prosper! (Ps 1:3, 35:27, Proverbs 16:3, 16:9) There are SO many places that talk about how the Lord's plans for YOU, as His child, are for YOU to SUCCEED!!!!! For YOU to WIN! For YOU to be PROSPEROUS! Healthy! Wise! Wealthy! Third John 1 verse 2, Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.


THE KEY HERE? Psalm 40:6b. You have the CAPACITY to HEAR AND OBEY! If you don't feel like you have been able to "HEAR" the direction or Voice of God (the Holy Spirit)... then guess what? That hearing ear can be developed! You can begin the process of practicing to listen! You will be amazed that as you pursue God, as you seek out Him & His treasures, He WILL make Himself known to you! Your life, your direction, your calling does not have to be a mystery to you! It is not suppose to be a mystery! He has HIDDEN TREASURES for YOU! They are HIDDEN for YOU to find them! They are HIDDEN from the enemy FOR YOU! But you have to seek them out, listen and obey! 


So... in your room.... in this room that has "all God has for you".... what is going to come to fruition here on the earth that is in YOUR ROOM? Are all the inventions, business', churches that you help build, books that you write....are they going to be left on the shelves? Or are they going to come to fruition here on earth? I believe that your capacity to RECEIVE those inventions, ideas, successes are based upon your ability to be obedient with the FIRST ONE! If you don't take the first idea, or the first business or the first book and do anything with it, WHY would God give you the next one? When you have not been faithful with the little, the ONE, why would he give you the rest of the AWESOME ideas? 


It begins with 2 things. Listening & Obeying. 


Can you do that today? Can you Listen? Can you obey? Can you take the first step to being obedient to what God has called you to pursue? Just like the story we've heard many times. The servant who was faithful with little, was given much. 


Servant. Child of the Most High God. Will you be faithful with the little He is trying to give you today? That "little" that you are faithful to is the doorway to much. Will you be faithful?

What Are You Waiting For?

Ecclesiastes 11:4,6 - He who observes the wind [and waits for all conditions to be favorable] will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap. In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening withhold not your hands, for you know not which shall prosper, whether this or that, or whether both alike will be good.

Have you ever waited for the perfect time to do something, but the perfect time never comes? The perfect time to have kids? The perfect time to move? The perfect time to go on that trip.... take that loved one? The perfect time to launch out and start that business? The perfect time to treat your parents to something really special.... just to say thank you for all they've done over the years? The perfect time. Does the perfect time ever come?

I had great plans... great ideas. My mind had planned out this great trip....I was going to bring a special family member. It was going to be such a memorable experience and this would have truly been a "Life Highlight" for this family member. Tyler and I waited. There were several times when we "could have" ... it would've worked out. But, we continued to wait for the "perfect time." In our pursuit to wait, this very special family member died.  My perfect trip, with the perfect memories & the perfect surprise never came to be because I was waiting for the perfect time.

What are you waiting for? Like Ecclesiastes says... are you observing the wind? Are you waiting for ALL conditions to be favorable before you sow? Before you step out in faith. Are you observing the clouds? It looks like it might rain, so you don't launch out with that new business. The economy looks like it's taking a turn for the worse, I'm just going to stay at my job. Ooooh.... they are doing cutbacks.... let's just not have kids now. Let's wait a few more years.

The Holy Spirit does know best in each and every situation. But....maybe now IS the time. It may not be perfect. "ALL" things may not be favorable. Last I checked, we please our Father by our faith! Maybe now is YOUR time to do what you have been waiting for. Maybe now is YOUR perfect time to take the plunge! Have kids! Move! Buy that house! Go on the trip! Start a business! Make the decision to go "ALL-IN" with your current business and MAKE IT GROW!

What are YOU waiting for? Maybe now is YOUR TIME!

 

#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!

#181 - A Way of Life for Others

Good morning! I pray you are blessed today! We are excited about a blessed day, being led and directed by the Lord and being in the right place at the right time! God has great things for you too today, are you ready? 


Let's get in the Word...

Proverbs 10:4 - He becomes poor who works with a slack and idle hand, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.

Proverbs 10:16a-17 - The earnings of the righteous (the upright, in right standing with God) lead to life....¹⁷ He who heeds instruction and correction is [not only himself] in the way of life [but also] is a way of life for others. And he who neglects or refuses reproof [not only himself] goes astray [but also] causes to err and is a path toward ruin for others.

