His beloved

"Then God said, "Let Us make mankind in Our image, 

in Our likeness......
So God created mankind in His own image, 

in the image of God He created them;

Genesis 1:26-27

~*~*~*~

          In the very beginning of time GOD created the earth. For those of us who have read the Bible, we know how the story goes: "then God said....let there be light....let there be an expanse between the water above and the water below...let the water under the sky be gathered in one place...etc." All through the first chapter of Genesis we see the phrase "then God said." God had the power to simply speak the earth and all that is in it, into existence, but there is one creation He didn't speak into being: MAN. In all other areas of creation God said the word and it was. But with mankind He took the time to hand create us, to breath His very breathe into us, to make us part of Him. 

          What does that say about His heart for His people??

         God did not want to speak us into being because He wanted to us to feel His love, to be in communion with Him. To God, we are not just another part of creation, we HIS PEOPLE. We are His beloved, His children, His heart song. 

"I am my Beloved's and my Beloved is mine;" Song of Solomon 6:31

 WE ARE HIS!!!

 

     In His chest beats a heart so full of love towards His children that even with all eternity, we will never be able to comprehend that great love. HE created us FOR HIMSELF: to love, honor and obey Him in all areas of our lives. He GAVE us live, LEADS US in life, and AWAITS US AT OUR LIFE'S END. Like a father that eagerly awaits His child's return, like a groom at the alter, so too is the heart of our Father towards us. 

    There will come a day for all of us when our strength fails. We will kiss this world good bye, and with our final heart beat be carried to the realm eternal. There, at the celestial gate our KING will be waiting for us. With all the joy of a lover, He will welcome us into the realm of light, of love, and of joy: HOME.

       I think of a dearly beloved friend who has passed on into heaven's splendor. Such a blessed woman is she to be partaking of heaven's delights! Oh, what joy divine! What everlasting delight! What peace unending and laughter abounding, awaits the faithful when we are gathered into heaven's folds!!!!

    

"My Beloved spoke and said to me, 

"Arise, My darling, My beautiful one,  

come with Me."

 Song of Solomon 2:10

How far will YOU go?

      The enemy laughs. The flesh scoffs. The deepest regions of hell deride the opposition of the soul.  All the while the heart cries, “I cannot do this!”  The enemy marches, the flesh cowers.  

      Is this to be the “resistance” we offer the enemy when he tries to  steal us from our LORD? A weak rebellion without faith, without action? Is our faith naught but empty words 

and hollow professions of action??

~* ~ *~

                                                                                                                    Thousands around the world today are already  facing death and persecution for their faith. There may very well come a day when we too face the same battle.  We need to ready ourselves, for on that day God will ask, “how far will YOU go for me?” The enemy is preparing his troops for battle, battle against the most powerful BEING in the universe.  He will lose, but  he’ll go down fighting, destroying the lives of the ones GOD loves: destroying us.  He’ll stop at nothing to tear us away from our KING, we cannot let that happen!

“How far will you go for ME?”

    When we are faced with an assault from the enemy, it is our fear the prevents us from fighting the good fight, from resisting Satan. But resist we must, for to give in to his whims means denying our Father in Heaven. Right now we fight a spiritual battle, but one day this battle may become a physical battle: a fight for our very lives, and the honor of our KING.  In that day we MUST stand strong, we we must NOT back down. So what if we lose our lives, for to lose our lives here, will be to gain an eternity with GOD.

Let Satan laugh now, his time is coming. Our KING will defeat him once and for all!!

Are we ready to fight for our GOD??

"For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it."

Mark 16:25
 

Bitter be Autumn's bite

    

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven"

  Ecclesiastes 3:1

 

  The  proud stalks bend and sway in the last light of summer’s day. Sunset’s golden light casts shimmering hues of color upon radiant fields of grain. Daylight’s hours now are few, as Nature begins her queue.  Green have been the leaves, now basked in Autumn’s glory. The fading light, the whispered rite. Summer’s done, the dance of Autumn has begun.

       Ahh…Autumn. I bask in the cool breeze as the first of Autumn’s chill arrives. I watch as the leaves slowly change to brilliant shades of red, gold and orange. I smell the chill in the air, I see it in the sparkling frost that lies upon the ground each morning. This is a season of rest and tranquility for nature. A season to enjoy the fruits of her labor, to glory in her splendor, to grow strong again for Summer’s harvest. A time of peace.

