Do you want a HARVEST?

Mark 4:14 - The sower soweth the word.

The sower sows the WORD. Yesterday I tweeted out (@amyjmccart) a thought that is so fresh to me right now because I am experiencing it. The tweet said, "Continue to sow seed in faith and your harvest will catch up with you!" 

The sower sows!

Are you desperate? SOW!
Are you in need? SOW!
Do you need healing? SOW!
Do you need financial help? SOW!
Do you need friends? SOW!
Do you need a spouse? SOW!
Do you desire peace? SOW!
Are you sad? SOW!
Are you unhappy? SOW!
Are you searching? SOW!

Whatever you need or desire is right behind the seed that you sow! 

This is so fresh in my life right now. I'm witnessing harvest in so many areas of my life, Tyler's life and even our children's lives. As I watch blessing and blessing and blessing come, I stand amazed and in awe. How is this possible? One blessing shows up, my mouth is still gaping when another one is right on the heels of that blessing. I barely have time to be in awe, because I'm in awe of the next blessing!

BUT…. here's the BUT….

But…. I look back over the last 5-10 years of our life and what comes to mind? SEED. SEED. SEED. We have sown. When we saw a need in someone else's life, when we felt led, we sowed. I recall a girl getting stranded along the interstate. Her car wouldn't work and she was stranded. Her family was 6 hours away. We put her up in a hotel for the night until her family could get to her. Don't get me wrong, I don't tell you this to glorify the action of helping her, but to let you know, that was SEED! We specifically thanked God for the opportunity to SOW. In that seed, we believed God for our children's safety, the children we didn't even have yet. In that seed, we believed that people that LOVED GOD would help our future children if they were ever in a time of need without mom and dad close by to help. We sowed.
___________

SEED of the Word! Over the last 13 years, I've sown seed of the WORD of healing and health! One of my regular confessions has been, "Thank you Lord that my body operates in the perfection to how it was created to operate. From the top of my head to the tips of my toes, my body operates perfectly!" Would you like to know a result of that confession? In High School, I had broke or severely jammed my right pinky finger. One day I went to show my niece who had just jammed a finger, "Oh look, I did that too and my finger is still disfigured and permanently bent." When I went to show her, I looked at my finger and it was COMPLETELY HEALED! It had been disfigured, fat at the knuckle and bent for 10-15 years! I looked at my completely NORMAL finger and it looked EXACTLY like my other normal pinky finger! IT WAS HEALED! As I sowed the Word and sowed the Word and sowed the Word, the WORD HEALED MY FINGER! I don't even recall specifically praying for that finger, but it came into line with my confession and the Word!

"Continue to sow seed in faith and your harvest will catch up with you!" 

I'm watching my children be blessed because we have sown. When we had enough and when we didn't have enough, we sowed. We sowed. We sowed. And then….. we sowed some more. In so many areas I am watching harvest come in. Overwhelming harvest.

So… if you are discouraged, if you have been sowing, if you have been believing, if you have been standing in faith, if you have been working, if you have been longing for your dream…. Friend, I am here to tell you, CONTINUE! CONTINUE! Your harvest WILL COME IN! When you continue to sow, you will experience a season of harvest that just keeps coming! And when you CONTINUE to sow (not just sowing once and waiting for that ONE seed to come up), but when you CONTINUE to sow, when your harvest comes in, it will CONTINUE to come in.

Are you in need? SOW!
Sow, sow, sow!!!
Sow the Word. Sow money. Sow time. Sow love. Sow help. Sow encouragement. Sow friendship. Sow loyalty. Sow things.

SOW! As your harvest is coming in and your mouth just stands agape, in AWE of how good God is, you will be thankful that you chose to, in good time and bad, SOW!

Amos 9:13-15 

“Yes indeed, it won’t be long now.” God’s Decree. 

“Things are going to happen so fast your head will swim, 

one thing fast on the heels of the other. 

You won’t be able to keep up. 

Everything will be happening at once—and everywhere you look, blessings! 

Blessings like wine pouring off the mountains and hills. 

I’ll make everything right again for my people… (The Message Bible) 

Friend, GET EXCITED!!! Shout and THANK GOD in advance for your victory and harvest! Praise HIM! Thank Him! AND SHOUT, for the VICTORY IS YOURS!!!!

Your Christian Friends, "The Joneses"

2 Cor. 10:12b - … but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.

We've all heard about the Jones family. At one time or another, Christian or not Christian, we have probably been tempted to compare ourselves to The Joneses. Most commonly in the world it's categorized as "Keeping up with The Joneses."   People often compare when The Joneses get a new car or new house, new shoes, new purse, new swing set for the kids or new go-cart for their kids, new this, new that, the list goes on.

