God Is For Me

We all do it. We have an entire armload of worries...

finances

health

children

marriage

future plans

employment

you name it...we carry it around like a sack of cement on our backs. 

It is so exhausting.

It is so...well...unnecessary.

But we do it anyway.

It is so easy to forget God in the equation.

We forget that we are IN CHRIST.

We forget that we have his WORD on the matter.

We forget that we have access to

the power of God in each situation.

We forget that He can give us new eyes

to see the situation how HE sees it.

What we don't forget is how human we are!

It seems to hit the replay button

over and over

until we are drowning

in ourselves.

YUCK.

We do not have to listen to that tune.

"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will KNOW what is the hope of HIS  calling, what are the riches of the glory of HIS inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of HIS power toward us who believe."

~Ephesians 1:18-19

I don't know about you...but this morning I needed enlightened to say the least. The eyes of my heart had lost its focus last week and some things sent me on a spiral. How easily I had forgotten to listen to what God thinks of me and I gave into the chatter of my defeated foe. nasty stuff... not just for me...but for everyone around me.

******

Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon

pg.391 (July 13th-evening)

" When I cry unto Thee, then shall my enemies turn back; this I know; God is for me."

~Psalm 56:9

"It is impossible for any human speech to express the full meaning of this delightful phrase, 'God is for me.' He was 'for us' before the worlds were made; He was 'for us' or He would not have given His well-beloved Son; He was 'for us' when He struck the Only begotten, and laid the full weight of His wrath upon Him--He was 'for us,' though He was against Him; He was 'for us, when we were ruined in the fall--He loved us notwithstanding all; He was 'for us' when we were rebels against Him, and with a high hand were defying Him; He was 'for us,'or He would not have brought us humbly to see His face.

He has been 'for us' in many struggles; we have been summoned to encounter hosts of dangers; we have been assailed by temptations from without and within --how cold we have remained unharmed to this hour if HE had not been 'for us'? 

He is 'for us,' with all the infinity of His being; with all the omnipotence of His love; with all the infallibility of His wisdom; arrayed in all His divine attributes, He is 'for us', '--eternally and immutably 'for us;' 

He is'for us' when the clouds will be rolled up like a worn out piece of clothes; 'for us' throughout eternity. And because He is 'for us' the voice of prayer will always ensure His help. 

'When I cry unto You, then shall my enemies by turned back.' This is a sure hope and a well grounded assurance--'this I know." I will direct my prayer to You, and will look up for the answer, assured that it will come, and that my enemy will be defeated, 'for God is for me.' Oh believer, how happy you are when the King of Kings is on your side! How safe you are with such a Protector! How sure your case is when the Advocate is pleading your cause! If God be for you, who can be against you?"

sweet. sweet. sister.

you. are. in. Christ.

He. is. for. you.

And He wants you to know

that He is

SEATED

in heaven...

on His throne.

V.I.C.T.O.R.I.O.U.S

and you are, too.

So this morning-we can 

cry out to our Strong and Mighty God!

"And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear."

~Psalm 65:24

What a powerful verse.

What a powerful and mighty God that can do that. 

Wow.

Foundational Thinking

Today's headlines...you read them. HISTORIC DECISION BY THE SUPREME COURT--MONUMENTAL. Fundamental Change...Foundations are shaking. Everyone is weighing in on the issues. yak-yak--blah-blah...he said/she said.It is somewhat irritating if it weren't so important.

...and I sit and ponder what the future holds for America...for our children and our grandchildren

...and my heart simply burns with a deep ache for what lies ahead.

...and my eyes sting with tears--because marriage is at the very heart of God

...and I look around at a world of wars, chaos, evil and disease...

...and I open THE WORD...

to the beautiful book of Ephesians...

