Changes! - We've moved!! :0)

This blog has moved to ~ http://livingentheword.wordpress.com/

"Just Look At Me"

Last week, as I was out for my early morning run, I was reminded of a very important truth.


In the early morning, especially a drizzly morning, there seems to be all kinds of drippy noises. My half fogged-up glasses were playing tricks on me too. I glanced into the trees at my side and noticed that fear was creeping in. (It doesn't help, either, that everyone - except my Dad - thinks I'm crazy for going for early morning runs. See my previous post.) Then I heard my Heavenly Prince say "Just look at Me and you have nothing to fear."


I was reminded of a story I'd recently read from Voice Of The Martyrs. A church was being attacked and all of the Christians inside were beginning to be afraid. They were turning around to look behind them at the mob of angry people. The pastor asked them if they wanted to look at the crowd and be scared, or look at him and not be afraid.


What an important truth! Where our eyes are looking makes all the difference in the world!

". . . and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; . . ." Heb. 12:1-2

Resting In Him

Learning to rest in the Lord has been such a beautiful thing. I'm sure I have a long ways to go, but it has been so fun this week to rest in Him and watch Him work out details.


I was given the responsibility of making the phone calls to invite girls to camp this week. I don't really like making phone calls (or having two cell phones to keep track of!) but it was actually kinda fun. :0) Well . . . except for two phone calls, two heart-breaking phone calls . . .


Just a few days before camp, certain details were worked out and I was given the go-ahead to call a certain county. But then other things came up and I completely forgot . . . until the day before. It's a little awkward to be calling girls the day before camp, to invite them to come. But I gave it to the Lord and was amazed out how quickly and easily I had the alloted number of girls. :0)


There are SO many details that go into camp. I couldn't even begin to tell you about them. They have all sort-of swirled together into one big "Thank You, Jesus!". The fact that we were early, instead of late, to the pick-up location, is just one of them. :0) 


The whole weekend was so peaceful. It really was a great group of girls. One of "my" girls brought a girl who had never been to camp before. Last night she told her leader that she was nervous about coming to camp because she thought everyone else would be perfect, come from perfect homes . . . "but everyone is just like me!" :0)


It's such a beautiful thing to share the love of God with these girls, and it's a whole lot easier to do when I am resting in Him. :0)

To Know You

I recently discovered "To Know You" by Casting Crowns. I really like it. I shared it with my Dad the other night, as I am considering singing it at church the next time it's my turn.



When the video was finished I mentioned to my Dad that this song is in the list of "top songs" - according to KLOVE, it's number seven!

"I'm not sure what that means."

I thought about it for a second and replied, "Me either." :0)

If this song is really a favorite song for that many Christians, wouldn't we have turned the world upside down by now?? It seems that there is a dis-connect somewhere. Dad and I talked about it for a while. He proposed that the "missing ingredient" is humility . . . . and I mentioned that maybe people didn't really understand what absolute surrender is. We both had books by Andrew Murray in mind. ;0)

So I'm curious . . . what do you think the missing ingredient is? How can we sing songs about giving up everything in order to know Jesus and go on living the way that we always have?

The Sweet Name Of Jesus

Every morning, part of our family devotions includes reading the history behind a hymn, and then if we can, we sing the hymn. We were given "The One Year Book Of Hymns" almost two years ago, and we're not done yet. :0)  (Our schedule with camp plays a huge part in that.) The first year we read through all the hymns we knew and now, this year, we've been reading the ones we don't know. I wanted to share today's with you.

Called To Fight

The other day I was reading through The Abolitionist Church Handbook, and I came across Isaiah 1:17. I decided I needed to take a closer look at this verse. (sorry if this is boring for you...I love this stuff! :0)

Learn to do good;

seek justice, correct oppression;

bring justice to the fatherless,

plead the widow's cause.

This fairly short verse has FIVE commands in it! But don't let that discourage you! Every command is fulfilled as we abide in Jesus.

Are You Up For A Challenge?

In Sunday School this morning, our teacher mentioned that he came across a website last night that advertised memorizing the New Testament in five years. The whole New Testament . . . in five years!


Wow.


Wouldn't that be amazing! To have that much of the Word of God hidden in your heart.

What's Your Disposition?

I get distracted pretty easy when I am studying a passage of scripture - there's just too much good stuff in the Word! I recently returned to Romans 8 (meanwhile Eph. is waiting for me to finish Rom 6-8...haha).  Well, I really enjoyed my study of Romans 8:6, yesterday, and wanted to share it with you. :0)

For to be carnally minded is death;

but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

"To be minded" is all one word. It is only used 4 times in the New Testament, and all of them are right here in Romans 8 (twice here in verse 6, once in verse 7, and once in verse 27). "To be minded" is talking about "the tendency or inclination of the mind, it's bent. It includes the act of the understanding and of the will." Another place that I looked replaced the word "to be minded" with "disposition". I'm not sure why, but I immediately thought of Jane Austen's movies (even though I haven't watched any in quite a while...). I guess because "disposition" is not an every-day word.

I looked up "disposition" and this is what I found:

• your usual mood.
• inclination: an attitude of the mind, especially one that favors one alternative over others.
• a natural or acquired habit or characteristic tendency in a person or thing.
• a habit, a preparation, a state of readiness, or a tendency to act in a specified way.

"Carnally" is the same word that is often translated "flesh". It's the part that thinks about me, myself, and I.