     The human life is much like nature. We too have different seasons. Spring/Summer: where we harvest the fruits of our spiritual labor and grow in our walk with the Creator- a time of plenty. Then there’s Fall/Winter: a time of trial, where the rains fall and the winds blow. Our “leaves” (spirits) fall and our “land” (hearts) are washed in the heavy floods of His grace.  In seasons like these we often get so caught up in stopping the storm, that we fail to see the beauty and the peace, in the midst of all the thunder.   

       Hidden within of each storm is hand of GOD reaching out to us from within the rains, asking us to trust Him. 

      In every season, God is always at work  behind the clouds of gray; He is ever spinning, ever weaving, a pattern of splendor; a scenery of color and brilliance, that will stun us with it’s vast beauty when it is unveiled.
 
     “Autumn/Winter” may look and feel bitter, cold and heartless. A season without a purpose. But there is always a ray of SON waiting to burst worth at the first sign of Spring in our hearts, when the first buds of faith and trust are springing up from grounds of hardened frost.

Don’t fear the cold, my friend. For though it hurts now, Spring will come. And when it does, nothing else will matter as we dwell once more in the LIGHT and the warmth.

“The LIGHT shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome IT.” John 1:5

“For the glory of God!”

Why orphans?

 

 "You can always give without loving,

but you can never love without giving."

-Amy Carmichael 

  ~* ~*~*~*~

 

   Someone recently asked me,  “Why orphans, and why Africa?”  Many people have asked me the same question in the past. Well, here is my answer: as followers of Christ, it is our duty and blessing to reach the lost and the hurting in the world. We are to minister to the poorest of poor, the lowest of low.  For me, that means the orphans. Truly, they are the poorest of poor in today's society; having no one to call family and nothing to call their own.  

According to Orphan Hope International, there are between 143 million and 210 million orphans worldwide. As of today, 48.3 million of those are in Africa.  By age 16 these children “age out” and are no longer in the adoption systems. 38,493 orphans “age out” each day . With diseases like malaria, HIV, AIDS and yellow fever, 5,760 children are orphaned each day. The vast majority of these have never heard of Christ. They live in villages where witchcraft and demon possession is rampant. The witch doctor is their only doctor, and consequently their “religious leader.” 

  My heart absolutely breaks for those precious little ones, living in those circumstances!! How can we ignore their cries, their pain!? We can't change the world, but we can lives. None of us has the power to save the world, but we have the love to save the lost.

“Not all of us can do great things. 

But we can do small things with great love.”

-Mother Teresa 

  Mother Teresa had it right. Not everyone is destined for great deeds, honor or fame. But all of us, regardless of our current circumstances can do little things and still change lives, if we do it with great love.

    There is a fire burning deep within my heart, fueled by the Lord, to do what I can to help His children. Even if I only impact one life, it is enough. For that is one life more that will one day be in heaven. This side of heaven we may never know how many will be with Christ one day because of us, but we still have to try to reach them. Love speaks far greater than words. It is not enough to simply say you feel for them, we have to REACH OUT TO THEM. 

"Give me the love that leads the way, the faith that nothing can dismay, the hope no disappointments tire, the passion that will burn like fire; Let me not sink to be a clod: Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God."
-Amy Carmichael   “For the glory of God!

Everything changes in a minute

 The power of a minute...

 "Everyone has a moment in their childhood when the door opens to their future." -Wess Stafford

One minute. One moment in a lifetime of minutes. To many, one minute is unimportant, but to children that one minute defines the rest of their lives: who they are when they grow up, what they want to do, and who they want to be like. WE as their elders have the power to change a child's life in the space of 60 seconds. Now THAT'S a heavy responsibility to bare.

Children look up the adults in their lives. They look to us as role models, as teachers, in our every day lives. They watch us and learn from us. As little ones they are very impressionable. As Dr. Stafford put it, "they are like wet cement. The younger they are the easier it is to leave an imprint."  Though they may not realize it, they are constantly soaking up everything around them.