...and the heart of God speaks so softly--and sings so sweetly of His GRACE AND PEACE to me. (Eph 1:2)

...and he tells me that He chose me to be IN CHRIST before the world began...and he sees me as blameless and holy before Him. (Eph1:4)

...and He tells me that I am His Child because His will is kind  (vs5)

...and I am redeemed through His blood and forgiven lavishly by grace (vs7-8)

....and I find my position...once again...

I am in Christ.

I am IN Christ.

I AM in Christ.

I am in CHRIST.

That phrase wraps around my heart like a warm blanket. It calms the inner storms and gives me a peace that can't be taken away.

In Christ-I know who I am.

In Christ-I know who He is.

In Christ-I know where I am going.

The courts can make rules--the governments of this world can go to war--our leaders can boast and celebrate over what breaks the very heart of Our God. We save whales yet kill the unborn child....we hug trees yet hunt down Believers...they can take away our right to pray in schools and remove the manger scenes from public places. They can sterilize Holidays and History books...

but our God wins.

period.

He has the final word...

because HE IS THE WORD.

IN CHRIST. That is my position. My foundation is the person of Jesus Christ. He can't be moved-broken-sterilized-taken away-over ruled-legislated or silenced. He isn't subject to opinion or culture and won't change with the political climate.

HE WAS

HE IS 

AND HE IS TO COME.

HOW FIRM IS YOUR FOUNDATION?

Lesson 101-Trusting without Borders...

Ok. So I am doing this 40 days of Promise challenge and thinking-HA....been checking off the scriptures on the list and thinking...not bad-this is doable! I'm wearing my bracelet and bee-bopping around the house in time to the sunshine thinking...hey!...this trust thing isn't as hard as I thought it would be. (Did you hear the clinking of the buttons popping off my shirt?! and...YEAH. God. took. care. of. that. this. week....again.)

Life. happens. and. rugs. get. pulled.out. and. bodies. fall. down... and that bracelet got some serious mileage going back and forth between each wrist as I desperately clung to scripture after scripture while God spoke assurance and grace into my situation.

I sat there 

with my spiral bound note cards

chock full of scriptures on them

...sobbing. 

w.e.e.p.i.n.g. 

Desperately wishing I could make decisions for others that could change them...desperately needing to trust God is in control. Been there? 

trust. without. borders.

trust. without. borders.

trust. without .borders.

So I heard God singing over me

...Honey...you need to 

pray. without. borders....

and so as I trust my prayers are heard...

I learn to trust The One that Answers.

So-lesson 101 in trusting without borders...

LEARNING HOW TO PRAY WITHOUT BORDERS...

As long as my trust in God is contained and controllable in my own little world- my faith is empty and powerless.

My praying 

looked more like a

 Christmas list to Santa 

than a petition to

the Creator of the Universe 

who holds

 ALL things in His hands.

wishing.

wanting.

waiting.

Instead of 

praying.

resting.

trusting.

Intercession is hard work and it isn't childrens play. Praying is the most powerful tool we have at our disposal. 

Anguishing over loved ones

over results of poor choices

over diagnosis

over broken lives & broken hearts

over dying marriages

over dying children

over distorted views

over sin in the house of God.

Praying.

Worship.

When I pray in faith-trusting that He is able to do far above what I can even imagine...I can rest.

FOR HE IS...

Lion of Judah who defends me!
The Prince of Peace who comforts the downcast!
The Great Physician who heals my wounds!
The Mighty Warrior who goes before me into battle!
The Wonderful in whom I can delight!
The Counselor who guides me!
The Creator who constantly renews me!
The Husbandman that Redeems me!
The Lamb who was slain for me!
The Son of God who is my brother and friend!
The Faithful and True!
The God that cannot lie!
The Lover of my soul!


And if He is who I am calling on...how can I not trust Him? Praise God, that He has done all these things for me. Friend, I pray that you hear God singing over you today--because He has done these things for you.

So-today-I choose to keep the bracelet on my wrist--without moving it to the other wrist...because today--I choose to pray to the one 

WHO WAS

WHO IS

AND IS TO COME 

Trusting Without Borders

I've been thinking about what God is wanting from for me in 2015. 

then I read this blog post this morning...

