What to do with the past....

Leave the broken, irreversible past in God's hands,
and step out into the invincible future with Him.
~O. Chambers

Those who know your name will trust in you,
for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.
~Ps. 9:10 NIV

Painful Issues

"Without confrontation of painful issues from the past, it is impossible to go forward with a healthy soul."
-Joyce Meyer

So often looking back means dealing with the aching pain that I have attempted to bury. I think that Joyce put it perfectly. I knew there had to be a way to find balance.... "Deal with the hurt from the past- because it will free you and make you whole." (my summary/my perspective-which is subject to change!)

Be my hopes

The last few days have been difficult. There are so many decisions that have to be made. I feel like (as a single mom) I lack the balance that having a partner in this adventure would have to offer. I try to picture God as my partner now- together we will raise Katie. Despite that image, I still feel so inadequate.



I found this song tonight. I never heard it before. It is exactly what I need. I keep playing it over and over.

"And I will worship You, Lord, only You, Lord. And I will bow down before You, Only You Lord.

Take my fret, take my fear. All I have, I’m leaving here. Be all my hopes, be all my dreams. You're my delight, my everything."

Forgiven

This song has powerful lyrics that describe the way I have felt....
Here is my favorite part:
"In this life
I know what I’ve been
But here in your arms
I know what I am


When I don't fit in and I don’t feel like I belong anywhere
When I don’t measure up to much in this life
Oh, I’m a treasure in the arms of Christ ‘cause
I’m forgiven
I’m forgiven
And I don’t have to carry
The weight of who I’ve been
Cause I’m forgiven"

"Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you."
~God

"My peace I give you"

"John 20:19 - In the upper room, the disciples and followers of Jesus assembled with the doors bolted shut due to fear, anxiety, and the stress of the past days. Jesus appeared through the walls and said, “Peace, my peace I give to you.”
This Jesus -- who experienced REJECTION by friends, FALSE ACCUSATIONS by others, VERBAL ABUSE, PHYSICAL ABUSE, SEXUAL ABUSE, ABANDONMENT, and SEPARATION FROM GOD, --wants to enter the locked and chained areas of your life and bring you His peace and happiness."

FROM: CCOU 302 (Managing Stress and Overcoming Anxiety) Linda Hager

Strength and Weakness

"We often work so hard on trying to overcome our weaknesses that we never develop our strengths."
Joyce Meyer

It used to be different....

You know how it is... your mom repeated the same verse to you over and over while you were growing up and you just didn't get it. I know my mom, she realized one day it would sink in, right at the moment when we needed that wisdom the most... boy was she ever right! The last few weeks, I have had the same line on my heart, "Blessed are the peacemakers."
I was all ready to grab that one and run with it, "hehe," thought my prideful heart, "this one will be easy".
NOT! See it used to be different. Those used to be "words" and nothing more.

God has challenged me to really grasp the meaning of the words of Jesus from the "Sermon on the Mount" that day.... I decided (FINALLY) to sit down and spend some time in the Word- in order to get the rest of this message that has been turning over and over again in my brain.

I looked the passage up in the message bible. I know it's not the NIV or King James version, but sometimes the message just gives me the "spiritual spanking" of a lifetime.... it didn't let me off easy tonight either, let me tell ya!

Here's what it says: Matthew 5:3-12 (the message)

3"You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

4"You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

5"You're blessed when you're content with just who you are—no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.

6"You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat.

7"You're blessed when you care. At the moment of being 'care-full,' you find yourselves cared for.

8"You're blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.

9"You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family.

10"You're blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God's kingdom.

11-12"Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don't like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.

I'm so thankful the Lord doesn't give up on my stubborn self. I'm thankful for the trials, the heartaches, the lies, the stealing and even the cheating- all these things led me closer to my God.

Don't waste your life

"Don’t waste another day of your life grieving over something that you cannot do anything about. Let God give you a new beginning. Your mistakes are not enough to stop God if you don’t let them." -Joyce Meyer

Powerful Insight

"Your personal testimony, however meaningful it is to you, is not the gospel."
— RC Sproul

I came across this quote on a friend's facebook page. It challenged me not just on a spiritual level, but a psychological and social level as well. Somehow we all get the idea that the way we've experienced an event or season in life and the things we have learned should have an equal effect on those around us. However, this is not the case. Each person has to decide for themselves how they will cope, reason and learn from the trials they face.... nothing can replace the gospel.

We were created to serve a God who teaches us new things to draw us closer to Him.

"Well, think again, you idiots,
fools—how long before you get smart?
Do you think Ear-Maker doesn't hear,
Eye-Shaper doesn't see?
Do you think the trainer of nations doesn't correct,
the teacher of Adam doesn't know?
God knows, all right—
knows your stupidity,
sees your shallowness.
How blessed the man you train, God,
the woman you instruct in your Word,
Providing a circle of quiet within the clamor of evil,
while a jail is being built for the wicked.
God will never walk away from his people,
never desert His precious people.
Rest assured that justice is on its way
and every good heart put right."
Psalm 94:8-15 the Message.

This is where I'm at.....