What if my disposition was of the Spirit instead of "of me"?? What if I had no thought for myself, but was always willing to serve?? What if my disposition was JESUS?? Oh glorious day! As I continue to "reckon" myself dead to sin, this will happen! Every command, every promise is true EN Jesus!

Oh Abba, keep me there, en Jesus, resting, abiding, dwelling in Him . . .

Missions Trip!

I am SO excited to be going on a missions trip next month - it's been WAY too long! My brother and I are going with a local church down to Mexico for the week of Christmas. If you would like to be a part of our prayer support team, just let me know! :0)

Follow Up To ~ "A Not So Pleasant Topic"

(If you missed my previous post, I would encourage you to read it here.)


The last few days have been quite interesting. As I have continued my research my heart has grown heavier. Oregon has a HUGE problem with human trafficking. Here are a few quotes from the website "Oregonians Against Trafficking Humans" ~

“It's as if Oregon was designed with Human Trafficking in mind.” ~ Chris Killmer


What do Oregon's international airport, maritime port, Interstate 5 corridor, proximity to Canada, abundant harvest fields, and large urban sex industry have in common? Together they've created the 'perfect storm' of opportunity for turning freedom-loving Oregon into a west coast magnet for modern-day slavery.

There's more that I could share, but I'll let you go there if you want to read it.


The biggest problem is awareness. People are either in denial or completely oblivious - as I was. I have mentioned the problem of human trafficking to different people but haven't found anyone who knew it was a problem in the US . . . . . . until last night.


Last night I called a friend that I hadn't talked to in a long time, though we "see" each other on facebook. Human trafficking is her passion, the burden of her heart, and it has been for the last 3 or 4 years. She was encouraged by my interest in the subject and was a huge encouragement to me. She volunteers at a resource center serving homeless and at-risk for homeless youth and has a real heart to have a place, someday, where victims of human trafficking can recover.


She told me a story that really touched my heart.


She was at Taco Bell the other day, and there was a homeless teen wandering around asking people if he could use their cell phone. She watched as four people turned him down. Then he asked her. She had him take a seat, so she was able to hear some of the conversation. He had ran away from home months ago and was calling his mom in Roseburg to tell her that he wanted to come home. She was coming to get him. Sounds a little like the prodigal son. What if there had been no one to let him use their phone? What would he have done next? What would I have done if he had asked to use my phone?


The other night I was at the annual banquet for Wilderness Trails. One of the songs that was sung was Chris Tomlin's "Amazing Grace". As they sang the chorus, and I looked at the chains laying on the table, my heart broke once again for the many who are not free . . .

My chains are gone

I've been set free

My God, my Savior has ransomed me

And like a flood His mercy rains

Unending love, Amazing grace

I'm not sure yet what God wants me to do. Not For Sale started Freedom Sunday this last March. The next one will be March 13, 2011. I noticed that there were only nine churches in Oregon that took part of them. The only two south of Salem were here in Jackson County. Wouldn't it be great if every church in Jackson County was a part of the next one? What would happen if the church, as a whole, saw the problem and started to reach out? What would happen if we became the hands and feet of Jesus to our community?

A Not So Pleasant Topic . . .

This post is a little different than my usual posts . . . but I'd really like to share what is on my heart.

About a year ago, Christian Audio's free mp3 book of the month was "Just Courage", by Gary Haugen, the founder of International Justice Mission. That was the first time (other than the movie Amazing Grace) that I heard about human trafficking. I was moved by the book and began to follow IJM (sorta), praying for those who are victims of human trafficking.

I'm not sure how I first heard about Not For Sale, but I "liked" them on Facebook and then got to read their posts when they came through my news feed.

This last week everything changed.

Not For Sale posted this for their status on Facebook: "Check out the NEW Chocolate Campaign | Watch "The Dark Side of Chocolate" and learn why "Free Chocolate" is so important!"

After watching the trailer on youtube, I found this other documentary . . . . and I will never be the same. My eyes have been opened and my heart broken. Here is the first part of the documentary. Everyone needs to see this . . .

My heart was broken as I saw what these children had to experience. How some were sold, or taken from their families. How they were beaten if they didn't work fast enough. How they couldn't afford shoes. How horrible their living conditions were . . . . . all so that I could enjoy a chocolate bar?!? As I got into the documentary a little bit, and all the big name brands for chocolate were ruled out by their part in child slave labor, I learned what that "fair-trade" symbol meant that I've seen in our local grocery store's health food department. Unfortunately I learned that even that label was not good enough . . . that even some of them were discovered to have children as slaves on their farms in west Africa.


I was very pleased to find a website, Free2work, that "grades" different companies on their action (or non-action) against child slave labor. There are still quite a few companies missing, but at least there were two chocolate companies listed that had a good grade! Theo Chocolate was one of them - a strange name, I know, but you can go and read about it.


So then I was wondering . . . what can I do?? Yeah, I can avoid buying certain kinds of chocolate . . . but is there anything I can do to help those who are trapped as a labor or sex slave? Estimates say there are 27 million of them! I found this handbook on the Not For Sale website - The Abolitionist Church Handbook. I think they are working on an updated version, but it was helpful. I decided the first thing I needed to do was to see how bad human trafficking is where I live.


Apparently WA and CA both made laws against human trafficking several years before OR did. I read that the city of Portland is second for most rescued children . . . . and that for several reasons Southern Oregon has become a magnet for human trafficking - slave prostitution playing the biggest part. I've still got a lot of research to do, but my hope is that I can play some part in "setting the captives free". 