Just because we're Christians, it doesn't mean we are exempt from "The Joneses" syndrome. Although, most recently, I've noticed that we may not always be comparing material things but comparing significance, comparing assignments. "Well she is doing 'this' for the Kingdom of God." Or, "Their family is going on a mission trip." "He is writing a book." "She launched a ministry." As believers, we may find ourselves looking at our own life and the calling on our life, feeling insignificant in where we are at or dissatisfied, then we compare to another believer who just did something great. We may have thoughts like, "They seem to have it all together, while I'm doing the monotonous day-to-day things around my house."

Just this week, I came across the verse in 2 Corinthians. Verse twelve of chapter 10 really is specific about this whole topic of "comparing." But they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. 

Friend, I have been guilty of it too! Finding myself looking at "the calling" or "the assignment" some of my friends or family may have, then comparing myself to them, or even feeling contempt towards them. Looking at what they are doing and thinking it looks much greater than what I am doing. Feeling jealous or discouraged. Well, isn't it interesting, that is when the Holy Spirit comes and gives us a nice little reminder. Here's what he had told me…

You have YOUR OWN assignment. Don't focus on what others are doing. Focus on what GOD has called YOU to do. YOUR assignment!!

Each person has a different assignment. If we were ALL The Joneses, we would be without many parts to the body of Christ. If we focus on other peoples assignment and not our own, we are missing the strength zone that God has called US to operate in! If we are trying to operate in someone else's gifting, and not our own, we will most assuredly come up short! YOU are the only one who can complete your assignment! Next time that Christian couple in your Bible study does something great for the Kingdom, instead of coveting their seeming "significance" in the Kingdom rejoice with them that they are doing their part of the group project! Get before the Lord in prayer and determine, "What is my assignment? What am I suppose to be doing for the Kingdom on a daily basis?" Then put on your blinders! Applaud your friends, but let's not compare! It leaves us frustrated and discouraged.

#256 - Do you LONG for a Real Life, In Person, Best Friend?

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

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]. 

Have you longed for a friend? Not just any friend, but a friend that can sit down at your kitchen table and just by the way you move around your kitchen, they know immediately that something is wrong. The kind of friend that can come over and see you without make-up on, and you're OK with it. The kind of friend who is OK just being bored at your house, even if you are cleaning, doing laundry, dishes, whatever needs done... while they either help, or talk while you work. Better yet, they listen while you work. They provide that listening ear for the thing you desperately want to get off your heart. They don't judge you. They keep you accountable if they see you overstep boundaries that a Christian woman should not overstep. They don't gossip. They build up, lift up and encourage.  They believe in your dreams. They are your biggest cheerleader.

Does this person to you, sound like an impossible figment of our imagination? The literal perfect friend and perfect relationship. An iron sharpener in the life of a mom, wife, sister, daughter, Christian woman. I think this person DOES sound like a dream friend!! BUT... this person is possible!!

As I was reading Proverbs 18:24, I decided to check out the Greek/Hebrew breakdown of who this friend really is. This was encouraging. Here are a few of my favorite depiction's from the Hebrew breakdown for the latter part of the verse: ...and there is a friend [that] sticketh closer than a brother.

• there is = being, existence, substance, there is or are
• a friend = human love for another, includes family; human love for or to God; act of being a friend; God's love toward man
• [that] sticketh closer = clinging, adhering to
• than a brother = each to the other (reciprocal relationship)

In the AMT version... otherwise known as the "Amy McCart Translation" :) ... this verse could break down this way, and it sounds so encouraging! 

There is in existence, an actual human being who is a God kind of friend. This God kind of friend loves you and is there for you adhering to you almost like glue! They are there! But it is a RECIPROCAL friendship. You give and they give. You are both there for one another building up, listening and encouraging one another. This GOD Kind of Friend, is really in EXISTENCE for you. 

So... that is my rendition of this Proverbs 18:24 friend. Our Proverbs 31 role model also fits the bill in this area. She reaches out with her filled hands to you as a friend. Her filled hands, encompassing whatever it is you need. Maybe it is just someone to listen. Maybe it is a shoulder to cry on. Maybe it is someone to just pass the day with running errands or letting your kids play together. Maybe this friend will fill your need of an encourager in your life, a cheerleader.

Friend, your best friend is out there. Today... maybe sow for her. Sow a seed for your best friend that you may not know yet. Maybe it is the seed of encouragement to someone. Maybe it is a text to a friend letting them know you are praying for them. Maybe it is the seed of an encouraging note to someone or phone call. If you are in need, sow a seed.


