Rooted

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." ~ Col. 2:6-7 (NIV)

From the Shadows to the Substance

"My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving."  ~Col. 2:6-7 (Message)

 

Something Precious in God's Sight

Isaiah 30:15: “In quietness and in trust/ confidence shall be your strength.” (verse in my page banner)

It has taken time for me to begin to grasp what these words mean. I'm sure that, even now, I don't completely understand all of the implications of this simple but profound sentence.

Strength does not come from reading books. It is not in doing new things. It is not in ministry, service, or outreach.

No.

First I must be quiet. I must settle myself before my loving Heavenly Father and learn from Him.  Learn of Him.  Learn Him.

I must stop the doing, stop the busyness, stop the noise, the demands, the tasks… just STOP and be quiet. I need to bask in His presence and in His love.

Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV) “The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”

He will quiet me! The chaos, the busyness, the demands… His love will quiet that. But, I have to take the time to let Him "love" me.


I must also trust and be confident. Trust that He has plans for me, not to harm me but to give me a hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11) Trust that He works all things together for good to those that love Him. (Romans 8:28)

I must be confident that He is who He says He is. Be confident that each and every promise in His Word is true… and it is for me! It is for US!

So, it is in quietness and confidence/ trust that I find strength to get through the tasks and the situations at hand.

I long to learn how to be quiet. How to REALLY be quiet. To be so in tune with Him that my mind and thoughts are in Him alone.

To be so absorbed in His presence throughout my day that my whole being radiates quietness and peace to those around me.

It is truly a large task that I take on every day. One that I long to improve on, to get better at, to understand more fully, to be reflected in my life.

I Peter 3: 4  

(NIV) “Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”

(Amp) "But let it be the inward adorning and beauty of the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible and unfading charm of a gentle and peaceful spirit, which [is not anxious or wrought up, but] is very precious in the sight of God."

A quiet spirit is of great worth in God’s sight!?!

Now that’s what I want to present to Him! Something He finds worthy and valuable. So much of “life” is nothing in the sight of God.

A quiet spirit… now there’s something to pursue hard after!


A quiet spirit... God's diamonds!

When It Seems that God Does Not Have a Plan

Have you ever felt like God gave you a promise and then was slow in keeping it?  Or did it in a way that did not make sense at all?  Or perhaps He gave a promise, but then didn't appear to have a plan in place to accomplish it?

I sure have been tempted to feel that way.  But there's a problem with that type of thinking... it goes completely against His character.  His very being.  Who he is.

I was reading in Exodus about His promise to the Israelites and the land they would overtake.

When I got to verse 29 of chapter 23, I stopped and went back to read it again. 

And again. 

And then one more time.

"But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals would multiply and threaten you." ~ Exodus 23:29

Do you see it like I did when I read it?

God had shared his promise of giving them the land.

BUT

He also explained to them why He wouldn't do it as quickly as they may have hoped, wanted, or expected.  To do so would have caused the land to become desolate and allowed the wild animals time to multiply and threaten them.

He does not owe us an explanation or a plan. 

But when He chooses to let us in on it...

Yes, just a small glimpse of the constant truth that we CAN be assured that when He promises, He provides.

In His time.  His way.

He has a plan... and it is ALWAYS for our good!

 

Shifting Priorities

The last hours of our time in Guatemala were spent in Antigua.  While there a group of us took a tour at the Jade Factory.  The end of the tour found us in the store of jewelry and items made of jade.

Beautiful!

The bracelet on the left cost $2800 US dollars.

I jokingly told my husband to start saving up...and then a moment later told him to never mind. Or at least not to spend it on this.

The realization hit me!

For the cost of this bracelet, we could fund the cost of building 2 more homes in Guatemala.

Priorities began shifting while we were in Guatemala...

3 Ways to Reward Yourself for Under $15

When I think of rewarding myself, too often my first thought turns to food of some kind.  Can you relate?

And when the reward is to be for a few pounds lost, a day of good food choices, etc., then a food reward seems to defeat the purpose.