I also learned that orange is the color of freedom. I'm not a huge fan of orange (unless it's in a sunset or sunrise :0), but for this cause, I think it is worth it. So I dug out some thread and made myself an orange ring. That'll do for now. 


I came across another organization the other day that I would like to mention. Make Way Partners.

I was so pleased to see the name of Jesus, right there on the home page . . . . and their stated mission: 

Passionate to share the 

Hope of the Gospel 

with the least of these

Jesus is the answer. He can set them free and heal their hearts. Who will join me in being His hands and feet here on earth, to reach out to "the least of these" in His name?


I hope that I have sparked something in you . . . . that you will do your own research and see what it's like where you live, and what you can do. I would love to hear from you! How is God leading you?

PS - Oh! I forgot to mention . . . . I was so grieved to learn that the US and the UK are the two primary destinations for human trafficking. What happened to "the land of the free"?!?

Crucified With Christ

What does it mean to be crucified with Christ?

Andrew Murray gives this answer in "Abide In Christ":

"The entire surrender of all self-will, the complete denial to the flesh of its every desire and pleasure, the perfect separation from the world in all its ways of thinking and acting, the losing and hating of one's life, the giving up of self and its interests for the sake of others - this is the disposition which marks him who has taken up Christ's Cross, who seeks to say, "I am crucified with Christ; I abide in Christ, the Crucified One.""

Fear or Faith

. . . . . or some might like to call it stupidity. :0)

(These pictures belong to my brother . . . please don't take them without permission.)
 

7:31 pm on Sept. 20th.



My family has devotions together every morning from 7:30 to 8. On the days that I would run, I would head out right afterwards, but I needed to make some changes in my schedule. The best solution seemed to be to get up a few minutes earlier and get my run in before family devotions. So that was the plan for this morning. As 6:30 rolled around I noticed that it was still really dark outside (how quickly the days get short!) . . . and I started to get a little concerned. (We live out in the country, and there are wild animals out there . . .) So I googled the sunrise time . . . 7:22!! I started to wonder if I should really go for a run. I mean, we've all heard stories, right? And we've even got these nice pictures, taken right on our property, in these last few weeks. The cougar has been twice!

What Are You "Into"?



"Egg-stremists"

Earlier this summer, we were at a gathering and I was talking with a man who was giving up everything, and, with his wife, headed off to the jungles to be a missionary pilot. It was so fun to see how God had led him and his wife into this new adventure (now that their children were out of the home).

At one point in the conversation he said to me something like, "So I know your brothers are into electronics, (ham) radios, computers . . . . what are you into?" . . .

Abide In Christ (cont.)

I'm on day 23 of Andrew Murray's "Abide In Christ" - and lovin' it! I just had to share some quotes from today. (If you missed my original post, you can find it here.)

"If Christ finds us willing to trust ourselves and our interests to His love, if in that trust we give up all care for our own will and honour, if we make it our glory to exercise and confess absolute dependence on Him in all things, if we are content to have no life but in Him, He will do for us what the Father did for Him. He will lay of His glory on us: As the name of our Lord Jesus is glorified in us, we are glorified in Him (2 Thess. 1:12)"

I almost vacuumed a frog!!!

Yep. You read that right! I was cruzing right along when I noticed a spot I'd missed next to the baseboard. I came back for a second swipe and it moved!! This poor little froggy was only 'bout the size of a nickel. He was pretty cute!

So of course my brain went to thinking if there could be a lesson here . . . . . no, I don't think there's any possibility of me vacuuming up prince charming when he comes along . . . . :0) But as I thought about it, this little froggy was a blessing. He made me smile, and best of all, he made my sister (who wasn't feeling too well) smile. :0)

FREEDOM!!! (part 2)

I took a break from studying Ephesians in order to study Romans 6-8. I just finished chapter 7. If you missed my summary of chapter 6, you can find it here.

The first thing that I noticed as I began to study chapter was that Paul was writing to those who "ginosko'd" the law - to those who knew the law intimately, the Jews. He starts out by showing them that you are only subject to the law if you are alive. If you are dead, how can the law have authority over you?? He concludes this claim by stating that through Jesus we have become dead to the law, in order to be married (or joined) to Him - Him who was raised from the dead, yahoo!! :0) The end result of this union is that we would bring forth fruit unto God. Previously our fruit was unto death. We were held fast by the law, but we have been delivered in order that we should serve God in newness of spirit.

A Skunked Dog

I have a friend whose dog recently got skunked. We haven't had that problem - though we've had our fair share of skunks. Anyway, she wrote me this note and I thought you might enjoy it. (yes, she gave me permission...) :0)

Self-Control?!?

Today in Sunday School class we took a quick jaunt through the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23) . . . . . which is always convicting. :0) But not like it used to be . . .

Ever Feel Like A Pile Of Screws?

I am not much of a puzzle person. I think it's more about who I am with. If my sister walked in and saw me working on a puzzle by myself, well, she'd be shocked (and it'd have to be a pretty amazing puzzle ;0). When it comes to putting stuff together in real life, I love it. But I learned something this week . . . . it's even more fun to tear stuff apart! :0)

How Thirsty Are You?