  Children grow up to become a replica of the kinds of elders they had in their lives when they were young. God intended for the elders in a child's life to pour into them, not tear them down. How we impact a child depends on how we interact with that child. We need to always remember any minute, anything we say or do, can be that moment that opens the door to the child's future.                                                                                                 When I see a child, I see one of God's precious children. I see His fingerprints in their lives. I see a child who needs love and affirmation. A little one who's life is only just beginning; who needs Godly influences in their life.When I see a child I feel the need to protect them, to love them, to show them that Someone cares for them. I feel the weight of God's call to all adults. Please, don't ignore His children. When you see a child be sure to pour into them, even if it's just a friendly smile or a kind word. You never know how much that simple act of love may impact them for all eternity. 

 "Start children off on the way they should go, 

and even when they are old they will not turn from it."

 Proverbs 22:6

"For the glory of God!"

.  

Let it rain!

   *Drip, drip, drip*  The rain falls steadily upon the window pane. It is a sound that calms and soothes many people, and excites others. But to me, it is the sound of His love falling upon my life. You see, when it rains we often think of the rain in the plural sense, ignoring the millions of individual drops. Yet, it is those very drops that make up the storm. It is the same way with our Father's love.

   Too often we take His blessings for granted and fail to thank Him for them. Then before we know it they're gone. Evaporated into our lives or blown away by the winds of change. Only the evidence of their having been there is left; the puddles that sit around waiting for us to acknowledge them.We sit there and wonder, "how did we miss the existence of that gift and how could it be gone already?? We only just noticed it." But that's just it. Like the rain, many blessings are only in our lives for a short season. Whether we notice each drop is up to us.

  

     Our Heavenly Father desires to grant us every blessing under the sun, but it is only when we remember to thank Him for each one, that He will keeps pouring His rain upon us.  So the next time your soul is parched, look to the heavens. The skies are ever ready to rain down His love upon us, we have only to learn to see the gifts. They are always there. Not every blessing is life changing. The most valuable gifts are often the smallest and most unnoticeable.

    

So open your eyes. Step out of the prison of ungratefulness and open your arms to the rain. Let the drops cleanse and refresh you. Dance in His love rain. Count the drops. But beware of the flood that is sure to come when you open your heart to thankfulness.

"Giving thanks always for all things unto God

 and the Father  in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ"

Ephesians 5:20 

 "For the glory of God!"

 

He knows

 "And God saw every thing....

and, behold, it was very good."

Genesis 1:31

~*~*~

WHY? The question that we so often find ourselves asking in this journey of life. 

     Too often in life we find ourselves in the midst of the storm with no shore in sight and no explanation for why we are there. As the waves crash around us and the waters rise, we quickly forget that the Maker of the storm is standing on that distant shore watching. Waiting. I recently listened to a sermon about the disciples being stranded in the storm on Galilee while Jesus stayed on the shore and prayed. It was only after letting them sit in the storm, fighting for their very lives for 8 hours, that Jesus finally went to them. He could have commanded the storm to stop at any moment, but He didn't. HE put them in that storm and let them sit there ON PURPOSE. Why? Because He needed them to grow in Him. To believe in Him.

       How often does God do that in our lives? Throw us in the storm to grow us in Him, to teach us to trust Him? We may never know the why in a trial, but this we do know: HE knows. When we find ourselves far from shore, seemingly "alone" and scared, it can be all too easy to wonder where God is. To feel like He's not there. But He is. He is watching and waiting for us to learn the lesson before He rescues us.

      When we find ourselves in these storms we need to remember: He knows the why behind every detour and the outcome on the shore. When God looks at us in the storm He sees something good. He sees that the storm and the work it is producing in us (if we let Him work) is good. We need to stop fighting Him and trying to tell Him how to help us and just trust Him. 

HE KNOWS. He knows.

  

(I tried to get just this song on here, but because it's on a playlist all of them downloaded.

 So, pause my music below and play just "Better than I." :))

 "All the days ordained for me were written in your book,

before one of them came to be."

