Jan 28

Proverbs 23:26
Give me your heart, my son, And let your eyes delight in my ways.

I think back to what my dad told my mom, "I gave you my heart, I didn't give you my eyes". And what a wow for me to hear this verse this morning. I can see why it is important for us to give our eyes to God too. There is alot of evil before us and we need to be careful of what we see. Sometimes we may not be able to help the image that comes before us, but we can control what happens after that look. We can remember Whose we are and Who we represent and turn our eyes away from that very appearance of evil. God wants to protect our hearts and our minds but it is up to us, to make sure we are protected. Don't entertain those evil sights! Always remember, garbage in - garbage out. Delight yourself in the ways of the the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 34:4.

Jan. 27

Amos 6:2
Go over to Calneh and look, and go from there to Hamath the great, then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are they better than these kingdoms, or is their territory greater than yours?

In the midst of trying to find out how many times go is used in the Bible, I got to thinking more about this verse than the word go. Go is used thousands of time and I really believe it is an important word, it is a command for us to get out of our complacent lives and get busy doing what God wants us to do. But going further, it makes you stop and think. There is a reason that the question "is their territory greater than yours?" is ask. Even today we have that tendency to want to pick and choose who we share with or even speak to. Aren't we caught up in the "if they don't look like us or act like us, we don't want anything to do with them" syndrome? We all do answer yes if we are honest. We don't like leaving our comfort zone - or is it just me? Maybe you do and for that I applaud you! I think we were told this to remind us that in God's eyes, there are no greater or lesser - we are all the same and we must remember that ALWAYS! Just go, it doesn't matter where they come from or where they have been, they all need Jesus, just like we did. Did you ever think that somebody may have thought the same thing before they shared Jesus with us, they wondered if it would really be worth it. Remember - it is worth it!

Jan 26

Hebrews 13:25
Grace be with you all.

When looking up the word grace you find lots of meaning. When you get down the list you find the word theology before giving the meaning - the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God.
Now to go another step in understanding:
freely -costing us nothing
given - put in our care
unmerited - not deserved
favor - state of being approved
love - a feeling of deep affection or concern.

It is hard to understand sometimes why in the world He could love us, we definately don't derserve it, we so often hurt him, reject him and don't show often enough how thankful we are or should be to Him. But He looks beyond our faults and looks way inside of us and He believes in us, He has Hope for us. Take time today to Thank Him, if for nothing else, just for loving you enough to send His Son just to die for you. You do realize that if you were the only one here on earth that He still would have sent Jesus to die for you. Makes me feel that much more unworthy! Thank you God for loving me, for giving me love when I don't derserve it, for beleiving in me, when I can't even beleive in myself. May we feel your presence today and realize that your Grace is with us!

Jan. 25

Hebrews 2:4
God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.

I know I have a tendency to repeat, but this is because I think it is important. I often ask if we are taking time to see what God is showing us, He reveals Himself to us in so many ways, but I think we close our minds and our eyes to it. We see what is in front of us, but we do not realize the wonders and miracles that lay before us. Take that time to seek God out, not just in the Bible but in life everyday. I share so often about how He shows off with His amazing sunrises and sunsets. He is there waiting for someone to realize that He truly is sharing with us. When you get the opportunity to witness a birth, you see the miracle that is right before you, you realize just how awesome God is, that He can create something so wonderful!
When I see "God also testifying with them", makes me realize that it is not just Him doing something spectacular, it is somebody else that is part of what He is doing. We have all been a part of what He is sharing, but do we realize this? Our waking up in the morning is a miracle in itself. God has chosen one more day to let us see and enjoy life. Take time today to enjoy all that God has created for you, let Him show you how He can also use you to be a part of His signs and wonders!

Jan. 24

Matthew 6:11
Give us this day our daily bread.

So many times we do ask for this daily bread, but do we do all we can to prepare to take it? Do we come to the table expecting to eat or just get a snack? Are we looking forward to the whole meal, to take time and really enjoy each bite or do we have our minds set on getting up and getting on to the next part of our day? God has a meal prepared for us that will nourish us and sustain us. Don't just pick the good stuff, go ahead and try something new. Enjoy all that He has set before you. It's time to get excited about coming to the table of the Lord and receiving all that He has for you and me. Enjoy, don't walk away from the table still hungry. If you do, it's your own fault, not the Lords.