If you are anything like me, you don't particularly like being thirsty (or hungry!). I take my water bottle everywhere I go, for just that reason - which is why it was so odd that I ended up at one camp this summer . . . . without my water bottle (or my sleeping bag! . . . but that's another story)! Actually I have two water bottles. One is my indestructible, throw-around Nalgene, and the other is my more discreet Camelbak with-a-straw, for places like church. :0)

Abide In Christ

by Andrew Murray. "The joy of being in God's presence".

This is a 31 day devotional book, that I guess I picked up when my Pastor was cleaning out his library. It's perfect for me. I am one who will devour a book, but this way I have to read just a little each day and am able to let it sink in more.

I want to share a quote from day 6. As one who occasionally gets quite discouraged with myself, this was a good reminder . . . (satan will use anything to get our eyes off of Jesus!):

"Of God I am in Christ: created anew, made a branch of the Vine, fitted for fruit-bearing. Would to God that believers would cease looking most at their old nature, and complaining of their weakness, as if God called them to what they were unfitted for! Would that they would believingly and joyfully accept the wondrous revelation of how God, in uniting them to Christ, has made Himself chargeable for their spiritual growth and fruitfulness! How all sickly hesitancy and sloth would disappear, and under the influence of this mighty motive - the faith in the faithfulness of Him of whom they are in Christ - their whole nature would rise to accept and fulfil their glorious destiny!"

All I can say is, "PRAISE GOD!" He is SO good!!

Let us press on with our eyes on HIM alone! :0)

The Kingdom Of God

Throne Room of the Neuschwanstein Castle

Have you ever thought to yourself, "What exactly is the Kingdom of God?" I have. So I did a word study on it and collected all of the verses that said anything about the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven. Then I took a thought from each verse and organized them into paragraphs. The following is the result. It isn't meant to sound pretty - I just did it for myself, so I could see "at a glance", what the scriptures say. (If you want a "real" article about the Kingdom of God, go here.)

Picture Of A Prophet

In a day when it seems almost anyone can claim to be a prophet, I appreciate this article I recently came across, by Leonard Ravenhill . . .

If My People . . .

There's a verse that I've been hearing a lot lately. I'm sure you've heard it too. Yesterday at church someone pointed out that there seems to be a part of this verse which is overlooked. It is easy to look at the promises of God and forget that so many of them are conditional - we have to do our part first. This particular verse has a number of conditions to it. I have broken it up a little and added some emphasis . . .

Dark Horse

This is a song that I grew up with. It was published in 1982 and the only way that you can get it (from what I've found) is as a record on ebay. I made a video of the song in order to share it on youtube, but I just found out that I would have to pay $50 for the copyright license to post it  . . . . for 6 months! Wow!

Anyway, I've come to like this song even more after reading "How Sleep The Brave" (the Black Avenger had a black horse named Midnight) and it seems to have a little of the spirit of Ellerslie in it too. :0)

To Ever Live Without Me

This song was the special music at church on Sunday. I had never heard it before, but the words are pretty amazing! The last line of the chorus says: "Cause You would rather die than to ever live without me". It might sound a little cocky, but it's SO true! He came and died, paid the ultimate price, so that He could call us "friend". Will we ever grasp His amazing love?

Is It Okay To Say "I Can't"?

Yesterday was Day One of four days that we've set aside, as a family, to seek the Lord. There's been a lot of silence among our prayer time and singing, but God is working. After dinner last night we took time to look through a list of 49 character qualities and their definitions, and pick out the three for each person that we thought they would benefit most from. This morning was the revealing, haha. I had a couple of duplicates, so now I have a list of 13 character qualities that I am lacking in. (and no, I'm not going to share them on here, haha.) I'm so glad it's not up to me to change in these areas! I can't do it! But I know Who can!! :0)

Yesterday an advertisement came in the mail for the Christian bookstore. I did a quick glance-through and came across a t-shirt which provoked a double-take. In big letters it said,

FREEDOM!!!

I took a break from studying Ephesians in order to study Romans 6-8. I just finished chapter 6. It is so good!! :0)

Romans 6 is just full of "simple statements of fact". That's what the indicative mood means, which is used quite a bit! And these are no measly statements of fact . . . these are HUGE!!

More Changes! :0)

Through the inspiration of a friends sister, and other photographer friends, I started a new website today. It's just a small free website, a place to share my pictures.

ffphotography.showitsite.com

AND a photography blog. :0)

ffpphotography.wordpress.com

Yep, it's been a busy and very fun, productive day. :0)

Too Heavenly Minded??

I've been thinking a lot lately about the fact that Jesus was called the Son of Man - or rather, that was His preferred title. (Son of Man meaning that He was demonstrating God's original intent for (hu)man.) It is interesting to read through the Gospels with this in mind - that He gave up his "God-ness" when He came to earth and relied solely on the Father the way you and I are supposed to. It is easy to fall into thinking that He did what He did because He was God, instead of realizing that He did what He did because He was a man filled with God - just like we can be! (Acts 2:22, Luke 3: 21-22, 4:1)

Are You Serious??

I try to refrain from ranting . . . just a courtesy to my (few) readers. ;0) But I have to mention of couple of things I've seen lately - two things in two days!

It's The Little Words . . .

. . . that can make ALL the difference.

I know, it main seem silly to you, but there are two little Greek words that I really like. When I first discovered these words I got so excited, and now, whenever I am reading or studying the Bible and I come across the word "no" or "not", I just have to stop and see which Greek word it is. :0)

Like A Fish Out Of Water!