 Psalm 139:16

While I'm waiting

     I imagine life as one long hallway. Every day you're walking down this hallway trying to reach the door at the end. On either side of you the hall is lined with doors. Some are good and others are bad.You have no idea what's on the other side of that door, but He knows. He knows that on the other side is His great plan for you. But only by taking the side doors will you reach that door. Day by day the Shepherd beckons you saying, "come My child. Walk with Me." As you walk you pray, praying for your Guide to open the right doors, and He does. But every now and then He opens a door that looks so right, but the moment you try to step through, He slams it shut again. "But it looked so right Lord!" you say. "Yes My child, it did look right, but that is not what I have for you" He says, "Just wait. Be patient. I have something far better in mind." 

       Everyone has a "plan" for their lives, but so does God. We need to seek that plan, for our earthly dreams cannot compare to the beauty of His heavenly plan for us. For as the heavens are higher than the earth so are His ways higher than our ways, and His thoughts higher than our thoughts. (Is. 55:9) God already has a plan for us, we just need to wait on Him and follow Him. One thing we all know is that God will NEVER lead us astray. Not seldom ever, but NEVER. So trust His plan. Trust the One Who made you to never lead you astray in life. Wait on Him.

While you're waiting what are you going to do??

    

~*~*~

 The plans of the heart belong to man, 

but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.

 Proverbs 16:1

"For the glory of the Lord!"

Lessons from Ruth

  Widowed at a young age she abandoned her home, her family, her religion and all that she loved to follow her mother-in-law to a land and people that were foreign to her. There she took up the faith of her mother-in-law and took it upon herself to care for her in her old age.

 

       The story of Ruth. Ruth's story is a short one, yet one that is packed with wisdom for women attaining to be Godly wives. My sister and I have recently been studying Ruth with a couple friends in our weekly "wife prep" Bible study. One of the things that really stuck out to me about Ruth was her patience in waiting. All of us who are single are in that season of waiting, but none of us fully know the joy that lies ahead. Ruth did. She knew what she was missing in life, yet still she was patient in her wait and trusted God. Can we say the same?

 

 "The LORD bless you, my daughter," he replied. "This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor....

All the people of my town know that you are a woman of noble character." 

Ruth 3:10-11

 

    What a legacy! How I pray I develop the same legacy! This is a legacy we should all attain to: to be known for our virtuous, Godly character and strong morals. The fact that the entire town knew of her virtue and noble character, shows that she was worth talking about. Ladies, what kind of legacy do you want to take into marriage? Do you want to be known as Ruth: a woman who waited for and prepared for her man, a noble and virtuous woman; or a flirtatious and impatient woman? Godly Christian men are attracted to women like Ruth, not the women of this world. We don't want to settle for God's second best, but His first choice for us. The one that will love us forever as Christ loves His church. We want to be his pearl of great price, his rarest treasure. So let's strive to be Ruth, and God will bring us Boaz.      

~*~*~*~

"Time slips by,

Trusting God has become important above everything else.

His timing is perfect and all His ways are best.

Would I truly love you in such a deep way if I wasn't waiting?

Would I grow if time had not taught me the value of obedience? 

Though I have never met you, I am faithful to you.

Though I am single my heart is yours already.

The one I give my heart to, is the one I marry,

safely stored in Christ until God brings us together.

Single I stand proud that I have not settled,

grateful that God has taught me to wait.

You're the right one, the one God has chosen is worth the wait,

no matter how long. 

I will no settle for ok, I wait for God's perfect fit."

~ Unknown~

~* ~ *~ *~

  

Success in stagnation

     You ever feel like you're standing still in life while everyone around you is moving forward? I have. I do now. It's that weird feeling of stagnation, where life is still as busy as ever yet you feel as if you're going nowhere. Like your life is stuck on pause. I have a couple awesome jobs and am involved in some great Bible studies, yet it feels like I'm not accomplishing anything in this season. I know there is a time for every season, but I wonder, "what is this season for?" When all around me people of my age group are getting married or going off to college, it is easy for me to feel that I'm not accomplishing anything in this season. I struggle at feeling successful.

      Though I am very happy at home and am loving my work, I find myself wishing something exciting would happen in my life. Something to make me feel successful during this season. While I was praying about this the other day, the Lord convicted me on this. He alone knows the plans He has for me (Jer. 29:11) and it is mine not to question but to obey. Who am I to think that I can question what He has in store for me, or the purpose of this season? God is the only one who can see my future, who knows what the outcome and blessings of this time will be. From past experience I've learned that it is most often in the quiet of the still seasons that He reveals Himself to me the most. It is in seasons like this, that I grow in Him and learn about Him.