TRUST WITHOUT BORDERS...

and I realized that (once again) ...it isn't about me... OH-imagine that?!

"It isn't that we have a TRUTH problem; it's that we have a TRUST problem. We don't really TRUST what we know to be TRUE." ~Arabah Joy

SO WHAT'S THE PROBLEM, HERE?! 

anxiety that chokes...

fear that smothers...

pasts that don't let go...

and futures that look bleak.

depression that hangs on...

failure that keeps us down...

uncertainty that weights us down...

unhealthy life choices.

grief that overwhelms.

pain that stabs.

guilt that covers.

shame that hides us...

patterns of sin

truth.trust.

i can fill my head with all the truth...
i can stuff scriptures in my brain all day...
read all self-help articles...
chat with others about issues...
but it really boils down to one thing.

DO. I. TRUST. GOD. AT. HIS. WORD.

Do I really know it to be true in my life?

That God DOES really have things under control...

That my future is secure...

That He loves me enough that He won't let me go...

That my eternal security doesn't depend on my performance--but on Christ alone.

DO. I. TRUST. IT.

DOES. MY. LIFE. REFLECT. IT.

So-I dug out a bracelet that my kids made for me a LONG time ago...

and I'm taking the 40 day challenge. 

For the next 40 days I am going to learn how to TRUST WITHOUT BORDERS... And I am trusting that I will loose myself and find that Jesus will always be enough.

Feel free to click 

Arabah Joy's 40 promises 

read the post

print off the scripture list

and see what God is doing!

Feeling Overwhelmed

o.v.e.r.w.h.e.l.m.e.d.

tiny.little. word.

oceans. of. feelings.

" Is it possible we have complicated our lives until there is no room for Him and no space to hear the plans He has for us?" ~Jennie Allen

YUP.

Our lives get really busy totally out of control.

We run like the wind! Our schedules are so full that one little minor mishap and the house of cards collapses. American moms are crazy absolutely insane by juggling a mountain of things at once. Sports schedules-school schedules-church responsibilities-social responsibilities-relationship building--laundry-taxi service-cleaning-cooking...and all with a smile. (snarl)

What if---I said 'no' to the mountain of things that put such pressure on me and begin to

P.R.A.Y.

about where God wants me.

What is my purpose here in this big world?

What am I called to do?

What is wasting my precious time?

What if I am missing out on the very thing God wants from me because I said 'yes' to a bunch of dumb stuff?

So-I challenged our group to a week long technology fast...YUP...ouch. That hurts. The goal other than self torture???...taking time to hear from God...and taking time to talk to God. I had a very interesting week.

So, this morning I opened my devotional and was 

O.V.E.R.W.H.E.L.M.E.D.

by God.

November 3rd am  Morning and Evening devotion by Charles Spurgeon...without the old english!

"...behold, he prays." 

~Acts 9:11

"Prayers are instantly noticed in heaven. The moment Saul began to pray the Lord heard him. Here is comfort for the distressed but praying soul. So often a poor broken-hearted one bends his knee, but can only utter his wailing in the language of sighs and tears; yet that groan has made all the harps of heaven thrill with music; that tear has been caught by God and treasured in heaven. "You put my tears into your bottle" implies that they are caught as the flow. The suppliant, whose fears prevent his words, will be completely understood by the Most High. He may only look up with misty eye; but 'prayer is the falling of a tear.'. Tears are the diamonds of heaven; sighs are part of the music of Jehovah's court, and are numbered with "the sublimest strains that reach the majesty on high"; Don't think that your prayer, however weak or trembling, will be unregarded. Jacob's ladder is lofty, but our prayers shall lean upon the Angel of the covenant and climb its starry rounds. Our God not only hears prayer but also loves to hear it. "He does not forget the cry of the humble." True, He doesn't regard high looks and lofty words; He doesn't care for the pomp and pageantry of kings; He doesn't listen to the swell of martial music; He doesn't regard the triumph and the pride of man; but wherever there is a heart big with sorrow, or a lip quivering with agony, or a deep groan, or a remorseful sigh, the heart of Jehovah is open; He marks it down in the registry of His memory; He puts our prayers, like rose leaves, between the pages of His book of remembrance, and when the volume is opened at last, there will be a precious fragrance spring up from it.