If you are going to be used by God, He will take you through a multitude of experiences that are not meant for you at all, they are meant to make you useful in HIS hands, and to enable you to understand what transpires in other souls so that you will never be surprised at what you come across. All your circumstances are in the hand of God. -- Oswald Chambers

TGIF

TGIF - Today God Is First....and everyday.

Suffering

"Suffering never leaves you where it finds you; you either become bitter or better. It either turns you into a miserable complainer, or conforms you into the image of Jesus Christ."

Thank you troops!

"America is not at war.
The U.S. Military is at war.
America is at the Mall.
If you don't stand behind our troops,
PLEASE feel free to stand in front of them!"

Help me not be shabby

God is solid backing to a well-lived life,
but he calls into question a shabby performance.
Proverbs 10:29 (the message)

Psalm 19:14

"May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer."
(New Living Translation)

This is today's verse. In the few minutes that I've been thinking over it I realize that at times when I get overwhelmed I get crabby and whine or complain...... this verse is going to be my challenge to myself this week that the words that come from my mouth AND the things I have in my heart will be PLEASING to my God- because He is my ROCK and my REDEEMER!

Weary? Nah!

Galatians 6:9-10 (The Message)

So let's not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don't give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith.

Psalm 13

My friend Erin (our worship leader) read this chapter in church yesterday- it struck my heart- I can relate to feeling this way many times in my life.....

Psalm 13 (Amplified Bible)

HOW LONG will You forget me, O Lord? Forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
How long must I lay up cares within me and have sorrow in my heart day after day? How long shall my enemy exalt himself over me?
Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; lighten the eyes [of my faith to behold Your face in the pitchlike darkness], lest I sleep the sleep of death, Lest my enemy say, I have prevailed over him, and those that trouble me rejoice when I am shaken.
But I have trusted, leaned on, and been confident in Your mercy and loving-kindness; my heart shall rejoice and be in high spirits in Your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me.

Walk in the Light

“Walking alone in the Light is better than walking with a companion in darkness." - Jocelyn Dixon

Psalm 89:14-16 (New International Reader's Version)

Your kingdom is built on what is right and fair.
Your truth and faithful love lead the way in front of you.
Blessed are those who have learned to shout praise to you.
Lord, they live in the light of your favor.
All day long they are full of joy because of who you are.
They praise you because you do what is right.

WOW

So I was on facebook this morning- just doing the usual same old same old but my heart felt restless. I've been wrestling with alot of thoughts about being "set-apart" and living a life worthy of the calling we have received (Colossians 1:10).
I found this quote and it really struck me to the point of helping me re-focus.

"Something is wrong when our lives make sense to unbelievers." ~Francis Chan


Joyce Meyer was teaching today about the difference in the Holy Spirit and satan-
The Holy Spirit will Convict you..... satan will try to confuse you.....
I'm so thankful that God allowed me to find that quote this morning even in the midst of my foolish frivilous morning facebook routine- it truly opened my eyes!

Revelation 3:19 (Amplified Bible)
Those whom I [dearly and tenderly] love, I tell their faults and convict and convince and reprove and chasten [I discipline and instruct them]. So be enthusiastic and in earnest and burning with zeal and repent [changing your mind and attitude].

Nothing to say

"Blessed is the man who, having nothing to say, abstains from giving us wordy evidence of the fact." ~George Elliot

I am a Christian

"In a culture where people are proclaiming they are
'good without God'
it's time to stand up and say, 'I am a Christian'"
Franklin Graham

Repentance

It is not repentance that saves me; repentance is the sign that I realize what God has done in Christ Jesus. - Oswald Chambers

Beware.....

"Beware of manufacturing a god of your own: A god who is all mercy but not just, a god who is all love, but not holy, a god who has a heaven for everybody but a hell for none ... Such a god is an idol of your own. The hands of your own fancy and sentimentality have made him. He is not the God of the Bible." -J.C. Rylee

Max Lucado Quote

"We've been comforted by our father, conformed by his nature, consumed by our creator, convicted by his character, constrained by his power, commissioned by our teacher, and compelled by his attention to our prayers." - Max Lucado

God

God is so big He can cover the whole world with His Love and so small He can curl up inside your heart.....

Contented

"Contented. An easy word to say. A hard attitude to have. To be contented is to have an uncomplaining acceptance of one's lot. It is to be happy enough with what one has or is. It is not wanting something more. In a nutshell, it means to be satisfied." CALL HER BLESSED by Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Casselberry pg 43

Philippians 4:10-13 I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Oswald Chambers Quote

"How long is it going to take God to free us from the morbid habit of thinking about ourselves? We must get sick unto death of ourselves, until there is no longer any surprise at anything God can tell us about ourselves. There is only one place where we are right and that is in Christ Jesus." - Oswald Chambers

Defination of Faith

Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods. C.S. Lewis

Definition of Abundance

I started reading "Secrets of the Vine" by Bruce Wilkinson.
Here are 2 quotes from the book that have impacted me already!

"Abundance- that beautiful overflow of true worth in a person's life-
is exactly what you and I were born for."



"For disciples who have ever wondered if a life of extraordinary abundance just might be their birthright."