Share your thoughts! What does a best friend look like to you?




 *sister = the "AMT version" :)

Repenting for Not Loving.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3,11 - Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

Wow! Let's just say it was a morning for a good spiritual spanking. Have you ever gotten one of those? What conviction I received as I read this morning, all started from a book I'm finishing up. The topic of the section I was reading was "love."

The author gave the analogy of dirty pipe. In one side of the pipe, an ABUNDANCE of water was gushing in. On the other side of the pipe, only a small trickle of dirty water was coming out. The water gushing in represented the glory of the Lord. The pipe, represented "our" spirit. The trickle of water coming out of the pipe represented the presence of the Lord after going through us. The Glory of the Lord in its fullness, came out of the pipe in such minimal proportions, that it would create a dirty, yucky pond at best. Why? Because of all the dirt in the pipe. All of the sin, unforgiveness, lack of love that was in the found in "our spirits." What this was doing? It was LIMITING the Blessing of the Lord to show up in our lives, in any and all areas. 

I hesitantly allowed myself to begin to reflect. Were there any people that I held unforgiveness or bitterness towards? I allowed my mind to run through possibilities. What about love? Was there anyone who I had not shown love to? I immediately had a few people come to mind. They were people that I chose not to associate with. Why? Because they were completely different than me. Different political view, different spiritual view, different personality, different everything! Ok.... I'm airing my dirty laundry here, so put down your stones for a minute. So here this person is, I have had the opportunity to show love to, and I have not. Not even once. Instead, I put on judgmental glasses, in my heart felt more disgust towards them than anything. It makes me sad to just say that "out loud." All because they are different than me? And, of all people, the Lord reminded me as I received my spiritual spanking, 

"Amy, as it stands, _______________, is currently on the path to hell. So is her husband and children, unless people step in with love. Amy, you did nothing but in your heart condemn her because she is not like you, because her beliefs are different. Amy, I desire you to see people with MY eyes, through eyes of love. Judgement is not for you to do. One day, based upon people's decision, judgement will come, and if you have LOVED them, hopefully they will be judged as righteous, and enter into the Kingdom of heaven."

My lack of love, was not getting this person anywhere closer to coming into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. After receiving what I needed to receive, other than being thankful that I listened, I immediately had to repent. What a skewed focus I have had on people, all because of differences. My love or lack of love, may be the ONLY thing some people see that may ever draw them to the saving grace of Jesus Christ. If I look through the eyes of love, I would see people who need Jesus. Not only them, but THEIR CHILDREN!

I am repenting for NOT LOVING. It should be my UTMOST desire to show and share the love of Jesus, because the lives of FAMILIES depend on it. I think of 3 year olds and 2 year olds, newborn babies. Based upon how their parents believe is going to be how these kids are raised for the next 18 years. If the parents KNOW Jesus, the kids will grow up in a Christ-Centered home. If the parents DO NOT KNOW Jesus, these kids will grow up in a World-Centered home vs Christ-Centered home.

I need to show love.

Lord, forgive me! Forgive me for not loving! Forgive me for being judgmental. Lord, forgive me for being selfish! I will do my best to show love from now on. Lord please quicken inside me if I revert back. Please remind me, when I'm around those who are different than I am, remind me to show love. Remind me to be attentive. Allow me to hear your Voice in how to minister to them. Whether it just be listening to them, asking them questions about their life, offering to help them in some way. Lord help me to love. Help me to show Your Love to people who desperately need it. Help me to love people the way YOU want them to be loved!! Lord please CHANGE ME!!! Change ME, so that I can encompass love, so that I can show love. Please help me not to get caught up with acting like those I am around. I don't desire to be like others, Lord I desire to be like You!!! Father thank you that according to 1 John 1:9, you forgive me! Thank you for forgiving me! It is my desire to do better! It is my desire to show love! I love you Father! I praise you! And THANK YOU for loving me! Thank you for correcting me! Thank you for steering me back on course. I love you!

#220 - Happiness for your Health!

Good morning! I would like to share with you something the Holy Spirit shared with me before we jump into some WORD.

"...you do not always have to receive a great 'revelation.' Sometimes basic truths are as important or more important than the hidden treasures. A basic foundation is essential to a solid house. Being in the Word, PERIOD, is important to gain direction for today.... but even for 10 years from now. What you & my children learn today may be something that emerges in a time of need 10 years from now. They are filling their arsenal. It's like adding quivers, bows to your stash. You will have what you need when you need it because of consistently filling yourself up with the Word." 