I love watching birds soar in the sky. (especially when there is more than one and they seem to be playing tag...) Or chase the waves at the beach. They just look like they are having SO much fun! Like they are, well, doing what God created them to do! :0)

Last month, as I was reading Evan Hopkins book "The Law Of Liberty", I was struck with an illustration that he used to describe what it means to be "in Christ". I don't think I can say it any better than he did . . . ;0) . . .

Changes!

As you can see, there have been some changes around here. Hopefully for the better! ;0) Please browse around and check out the different tabs that have been added. And please let me know if I've made a mistake or you have a suggestion.

Blessings!!

I Reckon (pt 2)

It might be helpful to read my previous post I reckon.

I decided to look at the other places where the Greek work for "reckon" is used. One of the places I found was in Philippians 4:8, where it says "think on".

Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."

In His Presence

I love this song, "I Just Want To Be Where You Are", though I haven't heard it in a really long time. I just found it this morning as I was looking at some worship music. It reminded me of a verse we looked at in Sunday School not too long ago. I can't remember exactly what verse it was that we were looking at (lol, I know...) . . . one of the verses in Psalms about David desiring to be in the temple, I think. :0)

Stuck On Me

So what happens when you get stuck on yourself?  When the most important things to you are your dreams, your goals? What does it look like?

Well, this stalk of corn on the left here is a good example. It just couldn't get free of itself and frankly, it isn't gonna do us any good.

Rees Howells Intercessor

I was going to post this blog on the 14th, but before I did, Eric Ludy's sermon from the 11th was posted and I had to listen to it. :0) It was basically about chapter 5 of this book. (?? Coincidence?? I . don't . think . so!) It was really good! (as always) . . . And I decided to think some more about what I'd written.

No Breakfast . . . Forever??

On the way up to camp this last week, a song came on the radio that I haven't heard in a looooong time. The main point of the song is that they don't serve breakfast in hell. It got me thinking . . .

The Sands Of Time Are Sinking

This is such a beautiful hymn and seems to be too little known.

Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661) was a Scottish minister and covenenter. During his lifetime he was a professor at Edinburgh College, a pastor of the church in Anwoth, and a professor at St. Andrews. He was also a writer and was exiled for a book he wrote defending the doctrines of grace against Arminianism. Later he wrote a book called "Lex Rex" - "The Law, The King". This book argued for limited government, and limitations on the current idea of the Divine Right of Kings.

Keswick & Evan Hopkins

After posting my last blog I decided to see what else I could learn about Evan Hopkins and Keswick. I stumbled across this really cool outline of Keswick, showing the founders, the most prominent people associated with it, those influenced by it (like D. L. Moody), and the teachings. But then as I turned to the fourth page I was shocked to see this conclusion: "Keswick Theology's view of sanctification is theologically erronious." It went on to say how we should avoid propigating this theology through books, lectures, sermons, articles, hymns, etc. (haha, yeah right...)

Liberty En Christ!

I'm not quite ready to write a review about this book, but I have to share it with you. It is probably the best book I've read on the life that we have IN Christ and the freedom that we find there.

Evan Henry Hopkins (1837-1918) was a leader of the famous Keswick Convention. As Norman Grubb says, he "was perhaps the greatest expositor on the life in the Spirit that Keswick has produced".

You can read it online or download it from here.

Enjoy! :0)

"Follow!"

Liam is pretty much the best dog ever. :0) (Though he makes it very difficult to take his picture as he'd much rather eat the camera!) He loves to play and is very obedient. He loves to sing too! In fact, if you want to torture him, give him his dinner and then start to sing - he doesn't know what to do!!

Anyway, the purpose of this blog is not to brag about our dog, believe it or not. ;0) We've noticed some strange behavior . . .

Such Love

While at a prayer meeting this morning a friend shared a story from Joel Rosenberg's book "Inside The Revolution". God is doing some AMAZING things in the Muslim world, but this story really touched me. Now if I can remember it correctly . . . ;0)

A Highlight From My Week . . .

I just have to share this story from camp . . .

Yesterday was our lake day - a day at Howard Prairie with the canoes and house boat. We had to stop and hook up the trailer with the canoes as we were leaving. I parked "my" van and ran over to help . . .

I Reckon . . .

I'm sure we are all familiar with Romans 6:11, but this week as I heard a sermon about it and did my own study of the verse, it hit me in a new way.

Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, 

but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Chasing The Dragon

. . . by Jackie Pullinger, is a book that has been on my "wish list" for probably close to a year - and I finally got to read it! :0)

It is an absolutely amazing story of a woman completely abandoned to God. She left everything she had and followed Him in very much the same way that Abraham did. God led her to the walled City of Hong Kong. Reading her story is like reading the book of Acts - God did so many miracles!

Falling In Love . . .

As I have been learning what life is all about - knowing and loving Jesus with all that I am - I am finding that this truth is all throughout the Word! . . . . hmmm, imagine that! ;0)

I was reading one of T. Austin-Sparks' books last night (just discovered his amazing website) when I "re-discovered" Jeremiah 9:23-24 . . .

Call Upon Me

When I was walking through our neighbor's forest/garden (not sure what you'd call it!) and I came across this telephone booth I just had to laugh. It was the last thing I expected to see! :0) It is no longer at this location. (It's kind of a sad story...) Now it is for sale, sitting in front of a store on the south part of town. I was thinking about this picture because I've driven this direction almost every day this week.