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

Wow... this morning I was reminded of what continued to bring me to tears just over a week ago. I had the opportunity to attend a conference where I witnessed about one thousand people on a Sunday morning give their life to Christ. To watch as young and old made their way down coliseum steps to make a bold proclamation that they were committing their life to Jesus was enough to make tears roll down my eyes... but that was just the icing on the cake that morning. Earlier an offering was taken up for several different ministries, one of those ministries was for a music group called Day One. Day One introduced a new project they were working on called Operation Haiti. We watched a video that brought me to tears, and the tears kept coming for the next several days... even just thinking about it brings tears. The video showed children after the earthquake wandering the streets of Haiti for food. On the screen flashed a child, maybe 1 year old, or 18 months old, wandering the streets for food. No home, no family, no care, nothing. As I sat there thinking about my almost 18 month old son, Tyler Junior, I could help but picture my son there. Roaming for food, putting anything in his mouth hoping that it would be something good. It was amazing to me. I just couldn't help but think, these kids are special too. Just like Tyler Jr is so precious and special to me, these children are also special. They also deserve a chance. 


I cried further as an offering was taken up, not being able to give the amount of money that I wanted. I just wanted it to be for more. I wanted to give more, to do more, to help more, to make more of an impact, to provide food & shelter for these children roaming the streets. 

The verses this morning provide us with HOPE, that when we are diligent, it does matter! 

The hand of the diligent makes rich.... The earnings of the righteous lead to life.... He who heeds instruction is not only himself in the way of life, but is also a way of life for others...

We look at the life of the Proverbs 31 woman, she opens up FILLED hands to the poor, she is helping the needy in a variety of ways. Be it with food or shelter, emotional support, love, she is a beacon of light to the poor. 


It reminds me of other verses, "The Lord give us POWER TO GET WEALTH." "The wealth of the wicked is stored up for the just." The list could go on. I feel like we, as believers have a RESPONSIBILITY. A responsibility to be more and do more, to achieve more. God has ideas just WAITING for a believer who will take hold of it and run with it. Ideas, inventions, business' that will create great wealth and in turn will allow US, Children of God to give to the needy, to help the poor. It should not be up to the government to tax us on this or that to raise money, but in the Bible the body of Christ did it! They were not mandated to pay money into a program, they supported children and widows, poor and needy who could not provide for themselves. The BODY did that. I'm just reminded of the great opportunities that we have here in the U.S. Opportunities to make ideas a reality. There are not a shortage of Million Dollar Ideas.... they are there! There is not a shortage of talent.... there are cooks and bakers, seamstresses & designers who have not been discovered yet.... who are sitting in a cubicle somewhere entering data into a spreadsheet and doing something COMPLETELY unfulfilling with their life. Not operating in their gift, but just making a dollar bill. There is not a shortage of Million Dollar Business', business ideas are out there! Business' that are going to succeed! Business' that people need, that is going to provide a great service or product! The ideas are out there, there is no shortage. 


I'm reminded of a verse in Isaiah 6:8 that says, "Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send? And who will go for Us? Then said I, Here am I; send me." Sure, there are people needed to GO. Missionaries needed to GO. But... there are also people who are equally important on that mission field, sure they may be in the comfort of their own home, but they are the people that are PROVIDING! SUPPLYING the funds! SUPPORTING! There are people equally important who maybe aren't called to work in an orphanage in Haiti, but you are called to fund it. You are called to create wealth with the talents God has given you. YOU can be a way of life to others!


Receive your idea! Receive your invention! Receive your business! Now, take hold, have faith, pray, listen and GO!

#171 - Cowboy Up!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

____________________________

Check out our upcoming little blessing! :) 

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

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

#107 - Build Your Business

Good morning! It seems like there has been a theme going on here with the Lord.... at least with the devotions the past few days. Plans & doing GREAT things, becoming who you ought to be, and today... putting your hand to work, putting your hand to the plow. 


What a theme. I know God is really speaking to me, a world of revelations and convictions, whether it is speaking to you.... I'm not sure. But I praise God for HIS Word, how it can change, perfect & help to progress one forward. It can move us from strength to strength increasing in victorious power, like it talked about in Psalm 84:7.

Proverbs 24:27 - [Put first things first.] Prepare your work outside and get it ready for yourself in the field; and afterward build your house and establish a home.

Proverbs 31:19a - She lays her hands to the spindle...