As we begin, remember, God's Word does not ever return void. When we place importance on hiding His Word in our heart, it takes root. It is placed there to emerge in a time we will need it. Continue to put the Word in your heart! Continue. Don't feel like what you are doing is in vain. Every day, every act of consistency is important. You may not know why the Word you hear for yourself today or tomorrow is good, but you may find 723 days from now it comes up out of your spirit at the exact time when you need it.

Proverbs 17:22 - A happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.

Proverbs 31:25b - ...she rejoices over the future... 

Proverbs 31:27b - ...the bread of idleness (gossip, discontent, and self-pity) she will not eat. 

It is important to our health to be happy! Have you ever heard that before? I remember when a popular book came out and it was accompanied by a DVD series you could watch. I remember watching some of the segments and it talked about this exact idea. A woman was featured on the DVD who was healed of cancer. Like the verse talked about, a happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing. To help this verse come to a reality to her, she and her husband spent night after night renting and watching funny movies. They would watch comedians. They would do anything and everything that would bring laughter. As she spent time laughing, rejoicing, enjoying every day and night, healing came to her body. Before long, she returned to the Doctor to find out that the cancer was gone from her body.

In our world today, "self-pity" often seems easier for us to hold on to than laughter. It is often easier for us to share the "whoa-is-me" syndrome with our friends, people from our church. In our efforts to share the negative with others, we package our negative in the form of, "Please pray for me. You'll never believe what happened....." Then the negative begins to spill out. Now... don't get me wrong, I am a huge proponent of prayer, and having prayer warriors go to the throne of God on my behalf, or on the behalf of someone I know who is in need. Although, Tyler and I are often very cautious of who we tell to "pray for us" or who we let into some of the "personal" situations that we may be addressing. We often take in great consideration, can this person believe with us? Can they be in agreement with us on what we are believing God for? Can they keep their words positive and not speak negative over the situation? Can they keep themselves from using our "prayer request" as just another form of gossip to share a "whoa-is-me" story with someone at church on Sunday?

Our Proverbs 31 friend rejoices over the future. She applies the "happy heart" and the "cheerful mind" to her day and her life. She avoids the "self-pity" that could easily creep itself up in the event something did not go as planned. A broken spirit dries up the bones. Self-pity adds to a broken spirit.

Do you need health? Do you need healing to your body? Maybe take a dose of the medicine it talks about in Proverbs 17:22. A dose of happiness for your health. Say good-bye to the "whoa-is-me blues" and bring on the laughter!

 

#90 - Some Truths Can Go Unsaid.

Good morning. It's raining here in Columbia. I'm still enjoying the morning though. Sometimes rain is nice. Out on my porch, it's rather comfortable. As I've been writing my book, it brings me to such different places.... the journey of going back in time and reliving some of the events. It is definitely not always fun. The heaviness of my heart this morning was then confirmed by the scriptures I read today. It's amazing how God does it. The importance of guarding our mouth, guarding our words.... that is what we are going to visit today. 

Proverbs 25:26 - Like a muddied fountain and a polluted spring is a righteous man who yields, falls down, and compromises his integrity before the wicked.

Psalm 25:7 - Remember not the sins (the lapses and frailties) of my youth or my transgressions; according to Your mercy and steadfast love remember me, for Your goodness' sake, O Lord. 

Psalm 55:14 - We had sweet fellowship together and used to walk to the house of God in company. 

Proverbs 31:26 - She opens her mouth in skillful and godly Wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness [giving counsel and instruction].

Well, it is a definite "Praise the Lord" that HE forgets our sin. The moment we ask for forgiveness, our sin is washed away. Like we've talked about lately, as far as the east is from the west, our sin is forgotten. What a wonderful thing! Though that is great, in regards to our words, when sin is accompanied with our words, things we have said, to some, those words may never be forgotten. 

I'll take you back to early on in mine and Tyler's marriage. We were young, obviously still growing in our walk with the Lord, as we still are, and just excited about life. Living life to the fullest. Accomplishing goals. Accomplishing dreams. Chasing God's calling on our life. (Still things we do today!) But, in all that, the key is, we were "raw". We were un-finished, definitely un-polished, and at times our zealousness maybe came off the wrong way to people. 

My best friend while I was in college still lived back home. I was most definitely focused on specific things Tyler and I were pursuing. We had some specific goals, with a time-line and we were very focused. It had been close to two years that I had lived in the south. Living several hundred miles away from someone, being newly married and someone taking the #1 'earthly' spot in my life, and in a focused pursuit of some goals left my friend feeling very unimportant. As I have thought back on the season in my life when we were best friends, it truly was sweet fellowship. We would spend hours talking about the Lord, so green, just so excited to seek Him out and learn about Him. We would read our Bibles together, I'd go visit her and we'd stay up late into the night talking about God and the hopeful plans for our life. Most of our late night talks did revolve around the "boys" in our lives. For me, it was Tyler. I couldn't get my mind off him. I just knew that one day God would reveal to him that he was going to marry me. 


