Heirs of God

WE NEED TO KNOW FOR CERTAIN THAT WE ARE A BELOVED CHILD OF GOD BECAUSE THIS WILL EFFECT EVERYTHING WE DO IN LIFE.

~Stormie Omartian

"The Prayer that Changes Everything"

"The Spirit Himself bears witness

with our spirit that we are children of God."

~Romans 8:16

Accept One Another - Day 2 Lent 2012

"Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God."

~Romans 15:7

I read this scripture and a big...huh...spilled from my mouth. Now I've heard a million or so times we are to love one another as Christ loves us, but love and accept...ouch! How do I accept another person when that individual (a brother or sister in Christ) drives me crazy and coaxes and extra amount of grace from my already empty well for them. I'm sure everyone reading this has already had at least one person pop into their mind...maybe even more then one.

Psssssssst...start praising God for that individual. Yes, praise God who made that person for a specific reason no matter how emotional they are ALL the time, no matter how much they like to talk, or how many times they think their idea is the best or the only way.

God loves them just as much as he loves you. After all, they too are part of God's creation. They too are fearfully and wonderfully made...unique...predestined by God himself. Yes, the bothersome brother or sister in Christ who unnerves you leaving your eyes permenantly stuck in the back of your brain was made by God for God...just like you!

Now that's something to think about!



Ash Wednesday...Lent Day One 2012

Today, Ash Wednesday, starts what is probably my favorite six weeks in the entire calendar year. It is a time of deep reflection, self examination, and overwhelming adoration for my King Jesus. So you ask,

"What am I giving up for Lent?"

I always give up soda...Diet Coke is my favorite. But I'm going to try, with the help of God, to give up asking for things for myself when I pray. Instead of requests on my behalf...I want to give back to my heavenly Father praise and adoration.

I have already been attempting this unselfish task for a couple of weeks. Let me tell you it is not as easy as one might think. The words "I" and "me" come quickly to my tongue. I found  myself reminded by the gentle nudges of the Spirit saying...

"No, no, no" followed by "Praise, praise, praise".

On my birthday earlier this week I was given a book from a very good friend. She had no idea I was practicing praise in my prayer time. The book she gave me..."The Power that Changes Everything" by Stormie Omartian. Guess what the prayer is that changes everything? Yep, you guessed...the prayer of praise! In this book Stormie discusses reasons to praise God and when praise is absolutely crucial for us.

Over these next six weeks of Lent, I am dedicating my blog to the praise of my Savior Jesus Christ. I hope to share inspiring scripture, quotes, and excerpts from, "The Prayer that Changes Everything" to motivate you to praise God like you never have before and grasp the power which is at your fingertips through the adoration of our Abba.

His Love Song

As the wind whips and the branches bow, I think of His almighty power to turn water into wine, make the blind man see, and remove the rock from the tomb. He is amazing, this man I call friend. He is my applause and confidence as I champion my life for his glory. Though others might sneer and snicker behind my back, I only try to let God work and love others threw me. I am his vessel.

It does me no good to harbor a grudge against that of another man. This only breeds toxins in my soul and blocks the very love I so desire to please. It brings sadness to my Lord when I lay bricks of sin around my heart and deadens the relationship he longs for and deeply desires…fellowship with me! But he never leaves me in these troublesome occasions, but continues through the precious Holy Spirit to whisper his love song to me.

And then…I feel his touch deep within and fall to my knees. I ask for forgiveness once again. The bricks of sin which I had built no longer stand, no longer stand, but have been removed by my Saviors hands through the precious blood of the lamb.

Breathless for You

A long walk with you in the morning leaves me breathless all the daylong and thirst continually for more time with my forever friend.  Just as the sun always rises in the east sky and sets on the western horizon, so also I am confident of your love for me. You are compassionate, gracious, abundant in goodness and truth. You are generous and never give to get something in return. You satisfy all my desires and I dream of the day when I continually praise your for anything and everything that happens in my life…whether good or bad. For I know full well all things work together for good to those who love you and seek you.

I am chosen!

I am royal!

I am holy!

I am special!

I am called!

I am the one whom Jesus loves!

“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

~I Peter 2:9

A Thankful Heart

It’s 5:30 am and I sit with a steamy cup of hot co-co by my side sipping occasionally in-between the words I type. This is early for me to be awake…especially for a Saturday, but sleep eludes my restless soul this early morn. I have felt discouraged lately, a little beaten down, but even in the midst of these seemingly negative times I still praise my Lord and thank him for all the different feelings and emotions. I do have so much to be thankful for because God has so generously blessed my family and I.

It is so easy to focus on the things we desire to have instead of being content with what has already been given to us. I need to be very thankful for my good health and the good health of my husband and children. I am thankful for my daughter’s Asperger’s Syndrome (high functioning Autism). Even though the diagnosis of this social disorder brought great sadness and its own set of challenges, I wouldn’t change my daughter. I love her and the way God made her. I call her, “God’s girl”, and understand that she and my boys are an entrusted gift to me from God to take care of and raise for the Lord. They are all His children first before they were my children. I am thankful for my husband, our home, our cars, our pets, good friends, our church, God’s Word, and Jesus. I am grateful that I live in this great country, The United States of America, where we can freely choose and live out our faith. I am thankful for music not only because I love to listen to it, but because my oldest son loves to play his instruments. I am thankful for the abundance of food which most of us take for granted in America. The list could go on, but I leave you with this Psalm..