Growing up in the Amish country-side of my small town in Indiana, I saw a great deal of interesting perspectives and lifestyle. From your every day, average middle class American families, to the lamp-lit and out-houses of friends who were Amish.  Home-cooked food, wonderful bread, bonnets, dresses, horse & buggy's and the Dutch language. My middle school Amish friends completed through the 8th grade & then they were done. They were off to work at home, work on the farm, work with their parents. I missed their funny humor. I remember my small town being broadcasted on Nationwide television for having the FIRST horse & buggy stalls/barns built in our local Wal-Mart parking lots.  


Why do I say all this? Well, Proverbs 24 has always been an interesting verse to me, well.... I say "always"... it really became a revelation to Tyler and I about 5-6 years ago. Put first things first. Prepare your work outside and get it ready for yourself in the field; and afterward build your house and establish a home. 


Some other versions of the Bible say to, "Build your BUSINESS first, THEN build your house." What is the "Barn" to the Amish? It is their business, their livelihood. The community comes together for the "raising of the barn" when a couple gets married, and the barn usually goes up very quickly with the help of SO many people! Build your Business first before your home. Honestly, I wasn't to excited about the realization of this scripture. I thought, Lord, can we just take that verse out of the Bible? Arghhhh! 


So.... let it be said, we roll a good bit different than a lot of people. A lot of people may think we're a bit strange, may think we are "throwing our money away" since we are not building equity. BUT, my belief is that GOD will HONOR our willingness to stay out of debt. GOD will honor our desire to want to pay cash for a home and not have a mortgage. GOD will honor it. Sure, will it maybe take a little bit for that cushion of money to be there, maybe. But, I also believe God could just do it tomorrow. Then.... would we have been stupid for spending 4-5 year renting if we then pay cash for a home? To spend however many years it takes, and take off 30 years of house payments. 


I'm excited to see how God does it. I'm not saying for YOU to sell your house and go rent. YOU have to have your own Word from the Lord. But... like the Proverbs 31 woman, she put her hand to work. She began the process of WORKING, of allowing her actions to manifest and create for her. For Tyler & I, we own a business that we know with work, can manifest a great amount of income. (Some of our business associates/friends had a $110,000 month THIS month! That would be a good chuck of a house! YEAH?!) We know we have a VEHICLE to accomplish what we want. The bottom line, is starting with a PLAN. Having a PLAN and then allowing the LORD to direct your steps. Whether it has to do with buying a house, getting out of debt, living your dream, pursuing your calling, whatever!


Some recent and really good quotes:

• So many people are walking around like Clark Kent because they do not know they were destined to be Superman. - Deep down, do you KNOW you have GREATNESS? Do you know you are not just average? 
• Don't ask God to guide your footsteps if you aren't willing to move your feet.
• If you stutter when asked, "What's your goal?", you don't know your goal! 

So many things to think about. 

Today... lots of things to chew on. Lots of food for thought. 

#94 - With FAITH, NOTHING is Impossible!

Good morning! It is a bit chilly here in Cola today! Definitely fall. Long sleeves and jeans. Wow! It's November! TOMORROW is a VERY important day... yes, it's important because it's my sister Angie's birthday.... BUT it's the day to VOTE!!! MAKE sure to exercise your right and OBLIGATION as an American to VOTE! Take some time today to read up on some of the candidates running in your area. See what the topics or bills are that you may be voting on. YOU matter! Especially you!!! I would anticipate most people who read this blog are Christians, therefore your vote is even more important. You can help to vote the men and women of God into office in your respective areas! We NEED your vote!!! In order to take this country back for GOD & Freedom we need men & women of God VOTING!!! Take it seriously! Encourage your friends and family to vote, take a car-load to the voter's booth. If you DO NOT exercise your right to vote, by default, you eliminate yourself from having an opinion or complaining about what takes place in our Nation. PLEASE take the time to vote tomorrow. Wear your "I VOTED" sticker with pride afterwards. Encourage all of the conservative Christians out there to VOTE their VOICE. One by one, we can win this country for God and keep it "In God We Trust." That is the only way the United States of America will continue to be such a blessed nation. Pray for the elections. 


So... let's get started. 

Psalm 1:2 - But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night.

Psalm 30:7a - By Your favor, O Lord, You have established me as a strong mountain... 

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. 

Matthew 17:20 - He said to them, Because of the littleness of your faith [that is, your lack of firmly relying trust]. For truly I say to you, if you have faith [that is living] like a grain of mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, Move from here to yonder place, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.