We did have a sweet friendship. But until one day, she confronted my "lack of putting enough effort" into our friendship. It seemed this was a constant guilt trip I had been feeling whenever we talked. I felt frustrated and I felt smothered. Things had definitely changed. In my "raw" way, I finally told her the things I was pursuing with Tyler, my marriage and our goals in our marriage were more important. Yikes. Our conversation quickly ended. I felt horrible, but what I said was true. I maybe didn't have the people skills to do it more tactfully, but what was done was done. 


And that was the end of that. Our friendship never recovered. She was hurt. I was hurt. What I said and the way I said it definitely did not reflect the "law of kindness" like the Proverbs 31 woman. They were things that were true, they were my feelings, but they were not said in kindness. My invitation to be a bridesmaid in her upcoming wedding had soon been recanted, and our friendship left a dark pit in my heart. 


Sure... God forgave me. Many times over through the years that I talked to God about it. Asked for forgiveness, and even asked for my friends forgiveness, but what was done could not be undone. Forgiven, yes. Forgotten, no. 


Will anything ever come of the friendship I once shared? I'm not sure. She was a very dear friend during a very pivotal time in my life. A time when I needed a Christian friend, she was there. Sure, I felt a bit smothered at times.... but she was a great friend. 


I've learned from it. I'd like to say I'm more polished now, more studied in the Word, less raw. I know now, if we ask God's direction, seek His face, He always has an answer. Like the Proverbs 31 woman, it is an answer wrapped in kindness. And.... I have definitely learned that some truths can go unsaid.


Guard your tongue today. God will forget, but sometimes people have a hard time forgetting. If in doubt, don't say it, just be quiet. Some truths can go unsaid. 

#26 - Friends like Jess

Good morning. It's a bit overcast here in Columbia this morning... a quick time-out for a "SHOUT OUT" to USC! Baseball Champs - Congrats! Proud to live in Columbia! What a great victory for my home-town team!


Anyways.... enjoying a nice cool morning. Birds chirping, the fan blowing a nice breeze on me, the boy sleeping and my blonde Kahve coffee re-filled. Could life be any better? I know that it will just keep getting better! But PRAISE THE LORD that I have learned to love and enjoy RIGHT WHERE I'M AT! I haven't always been like this. I spent years living in condemnation. Wishing I were "further" in life. Wishing I had accomplished goals sooner. Living in defeat and living in the "someday", "when I", "eventually". Let me just tell you, that's not a way to live. Missing so much of the now because the goals of the future are still unattained. So... each day, you live in the future, in the goals that haven't been accomplished yet, missing all the joy that could be found in today. Praise GOD for a re-newing of my mind. Praise God that though I still have many goals that are yet to be accomplished, I have learned how to enjoy the now and love the present. I heard a quote that said, "It's taken you your WHOLE life to get to where you are RIGHT NOW, that is a long journey, and a great accomplishment."


Anyways... let's go ahead and get started today. 

Proverbs 30:14 - There is a class of people whose teeth are as swords and whose fangs as knives, to devour the poor from the earth and the needy from among men.

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].

Honestly, Proverbs 30:14 sounds like a bit of a morbid verse to choose for one to focus... but WOW, we are going to see how different of a "Class of People" that our Proverbs 31 friend lives in. Really we are going to look at opposites, and how beautiful it really is in the end..... just wait. :-)


There are many "classes of people" out there. Many whom you do not want to be associated, and a select few that you do. This class of people, that it talks about in Proverbs 30:14 is that class that you want to steer clear. Who are they?  They are the greedy, the mean, the spiteful, the angry, the upset, the selfish. These are the people only out for themselves. It talks about how their teeth are as swords & fangs are as knives.... they are going to do WHATEVER it takes to get what they want. WHATEVER it takes! If that means physical harm, so be it. I picture a cat, when it's angry, fangs out, hissing, slanted eyes, angry.... actually I made this very face yesterday when I saw a cockroach in my house! I HATE COCKROACHES! (And, believe it or not, I even made the hissing sound... right before he met the bottom of my shoe & I sent him to meet Jesus!) ANYWAYS... I picture this "class of people" as "spiteful", looking for a way for them to push all others out of the way to get to their goal, their prize. The verse talks about teeth & fangs... obviously a part of the body that is in the mouth, so this "class of people" could partly be tearing down not only physically, but also with their words. Slander, ugly comments, mean or untrue accusations, all in the name of "getting what they want."


