It's All About Him!: June 2009

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

By Faith... Tuesday's Together in the Word!

Welcome to Tuesday's Together in the Word. We are a group of women reading through the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs using the same reading plan and holding each other accountable. On Tuesdays we share what we have gleaned from our time of study in the Word. To join us and to read what others have to share visit DeeDee, we would love for you to join us! You can find a link to our reading plan on my sidebar.

I want to share the thoughts I really wanted to share last week but didn't get a chance to... I never had the time to sit down and get my thoughts into a presentable form, so now I am giving it a try.

So since my thoughts are from a week ago, the passage of scripture is from last week's reading... but I have really been thinking on it for about a week now. It is from Hebrews 11, the famous faith chapter.

In verse 1 the writer of Hebrews tells us that "faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen," and then in verse 2, that "by it the men of old gained approval."

A little further down in verse 6 the writer tells us that "without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him."

Then he begins to expound on the things people have done by faith, we have all read these accounts countless times... this time I noticed something different... by faith they endured struggles and hard times. It was their faith that sustained them and carried them through... it was their "assurance of things hoped for" and "the conviction of things not seen" that allowed them to go through hardships in a way that made them noteworthy enough to be mentioned in the scriptures...

By faith they:

choose rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God, than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin; (verse 25)
considered the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; (verse 26)
conquered kingdoms,
performed acts of righteousness,
obtained promises,
shut the mouths of lions,
quenched the power of fire,
escaped the edge of the sword,
from weakness became strong,
became mighty in war,
put foreign armies to flight, (verses 33-34)
were tortured in order that they might receive a better resurrection, (verse 35)
experienced mockings and scourgings and chains and imprisonments
were stoned, sawn in two, tempted,
put to death with the sword,
went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted and ill-treated... (verses 36-37)

Always when reading this passage before I noticed the good and pleasant things people did by faith... this time God opened my eyes to the hard and sometimes horrific things His people by faith endured...

What hard things are going on in your life right now? By faith you can endure them!

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Wednesday, June 24, 2009

An empty cup... slowly being refilled...

Hear my cry, O God;
Give heed to my prayer.
From the end of the earth I call to Thee,
when my heart is faint;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
For Thou hast been a refuge for me,
A tower of strength against the enemy.
Let me dwell in Thy tent forever;
Let me take refuge in the shelter of Thy wings.
Psalm 61:1-4

I have been a bit moody and irritable the past few days... which is why I have not posted, I just did not feel like it.

Today I think I realized what has been wrong with me... my cup has been sapped dry; not a drop to be found anywhere. I have given and given and given some more, so much so that I have absolutely nothing left to give. I have been longing for some extended time with my Lord, but "stuff" has gotten in the way and prevented me from some much needed prolonged time at His feet. Today I was able to sit at His feet, for almost an hour a half, uninterrupted, no phone calls, no interruptions from the kids, no doorbells ringing, just me and my Lord... and I can tell my cup is beginning to be refilled.

I honestly do not know how it got so drained, other than the fact that I really have not said "No" to lots of things that maybe I should have said "No" too. Don't get me wrong, they aren't bad things, they are all good things. But they are not good when they prevent me from getting my cup filled, or when they drag me away from precious time with my family and from my personal time with my Lord... I need to take time to be refilled so that I can give out of the abundance of my cup. So this week I have said "No" to every night-time activity that would have taken me away from my family... and I have made the boys nap every day so I could get some much needed rest and spend some much needed time sitting at His feet... it has been wonderful!

I have been able to spend some time reading a couple of books that I have really felt the Lord leading me to pick up and read, but haven't had time due to "stuff"... I just wanted to share a bit from "Don't Waste Your Life" by John Piper. These quotes really made me stop and think... and I am still thinking and praying on them...

We waste our lives when we do not pray and think and dream and plan and work toward magnifying God in all spheres of life. God created us for this: to live our lives in a way that makes him look more like the greatness and the beauty and the infinite worth that he really is. (page 32)

We were made to savor God - and savoring him, to be supremely satisfied, and thus spread in all the world the worth of his presence. Not to show people the all-satisfying God is not to love them. (page 33)

The really wonderful moments of joy in this world are not the moments of self-satisfaction, but self-forgetfulness. (page 33)

God loves us by liberating us from the bondage of self so that we can enjoy knowing and admiring him forever. (page 35)

So I encourage you to make sure you take time to stop and spend time at His feet, allowing Him to refill your cup so that in all your giving you do not run dry. I am not committed to be much more careful in committing myself to things that are going to take me away from my primary priorities at this season in my life... being His child, and being a wife and a mom. This week has been proof to me that I have been over-extended and I do not intend to allow that to happen again... I want God to stretch me and not the world...