Faith. Habitually meditating on the instructions from the Lord. Faith. Trusting, having confidence, proceeding forward with no questions and no doubt. The questions are irrelevant because the wholeness of your entire being says you know "this" thing to be true. It is by complete FAITH. With faith, there is NO toil. With faith, there is NO frustration. With faith, NOTHING will be impossible to you. The mountains in your life will be removed like tossing a coin in a pool of water. The mountains will be removed with such ease that the simplicity of it's removal seems astounding. As the mountain is removed, you watch it disappear in awe as you stand in the midst of it disappearing. As you stand on the mountain and it vanishes to nothing. The mountain is gone. The goal achieved. The victory had. 


I specifically remember this very vividly happening ONE time in my life. I'm very excited to see it happen more. To watch every mountain disappear with NO TOIL from me or Tyler. It was November.... but it all began with a conversation that Tyler had with our business mentor at the end of October. He challenged Tyler on one of our business goals. Something that had been a goal for probably 2 years, but a goal that we hadn't really made any visible signs of progressing towards. He challenged Tyler, "Are you really going to do it? Are you going to go Ruby? Are you going to accomplish this goal that you've been talking about for so long?" At that moment, after Tyler said yes..... Bob questioned him again. "You've said yes before. Are you REALLY going to do it?" But this time, it was different. A second and third time, Tyler said yes. But this time he really meant yes. Yes! Yes! This time, YES, it was going to happen. 


Tyler walked into Qdoba, the mexican restaurant where we were having dinner and he said. "We are doing it. This month, November, we are going Ruby. We ARE doing it!" For some reason, this time, I fully believed him. It was like a transfer of faith occurred. I totally believed him! I believed him. I didn't have to try, I just did. I didn't need to know how, I just knew it would happen. What that meant is, it would be DOUBLING our business in ONE MONTH! DOUBLING! We needed to get to 15,000 points from 8800 points. A month came and went. No toil. No extraordinary work, just different work. We went from just "going through the motions" to having a purpose. Waking up with a DIRECT purpose every day. Like what it talked about in Psalm 1:2, habitually meditating on the instructions of God day and night. Every day when we got up my thoughts were "what am I going to do to move forward to our goal today?" Every day. Unlike what my thoughts were in the past, they were thoughts of toil. But this was different. There was NO TOIL at all. We did things and activities to move our business forward, but the difference was we were in COMPLETE faith. We went from 8800 to 18000 in ONE MONTH! What our business team did was pretty much unheard of. BUT, it was because we grasped faith. That mountain was removed! We did it. And it was sooooo easy. 


When things are done in faith, they are not hard. There is no toil. The only thing I could explain was when I saw the faith that Tyler had, that he fully believed we were going to do it, it was like a transfer of faith occurred. I immediately believed him. I had faith. Unwavering faith. Unquestioning faith. Then our business team had faith. We all progress forward in complete faith. Unquestioning. Unwavering. Complete faith.


Mountains can EASILY be moved. The mountain in our life that was moved and it was easy. What took the longest was for us to grab hold of the PURE faith that it would be done. Once that took place, time was not even an issue. God took what we thought should take months to progress to and did it in ONE month. The impossible was possible because GOD was in the picture. 


I'm excited for the other mountains in our life to be moved. FAITH says they can be done and they can be done easily. With faith, there is no toil. 

#89 - Be Diligent in Your Work

Good morning! It's almost good afternoon! It is a beautiful fall day and it's FRIDAY!!! Hip Hip Hooray!!! I even look forward to Friday's because that means DAD is off for the weekend to play with us!! Yippee!! :) 


Well, let's get started. This wasn't the direction that I was planning on going today, but God is God and I am just Amy. So, we're going to choose to go with what GOD had for today. :-) As I do my best to do during every devotion. His Word stands forever and YOU & I only need ONE WORD from Him to change our lives! So... easy decision to go with what He had. :) Let's roll....

Proverbs 22:29 - Do you see a man diligent and skillful in his business? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.

Psalm 52:7-9a - ...the man who made not God his strength 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 ... I will thank You and confide in You forever, because You have done it.

Psalm 112:1b,3 - Blessed is the man who fears the LORD...Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. 

Proverbs 31:24 - She makes fine linen garments and leads others to buy them; she delivers to the merchants girdles [or sashes that free one up for service].

Wow! So much to be said from the verses above! And to think, they were ALL in today's reading!! It's amazing how God does things! WOW! Sometimes He just overwhelms me with how amazing He is! 