'Faith asks no signal from the skies, 

To show that prayers accepted rise,

Our Priest is in His holy place,

And answers from the throne of grace.'

And Charles-I would rather be overwhelmed

by The God that hears my prayers

than a calendar

that rules me.

God, overwhelm me with your presence.

I love it!!!

laundry. cooking. cleaning. growing kids. DAILY. Rain or shine. Healthy or sick...DAILY. That is the life of a Mom-and only a Mom knows the full weight of the meaning "DAILY" in this context...mundane sometimes.
and I love it!!!!!
Every minute of it...even when it is hard-when it is thankless-when it is good and when it is bad. When it is painful to watch and even more painful to pick up the pieces. Sick or healthy-rain or shine.
I love it!!!
I love my life!! I would never trade these days for anything else. They are full of drama, pain, joy, fulfillment, brutal reality of poor choices and the fall out, disappointments, twists and turns, let downs, and high points.
I love it!!!
I love watching the kids grow to be adults, making adult decisions and taking on life's challenges with Jesus on their side. And sometimes suffering the consequences of not choosing His path. It's not easy. Standing back and praying that they embrace all that God has planned for them with joy and anticipation of His faithfulness.
I love it!!!
I love seeing God work on them...just like He does on me. Painful yet prosperous. Beautiful but bloody. In all of the baby steps-God is at work to make them more like Himself. Mistakes and all. Poor choices and all. Watching God's perfect chisel as he turns hearts of stone into hearts of flesh.
and I love it!!!
I love seeing answered prayers and depending on God alone to get them home safely-to protect them in body, mind and spirit-to cover them with his grace-to reveal the hidden things. To guide them into being godly and developing a heart for the lost...Knowing all the while, everything is out of my control and mistakes will happen.Jumping off the deep end with a God that has got them covered. Joining Him in what He is doing.
and I love it!!!
I love seeing the God of the Universe create new beings. Light bulbs go on and you can see Jesus working. From the terrible two's to the awesome teens and onward...Daily shaping, molding, pruning. I never realized how DAILY the changes came. Somewhere between diapers and driver's license...life happened. They grew up and I sit back in awe at how God works the good, the bad, and the ugly for His purpose.  
and I love it!!!

So, all of you Mom's out there that are ready to throw in the towel...ready to think that God isn't seeing or knows what is happening. When you think your prayers just hit the ceiling. When you think that it just doesn't matter and your kids are just too far away to be found.
LOOK UP...LOOK UP...LOOK UP
cause your kids are going to
GROW UP (...fast.)
they need you to show them Jesus...DAILY
--so they know where they will
END UP.
AND THAT TAKES A BOATLOAD OF SOMETHING THAT YOU AND I CAN'T POSSESS-UNLESS WE HAVE MET JESUS. We need his GRACE.

AND I AM FOREVER GRATEFUL THAT HIS GRACE FOR THE JOB IS
DAILY. and. SUFFICIENT.

" This will be written for the generation to come, 

That a people yet to be created may praise the LORD."

~Psalm 102:18

I LOVE IT!!!

MOM--your kiddos are ' the people yet to be created' in that verse...and it is happening DAILY...and HE IS SUFFICIENT, and FAITHFUL to finish what he started in your kids.

We serve an amazing God who gives mama's the opportunity to be His hands and feet DAILY to our families. So today-PRAY. LOVE. SERVE. LISTEN. LOVE. DISCIPLINE.
in His Daily-All Sufficient Grace.