      Success is a matter of perspective: God's perspective. I am successful in this season because I am right where God wants me to be and am rejoicing in His will. Being successful in life is all about following God's plan (or so I think) and being content in it. In this season I will rejoice because I know He is here with me and has a purpose for this.

 
"There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens"
Ecclesiastes 3:1

Say a prayer

              “Mama! Maaaaamaaa! Maaama!

     I smile as I hear my little niece’s voice squealing for her mama. It was bedtime but Blessing was strongly protesting the fact that she had to lie down. As I listened to her continual squawking, my thoughts turned towards the orphans of the world. My heart breaks as I think of all those little ones who are crying out for a different reason tonight. I bleed for those precious children.

   I often think of the stories I’ve heard and the things I’ve seen about orphans. Though I’m home and can no longer be hands on with them, I have by no means forgotten them. Seldom a day goes by when I do not think of them. My heart cries out against the injustices and pain they face. There is NO reason a child should suffer the way they do.  It makes me sick to my stomach to think of what they go through. 

  Tonight my little niece goes to bed with a full belly, her thirst satisfied with clean water. She sleeps in a warm bed. She's sheltered, loved, and protected. She’s healthy and secure in this family who adores her and seeks to take care of her. Does not every child deserve the same?? Do they not all wish for that??Each one has a dream and each dream includes being loved and secure.

   We might not all be able to adopt or fly somewhere to take care of an orphan, but we can ALL be doing something to help. We can pray! I beseech you tonight, DO NOT FORGET THE WORLD’S ORPHANS! Pray for them, please. Even if you can’t do anything else, pray!! Do not forget them.

“Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;  

maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.”

 Psalm 82:3

 
"For the glory of God!"

Be still!

“Be still, and know that I am God!” 

This verse screams at me from it’s place above the living room mantel as I arrive at work. Psalm 46:10.  The boldfaced letters that jump off the wall into my heart.  A convicting reprimand from the Lord. 

 “Oh you of little faith! Why are you crying out for guidance, yet will not be still before ME? Am I your GOD or not? When will you recognize your need to be still at my feet?! Where was Mary when I was in her house? Where are you when I'm waiting for you?!” 

    I feel this rebuke and wonder, “when was the last time I was still before the Lord, coming to Him just to sit at His feet, to be near Him and filled with Him?” Sadly, most of the time I am Martha. I get so caught up in life that I neglect to spend time with Him for no other reason than to hear from Him. I’m done being Martha. I’m ready to be Mary, to sit before my King, to dwell in His presence.

 

“Be still, and know that I am God” 

   This time it is a gentle whisper in my being reminding me to be still and watch the Lord work. To remember Him, to sit in His presence.To be still. 

"Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome” 

Nehemiah 4:14

"For the glory of God!"

Finding perspective

  A wise friend once told me that she believes joy is a matter of perspective, that one has to first learn to see the beauty in a situation before they can acquire joy in that situation. Wise words.

God is a God of beauty and emotion, and when I say beauty I'm not referring to beauty that the eye can behold (though He does make people and scenery beautiful). I'm referring to the beauty of the love and joy He surrounds us with; the very beauty that gives meaning to this world and lightens the burdened soul. To obtain this kind of joyful attitude one must make a conscious habit of looking beyond the spectrum of the situation to discern the beauty within. Not every situation is beautiful, nor is always what we want it to be, and often it is very difficult to find any joy in it. But we must remember that because God allowed that situation into our life, there is beauty in it and when we find it, that beauty will bloom into a joy that only God could give us. His beauty is all around, beauty that turns to joy when we find it. I have found it in my life.

 I see it in the joyful seasons and the hard seasons. I see it when I'm facing disappointments and when I'm receiving blessings.

 I see this beauty in the laughter we share around the dinner table, in the silence that enfolds us as Daddy prays for the meal.

 I see it in the joy that sparkles from my sisters eyes as she runs to greet her man at the door.