Diligent & skillful in business! Do you own your own business? Do you have a job? Well, I know we know the word diligent, and use it frequently...but let me just remind you of it's meaning in the dictionary. It was quite eye opening really to see it's original meaning: constant in effort to accomplish something; attentive and persistent in doing anything. 


Diligent. Constant in effort to accomplish something. Whatever your business is or job is, being in the constant pursuit to ACCOMPLISH. Not to just "go with the flow", punch a time clock and 'do your time', but to ACCOMPLISH. Do progress forward. The dictionary also called diligent as having 'Persevering Attention.' Wow! It makes you think differently about your job or business, doesn't it! I mean, wow! Do you or I put 'Persevering Attention' towards it? If it is where God has placed us, it is our calling and we are called to do it with diligence. With a constant pursuit to accomplish and to apply persevering attention to our business! 


What about money? What about the subject of money? Income? Profit? Yikes! This can be such a touchy subject in so many arena's, and for some reason Christian arena's. Psalm 52 today mentioned the man who trusted in his OWN abundant riches, acquiring them through his wickedness. There in lies the key. Trusting in yourself for riches. Putting faith or reliance on your 'riches' versus on God. Elevating the "Almighty Dollar Bill" instead of the "Almighty GOD" who is the maker of it all! It is all about keeping GOD where He rightfully belongs, on the THRONE. Elevated. Father. Jehovah. Almighty One. King of Kings! Savior! Ruler over heaven & earth! Savior! Lord! It is about keeping God the Lord of our lives, and in regards to finances, keeping HIM as OUR SOURCE. Not relying upon our business, our job, our sales, our efforts or our works as our source. The moment we begin to rely on our own efforts instead of keeping our faith and reliance upon God is the beginning of where the trouble starts. For example... I just put on an information class on a 12 week program we are starting here in Columbia, "New Way to a New You." I asked the Holy Spirit what materials/products, if any, I should have with me at the class. I was willing to invest in whatever I needed to invest in, but I wanted to invest in the RIGHT things. Well, the Holy Spirit said, "Buy 10 books, that's all." OK. That's easy enough. So, I pre-purchased the 10 books to re-sell (we will be using throughout the 12 week class as a guide.) Out of those 10 books guess how many I sold? LOL. I laugh at how amazing God is when we listen. I sold 10. If I would've had 9, I would've been 1 short. If I would've had 11, I would've had 1 extra. The Holy Spirit knew EXACTLY how many I needed. He is even concerned in the little things! Isn't that amazing!


Wealth & Riches? Expect them! Do you fear the Lord? Do you honor and respect our Mighty God? Well, then Psalm 112 is talking about YOU! This is a verse Tyler and I confess DAILY over our lives and our family. DAILY! Outloud! 


Sales!? What about sales? In the world, often 'sales people' are seen maybe with a bad light. The whole "used-car salesmen" feeling. No one wants to be "SOLD". When you are "sold", you are being convinced into something you do not want to do. When you "buy", you are buying something you need or saw value in. And even the WOMAN WHO EXCELS them ALL was a SALES PERSON!!! Can you believe it?! Take a look in Proverbs 31:24! She makes fine linen garments and leads others to buy them; she delivers to the merchants girdles [or sashes that free one up for service].!!!


A couple things to keep in mind... she wasn't selling junk. She obviously believed in what she was selling. It was a FINE product made of FINE material. She was meeting a need in the marketplace. A product that freed people up for serving. 


Do you believe in your product? Do you believe in your service? Lead others to buy it! Those people that NEED it will see it's value and have no remorse in purchasing from you. They will also often be your greatest source of referrals too! Add value to others and you can not go wrong. 

#23 - Sales & The Christian

Good Morning! So... I woke up without an alarm clock this morning. Pretty wild. I slept GOOD! :) It's going to be a great day. :) SOOOO happy to be enjoying my blonde coffee this morning. Along with bringing the kitchen sink to Jill's, I also brought my Vanilla Hazelnut Kahve coffee, and my sugar-free French Vanilla (COFFEEMATE) creamer (I can't do the other brands of creamer, gag!) So.... enjoying a nice morning. Sitting out on the balcony, very woodsy out here. Nice cool breeze. No flies. :) (Yippee! No sending them to be with Jesus!) Jill and Bella I guess will be getting up sometime around 10:00ish. :) So... blueberry muffins, eggs, grits, bacon & fruit for breakfast! YUM! (And no, I do not do this at home all the time! My apologies Tyler.)