Who is this group of people that they are devouring? The poor & needy. The Hebrew expounds on these people as: afflicted, wretched, weak, poor, lowly, humble, subject to oppression & abuse, needing help, in want, deliverance from trouble. They are the "already low", so easy to conquer since they are down. Man, I don't know about you, but there have DEFINITELY been times when I have fallen in one of these categories! I can think of a time just 5-6 months ago where I was "afflicted." The dictionary defines "afflicted" as being distressed with mental or bodily pain. Have you ever been there? Distressed mentally. Distressed with pain in your body? 


Several months back, call it hormones, call it truth, call it whatever you want, but Tyler said something to me and I had a MAJOR break down. I was crying, I was bawling! I don't recall exactly how the topic came up, but I was already feeling insecure about this area.... it was in the area of "friends." My honest feeling about "friends" over the last 10 years has been, "I don't really need them. I don't really have time for them. I don't really want them." I didn't want to put forth the effort to be a friend. In my mind, that's why I got married. Tyler is my best friend. He is my favorite person on the planet. He is who I love spending time with, hanging out with, relaxing with, going to the movies, dinner, church... dreaming with, creating memories with.... he is my best friend. I thought, "Why do I need another friend? I have everything I want and need in Tyler (and God)." Well, Tyler on the other hand, for 10 YEARS has pushed me to "make friends" or "go have lunch with so-and-so". I begrudgingly did it sometimes, all the while hating it. Feeling like I was trying to "force" this friendship when I didn't even want it, and me and "so-and-so" did not even really click anyways. Ahhhh! 


If you know Tyler and I.... we have a lot of "friends" that we are in business with. People who would call us "friends"... people we could call at 3:00 in the morning and they would get up and drive 4 hours to get us if they had too, people who are truly "salt of the earth" good people. Friends. BUT... maybe it's a guy thing, but as I cried and reflected on the "truth", I thought about how Tyler has "all these friends"... guys that he really likes to be with, no strings attached. And, as I cried, I felt like all my friendships were "surfacey" and "shallow." I have had a few good friendships in my life that went deep.... and none of my friendships reflected any depth. No deep, down, "you can see my soul" sort of friendships. So, I cried and cried and cried. When I got real with myself, I DID crave this friendship with someone other than my husband. A girl. Someone I could laugh with, be silly with, have fun with.... be me with. As I studied the Proverbs 31 woman, I did not see ANYWHERE it talking about her having "friends". That made me feel better.... I thought, well, she didn't make time for friends (amongst her being perfect and being super-woman), I don't have to make time for friends. That held for awhile. But I continued to search. I continued to dig. And, like always, the Bible revealed more to me.


Our Proverbs 31 friend what does she do? She opens her hand to the poor, she REACHES OUT her FILLED hands to the needy, whether in body, mind or spirit. She is PRO-ACTIVELY a friend to others! SHE "reaches out!" SHE comes with a "solution" with the "answer", SHE comes with FILLED HANDS! Who does she come too? The poor, the needy... the afflicted, the sad, the hurt, the "AMY's"!! People just like me. People just like YOU! She comes to be your friend, my friend, a friend to other's, when they need it most, she comes. When they are down, she cries with them. She loves them. She shares their hurt with them to help them heal, to help them get better. Ecclesiastes 4:11 ... if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Our Proverbs 31 friend was and is the blanket. She is the hug to bring warmth back to someone who is cold with sorrow. Someone who is so down, hope seems gone. What does she bring to the table? She brings friendship, she brings warmth.


She reminds me of my friend Jess. I can't think of ANYONE who is a better example of this! Our Proverbs 31 friend reaches out her FILLED hands to the needy.... in body, mind, or spirit. Let's look at some examples. I was NEEDY. I was 36 weeks pregnant, 9 MONTHS! It was the middle of October. How was I needy?


In Body: I could not do everything I wanted to do. We were in the process of MOVING! (Perfect timing for a prego lady, huh!) I was SO pregnant and knew Tyler Junior could come any time. We were moving into a home, and I wanted it to be ready when we brought our boy home. Let me tell you, I was needy in the "physical" arena.... I just couldn't DO things like a non-pregnant women. Jess, got our spare set of keys to our house, she came over when we were not even at the house (since we hadn't moved yet) and she PAINTED! She came over after she got off work and PAINTED. She came over late at night when I could help and she PAINTED. She came over on her lunch break and PAINTED. She PAINTED! Words can not explain how I felt. Words can not explain how much she taught me through her unselfishness. Through her desire to help. Her desire to be a friend and with FILLED HANDS, willing hands come and help when I could not. 