I'm so glad that I don't need a telephone to talk to my Saviour!! He lives INSIDE of me!! :0) I don't have to worry about having the right change, getting service, being in range, my phone being charged, dialing a wrong number, or getting an answering machine. I have a Father who is ever attentive to my cry, my thoughts, and well, everything about me! :0) (see Ps. 139)

PS - My neighbor gave me permission to use this picture. It's been through a number of revisions, but I'm still not totally happy with it. If you have any suggestions - I'm open! :0)

Forgotten God

Many of us have wished that we could have Jesus right here, by our side. Even for a day that would be incredible! But Jesus said it was better for us if He went away so that we could have the Holy Spirit. How many of us really believe that?

In All Your Ways . . .

Last Sunday's sermon was about how to know the will of God. The main passage was Proverbs 3:5-6, which I'm sure, we are all very familiar with. Later I did a little digging and found a treasure. I was really looking forward to sharing what I'd found in Sunday School this morning (we always discuss the previous sermon in S.S.), but it just didn't work out. So that leaves me with no other choice but to share it with you! ;0)

A Switch-Back

If you've been following my blog lately then you've probably noticed that I've been learning a lot about prayer and faith. There were a couple of things that I had felt like God wanted me to pursue . . . and so I did. Both of them looked very impossible, but that's where faith comes in. :0) About 3 weeks ago, someone very near and dear to me (who shall remain anonymous), told me that sometimes God has us pursue things just for the journey, and that He doesn't really intend for us to have them.

Like An Apple Tree

I was in special need of some comfort this morning . . . so where did I turn? It might seem strange to you, but I turned to the book of Song of Solomon. There I find not my mighty, conquering King, but the Lover of my soul. There I find a love and a Lover that surpasses all else. There I find . . . an apple tree. :0)

O For A Closer Walk With God

This morning's hymn was new to us, but I really liked it and thought I'd share it with you. It was written by William Cowper (1731-1800), a friend of John Newton. He was inspired to write this hymn after reading the verse that says, "Enoch walked with God."

Valiantly!

I really like Psalm 60:12 (and 108:13 ;0) . . .

"Through God we shall do valiantly: for He it is that shall tread down our enemies."

I decided to look up the word valiantly yesterday and found that there are two words translated "valiantly". The one used in this verse is the one most commonly used. It has to do with strength, wealth, army, and influence. I also found that it is the same word that is translated "virtuous" in the books of Ruth and Proverbs. I knew that virtuous had to do with strength, but valiant adds a whole new dimension. :0)

The other word for "valiantly" is pretty cool too. It means to strengthen, to be strong, to be courageous, to overpower. It seems to be most often translated "be strong", as in "Be strong and of a good courage", Joshua 1:9. At least once it is translated "prevailed", as in when David "prevailed" over Goliath.

You are probably wondering where I am going with this . . . hang on, I'm almost there. ;0)

So with this word we have the idea of strength and courage, of prevailing and overpowering . . . Well, look at the verse I came across today as I read in "Mighty Prevailing Prayer" about wrestling with God . . .

" There is no one who calls upon Your name, who rouses himself to take hold of You..." Isa. 64:7

The word for "to take hold" is this same word for valiantly. What does it mean to be strong, to overpower, to prevail against/over God?? I'm sure this verse, this idea, contains an important secret to prevailing prayer. A secret that I want to discover. A secret that yields mighty results for His kingdom and His glory.

Oh may the Lord no longer be able to say that there is no one who calls on His name, no one who rises to take hold of Him!

Say What???

Before I get started, I must issue a disclaimer. :0) I have this question on my heart that I have to ask. I think it has something to do with my spiritual gift, which I am still trying to understand. Anyway, I hope that you will be patient with me, and maybe share your thoughts too. :0)

There is a particular word that has lately caught my attention. It's a good word . . . But I really wonder at the way it is thrown around. It is the word "holy". As an expression of exclamation this word is frequently thrown out, but it is always paired up with one of a multitude of other words. The thing that gets me is that the object it is paired up with is often anything BUT holy. This got me thinking about other words that we use to describe God that we might be causually throwing around . . . "awesome" came to mind . . . And the question that came to my mind is . . .

Does the flippant use of these words have any affect on the way we view our God, or the way the world views Him? In other words, have we lost the concept - or at least lowered it - of His holiness because we so casually use the word "holy" to describe so many other things? . . . or the word "awesome"?

Any thoughts?

Perseverance In Prayer

(part 4 of a continuing series of posts from reading "Mighty Prevailing Prayer")

"It is not enough to begin to pray, nor to pray aright; nor is it enough to continue for a time to pray; but we must pray patiently, believing, continue in prayer until we obtain an answer." ~ George Muller

It is all too easy to faint and lose heart, but if we faint not . . . that is when we reap our reward. At the same time, though, we don't want to persevere in prayer for something that God doesn't really want us to have, only for Him to give it to us and send leaness to our soul.

"One secret of prevailing prayer is the inner assurance that we are praying in the will of God."

It seems that the secret to knowing the will of God is to be COMPLETELY and utterly surrendered to Him, and to stay in communion with Him. But then you have to be active in your surrender . . .

"God's will is not done automatically by a surrendered person. It must become the passion of your soul to do and ratify God's will in everything."

This makes me think of Jesus, who's ONE passion was to do the will of His Father in heaven. God isn't trying to keep it a secret from us! He wants us to know. :0) I like this quote about discovering the will of God . . .