Let's dive in. Pretty good stuff this morning. 

Proverbs 25:15 - By long forbearance and calmness of spirit a judge or ruler is persuaded, and soft speech breaks down the most bonelike resistance.

Proverbs 31:24 - She makes fine linen garments and leads others to buy them; she delivers to the merchants girdles [or sashes that free one up for service].

Good stuff! Well, let's automatically take a look at our Proverbs 31 friend. Did you realize SHE is a SALESPERSON!!! Can you believe it?!?! Amongst everything else, she can sell! And, I don't believe just sell, I believe she would be among the top ranks in sales of Corporate America today! The woman knows how to sell! She is not the woman we grew up thinking she was.... she is not the typical picture of who most view as a "godly woman." The long hair, pulled up in a nice, tight, clean hair bun; the long, drab skirt; little or no make-up looking a bit on the homely side; bent over a wash board scrubbing clothes until they are clean; then hung over a stove, flour on her face, flour on her splattered white apron cooking for the family. I believe if this was still our picture of the Proverbs 31 woman, we would be mistaken. And, as a sidenote reminder, she has built up her business that now she does enjoy having maids (Prov. 31:15), and if I had maids I can tell you I would not be doing the scrubbing of ......hum.....anything! So... let's move on. 


Our Proverbs 31 friend leads others to buy her product! Others, plural. She leads them. She knows the good things about her product, the "sales features & benefits." And why does she feel good about SELLING her product?? Because it is high quality, it is FINE! She is adding value to the marketplace. Her product is adding value, take a look: this girdle frees one up for service. It is HELPING people. She has provided a product that adds value & helps people! 


How do we know she has a pretty big size business? Well, she sells her products to merchants, plural. Since I used to be in the "Merchant Service" industry, I set up "merchants" to accept credit cards. What is a "Merchant?" It is a business or business owner. A company who provides a good or service to others. Our Proverbs 31 friend has merchantS that she is selling too. Her products are hitting the marketplace and being sold from many stores, vendors, malls, etc. She is a BUSINESS WOMAN. She is a SALES PERSON. And she has a product that the market needs and wants!


What about this "judge or ruler" being persuaded? How is this bonelike resistance broken down? Well, let's look at persuade. The dictionary tells us persuade means to advise or to urge. Some synonyms are: to urge, influence, move, entice. So this judge, with soft speech is able to be influenced. With soft speech his opinion is able to be moved. Despite his bonelike resistance or resolve not to "move" his opinion, with some persuading, he does. 


That brings us to something of great importance. Sales. When I was working, one of my top years, along with managing an existing base of business, I also got new business. Sold. Won accounts. I added over 18 million dollars of new sales volume to my existing portfolio. I knew and know how to sell. That was only one year. Not to mention each other year the new sales volume. If I were to go back and could look at it... during my 4 years of working in "Corporate America" I probably brought in over 45-50 million dollars of new revenue. Not too bad. And throughout the "nation", not only was I "Rookie of the Year" my first year, but was in the "Top 5" performers by my second. I say that all to say, I know sales. What does a good sales person run into the risk of doing? One word. Manipulating. Instead of leading and guiding, instead of showing the pro's and con's, but still leaving a way out, a good sales person most likely has the skills that they can even manipulate the person who does not need their product or service to purchase. Manipulation. What is one of the most common, easiest sales lines? Ending the sentence with what you want them to choose. For example: "So, would you like to purchase just the two cases, or do you want to go ahead and get four?"  


Where is the danger? Honestly, the person I have to be the MOST careful to doing this to is my husband. I know I am a good sales person. I know he is also a good sales person. BUT as a wife and as a Proverbs 31 woman, my goal is to lead. My goal is to lay out the facts. My goal is to include options. Pro's & con's. And often, when I know I could EASILY get my way, word my desire in a way that sounds appealing and obvious, "Of course, that sounds great. Yes Amy, you should go buy that or do that." Instead, especially with my husband, I choose to lead not to manipulate. Many women have the ability to do this to their spouse. To position your plee so your spouse will look upon it favorably. 


Well, ladies, men.... IF we are the GREAT sales people that we think we are, we should be able to LEAD people to purchase. We should be able to show them the value that will be added. We should know & have the confidence in our products so much that they can see how much it will benefit them. 


So today.... whether you are in sales....or whether you are trying to convince your spouse, sibling, friend, boss, etc of something... how about try to lead versus manipulate?


And let's close with a few parting tips....