In Mind: I recently had some friends get married. So much was un-done, so much was not ready, there were so many loose ends. My friends getting married were trying to continue working, family was not really present to provide much help, if any help. And guess who showed up? You guessed it, Jess! She took the bull by the horns and made a list. 10 days out...maybe 4-5 days out. She made a list of EVERYTHING that needed to get done yet. Flowers, music, brides-maids gifts, groomsmen gifts, this, that, this, that... the list went on. She saw a need. The bride was not able to do EVERYTHING, mentally exhausted and could not do it all. Jess made a list and began checking things off. Doing and delegating, Jess made it happen. She was mentally there for the needy with FILLED HANDS, willing to think and do. 


In Spirit: Jess is that person that when you walk in a room, a group of people, a meeting, people gravitate towards Jess. They want to be around her. She makes people feel good. Granted, she may not be what you expect. She is not the "Christmas Tree".... the bouncy, really out-going person that you may expect. She is not the "life of the party" person. She is very laid back, but very fun. She meets people at their point of need. To some, she is a friend. To others, she is a  financial blessing in their mailbox. To some she is clothes. She is a helping hand. She is a smile. She is whatever she needs to be. I don't even know everything she does. I catch so many "end of conversations" as I walk up and hear Jess talking to someone. I can tell, they are discussing "something Jess did to help." 


People like Jess are what it talks about in Proverbs 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. She makes people better. She is an iron sharpener. 


So... my new thinking. I need to be a friend. To have friends, I need to be a friend. The Proverbs 31 woman was a friend to people in their greatest time of need. When someone was low, and sad... when someone was in need. She was their friend, she was there for them to hear them, to cry with them, to love them. To keep them warm, to remind them of hope and to keep them going to the next day. She was there for them. And those people who grew up from their despair, who moved on from their sorrow, it is those people who will be there for our Proverbs 31 woman in her time of loss, in her time of sorrow. She will be showered with friends in her time of need or loss. 


I need friends. Not only are they iron sharpeners, not only do they make me a better "Amy", but there may come a time when I will need a shoulder to cry on, or a friend to laugh with. Someone to celebrate victory with me. To have a friend, I need to be a friend. To come to others with FILLED HANDS, to be a friend like Jess. 


Tomorrow is my DOR, so make it a GREAT Thursday! :) I am going on a "friend date" with my friend Jess. :) Cultivating friendship. Smoothies & a movie with my friend Jess.

#17 - Is there a Light in your Eyes?

Well... it has been a fun morning. lol. So far, I have killed 4 fruit flies & 2 flies. One fly died via "coffee overdose". :) As my grandpa would say, "Oh, he won't drink much." You've got to admit... it's pretty exciting when you go to take a drink of your coffee and as you are bringing the mug to your mouth, you see a fly floating in it. Yes, gross! I was joking with Tyler and I said if I had a pest control company this would be my slogan: "Amy's Pest Control: Sending your bugs to meet Jesus!" :) lol! Whenever I kill bugs in my house, I just tell them, "I'm sending you to be with Jesus." It always makes me laugh just to say it, so maybe it will help them in their last moments. I will say that I have been warning them. I tell them if they want to live, they need to get by the door and fly out when it opens. Ha!

Anyways... that has been my morning thus far. :) SO excited for my DOR (Day of Rest) tomorrow!! YIPPEE!! YEAH!! :) I've been feeling a bit sluggish, I can tell I need a day to be rejuvenated. Tyler challenged me....he asked me if "writing a blogpost" was "resting" on my DOR. I defensively told him the reasons why it "could" still be resting... so, with that said, I may or may not post something tomorrow. I suppose if it feels like "work", then I will just chill, but if something is just JUMPING off my fingertips, then I may post something. 

Todays verses....

Proverbs 15:30 - The light in the eyes [of him whose heart is joyful] rejoices the hearts of others, and good news nourishes the bones.

Proverbs 31:28 - Her children rise up and call her blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied); and her husband boasts of and praises her...

Proverbs 15 was loaded with some jam-up scripture this morning! It was almost hard to get around "the mouth", "the tongue", "the lips", "words".... I definitely think that all the repetition isn't there for no reason. Just a reminder how very IMPORTANT it is that we are guarding our lips & words. 