I hear it in the thunder of little feet that rush to greet me as I come home from work. I feel it in the bundles of joy that burst from the door to throw themselves upon me. 

I see it in my Lolly as she gazes at me with luminous brown eyes, and feel it as she wraps her arms around me.

I see it in the fingers that grasp mine as I rock Shandie, and hear it in the sanctuary as the church lifts up their voice before our God. 

    I see it in all the little things that often go unnoticed, yet catch my eye, heart or ear and cause me to notice the beauty within.  These are the things that my heart thrives on, the things that cause me the most joy and give me a greater glimpse of my Savior.

Will you stop and survey your life to find this hidden beauty?

"Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart."

 Psalm 37:4

"For the glory of God!"

What love really means

    Love. How does one even know the true meaning of love in this world? This day in age when someone refers to love they are referencing the generic kind of love that Hollywood sells. A love that revolves around lust and "love at first sight." The world has taken a God given thing, the very thing that made this world beautiful, and turned it into something fake and short lived. In this whirlwind of romance and emotion, people have completely forgotten the true meaning of love. They have forgotten what it is to truly love. They rejected God's perfect and selfless love for that which is as empty as the air. How has that worked for people? 

    Somewhere in Africa there is a child in an orphanage, crying for the love of a mother who is never coming back. 

In India a child sits begging in the streets because her father has abandoned her.

The teenager in jail weeps for the deeds he's done. All he's ever wanted was to be loved and accepted for who he is.

The man on the sidewalk, trying desperately to keep warm, hasn't been shown love in months. 

    

      God is a God of love. He created love and designed that His people would live in love. Daily His heart is grieved for those who are "unloved." He cries out to His people to bring back that kind of love and awaken the world unto Him through His love. The world would be a totally different place if we have but the courage to love as He has loved. But where has that love gone??





   

     

Why are we not reaching out with unstoppable love?? Why have we let the world trample us and rob us of our courage? Where is our faith to do these things??

^" Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." 

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 

"For the glory of God!"

Waiting for mine

  Dear sisters,

   If you are a single lady seeking to honor your future husband and wait upon God to write your love story, then this post is for you. 

     Ladies, I know that this season of waiting can sometimes be hard, especially with Valentine’s Day just around the corner. But we need to remember that this season of waiting will not last forever. One day God will complete His love story for us and when that day comes, the waiting will no longer matter. We are in a fight for purity and true love. We want a love that only God can write. A love that the world will constantly fight against. In this battle we need to remember that every season of waiting is for a purpose and this particular season is a hidden gift from God. We have been given the opportunity to prepare ourselves for marriage. An opportunity that most women will never get because they rush into relationships.

     Let’s look at this under a different light: take a minute and imagine what kind of husband you want. Now think about what kind of woman that man would want. Are you that kind of woman?? 

    Girls, we have been given the rare and unique gift of readying ourselves for our groom. Don’t let this time go to waste!! Let’s ready ourselves, be in active prayer for our man! Study what the Bible says about marriage and how a Christian wife should conduct herself and strive to be that woman. God obviously thinks our man is worth the wait (or maybe He thinks we will be worth the wait.)  Let’s use this Valentine’s Day to dedicate prayer to our husbands and start becoming the women they deserve, the women they've prayed for their whole life, women they can be proud of.

     I finish with this: ladies, don’t give up the fight. Don’t settle for less than what God has for you. Always remember that though we are single in this season, somewhere out there is a man worth waiting for. When you think about him, stop and remember, you are his and he is yours. Don't do anything that either of you will regret when you are finally together. Be patient and wait, demonstrating your love for your husband by your willingness to wait. 

"Love is patient...Love bears all things, believes all things,

 hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends." 

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

"For the glory of God!" 

When I fly

"I'll fly away oh glory, I'll fly away in the morning, 

when I die hallelujah by and by, I'll fly away! "

 I sat there listening to these lyrics and watching the video of the man who is now gaining his eternal reward. I had goosebumps as I watched his life legacy. The video got me thinking. If I died tonight what would my life legacy be? How will people remember me when I'm gone?