SALES TIPS FOR THE CHRISTIAN:

1. Are your products made of good, fine material? And are your products high quality?
2. Does your product add value to people? Does it make the lives of others better or easier? 
3. Have you found your "target market" of who may need your product or service? And are you trying to lead them to purchase your products or use your service?
4. Do you know the features & benefits of your product? Are you able to "LEAD" others by informing them about your product? What makes it so good? What are the features they may not see if you didn't point it out? How can you inform & educate them?
5. Are you "LEADING" others to purchase versus "manipulating" them into buying something they do not need?

#22 - Debt: Your Business, Your Life, Your House

Good morning. It's a great day! :) The boy & I get to pack up and head to 'da Thrill's (Jill - my sister-in-law) and help out with her, Doug & baby Bella for the next few days. We are excited. :) Excited to cook, bake, change little baby Bella diapers... and just spend some quality time with Jilly. :) We have a full day ahead of us, packing and driving! :) So as some people say, "Daylight is burning, let's go!"

Proverbs 24:27 - [Put first things first.] Prepare your work outside and get it ready for yourself in the field; and afterward build your house and establish a home.

Proverbs 31:16 - 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.

Today we are going to somewhat piggy-back off of Tuesday's post: Plan to Prosper. We talked about planning and debt. We are going to continue off of that topic today. Let me preface this... please take the "grocery store" approach to what you read today. When you go grocery shopping, you purchase what you need, you don't always take everything. Today, take what you need. Yes, I believe it is all truth, at the same time you still need to seek out the Lord and see what does HE have to say to YOU specifically about this? I come from the standpoint of a business owner. We have planned & are moving forward. We have left "status quo" and have chosen to pursue more. We have left TV and the bowling leagues and the hobbies, scrap-booking behind (for now) to build a business & establish a business that will yield greater returns down the road. We are not better than the person who chooses to stay home and watch TV each night, we have just chosen a different path. So, I speak from the standpoint with the "end in mind", the standpoint of "moving forward", "moving ahead", "progressing towards a goal that has been set". To the person that is happy with where life is, and where they are, this may not all apply to them. SO...with that said, let's get started. 


Proverbs 24:27 prefaces the verse with, "Put first things first", ie: let's make the most important thing, the most important thing. What is the most important thing? "Prepare your work outside and get it ready." In the Hebrew, we look at the word "work", and see the translation to business. In other words; Prepare your business outside and get it ready. Get your work in line. Prepare your business, build it up, make it profitable, have a plan, work the plan, delay gratification. Do you really need all the "other things" in life right now? Are those "most important"? Is your work/business progressing forward? Is it being built? AFTERWARD, build your house. AFTERWARD. After you have built your business, done your work, then build your house. AFTERWARD. 


Let's look at the life of Jacob. Genesis 31:41 really says all that we need to know: "I have been twenty years in your house. I served you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks..." Jacob, at this point was in the "life-stock" business. He has developed a business and has grown a flock. Now that he has worked he is going to build a house. 


Now, I am a studier of the Word. I have not attended seminary, and I dare say there are countless people and scholars who have studied more than I. But, in what I see from where I stand....today we, Americans, may do things a bit backwards from what they did in the Bible?? Let's compare: Jacob worked 7 years for Leah, then another 7 years for Rachel, then another 6 years establishing a business of life-stock. Today, what does the common young person do? Let's look: Go to college 4 years (collect student loans of $100,000), get married, get a loan from the bank to buy a house ($150,000 in debt from the start), get a loan for a new car ($12,000 in debt), get a loan for our wife's new car (another $12,000 in debt), get a job, have kids, 30 years later pay off the loan from the bank for the house, never out of debt for our cars- just keep trading them in for a newer model, and then an occasional person may build a business. The American Way: start in debt, die in debt. Hummmmmm..... do he two ways sound different to you? Am I just being "legalistic", or do we do things differently now? Some may think I am totally being legalistic, and that is OK if you think that. I really am OK with it!! No hard feelings. REALLY! But, does anyone really "buy" things anymore? Is it all on loan or credit? 


I recently heard a multi-millionaire, you may be familiar with him, Jack Canfield (author of Chicken Soup for the Soul) say something like this: "In my 30's, I went strictly on the cash system. Using a debit card just didn't seem like money. Writing a check, just didn't seem like money. Using a credit card, just piled up the debt. But, when I handed over the cash, I was a little tighter to hold that dollar bill." 