Jan. 23

Luke 6:30.
Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.

Thank you Lord for this reminder to me! I think this is a reminder to us to let it go when we feel we have been wronged. Maybe they did not physically take something from us, but it could have been emotionally or some other form. God says to let it go! Don't ask for it back. Remember that God can replace what is taken and you will be amazed at how He can replace that void. Don't put your guard so high because you will be ask to give again. You can do it, God believes in you and He has great plans for you. So give when you are asked and know that blessings are there to be received.

Jan 22

Proverbs 6:6.
Go to the ant, O sluggard, Observe her ways and be wise,

Do you ever picture yourself just watching an ant? I think at some point we have watched them. I have never seen one just stop. An ant is always busy and yes I know that we should be too, but what are we busy doing? Why are we being called a sluggard? I think that we get busy about life and we do get slack in doing what God has called us to do, we should be spending more time with Him and sharing His word with those who don't know Him. I know that we should watch and learn from the ant, but we have to go one step beyond and be busy doing the right things.

Okay, when searching for an ant pictures I realized there are many ants and my thoughts are now going even deeper.

Ants
* There are more than 12,000 species of ants all over the world.
Much like us, we all look alike but we are very different.
* An ant can lift 20 times its own body weight. If a second grader was as strong as an ant, she would be able to pick up a car!
It's probably a good thing that we are not that strong
* Some queen ants can live for many years and have millions of babies!
This makes me tired, Just give me the first part of the statement.
* Ants don’t have ears. Ants "hear" by feeling vibrations in the ground through their feet.
Maybe we should be a little more observant in what is going on around us. Think beyond what we hear.
* When ants fight, it is usually to the death!
Stand for what you believe!
* When foraging, ants leave a pheromone trail so that they know where they’ve been,
I guess these we should learn from where we have been and think about going back there!
* Queen ants have wings, which they shed when they start a new nest.
Glad we don't have to start over when our dead skin leaves us!
* Ants don’t have lungs. Oxygen enters through tiny holes all over the body and carbon dioxide leaves through the same holes.
Just goes to show how awesome God is and how creation is amazing!
* When the queen of the colony dies, the colony can only survive a few months. Queens are rarely replaced and the workers are not able to reproduce.
Don't we think of ourselves as the queen? But we are hopeful that this won't happen to our family if we do die. We want them to go on and maybe not our husbands reproduce but it's okay for the kids too.

After looking at the different types of Ants maybe we need to think about what kind we are:

Argentine Ant: Argentine ants do not pose a health threat, but they can contaminate food by leaving their bodily waste behind.
Now we are technically leaving bodily waste, but do we contaminate what we come in contact with, we can spew awful things from our mouth - what do we cover when it flows from us?
Red Imported Fire Ant: The sting of a Red Imported Fire Ant is painful and often results in a raised welt that becomes a white blister. Persons allergic to insect stings will react more severely. They are frustrating, not only because of the physical pain they can inflict, but because their mound-building activity can damage plant roots and lead to loss of crops.
Are we guilty of stinging others? This goes back to our words that we say. Always remember you can say you are sorry, but the damage is done when those words come out of your mouth! Don't destroy people, you may not think you are doing it but you can!
Carpenter Ants: When they are ready, those workers then get the job of gathering food to feed the next generation. Once mature, this first generation of worker ants work to increase the food supply for the colony.
What are we doing for the next generation. Are we sharing God's food (His word)? Are we preparing the next generation for what is to
Odorous House Plant: This ant gets its name from the strong, rotten coconut-like smells it gives off when crushed and the fact that they commonly nest in or around houses. come, helping them to be ready?
When we are crushed, do we put out that bad odor, always negative, making others want to run from us? Think about what we go through, we are all there, but we must realize that we don't have to be bitter from circumstances, we can be better, give off a sweet aroma that that has Jesus as the fragrance!
Carpenter Ant: Carpenter ants clean their nesting sites, and their galleries are not lined with mud or moist soil as termite galleries typically are. Carpenter ant workers keep their galleries as smooth as sandpapered wood.
We should want this for ourselves, a home for our family, a place where they can come and spend time and feel protected! Give them an enviroment that is healthy, full of love and full of Jesus!