"Do not bother other people. Lay all questions naked before Him, and He will make plain to you what is His will. When God speaks, His speech is easily understood." ~ Samuel Chadwick

I don't think this is telling us to disregard our authorities, but I find it is all too easy to go to a human for advice instead of to God. Another reason that quote stood out to me is because it is easy for me to question whether I heard Him right. So ridiculous! :0) What a faithful, loving, and patient God we serve!

"Don't give up at the very time God's answer is nearing, at the very time the angels have almost delivered to you the answer for which you have been praying. Instead, your prayer then should be strongest."

"Prayer worth calling prayer, prayer that God will call true prayer and will treat as true prayer, takes far more time by the clock than one man in a thousand thinks." ~ Alexander Whyte

Lord, help me persevere! To see Your will done here on earth as it is in heaven.

Importunity In Prayer

(part 3 of a continuing series of posts from reading "Mighty Prevailing Prayer")

Importunity might prove to be the most awkward quality of prevailing prayer, but it seems to be essential.

"It means utter shamelessness. It includes the concept of great boldness, of urgency, of pressing your request, claim, or demand to the very limits, and it includes determination to persist in that urgent boldness until it receives the answer."

To have such boldness and determination in our prayer means that we must know the mind and heart of God on the matter. Sometimes this comes from a promise in scripture, sometimes from His whisper to your heart, and sometimes from just knowing the heart and nature of our God.

Does it seem strange that we should have to pray so hard and long for something we know God wants to do? We have to remember that we are in a spiritual battle and that we humans aren't robots - God doesn't always get what He wants. But there is a refining process that takes place in the delay. It may not be the right time, or maybe our motives aren't completely pure, or maybe we need to learn patience.

"Importunity in prayer is prayer for God's will to be done. It must be wholly unselfish . . . Importunate praying does not yield to discouragement, weariness, fear, or impatience. It is dead earnest."

I thought this following quote was interesting . . . Especially since I am "guilty" of having told the girls at camp that praying to God is as easy as talking to the person next to you . . .

"P.T. Forsyth warns that we dare not reduce prayer to talking to God or even dialogue with God, "mere walking with God in friendly talk". We will not only lose the aspect of spiritual conflict, of wrestling and prevailing, but we may lose prayer's ultimate reality. We make it conversation, rather than the soul's great action."

I'm not sure exactly what to think. There certainly is some truth there. Maybe conversation with God needs another name, rather than prayer. It seems that prayer is more of a partnership with God and Him praying His prayers through you.

I'll close with these two quotes about importunate prayer ~

"God delights in your holy boldness that will not take no for an answer. God counts it "great faith", and then counts you His friend, for you understand His heart."

"When God's will, name, and glory are at stake, nothing should stop us."

Lord, I want to be Your friend!

Faith In Prayer

The section on importunity was really good (in "Mighty Prevailing Prayer"), but I'll have to come back to that. I need to write about faith . . .

God knew that I needed to read this book. He is SO good to me! :0) You see, God asked me to believe Him for some things . . . And then the testing came and, by His grace, I stood firm. But then the testing doubled and tripled . . . and . I . wavered. Aargh. I didn't want to! I know that God can do anything, and I know that He keeps His promises, He CANNOT lie. . . . But did I hear Him right?? Did He REALLY say what I think He said??

"How often we are double-minded in our praying. We believe that God can answer our prayer. Obviously we have some hope that He will answer it, or we would not pray. But oh, how often we do not really expect God to answer . . . If we are totally honest, however, we would admit we do not feel sure that God will answer the need for which we pray."

From what I see in scripture, to doubt God is to contend with Him and to judge Him unfaithful. Jesus often rebuked "little faith", which worries about the provision of food and clothes, and is afraid when it sees the storm.

Hebrews tells us that we are to live.by.faith and that we cannot please God without faith. But what is faith? Is it believing that God can do anything? According to Hebrews 11:1, faith is a lot more than that. Faith is the CONFIDENCE, the assurance, of things HOPED FOR, and the PERSUASION, the conviction, of things NOT SEEN. In other words, faith is seeing what you can't see with your physical eyes. Being convinced of His ability AND His desire to do something. And it means keeping your eyes on Him for all you're worth.

"Doubt, anxiety, fear, and worry focus primarily on circumstances, but faith focuses primarily on God . . . Faith is not blind to the needs. Faith faces reality but sees reality as measured by God, not as measured by man . . . Faith is God-conscious, God-focused, and God-believing . . . Faith is highly specific. It claims definite answers from God . . . It believes for God's answer for the need before you."

Lord, no more doubt. I want YOUR kind of faith. Real faith.

PS ~ 30 more chapters . . . ;0)

Desire And Fervency In Prayer

Someone let me borrow "Mighty Prevailing Prayer", by Wesley L. Duewel. WOW! God is calling me to a whole new level of death to self through it!

I didn't realize I had been protecting myself from desiring anything too much, from being fervent and passionate about the things that are in God's will. Either because I wasn't sure if the desire was in God's will, or because it didn't feel right to have such strong desires, or because I didn't want to feel the pain. Desire hurts. And honestly, I don't like hunger.

"As long as it makes little difference to us whether our prayer is answered or not, we will not prevail."

"Mighty answers to prayer can be costly, but they are worth all the cost. Learn to hunger if you would prevail."

He quotes E.M. Bounds:
"Prayers must be red hot. It is the fervent prayer that is effective . . . To be absorbed in God's will, to be so greatly in earnest about doing it that our whole being takes fire, is the qualifying condition of the man who would engage in effectual prayer."