    I walked away from that funeral in awe of the legacy that man left and praying that at the end of my life I too have that kind of legacy. The one thing that kept coming back up as the pastor talked was how devoted Mr. Jerry was to God...his faith, his discipleship of others, his trust...etc. How does one develop that kind of faith and devotion to God? Or more to the point, how does one leave that legacy? It’s quite simple: by living in genuine faith and faultless obedience to God.

   I’ve learned that God rarely calls us to do big things. More often than not the things He asks of us are small and unnoticeable things. Yet He will never present us with big opportunities to serve Him if we are not faithful in the little things. By building up our obedience in Him, we allow Him to build a legacy around our lives. Whether that is a legacy that touches hundreds or simply dozens, is based on our faithfulness to the Designer of that legacy.

    I don’t know about you, but I know I for one, want to surrender the pen of my life to His hands and let Him write my story how He will. When I die I want to know I made a difference in this world, in the lives of those around me, in my church. When the day comes that I’m entering into eternity, I don’t want to be lying there with regrets, wishing I’d done things differently.  I want to be so faithful to God that He is fully able to use me to set this world on fire for Him! To have that kind of faith I know I have a long wait ahead of me. I pray that as I seek to become the woman God designed me to be, He will develop within me the spirit of obedience and faithfulness.

When I fly away I want to hear Him say, "Well done, thy good and faithful servant!"

  

"For the glory of God!"

Distputing fear

I’m running…and running..but I can’t run fast enough. They’re always behind me..chasing me... closing in on me. They get closer. I scream...

and then I wake up.  

It’s always the same. I wake up just before they catch me.  These are the dreams that haunt my sleep whenever I think of returning to Africa. My fear has become the enemies tool to slow God’s plan with me.

     But I will not be defeated.  There is a stubbornness in me that  refuses to be trampled down. God has called me for a reason and no matter how scared I am, I refuse to let Satan stop me. 

     I think of those little arms that entwine themselves around my neck. The sad eyes that long for love; the millions of orphans around the world that have no hope and I'm filled with anger and determination. 

    I remember the joy I felt while being there, fulfilling God's plan. There was so much love in my heart I thought it would burst as I held those hurting children and brought laughter to their hearts as I loved them.  I think of how God's grace transformed their lives and brought hope back into their hearts. These are the thoughts that sustain my call. These are the memories that spur my determination not to be hampered. 

 

 

When I'm in Africa I experience a whole new measure of joy. I just need to say no to fear and yes to the nudge in my heart. One day I will stand once more upon that red dirt with the warm breeze on my face. I will hear their laughter and will feel His presence like I only do when in His perfect plan. When that day comes and I hear His summons, I'll gather every ounce of faith that I possess and throw fear to the wind. No matter how scared or small I feel, I will go. For this I know: God won't send me where His grace can't protect me. I'm never alone; there is nowhere I'll go that He won't be.

“For the glory of God!”

Catching a glimpse of heaven

Over the last 2 years God has really been challenging me on where my faith is. As I’ve learned to be on the lookout for Him, I’ve also learned to see the things He does in my life. But I continue to miss the acts that matter most; those small and “insignificant” things that God does in my life for great purpose. Those are the things that I need to see and learn from, so I've spent the last 2 years on a Godhunt, trying to recognize when He does little things in my life. I see now that all those little things He does and the lessons I learn from them, are for the purpose of revealing more of who He is to me.

Two years ago I set out to simply to learn to recognize the little things He was doing in my life.  That year I learned that He is truly Jehovah-Jireh. 

    Last year I sought to see what He was teaching me about who He is to me personally. I learned just how much He is truly my Shepherd.

    This year I’m trying something new. I’ve started a “glimpse of heaven jar.”  This jar is a place to record my prayers, spiritual lessons, trials, times of receiving comfort from the Lord, the times I saw God’s hand at work and the things that impacted my spiritual life in 2014.  This jar stands as a challenge to me, challenging me to live in active pursuit of God by searching for Him in my daily life.

    Likewise, I encourage you to do whatever it takes in 2014 to draw nearer to our Father. Whether it's a jar to record God's work or simply upping your prayer life, I pray that you will be actively seeking God. Let us make 2014 the year of personal revival in each of us, the year that we draw closer to Him than ever before!

May God be seen by each of us for how great He really is!!

 

“But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Deuteronomy 4:29

"For the glory of God!"