Psalm 100

A psalm for giving grateful praise.

¹ Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
² Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
³ Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his^[a];
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

The Joy of Praise

I often think about home. I don’t mean where I grew up when I was a child. When I talk about home, I am talking about heaven…my final home. I dream of it and wonder just what it might be like. I long for the streets of gold and the tree of life…where I can’t wait to meet my lovely grandmother Bowser, embrace her, and whisper in her ear again the words, “I love you.” Sometimes I just close my eyes for long periods of time when all is quiet around me and imagine the day I will meet my best friend and Savior Jesus. What I would hear, what I would smell, see, touch and taste? It makes me happy, brings joy, and a smile upon my face. I always have something good to look forward to each day.

But some days when joy eludes my restless soul, because of circumstances which surround me… my mind jumps off track and I become derailed.  I forget the hope of heaven and become swept up in a tornado of emotions I would rather not have and choices I wish I didn’t have to make. Sometimes the trials of life are so burdensome, I will actually ask the Lord, “Could you just come today?”

It is in these times of crisis I crave a little quiet, close my eyes, and think about my Abba. I just crawl up into His lap and sit awhile with Him. His embrace is the best bear hug I’ve ever had…his gentleness is most amazing. The tears flow without a word spoken from my lips and somehow I am reassured all is well because my God still sits on the throne. I am soothed by the whispers of the Holy Spirit which bids me to turn my eyes to Jesus and remind me how sweet it is to trust in His name. Praise begins to utter from my lips and the problems that just moments ago seemed so great are now pushed to the background. I become reassured God will take care of all my needs. My hands then feel the leather of the book upon my lap…God’s word…the Bible…rests on the creases of my clothes. I open purposely to the Psalms. These precious words of song and poetry lift my soul even more and my voice breaks out with song unto the Lord.

“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to

God a sacrifice of praise—

the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.”

~Hebrews 13:15

What's Your Outcome?

When someone offends you or you dislike the actions of another, what is your first reaction? In situations such as these I find myself quickly stirred to anger as I carry prideful justice on my shoulders. It’s so much easier to judge then to be judged.

God has been at work…hard work…in my life as of late to help smooth some rough edges from around my heart. I don’t know about you, but I hate the sound of an emery board on finger nails or sandpaper on a rough surface. This process has made me cringe in horror of my actions as God readies my heart for a deeper shade of His mercy, grace, and love.

How is God working to help me discover this new path…this new way of thinking and change? Here has been the equation…

Bible study on James + prayer and quiet moments = revelation and contrite heart

After last night’s Bible study session, six words kept whispering within…What’s your outcome going to be? It is a question I want permanently embedded within my mind. When I am faced with people and situations that stir my soul to anger…in that moment…I have a choice. Do I want to choose to spew myself out with angry words and end in guilt and remorse for my unchristian example? Or, will I be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry (James 1: 19-20) and thus choose the Christ like way to respond so I can be a better witness to Jesus in me…the hope of glory!

I need to look beyond what is in front of me and realize my words and actions could have a far more reaching effect in the heavenly realms if I love my neighbor as myself (Matthew 22:39) rather than doing what feels right in the moment.

So, what’s your outcome going to be?

I Roll with Jesus

I have had a lot of time this week between the walls of my home as I tended to the needs of my sick children. Occasionally, I would slip outside and sit in my country yellow chair, with a mug of coffee in hand, and Bible under my arm. It was the only time I really had to myself.

I just love to sit and be surrounded by nature and watch, touch, and listen to all God's creation. It is when I sense the closeness of God the most...as if His breath is upon my shoulder. In this stillness, my heart opens wide to capture the sweet whispers of the Holy Spirit tug on my heartstrings and stir my soul to peace and calm. The more I sit in quietness, the greater I crave for more of this precious solitude alone with my Abba. When it is time for me to rise and get on with the day He has given..
I roll with Jesus...and not my own selfish desires. Praise God!

"Come near to God and He will come near to you."

~James 4:8

I Press On

I have been a work in progress now for over 45 years since the time my heavenly Father began to knit me together in my mother’s womb, to  the first breath my infant lungs, until now…a wife of nearly 20 years and mother of three beautiful gifts from God above.

In this time of growing, God continually presses the wrinkles of life out of my heart. Yet in each stroke of the refining iron, a pressed out wrinkle reveals deep pain. In the depths of the creased pain, there is sorrow, oppression, guilt, unworthiness, and a critical spirit just to name a few.  I am sure there are many more wrinkles that have come with time which I am totally unaware of or see in my life. I am after all a sinful human being, but that is exactly why I know I need Jesus.

The more I fold the pain over in my heart, the easier it is to convince myself it isn’t there. But God sees everything and God knows everything. I haven’t hidden one thing from Him. I have just ignored what needs tended to in my heart because it was the easy way out. But I know this life was not meant to be easy. It is never a pain free walk in the park when you know Jesus.  Not because God causes the pain and suffering…it is our own sin which causes our afflictions or the sin of others. And it is in these trials and troublesome occasions we become more like Christ when we choose to seek His face and not His hand.

Dear Heavenly Father,

In the depth of my doubt, pain, and fear…reveal to me your holiness that in my weakness I would be made strong through the power of your precious blood shed for me!

~Amen