Just want to give you something to think about today! I pray it's a great day for you!

Jan. 21

Hosea 7:8
Gilead is a city of wrongdoers, tracked with blood footprints.

Now this is not really a verse that you will find in the ones you memorize, but think about it? What if our cities name was put in here. How is out city described? We know that we live in a wicked nation, but do we really consider our city to be wicked? The city is made of of people, and each one of them have a character. You and I have a character, a label about us? How are we described when somebody talks about us? This won't be a monumental verse you will remember but I hope it makes you think about yourself (me included), about how we are described? Is it positive or negative? Are we pointing people toward or away from Christ?

Jan. 20

1 Kings 11:23
God also raised up another adversary to Him, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah.

This is one of those verses that really makes you think. So many times when we see troubles coming in our lives we automatically think it's the devil. We don't think that God would raise somebody up against us do we? Well I believe that no matter what comes up against us or who it is from, that God knows what we can handle it and that He wants us to grow closer to Him through that time. There will be many things that come up in your life that you wouldn't raise your hand up for to volunteer, but we must remember that God chose us to go through it. He allows things to happen because He sees a champion in us and He beleives we will be victorious. Take time to thank Him for the adversary in your life, and ask Him to help you get through the situation, He can and He will!

Jan. 19

Genesis 1:28
God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

I hear so many times of how the earth is over-populated, hey some of us are just doing what God said for us to do! Better yet, when reading the next part of it, He clearly lets us know that he gave the animals to us as well. When watching two doe run across the road and almost in our yard yesterday, my first thought was deer meat in the freezer. God put all things here for us to enjoy, no He doesn't like it when we torture, but we can enjoy them! We are to take care of what God gave us and also enjoy the rewards off all things being here.

Jan. 18

Matthew 28:7
Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him, behold, I have told you.

Take yourself back to this time. What would you do if somebody told you to do this? Are you the skeptical one, the ambitious one or what? Would you stand there and question if you were hearing things right or would you just go? We are going to have to get over our fear of possibly being rejected by those who hear the truth and just go do it. Share what you believe, how else are people really going to know what you do beleive? Don't think about the situation and wonder if a person knows Christ or not, just ask, then if they don't, share what you do know! He loves them, He died on the cross for them, and He is the only way to Heaven!

Jan. 17

Romans 16:8
Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord.

Have you ever thought about how you have been described to somebody? Even better, how have you been described as a Christian? Gives you something to think about doesn't it? We all want to be known as "My Beloved in the Lord", but what else can be said of you. Are you faithful to follow him, or just when it is convenient? Are you a studier of His word, or just when you see the Bible laying around you pick it up? Are you a worshiper, or do you just worship when you go to church on Sunday?

We can be all of these, but yes it takes commitment. Is it easy? Not always, but learning to be consistent is a start. They say it takes from 21-28 days to form a habit. So take time to form a new habit, spending time with Christ, so that you can be described in God's eyes as "My beloved in the Lord". Beloved means: greatly loved; dear to the heart.

Jan. 16

Proverbs 17:6
Grandchildren are the crown of old men, And the glory of sons is their fathers.

I have seen the saying "If I had known grandchildren were this much fun I would have had them first". I think it not that parents don't love their children, but when grandchildren come along they know it's their reward for not killing the children. No just kidding, but I do believe they will be a reward. Showing us that God loves to pass a little more of himself around through a child. Just think of how proud we are when we see our children succeed in life, well that is really no comparison of how proud God is of us. God wants the best for His children, just like we do. I also think of that crown, is this the silver hairs that come along with raising kids? Amazing to read the Bible and see how it relates to today's time. It is a book for all ages and remember it speaks to each one of us.

Jan 15

Matthew 2:20
"Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child's life are dead."

What if Joseph had never listened to these words and decided to take matters upon himself and go his own way? What a mess we could have all been in. Has there ever been a time that you heard God tell you to go somewhere? Well actually once I did, and it was amazing to see what He had in store for me. I got to see family that I had not seen in years. It was at a funeral for an uncle, nobody called me to tell me he had passed away, but God impressed upon me that I needed to go to my Daddy's graveside, and that is what I did. We just have to keep in mind that God knows what is best for us and when He tells us to do something, we should do it. Blessings will always follow.