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Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Word-Filled Wednesday

I am going to the beach to be still... with 6 other ladies!! It is going to be wonderful... no cooking, no cleaning, no washing lots of loads of clothes, no vacuuming or mopping, no breaking up fights between 2 brothers, no tattling, no whining (I hope :) ... I can't wait!

The ocean always makes me think of the vastness of God's love. The constant waves rolling in and out remind me of His faithfulness...

May you have a wonderful week. I pray that wherever you are you are able to find time to be still and spend with Him! For more WFW posts visit 160acrewoods.

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Wordless Wednesday

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Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Tuesday's Together in the Word!

Welcome to Tuesday's Together in the Word. We are a group of women reading through the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs using the same reading plan and holding each other accountable. On Tuesdays we share what we have gleaned from our time of study in the Word. To join us and to read what others have to share visit DeeDee, we would love for you to join us! You can find a link to our reading plan on my sidebar.

Life continues to be busy here... but I am bound and determined to get this post up! My schedule is all messed up for the summer and I am a very structured and schedule oriented person, so I have really felt a bit out of sorts as I get used to our less structured days of summer.

I have had trouble getting up as early since I do not have anywhere we really have to be... therefore, I am later exercising and it is really hot. So I have asked the Lord to help me adjust my schedule... and today He gave me an idea that I think will work just wonderfully for this new season!! He woke me up early and I went to run in the coolness of the morning, about 6 o'clock... then I came home and had my quiet time on the porch. So even though everyone was up and about I still had quietness and peace on the porch while I spent time with my Lord!! Wonderful!!

This week I wanted to share what the Lord spoke to me yesterday as I was running, and then how He confirmed it to me in His Word later that morning. I was out for my run, contemplating doing my normal 3 mile route or cutting it a bit short (as it was very hot), when the Lord spoke to my spirit, He said, "Do not take short cuts with Me."

This brought many thoughts to my mind... like, do not cut short your prayer time with Me; take time to listen for My voice as well as sharing your heart with Me; do not cut short your time in the Word; take time to meditate on It and allow God to show you truths and to speak to your heart through His Word; do not forsake taking time to worship and praise Me...

So, I ran the whole 3 miles and committed myself to making sure I am not taking short cuts with God. Then later as I sat down to read His Word, this was what I read and it jumped off the page at me!

Hebrews 6:11-12
"And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises." (bold my own emphasis)

So I am committed to be diligent in my walk with my Lord, in seeking Him, and in listening for His voice. I do not want to be considered sluggish, but as I talked about last Tuesday, I desire to be an imitator of Him. What about you? Will you join me in being diligent and not sluggish in this walk of faith?

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Monday, June 15, 2009

Memory Verse

Here is my scripture memory verse for the second half of June... I did not do one for the 1st of the month. Life was just crazy busy when the time came around to post it and I did not get to it; so I have been working on reviewing the ones I have been memorizing this year...

Here is the new one I will be hiding in my heart; and it is what I so desire to do this summer... wait on the Lord, and hope in His Word...

Psalm 130:5

"I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait, and in His Word do I hope."

It is short, so I really should not have trouble committing this one to memory :)

What about you? Do you have a scripture or a passage you are working on committing to memory?

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Thursday, June 11, 2009

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for:

A day to just BE at home!! It has been wonderful!
My boys enjoying each others company today and playing so well together all day long!! They have played wonderfully with no arguments or fights!!
The many things I have gotten accomplished today... I have done several small projects around the house that I just have not had time to do lately; it feels great to get them done!!
A wonderful visit with a sweet friend this afternoon... we were able to sit and visit for a couple of hours while sipping on some sweet tea! My boys did not even bother us... they were in their rooms resting!
David feeling better - we were in the ER with him on Tuesday evening as a result of double ear infections. Boy, was he in some major pain! I am thankful for my dad being willing to go with us to the hospital even when he had to be up early for work the next day... (we were at Granny and Paw-paw's house visiting)
Being able to get one more haircut from my favorite hairstylist before she moves very far away...
That in only 6 days I will be leaving with some ladies from church to go on our ladies beach retreat! No kids, no husbands, just us doing whatever we want to do! Thanks to those of you who gave me birthday money... I have saved it to use to pay for this beach retreat!!
I am thankful that God is in control and He has my life in His hands... and for the fact that He has all my days planned out for me, I just have to follow Him...

What are you thankful for today? I would love to hear from you!

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Wednesday, June 10, 2009

God's Chisel - The Skit Guys

Before listening to this go over to my sidebar and pause my music.

This is so good I just had to share it here on my blog... I encourage you to take the time to sit and listen to it. I promise you that you will hear God speaking to you through something in this skit...

I want to be His masterpiece.... what about you?

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