Proverbs 15:30 stood out to me this morning. It just made me think about the light in the eyes of people. Have you noticed it? Can you think of people that when they walk into a room, it's like they have a twinkle in their eyes, it draws you to them, you just want to be around them. Can you think of people like that? You walk into a room, you see them, and you just gravitate to them. You think, "Oooh. I want to go talk to them. They always make me feel good to be around them." I was thinking about one of my friends who I go to church with, and that is how I feel when I am around her. You know the kind of person that you just click with. They always seem to be upbeat, they are like-minded and almost all the time they have a twinkle in their eye. They are filled with the joy of the Lord. I thought of my friend, and her husband is the same for my husband. They laugh about it, but they call each other "brother from another mother", or he calls my husband an "undercover brother." They are kindred spirits with us. We believe the same, we're both goal oriented, we both know how good our God is, we both love the Lord & love learning what he has to teach us. They are indeed our brother & sister in the Lord. Can you think of someone like that... when they walk in, they just have that sparkle? 

On the flip side...do you also know those people who are NOT walking in with light in their eyes. Yes, they may be Christians... but when they walk in the room, you quickly find a reason to exit. "Uh...yah, I gotta go to the bathroom." And you dip out because you just don't want to be around them. They bring you down. They are the people who if they said they have had a good day, or are having a good day, you want to respond with, "Notify your face." They are not bad people. But, just being around them your spirits are not lifted. Can you think of someone like that? 

That brings us to our Proverbs 31 woman....her children rise up and call her blessed. Who knows that you can't make a CHILD say good things about you if they are not true??! Children have this innocence about them... this truthfulness. Our Proverbs 31 woman is getting the praises of her children! I can just see it.... their mama walks in the room and she has that twinkle in her eye. Yes, she has accomplished a lot that day, but she still has the twinkle, the sparkle, the glitter. Just by the way they look at her, you can tell they adore her. She laughs with them, she loves on them, she kisses them, tickles them and even prepares for them their favorite cookies & lets them lick the bowl clean. :) Our Proverbs 31 friend is not living a lie, she just lives with light in her eyes. She doesn't jump down their throat. When they spill something, if she needs to be firm, she is... but most of the time she realizes that plain & simple, it was an accident and adults spill things too on accident. Who purposefully spills anything? Her attitude is, "No big deal, let me just grab a rag real quick and clean it up." Because of her child messing up, she doesn't make them feel terrible, they are not looking down about ready to cry because mom made them feel terrible. They are not running off to their room in tears because of the harsh words mom said. She may ask them to please be more careful, but her eyes are still full of love. Because of the love, because of the twinkle, her children ARE more careful next time. 

What about her husband? What about the Proverbs 31 husband? What is his response to her? He openly boasts of and praises her. He notices all she does. He takes note of who she is, what she accomplishes, how she treats the children, employees, the needy. He takes note of ALL that she does, he takes not of WHO she is.... he sees the twinkle in her eyes. She not only has it with her children, but she has it with her husband too. When she walks in the room, HE sees the light in her eyes. She is an encouragement to him. She lights up the room. She makes him feel good, feel better about himself. She thanks him for providing. She thanks him for what he did that day. She tells him how handsome he is, how cute he is. She loves on him, she adores him. Her eyes light up when she sees him. She loves him. Like a newly wed, he still has her heart. And the light even fills her eyes more when her husband brags on her. He tells of all she accomplished. He boasts of her. He praises her. It is not being prideful to brag on your spouse. To tell others of how blessed you are. Because of him boasting and praising her, deep down, her desire is to even do more, to even be better, to continue on this pathway of improvement, accomplishment, success. 

What does all this do for me? It makes me think about.... which woman am I? Am I the one people avoid because of my negativity? Or am I the woman that people are drawn too? Am I an encourager? A joy to be around? Have I been notifying my face when I am out. Granted, I don't have to be "overly happy" around people that it is annoying to them... I don't have to jump in the room bouncing & going overboard on, "HEY, Look at ME! I am HAPPY!" But, I can even have the quiet joy, the glow, the sparkle. The sparkle that shows even without words. The sparkle that shows a light in my eye.

When I think of my friend who is such a joy to be around... I know that part of it is because of her relationship with the Lord. She is full. She has found fulfillment in Him. She has spent time seeking Him out, finding Him, knowing Him. 

My desire for you is that you would find the light in your eye. That as your relationship with the Lord gets stronger and grows deeper, that you would YEARN even more for the Lord. That you would YEARN for that stronger relationship with Him. That you would YEARN to know your Father more, to talk with him, to fellowship, to love Him even more. That the light in your eyes would be an automatic result from your YEARN.

Close your eyes.... listen to the words..... enjoy this video: YEARN