Jan. 14

Romans 5:5
God's Love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

This is just a reminder of how great God is and He can do the impossible if we just let him. I am taken back to the night I surrendered my life to Christ and then the time after that. Most of you may know my testimony and know how there was no love in my heart for Chris. After I gave my life to Christ and I saw Chris for the first time, God showed me what Love was all about. It was God that placed that love back in my heart for Chris in a way that is really undescribable. I am so thankful that God loves us that much and He can do things in us that we could never imagine! It's all about placing your faith in Him and trusting Him for all things. Those "all things" can be incredible!

Jan. 13

2 Tim 1:14
Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.

It's amazing to see what is all out there to help up in studying the bible. Even looking at the different translations may give you a little insight to help you understand what it could possible be talking about. I also like to use the dictionary to help my in looking up words to give them a clearer meaning. So with all of this in mind here is how this verse is easier explained to me.

Protect throught the Holy Spirit who dwells in us (given to us because we have placed our faith in Him the truth, Gods word which has been given over for care, protection, or performance to us.

We must protect God's word, hide it in our hearts, live it out to our fullest potential, so that others can see it, hear it and realize just how important it is to us, so that they may realize that they also have a need for it in their lives.

Jan. 12

Psalm 46:1-2
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.


There are so many times when we just want to get way from everything. We can go to that place of refuge - God. Maybe we can't go to the beach or that perfect hide-a-way, but we can get into our favorite chair, pull up the Bible and bask in His glory. Soak up the rays of the Son and get refreshed. Draw strength from Him until you can get to that favorite spot. No matter the situation, God is here for us in every situaion. So when you feel like your world may be giving way and falling into the sea, be encouraged, God is our refuge and our ever-present help!

Jan. 11

Gather yourselves together, yes gather, O nation without shame.
Zephaniah 1:13


Is God not calling all Christians together now? Just look at our recent election. It is time for all Christians to take a stand for what is right and say not only does God believe this way, but so do we. We can make a difference - we just have to be willing to do so. We are called to be different, not be like the rest of the world, and not be ashamed of being different! Take a stand for what is right, take a stand with God!

Jan. 10

Psalm 4:1
...Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer.


Do you feel as though God doesn't hear you in a time of need? When did you turn to Him? Don't wait until you have tried every way you know how to fix a situation, give it to God in the beginning. He wants to carry our burdens for us, learn to give it to Him. Take time right now to ask for forgiveness for not lettig Him handle things for you and give Him your problem.

Jan. 9

2 Kings 5:19
"Go in peace," Elisha said.



Choose peace. Each day when we wake up we decide the mood for the day. Choose today to be a peacemaker. Bring a ray of sunshine into someone's life. Let them see the love of Christ, the peace of Christ in you - in all that you do. It's your choice.

Jan. 8

Luke 11:3
Give us each day our daily bread.


How often do we ask this but not go to God to get this bread. He wants to feed us each day, teach us each day something new so that we can apply it to our lives. Think of what we are missing when we don't go to Him. Are we "spiritually hungry"? Wonder why? We sure make time to eat our regular food, so we need to make time for our spiritual food. So step up to His table and dig in. Be full when you leave and get excited, for the best is yet to come!

Jan. 7

Matthew 28:18
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

When thinking about Garnets, this verse popped into mind. I didn't act upon it and then on Tuesday this verse came up in a youth leaders meeting and then again last night in a teacher's meeting. This was my conformation that I was to use this verse. My first thought about this verse was the word nations, we may not be taking this outside of the United States, but we have to realize that most all of the nations are right around out doorstep now! So we do have an extra opportuntity to take it to all nations.

Now for what I wrote last night during the meeting and the scripture used was verses 18-20:
The command is to Go, it's not asking us if we will or if we want to, we are told to just do it. Don't ask questions, don't grovel, just go! Do as He says. Making disciples, what are disciples? Followers of Christ, people who are different becuase of the touch from Christ. People who don't want to stay the way they are after coming to know Christ. They realize that pit they have been snatched out of and they want to share this news with others. Our desire should be to let others know what Christ has done for us. Not only sharing what He has done for us, but then going beyond, learning more about Who Christ is and we start growing as a Christian. As it was said, we cannot stay where we are, we have to Go, Teach, and Observe. We have the comfort of knowing that God will be with us in all that we do, we will never be alone. He will give us the strength and courage to conquer anything and be able to share with anyone. Jesus didn't ask us to do anything that He wasn't willing to do himself. We must now realize that there is a task at hand, we must Go! Dont' wait, Go and be blessed.