Lord, teach me to pray!

PS ~ I still have 34 more chapters to go, so you just might hear from me again on this subject. ;0)

His Masterpiece

For we are His workmanship, 

created in Christ Jesus for good works, 

which God prepared beforehand, 

that we should walk in them. 

Ephesians 2:10

This verse, I'm sure, is very familiar to all of us, but as I have been studying it I have found some really cool things . . . at least I think they are cool. :0)


I think the typical understanding of this verse says that God created me in Christ Jesus to do good works for Him, which He planned for me to do, before the world began. I just have to stay close to Him so that He can show me what they are.


Let's take a closer look at a few words . . .

• "workmanship" - this is talking about something that is made, a workpiece or masterpiece. And I believe this Greek work "poiema" is where we get the word poem. This word is in the nomitive case, which means it is the subject.
• "created" - this word means to create or produce from nothing, or to create and form in a spiritual sense, speaking of regeneration or renewal. This word is in the aorist tense, which means that it has "no time zone". The emphasis is not on when it took place, just that it really happened. It is in the passive voice, meaning that the subject is receiving the action - we are being created by God. And, not to confuse you, but this is a verb that is acting like a noun, which is also in the nomitive case . . . which means it is the subject.
• and then, of course, there is the word "en", which I like so much. :0) This word is speaking of the idea of resting in someone or something, abiding. It is used twice in this verse . . . of our being created in Christ Jesus, and of the good works that we are to walk in. 
• I guess I should probably mention that "God" is the subject as well. Yeah, Greek is very different from English. :0) They can have lots of subjects in one sentence. I think part of it is just to place extra emphasis on these words.

If I haven't lost you, you are probably wondering what I think is so cool. :0)  Well, I guess it all comes back to "sourcing". (I am not a Greek scholar by any stretch of the imagination, so if I am reading too much into this, please let me know.) I am seeing that I am His masterpiece, being created (or produced) as I rest in Jesus, with motion towards doing good works. The "for" good works is not the word that means "because" - He created me because He wants me to do good works for Him. No! He created me to be in relationship with Him, and as I am "en" Him there will naturally be motion towards doing good works. I am not doing good works for Him. I am resting in Him and He is doing them through me. 

Now, isn't that cool? ;0)

Loving Yourself

Have you ever thought about what it means to love yourself? 

. . .‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ . . . 

Mark 12:30

It seems like this verse would be good justification for a shopping spree, or a day at the spa, or just some serious "me" time . . . but is that what it is saying??


Is it possible to love yourself and deny yourself? (Luke 9:23)


My Dad recently came up with a good definition for what it means to love yourself. Since "love" is defined as "finding your joy in someone or something", then "loving yourself" can be defined as "finding joy in God's design of who I am". How many people do you know that aren't happy with the way God made them? It always makes me sad to hear kids and teens complain about the color of their hair or eyes, etc.


So as you can see, with that definition of loving yourself, you can definitely deny yourself. I would go so far as to say that you will have a very hard time denying yourself if you don't love yourself! And the same is true for loving our neighbor . . . loving yourself is so important!


Here's another "trick" question for you . . .


Can you not love yourself and yet be a lover of your own self, as it talks about in 2 Timothy 3:2? . . . .  :0)

Why Pray?

I was able to get a copy of this book last year, shortly after it came out . . . and I LOVED it! It had a huge impact on my life and I longed for someone to share it with. So needless to say, when I found someone who had read some of Eric and Leslie's other books, I eagerly offered to let them borrow this one. It wasn't long before I wished I hadn't lent the book out - I had questions and felt like I needed to read it again.


Oddly enough, it seemed that the closer I drew to the Lord, the bigger my questions about prayer became! Do I trust the Lord that what He says will happen, or do I beg Him for it until it happens?? It seemed like prayer showed that I didn't really believe what He said!


I finally asked my brother if I could borrow his copy of the book which he was given for Christmas. As I read I was very much encouraged and inspired. But then an illustration was used for faith that made my "question" even bigger! Leslie said that if Eric told Hudson that he will take him to the zoo in the morning, he doesn't doubt and wonder if it will really happen. He goes to bed excited, trusting that in the morning Daddy will take him to the zoo. Hudson believes and therefore he doesn't ask - he trusts. So it should stand to reason that if God has given me a promise, then I don't need to beg (pray) for Him to do it. I should "go to bed excited, trusting that" it will happen. This seems logical, reasonable . . . but I had a feeling that this was just the problem - heavenly wisdom is NOT logical. :0)


Then I came across this line - "God's people are commissioned to ask, to seek, to knock, and to plead that the realities of heaven be made reality down here on earth." Hmmmm, kinda sounds like "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." The problem is that we often don't know what the "realities of heaven" are. God opened my eyes to see that the promises He has given me are "realities of heaven", and that through prayer I need to "pull them down to earth". (Hence the picture on the cover of the book.) This is why prayer is compared to giving birth. The baby already exists, he or she just hasn't come forth yet . . . and the process involves a lot of work and pain (so I've heard ;0). In the same way, the promises God has given us, whether by Christ's victory on the cross, or by His whisper to our heart, already exist. But we need to pray and travail until they are seen on earth.

True prayer demands more of our life 

than most are willing to give. 

And therefore, few are those who ever

taste of it's power and delights.

Prayer is the operative tool--

it's the rope tied to all of God's promises 

yanking this astounding reality to Earth.

So, shall we pray?? :0)