Now, instead of a food reward, I have found 3 ways to reward myself that I enjoy without spending a lot of money (less than $15) and does not involve food.


1.  A New Candle

2.  A New Book

3.  Flowers

What other ways can you think of for $15 or less to use as personal rewards for a goal achieved (that does not include food)? 

Would We Have Been Friends?

Thoughts regarding friendship and blogging:

"We have been drawn into all these circles of relationships not based on looks, talents, finances, social status or even denomination. We have been drawn by God through our attraction to one another’s hearts conveyed in simple terms and short lines in blog comments, of all things. Something that didn’t even exist 10 years ago.

Would we have been friends at all if we were out in the world where social decorum strictly dictates? Would we have given each other this chance if we’d known each other’s faces, jobs, and worlds before we knew each other’s hearts?” Maybe. But I don’t think so. I think we are an odd composite study in sociology. What would happen if people could only see each other’s hearts first? Who, then, would become friends?? Just think of all the priceless relationships we miss because we look for those who remind us of us." 

~ Beth Moore 

I love the thought and challenge of this as I think about all of my current friendships and those still to come...

Your Thoughts?...

He is Risen

May He be celebrated and glorified, not just on certain days of the year, but each and every day that we are given breath!

 

I'ts Friday...but Sunday's Coming

The Bible Alive in Guatemala

The Bible came to life for me in so many ways while in Guatemala.  Here are a couple of examples where Scripture immediately came to mind as the scene played out before me...

Using a plumb line while building the house:

"I saw the Lord standing beside a wall that had been built using a plumb line.  He was using a plumb line to see if it was still straight.  And the Lord said to me, 'Amos, what do you see?'  I answered, 'A plumb line.'  And the Lord replied, 'I will test my people with this plumb line.  I will no longer ignore all their sins.'"
~ Amos 7:7-8 (NLT)





Oh that my life would line up in obedience - plumb to His word...






We carried drinking water into our work sites.  The water would have made us ill otherwise.

While filling my water bottle one day, the lady of the house came rather sheepishly... carrying a chipped cup.  Her eyes looked to mine, and then to our clean water pleadingly as she questiongly held out her cup.  I motioned asking if she was wanting a drink from the jug, in which she indicated she did.

I filled her cup and handed it back to her.  So very carefully she carried that cup to the side of her tarp home.  I watched from the corner of my eye as she sipped ever so slowly, seeming to savor every drop.

"Anyone who is thirsty may come to me!  Anyone who believes in me may come and drink!  For the Scriptures declare, 'Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.'"  ~ John 37b-38 (NLT)


Oh that my heart would desperately and longingly seek Him as Living Water to quench every thirst and craving as only He can fill....

Do you watch for and notice Scripture come to life during the normal everyday activities of your days?

The Prayer Request that Challenges Me Still

Awhile back we had the amazing opportunity to hear a pastor from a persecuted country speak.  Before he was finished tears were pouring down my face.  Here is part of what he shared with us.

Just that weekend he had received a call from a very close pastor friend back home.  His pastor friend had called in tears asking for prayer.

Earlier that week his teenage daughter had been raped by a gang of men, and he was told that if he continued to share Christ, they would return not only to rape but also kill his wife.

As he made this phone call he was on his way to another village... to share Christ.  You see, when he and his wife talked about this trip, her response was... "We can not stop sharing Christ.  Don't worry about me.  When the men return, I will be waiting and ready for them."

As this man left his wife behind to the unknown, his heart was breaking as he made the walk to the next village in tears... calling his friend for prayer support.

Do you know what his request for prayer was?.... Not for protection.  Not for safety.  Not even for justice. 

But rather, that he would remain faithful.

None of us knew the outcome of that story that morning as we sat and listened to this account, for it was happening in real time.

But oh my friends, how we honored his request that morning and prayed that he would remain faithful.  And  how that account and request have resonated through my being and challenged me to my core since.

Pray... for faithfulness....