Jan. 6

Psalm 118:29
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His love endures forever.


In all things give thanks whether good or bad. God allows us to go through many circumstances. He loves us and wants us to trust Him completely. When everything is going great we have a tendency to forget to give thanks. Enjoy the day He has given you - thank Him for giving you breath today. And find something that He has created just for you. For me it was the sky opposite the sunrise, it was an awesome shade of purple, and then after dropping Ethan off I turned onto the street home and saw the mountains in the backgroud - INCREDIBLE and it was just for me - I did thank God for letting me enjoy! He is awesome! (Nope the picture is not from this morning, it was taken on one of our motorcycle trips, but I remembered what an awesome shade of purple the camera caught and I wanted to share)

Jan. 5

Proverbs 11:22
As a ring of gold in a swines snout, so is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion.


Now this is a verse to think about. Think about it, a ring in a pigs snout, that is unheard of. And so it should be for a woman who can't make wise choices either. I know that each of us are beautiful in many ways and the choices we make and actions that we take can take away that beauty and somebody can see us in a different light. My prayer is that we will seek God to make the right choices and be truly beautiful in His eyes and not be that swine that walks around trying to be beautiful with a ring in our nose.

Jan 4

2 John 1:3
Grace, mercy and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

I do know that this is a comforting verse. Look at all the words that are used, the are not only comforting words, but they are a reflection of God. You really can't think about these words withouth thinking of our Heavenly Father and His Son. I will always go back to a mirror and challenge you to look inside and see what is being reflected. Do you like what you are seeing? If not, it is up to you to change that reflection. After all it is that reflection that we should be taking with us into the world this year. The challenge is for you to to be the light that reflects Jesus is all that you do this year!

Grace - The influence of spirit of God operating in humans to strengthen them
Mercy - Something that gie evidence of divine favor; blessing
Peace - Tranquillity; serentiy
Truth - Honesty; integrity
Love - The benevolent affection of God for his creatures, or the reverent affection due from them to God.

Jan 3

Psalm 48:5
God has ascended with a shout, the Lord, with the sound of a trumpet.

This just gets me excited thinking about the return of Christ. We have seen some pretty awesome sights all around us, but they will not compare to the return of Christ. How exciting that moment will be for those of us who know Him. For some, it may be that time they realize that all that "religion" talk was true after all. That those who walked by faith, believing that there was a God who sent His Son to die for them, believed just as they say they did. This will not be a happy time for them. But for us - it's rejoicing all the way! I would like to think that I am going to see it in my lifetime, but if not, I am sure that our view will also be spectacular. It's a great hope that we have and we can look forward to The Return of the King!

Jan 2

Psalm 116:5
Gracious is the Lord and righteous yes, our God is compassionate.

Aren't we all proof of that? He has compassion or He would have taken me out of this world along time ago. I am so thankful that He looked beyond my stupidity and called out my name and offered me Salvation! He was gracious and patient with me as I was living my own life, making a huge mess of it, and waited for me to realize that I needed a Savior! A decision that I made just over 23 years ago - one I will never regret - placing my faith in Christ and accepting Him as my Lord and Savior! He is true to His Word and that I am thankful for.

Jan 1

So I didn't finish the year as planned, but all I can do is strive to be better this year!

Genesis 4:4
God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.

What a great reminder to us - The light is good. We should always remember that we run to the light, His names is Jesus. There are so many times in our lives when we are in the darkness, but we should be reminded that we don't have to stay there. Darkness was separated for a reason. God separated the darkness from the light. We should walk away from darkness and step back into the Light - where God is. His desire is for us to be with Him. Remember the Light is Good - God is Good!
Sometimes is seems the holidays take us back to happy places of people we loved, then we get caught up in the fact that they are gone and we get depressed. Remember that depression takes us to the darkness. Don't go there! Turn and walk back to God - embrace Him and the happy memories that He has allowed us to all have. Cherish them and know that there is going to be a time of rejoicing and happiness again. Let the Light of God warm you and keep you warm this new year.