Our Proverbs 31 woman is considering to BUY a field. It doesn't say in Proverbs 31 that she owns her home, but I would guess she does. It says she is getting ready to BUY a field. It doesn't say she is going to go downtown, get a loan from the bank, only 4.5% interest, pay it off in 30 years, then own the field. She is going to BUY it. 


So Tyler and I.... this is one thing we have taken pretty literally. We are proudly out of debt. We own our cars. My car, a Nissan Altima, is the same car I have had since I graduated college May 2000. It has over 200,000 miles on it, but we own it. Granted, we are excited for the Lord to bless us with an upgrade that we can own debt-free. Recently, we finally retired Tyler's car. The Lord blessed us with the ability to pay cash for a newer vehicle. We REALLY needed a newer vehicle. Tyler had a Toyota Camry. We drove it so much we called it lovingly, "Hotel del Camry". We drove a lot of miles on that baby. We bought it when it had 35,000 miles on it, and finally gave it to a new 16 year old driver (for his first car) with over 400,000 miles on it! Check it out for yourself! 

:) Wow! I know! By this point... the camry wasn't pretty to look at, but it drove very well. We kept it maintained and serviced, and it ran great! Never really gave us ANY problems at all!! I expect the new 16 year old could get another 100-200,000 miles out of it (IF he had too!). But, it was a blessed vehicle. We now, THANKFULLY, PRAISE THE LORD drive a Nissan Murano.

(My dad driving the Murano on the beach in Daytona when we went on vacation.)

What a blessing! :) And a definite upgrade! But for us... we believed for it, we spoke it, we thanked God for it, we had a picture on our refrigerator and we waited in faith to receive it, and when the time came, we paid cash for it. 


Currently... against a lot of people's opinion, we rent the house we live in. We owned our first home, moved from there to an apartment, and now a home we are renting. I have heard it before, "You are throwing your money away. You are wasting money! You are not building equity." Yes, I have heard it all. And, believe me, I have said it too. I have thought it. I have fought it. It has frustrated me. But, we committed to following a conviction on this, and following the Word. We are renting. BUT - their is light at the end of the tunnel. We have already believed, it is as good as done, we will pay for our next house. We will own it. No 30 year plan. We have believed, we are planning, we are preparing, we are building our business, and we THANK GOD for being able to OWN our next home free and clear! 


With all that said.... let me add this. Like we discussed yesterday....the borrower is subject to the lender. Yes, this is true. And from where I stand, IF you want to be subject to the lender, you can be! True, that does put you somewhat enslaved, or bondage to that lender, but it is your free will to have loans from the bank. Even though it says, owe no man nothing but to love him. There are some, who have no plans of ever owning a business, who enjoy watching TV every night, enjoy relaxing, do not own a business nor do they ever want to or plan to own one, and are OK with being a steadily making payments over the next 30 years. To that person, a loan from the bank is probably the best thing. Because, let's face it... if there is no plan to do anything bigger, or make/save income to purchase a house, this person would NEVER own there home. Tyler and I just chose to do things differently. Granted, we are not "building equity" now. But, as I see it, we are doing things like how Jacob did it. We are working. We are building our business. We are preparing. And we will BUY our next home.


The person who is enslaved to a loan or to a dollar bill.... if God called them right now to go be a missionary, guess what, they could not. Until they are able to sell their home, get out of debt, they would not be able to follow the Lord's leading on their life. If I were a betting person, I believe there are probably a lot of people out there that are called to be missionaries but can't. They are shackled to the bank. In 30 years, when their student loan and home loans are paid for, when they sell their cars... then they may be able to go. 


What to take away? Yikes....I guess whatever you want. Just a different school of thought. And truly... I'm OK if you believe I am wrong with my thinking. This is how WE have chosen to live. Some may choose to be enslaved temporarily. Some may choose to be enslaved for 10 years and then they will own their home. Good for you. It really is a matter of choice. What is best for you, your family and the career path you have chosen. For some, 10 years paying on a loan may be the best thing. 


Take what you will....but I do encourage you to consider. Consider before making the next big purchase on loan or on credit. Ask, reflect, get quiet before the Lord.... is this truly what you are suppose to do? AND...one last thing. Don't go sell your house, your cars, your everything to get out of debt and live in an apartment based upon MY CONVICTIONS. Seek God for YOU. Receive a conviction for yourself in this matter. See what God would have YOU to do. 


Love ya'll! :) Time to pack and hit the road! :)
xoxo